He came back to me and I could feel him searching.
I could feel him reaching for a clue. But he kept hitting a wall. There were none.
“How did you get that bruise on your thigh?”
“I don’t know I don’t look at my thighs.” I explained. “When I scratch through my jeans I get bruises. I really don’t know.” “Even now when you were down there I was holding onto my thighs.” I said without energy.
“It looks like a plain finger bruise.” He imagined. “I’m gone for long periods of time. I’m just wondering if that’s a guy maybe that you could have been with while I was gone.”
“That’s not right.” I replied.
Giving the plain understanding that those thoughts were not permitted here.
“What?!?! Is that what you think of me? That I’m just gonna go and open my legs to the next guy I see??” I wanted to scream but it wasn’t right either.
“ It’s not my style.” I thought. But I refused to tell him this even though My heart would not allow me to do something like that. If he didn’t know this now. He didn’t know me at all.
But I knew these were just insecurities of his own that had nothing to do with me. Instead I loved on him. That was the best of me I could give.
Two cars stopped just before splitting me in half.
I froze in my moving vehicle and did not blink.
“Oh. My God!” I screamed frightened in my mind.
Wide eyed.
I could not speak.
I just drove until I began to hyperventilate.
“Get home.” I thought.
Making it to the finish line was my only goal.
I began to think of the lives I could have destroyed for not paying attention.
I didn’t think about myself,
initially.
I just thanked God, the Universe, and any other entity that may have been present that night for preventing that accident. More realistically I thanked the awareness of those strangers who cautiously stopped and continued after my fuck up.
All I could begin to think of was,
What if this was it?
Would I want to feel the way my current state was in?
Missing someone I loved…
I knew that if today were my last day given any circumstance I would not want to be in constant pain,
unable to move on.
…Feeling empty.
Forcing myself to stay away from him was torture.
And all I wanted to do was run into his arms.
So I summoned up the courage and sent him a message.
I looked around at all the couples.
Everyone was there with the people they loved.
Or home with their loved ones,
Embracing one another.
And I?
I was with an old male coworker, James.
And suddenly I felt displaced.
My mind went blank.
“What am I doing here?”
I was standing alone in the dance floor with an explosion of green confetti all over me and this man standing beside me.
Midnight has struck.
Time to go home Cinderella.
I felt endebted to making this night worth the fifty dollar ticket.
I stared blankly above and past him trying to find something or someone that would embody an emotion. But all I could find was the ceiling and that green confetti.
We entered another dance floor and my feet begged to rest.
I excused myself and he followed me out to the fresh patio that quickly turned cold.
Men stared.
I looked out into the empty ice rink.
A tree isolated in the center. And there was no emotion left in me.
All I could think of was how beautiful it looked when people were skating on it.
My mind had only one person in it. Nothing else,
The rest was white noise.
I knew I was working to get this man out of my head but he remained.
4 months had passed since I had ended things completely.
“I can’t give anyone anything. I don’t ever want to have a family, Get married, or have kids.” His decision echoed.
How original. A man that can’t commit.
“Look this isn’t me flirting or anything but I’m gonna do something really quickly.” James interrupted my train of thought.
I was still lost in my head as I felt his fingers in between my breasts.
He held up a piece of green confetti.
Evidence rested in between his thumb and index finger as he held it up in the air.
Not guilty.
His face displayed inoccense as he wished it to be.
“How did it get there?” He continued.
” I don’t know. Maybe when it exploded everywhere on the dance floor.” I said emotionless.
I had no reaction to it.
My mind was fighting another battle.
Reality was left on autopilot.
I had no control over my body. I was so far away.
He held me close for some reason and I found him nearly hugging me and playfully laughing with himself as the side of his forehead touched mine.
I was absent in all of this.
My face was blank.
And I could not understand why any of it was happening except for the fact that I was allowing it.
He let go and I noticed two men just watching the show.
I curiously looked at them.
They looked like adult twins mimicking each other’s movements.
“I’m gonna go home. You’re staying until 2am?” I asked staring at them.
“No I’m coming with you.” He stated
“Ok. ” I replied.
As we made our way out of the club I felt the pain in my feet.
Reality had a way of keeping me present.
Pain was all I felt.
I longed so much to make it to my car as fast as I possibly could.
I wished to be in bed. But I took a wrong turn and lost my sense of direction with James obediently following behind.
I would drop him off at the train station and I could finally make it home and rest in my warm bed.
“Why don’t you just drop me off at my place? You can stay with me.” He crushed my plans.
“That’s just too far for me. You can stay at my place and I’ll take the couch.” I countered.
“No that’s weird.” He argued.
“You can take the couch and I’ll take my bed then.” I negotiated.
“Just stay at my place we can cuddle. I have a big bed. Our bodies won’t even touch if you don’t want them to.” He bravely suggested.
” I don’t feel comfortable doing that. If you can’t drive you can stay at my place and I’ll stay on the couch.” I reaffirmed.
It was a constant firing of ideas. Going back and forth as I tried to reenstate my stance.
15 minutes passed and he lead me to the train station. He gave me a hug goodnight and got into his vehicle.
I was happy to finally be heading home.
I could finally rest.
All in all the night had been a good night.
All that was left to do was rest and recover.
“You didn’t want to cuddle?” He messaged.
“I’m a serious person. I don’t do that kind of thing.” I stated avoiding an ‘lol’.
“How boring.” He branded me.
There is nothing wrong with a woman setting boundaries and remaining firm in her decisions.
I slept soundly in my bed knowing I had no responsibility for anyone else’s feelings but my own.
My feet warm in my blankets still ached but rejoiced at not holding up a celebration filled with strangers I’d never see again.
I drove, everything I could fit into my small but efficient Toyota, more than two hours North where the air encapsulates itself into skyscrapers and its city lights.
I arrived to a forested neighborhood not congested with vehicles.
An older tall, wide, blonde woman greeted me outside the apartment building.
“Have you got the check?” She asked in an English accent.
“Yeah.” I replied still sitting in the driver seat.
“Can you take me to my bank so I can cash it? Rent is due today.” She asked hurriedly.
“Yeah let’s go.” I replied cautiously.
We had met once before during the whole ‘Let’s see if you’re a good candidate for a roommate process’. But she was still a stranger none the less.
We arrived at the apartment after successfully cashing the check and she motioned to where I would be sleeping.
A large living room with two sofas ruled by a Ginger Cat.
“You can put up partitions if you like and you’ll have your own entry.” She suggested.
“Mom! That’s Ginger’s area! Where is he going to sleep? How will he eat?!” A teenage tall blond boy objected.
I was stuck in between a family dispute on my first day in the city.
I sat awkwardly and quietly while they sorted their issues out.
This was temporary.
Rome wasn’t built in a day.
I was determined to work my way up to the life I wanted to build for myself.
Setting up stepping stones I knew there would be challenges and I was ready to confront every one of them with a solution.
Not much after that discussion I was showed into the master bedroom where I would now be sleeping and sharing a restroom with my renter.
She would be taking the livingroom.
Ginger Cat – 1
The next day I would be starting my new job.
“Why don’t you just start work on Monday?” An old coworker asked.
I didn’t feel like I needed a day off at the time and wanted to get working as soon as possible. I would have the weekend off anyway.
Pleased with my iron based curls. Red lips. Winged liner. Under the impression I’d have an unforgettable night.
An old colleague cancelled.
I sat on the busy freeway on my way to a club 15 minutes away from my current stay.
I waited in the cold long line to a club that had no woman in it. Couples kept getting turned away and I persisted at the end of the line. Shivering.
I approached the large dark bouncer dressed all in black with a black leather jacket.
No tickets. No prior purchase. No entry. Sold Out.
Exclusive.
Bust.
I waited in my car while I searched for another location. I wasn’t going to let this outfit go to waste. The night was young. And so was I.
The man in the valet parking approached me. Introduced himself through my slightly opened car door.
“I am looking for another place to go.” I informed.
“There is a club that stays open until four a.m. if you like Cumbias. It’s walking distance.” He replied.
” You don’t want to stay here anyway. It’s exclusive for men only.” he added. “But if you care to wait I can see what I can do.”
“Yes!” I exclaimed.
“Okay. Let’s walk you to the door.” He instructed after being gone for less than ten minutes.
The same bouncer that turned me away minutes before walked me through the bottom entry as I opted out of the reggae night option upstairs.
“Just get her a wristband. Comped” he instructed. “Whenever you want to come back just ask for Tommy.” he said.
I entered the dark nightclub. My eyes, immediately entertained by all the lights that, bounced off a sea of barely clothed men. Every single man towering over me as they opened a path for me to walk passed them like the red sea. My eyes beamed off their tight muscles and they barely glanced at me. Every single Soul with colorful lights bouncing off of them so beautifully. It was the first time I was not acknowledged for my looks. The whole room danced and I continued on to the bar.
A boy as beautiful as all the others with tan skin, a beautiful straight smile, and the cutest nose inquired about a whiskey coke to the bar tender.
” Would you like one?” I offered.
“Oh my God! Yes! Thank you.” he replied.
I expected him to leave me but he was so willing to listen to how I made it in this Exclusive Club.
He introduced me to the rest of his friends who slowly began to join us.
A red head Beauty. The only female in their group slightly taller than I.
A thin bleached blond. Short cropped hair with glossy sensual lips.
And a thick muscular dark haired guy with the kindest smile.
We spent the rest of the night dancing and pointing out the hottest beefiest men in the club.
These strangers would become the first group of friends I encountered in LA.
The fact that I was in the same room as the woman that had once taken my Man’s attention from me. And all this new Handsome Stranger could do was keep his eyes fixated on me. It was a promising beginning. And that’s really all we want right? A sign from the Universe signalizing that as insignificant as we may feel we may just be Special enough to matter to that One person.
If not for a lifetime.
Maybe just for a moment.
And I suppose this is why I didn’t run the opposite direction when he stated matter of fact-ly, “Listen I just want someone to have fun with.”
He knew what he wanted from me. Men always do. And I knew this wasn’t what I was looking for but his words and history showed me that a man his age would never take me serious. And if he wanted fun.
I could use some fun myself too.
I knew it wouldn’t last from the very first kiss.
He positioned me in front of him very awkwardly as we looked at the view. Scripted. He reached for my attention. My neck turned uncomfortably as he reached for a kiss. A very dry, thin, old male kiss. It lasted as long as an awkward silence lasts and soon after we were riding off into the city. As awkward as it may have felt the excitement was still there. A man this gorgeous interested in ME. But deep down, I knew. I knew this wasn’t it. But I ignored the signs and gave into his scripted romance.
Big City Transplant 