Since Hana knew what I was doing yesterday before going MIA, she sent me twenty-three messages asking if everything was fine. I quickly type a reply, telling her I’m okay and will call her in a bit.
Then, I see a text from Ladder Guy, which he sent over three hours ago. My heart skips a beat when I open it and then speeds up as I read it.
Ladder Guy
You know where to find me if you change your mind.
I read it three times, standing naked and still feeling his influence all over my body. And inside, too. I’m definitely flattered that he wants more of me. I thought he would have had his fill after all that. The offer is tempting, but it feels like a complication waiting to happen. I take him up on his offer, and then what? We meet up once more? And again?
No, that won’t do. I’m in this to explore and experiment, not meet new people, learn about them, and grow attached. The rule I gave myself, one man, one item—or as many as can fit in a single encounter—is the way to go.
Twenty minutes later, I’m making my way out of The Plaza, wearing my gray dress from yesterday and doing my best not to appear as sore as I feel. I removed my ruined makeup, so my face is bare, which I’m not used to in public. Next time I do this, I’ll have to bring an overnight bag because this is embarrassing.
As soon as I’m into a taxi on my way home, I dial Hana. She picks up before the first tone is over.
“Gen, oh my God! I’ve been worried sick all night!”
“I’m okay,Mom,” I humor.
“Where have you been? You were supposed to meet that guy again and tell me about it, but then, nothing!”
“I was busy.”
“Doing what?”
“Doing him,” I whisper into the phone so the driver can’t hear. “Or rather letting him do me.”
There’s a long pause on the other side of the line, where I can practically hear the gears in her mind running. “All night?”
“Most of it.”
She lets out a long, excited shriek, which forces me to push the phone away to preserve my eardrum. “I can’t believe you did it!” she screams. “How was it? Should I beg Tyrone to get those piercings?”
“It was good.”
“Could you sound any less enthusiastic? Was it meh, or was it mind-blowing?”
I sigh, rolling my eyes before looking out the taxi’s window. “It was devastatingly amazing. I’m forever ruined.”
Another shriek, another enthusiastic question. “Will you see him again?”
I hate how my throat clutches when I answer, “No.”
“Why?”
“It was just a one-time thing, Hana. It’s simpler if I move on to someone else.”
During the entire ride, which thankfully doesn’t last very long, she asks me more questions about Jake and my night with him. All she gets from me are vague replies though, because I don’t feel like disclosing too much, fearing she’ll read into it. But it’s also in the contract. I’m not allowed to speak of what happened between us. Nor can I give Hana his identity to check him out herself. That, again, wouldn’t be a good idea because she’d probably beg me to see him again.
As soon as I get home, I hop in the shower for a second time, feeling like Jake is still all over me. While I scrub every inch with a soapy loofah, leaving my skin pink and cherry scented, I can’t stop myself from reliving parts of our night. Especially when I pass my hand between my legs, where I can still feel the ghost of his shaft.
His text, the offer to meet again, lingers in the back of my mind. Of course I want to. I’m not stupid enough to think that any other guy I’ll meet will be as impressive as he was. But work and life are too intense for anything other than no-strings-attached, and given how strongly I reacted to Jake, I’m worried things might not stay so simple if we keep seeing each other.
Not that we could ever evolve into something serious. He couldn’t be more different from me. And he’s the opposite of my type, really.
So, once I’m out of the shower, I’ll create a profile on a less unhinged dating app and find whoever comes next. I don’t need sex gods to go through my list, just men willing to engage in sex.
That shouldn’t be too hard to find.
