Chapter Eighteen
C hase didn’t come over the next day or the next or the next. He’d canceled without an explanation, and although I had the sense that he wanted me to ask, I didn’t. We didn’t have that type of arrangement. If he couldn’t make it over for our sex sessions, that was his business, not mine.
It was the morning of the fourth day, and I was hurting. My body was going through withdrawals, and I was moody and irritable. I’d never realized how much stress relief a good orgasm brought until it was denied. I could have picked out something from my bedroom drawer to bring a little relief, but somehow it wasn’t the same anymore.
Damn you, Chase.
I waved to my neighbor, Michelle. She was walking down the street with her little poodle mix, heading in my direction. I picked up the paper and the mail from the day before, then waited at the end of my driveway for her to arrive.
“Morning, Jillian.”
“Good morning. Perfect day for a walk.” I should be getting my butt out to do the same, but as always, the phone calls weren’t going to make themselves.
“Yep.” She took a drag off her cig. “Hey, I see you’ve landed yourself some fresh meat. Good for you.”
“Excuse me?”
“The pretty thing that’s been hanging around. Doesn’t stay too long, does he?” She winked, and I felt my face get warm.
“Oh, that’s no big deal. Just a friend of mine.”
Michelle nodded and smiled, and I knew she didn’t believe me worth a damn. She knew we weren’t having book club during those hours.
“Would you like to come in for a bit? I have that cream I need to return to you.”
“Sure.” We went up toward the house, Sasha trailing behind. “How’d that work out for you?” I gave her a look. Was she talking about Chase again? “The DermaIce.”
“Oh! Unfortunately, not very well. It must have dried up on me weird; it made my face white and flaky.”
“You used too much; that’s all. Gotta get that right balance. Why don’t you keep it, try it again?”
“No, I’m good. Thanks anyway.”
We entered the house, going into the kitchen. I filled a bowl of water for the dog and a couple glasses of iced tea for us. Michelle plopped down on the chair, and Sasha lay by her feet. She dug around in her purse and pulled out a small canister.
“Here.” She handed it to me. Pills? “These might come in handy for you, especially now.”
I popped open the top and saw some small pink capsules inside. “What are they?”
Michelle waved her hand. “Don’t worry; they’re all natural. Just a little energizer to make you feel years younger. Wanna do what you can to keep up with the new boy trinket, right?”
I handed them back to her and sighed. “I’ll pass.” There was no way in hell I was taking something that was floating around in her bag. Between the miracle cream and the tape I’d discontinued using because it ripped off part of my eyebrow, I wasn’t eager to get in line for the next product in Michelle’s Pharmacy. It was liable to give me the side effect of sealing up my vagina. What good is more pep when you can’t even have sex?
She shrugged, tossing them back in her purse as I excused myself to get the DermaIce. Along the way, I heard the ding, and I grabbed my phone.
Does tonight work for you?
I was truly bipolar or something. The flip in my mood when I saw Chase’s text scared me. Was I becoming a sex addict?
Yes. 8:00?
How long do we have?
2 hours.
I waited for him to respond as I got her cream out of the bathroom cabinet. I started second-guessing things. Was that time okay? Was it too much time? I usually didn’t schedule that long a period at once. Ding . I looked at the screen and smiled wide, my insides feeling gooey.
See you then, Wild Horses.
Oh, shit, what is the matter with me? Did I actually just skip back to the kitchen?
I gave Michelle her stuff back, then patted Sasha on the head before sitting down at the other side of the table, wondering if I looked as giddy as I felt. I swear it was like I was preparing to get laid for the first time ever.
“It’s fun, eh?” she said. “Ride that horse as long as you can, honey.”
My head did a quick jerk. “What—”
“You know, I dated one of those once. Engaged for a while too. Had a good twenty years on him.” Another wink. “You should listen to me. I speak from experience.”
My mouth widened. “Really?”
“Oh, sure.” Her eyes looked upward, and she ticked off her fingers. “Between Tom and Jim.”
“What happened?”
“Had to boot him out.” She covered Sasha’s ears with her hands. “Attention span of a puppy. Slobbering all over you one minute, bounding off the next and getting dirty. I got tired of cleaning up after his messes. Sure, he had the energy of a Jack Russell Terrier in the sack, but he just wanted someone to pick up after him. I decided I’d rather have someone take care of me instead.”
“Wow.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. My brain could not wrap around the image of her and…. Twenty years younger? Just when you think you know your neighbors.
“And after a while, even the bedroom romps got to be a nuisance. I got tired of him humping on me all the time. It was impossible to turn him off, and housecoats just got him hornier than a tree frog.”
Someone had wound her up and pulled her string, but I didn’t want to stop her. It was mesmerizing to me, like a horrific fifty-car pileup where everyone walked away unscathed.
“Housecoats?” I said.
Michelle brought Sasha onto her lap. “I just meant he liked ‘em older, made him frisky as hell. I shudder to think what would have happened if I’d started to wear orthopedic shoes.”
“Huh. It was different with my mother. My dad is younger than her. He had a… uh, hard time with her aging.” I didn’t want to get into it much more than that.
“What kind do you got?” she asked.
“I have no idea.” Was Chase like my father, or was he only after my wrinkles? And why did it even matter when this was a temporary situation?
“Well, you gotta figure it out. It’s the only way you’ll know how to get rid of him. You don’t want him continuing to hang around after you’ve given him his walking papers.” She scratched her chin. “But in the meantime, get as many facials as you can.” She winked. “You know what I mean.”
I scrunched my face. “No, I don’t.”
She made a handjob gesture. “Great for the skin. Make sure to rub it in good and leave on overnight. That young sperm has more of those antioxidants and stuff.” I opened my mouth and shut it. There were no words. “My advice? You—”
A rap on the kitchen window caused both of us to flinch. It was Perry, and I waved her in. I wasn’t expecting her today.
“Hey, what are you doing here? You remember—”
Perry nodded and smiled. “Yes. How’s it going, Mabel?”
“It’s Michelle.”
“Oh, right. Sorry. I had a break, so I thought I’d stop by and chat.” Perry only worked half a mile away.
Michelle stood up. “I need to get going anyway. It’s time to give Henry his pill.”
“Your dog?” Perry asked.
“My husband. Now remember, Jillian. As I was saying”—she finished her coughing fit—“milk him for all he’s worth. And I mean that literally and figuratively, darlin’. But when it’s time to settle down again, go for an older one. You won’t get the same kind of action, but you’ll be better off in the long run.” She shook her head and muttered, “I might as well be eighty for as much as he gets it up.”
Perry looked like she was biting the insides of her cheeks, and I shot her a dagger. Don’t even think about it. She held it in until Michelle left, then busted out laughing.
“Seriously, Jills?”
“What?”
“Tell me you’re not considering taking any advice from that woman.”
“She’s been through it before, Perry. It might not be the worst idea.”
“You make it sound like a disease.” She opened the fridge and pulled out a can of soda. “Speaking of, is she okay? I thought she was going to drop a lung on your floor.”
“Yeah, she just has a little smoking habit.” Perry raised her eyebrow, and I shrugged. Okay, it was more like a carton-a-day habit. Combined with a touch of emphysema.
“At any rate, I can’t believe you’re listening to that hairball hacker. Am I the only one who’s sane around here?”
“She’s a very nice person, Perry.”
“I’m sure she is, but isn’t she like on her tenth marriage? You don’t go to a priest when you want to get knocked up.”
I laughed. “It’s her fourth, and I think this one’s going to stick.” I checked the time; I had to run out soon. “And I’m not looking for marriage—or even relationship—advice. I want insight into the older woman/younger man dynamic, and she’s been there. I’m more interested in the best way to end it when we’re finished… being casual.”
Perry threw up her hands. “I am the only sane one. It’s confirmed. It’s over when it’s over, Jills. It doesn’t matter if he’s eighteen or a hundred and eighteen.” She flattened her mouth. “Well, that’s not true. I suppose if he’s that old, he’ll probably die before you can break it off.”
I had to get going so I could be back to make my calls. Fortunately, the mall was only ten minutes away from my house. “Listen, I don’t mean to cut you short, but I have to take off for a bit and go to the store. You can wait here if you want.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Why can’t I go with you?”
I sighed, dropping my shoulders. “Okay, but you have to promise me you won’t give me a hard time about anything I want to buy.”
Yeah, like that would ever happen.