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“Hello, Mother,” I said sarcastically. “So nice to see you lingering in the entranceway.”
“You can’t wait to move out tomorrow, huh?” She was perfectly aware of my annoyance, but she managed to brush it off like a joke.
“A bit.”
“Gustavo and I will miss you.”
“No, you won’t,” I jabbed.
She chuckled. “Yeah, probably not. But it is nice that you’ll be close by. So, how was work?”
“You know…boring.” I considered telling her about the strange men who crashed the lounge, but Gustavo was probably the better recipient of news like that.
“You aren’t seeing your mystery man tonight?”
“What makes you think I have a mystery man?”
“Well, I hope you aren’t out until three in the morning with all different men…”
I headed to the stairs and began the climb.
“So…who is he?”
“You’re being nosy, Ma.”
“I’m just curious. Is this serious? If it is, you know—”
“It’s not serious, so let’s not even go there.”
“Oh, I see.” She wore a long nightgown and lifted it above her feet as she walked. “Then he must be a fun mistake.”
He wasn’t fun, and he wasn’t a mistake. He was just…a good memory. At least, someday he would be. It was a passionate relationship that I would never find again, and I wanted to hold on to it until the flames went out. My heart was locked up tight, so no one could come anywhere near it. Hades would never hurt me because it wasn’t possible. How could a man break your heart if he never had your heart in the first place? “Something like that.”
“I miss being young. Have so many good memories…”
“Yes, you say that a lot.” We made it to the second landing, and I turned to say goodnight. “I’ll see you in the morning. I’ve got to soak my feet in the tub.”
“Alright, honey. Good night.”
The movers placed all the furniture in my new apartment, and I spent the afternoon unpacking everything from the boxes. It was a small one-bedroom apartment, so I had a little kitchen, a four-person dining table, and a couch. It wasn’t as grand as my mother’s mansion, but it still beat living with her.
Esme lifted the dishes out of the box and set them on the counter. “So, should we celebrate with a bottle of wine here or go out?”
“I do have wine here, but there are no hot guys here.”
She chuckled. “That’s a very good point.”
Now that Hades was the regular man in my bed, I wasn’t looking for anyone new. But I knew Esme was hitting guys out of the park. She lived the epic single lifestyle. She didn’t want to be cooped up in my apartment when she had sexy legs to show off. “You wanna go out, then?”
“Only if you pick up a hot guy too.”
“You know, I’m not really looking right now. I’m just focusing on me.” I pulled the blankets out of the box and draped them over the couches. When I didn’t hear the rattle of the dishes anymore, I looked at Esme again.
She gave me a look that clearly said, “You’re full of shit.”
“What?”
“Aren’t looking?” she asked. “People only say that if they’re already seeing someone. Are you seeing someone?”
No, I wasn’t seeing Hades. We just weren’t seeing other people because we were skipping protection. It wasn’t a romantic decision. “No.”
“Then you’re picking up a hot guy.”
“I’m not doing that either.”
“So, you are seeing someone.”
“No…”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Spill it.”
I tossed the blankets aside and joined her in the kitchen. “It’s not how it seems, alright?” I grabbed a couple of plates and placed them in the cabinets over the stove. “I’m hooking up with this guy, but we’re exclusive for the moment.”
“Uh-huh…” She propped one hand on her hip, giving me so much attitude, it was suffocating. “That sounds like a relationship.”
“It’s not,” I said firmly. “We just don’t want to use protection. That’s all.”
“And why wouldn’t you want to use protection if this guy means nothing to you?”
“Come on,” I said as I rolled my eyes. “Don’t make me get into the details. I’m not interested in him romantically. Not at all. He’s not my type.”
“Not your type? You’re sleeping with him, aren’t you?”
“I have needs, obviously. But that’s it. My point is, I can’t pick up any hot guy I see.”
“Then he must be pretty good in bed if you’re willing to swear off all other men temporarily.”
She wouldn’t believe me if I told her. “Yeah…he’s pretty good.”
“Am I gonna meet this guy?”
“No. He’s not gonna meet anyone.”
“So, he feels the same way? About this being casual?”
“Yes.” He didn’t strike me as the boyfriend type. I really knew nothing about him, but I wanted it to stay that way.
She finished putting away the dishes. “Alright, let’s get a drink. Hearing all this talk about good, casual, exclusive sex makes me want it too.”
