Chapter 7 Leave

• A headache woke me up, followed by the sound of running water. I pressed a pillow to my face, begging the sound to stop.
• Who was in my bathroom?
• Becca and Fumi, as crazy as they were, knew better than to walk into my room when I was asleep. My hand reached for the phone that should be on the nightstand but connected with something else.
• I pulled the pillow down. There was a glass of water and some pills on the stool. A stool? I didn’t have a stool by my bed. I sat up.
• Where the hell was I?
• The ache between my legs brought back some memories. I hid my face in my palms and groaned. I slept with a stranger.
• A stranger fucked me, and I loved it. I… I wanted more. I craved him like a drug.
• God. I banged the side of my head as the other memories trickled in. That bastard, Ian. Waylen made so good on his promise, though. I was done with Ian. The objects in my vision danced. But I managed to get the water and pills into my mouth without letting the glass drop.
• The water stopped running, but no one stepped out. To avoid that awkwardness I had only felt from listening to Becca’s one-night stand experiences, I tiptoed out of bed in search of my dress.
• Where was it?
• Clothes were strewn all over the floor, primarily that of a male. I found my dress but didn’t find my panties. Oh well. Shrugging the dress on, I winced when I staggered to a stop in front of the mirror. There were hickeys all over my neck and back. I faintly remembered being woken up by Waylen at night so he could fuck me from behind. My cheeks heated at the memory.
• What was I thinking? Simple. I wasn’t.
• If I were, I wouldn’t have let a stranger fuck me without protection. I wasn’t on the pill. I never had a need for it because we weren’t having sex.
• I put my hair into a bun, but a few tendrils escaped down my neck. Oh well, it will have to do for now. Grabbing my purse, I was almost out the door when the bathroom door opened. My bag dropped to the floor, and I kicked it away.
• Waylen had a towel wrapped around his waist, but that didn’t stop my mind from conjuring dirty images of him and his cock.
• “Hey, Beth.”
• “Hi.” I waved. “Hi, Waylen.”
• Waylen strutted to his closet and yanked his towel off. I gasped. I was not expecting to see a fine butt. Hearing my gasp, he turned, and another shocked gasp escaped my lips.
• How did that giant thing fit into me? He followed my gaze to his cock and smirked.
• I took an automatic step back. I should leave now before this became more awkward, but my feet glued to the carpet, my hands refused to move, and my mouth shut tight. Waylen ignored me while he dressed. I should get out of here, but I hadn’t regained control of my limbs. He turned when his phone rang. When he brushed past me to get to the bed we had spent most of last night and this morning fucking, I flushed.
• Waylen caught my eyes and winked. He might think I was waiting for him, but it was the opposite. I was stuck. My feet had decided against moving. He picked up the call and laughed after seeing the caller’s name. The man was always laughing.
• Something the person said must have turned him off because the lights in his eyes vanished. He stood straighter like he wasn’t already inches taller than me. I grabbed my bag. My heels were nowhere to be found. Where did I drop them? I crouched by the bed to search for one of my favorite pairs when Waylen stormed toward me. He yanked me up by my arm and dragged me to the door leading to his living room.
• “Leave.”
• What?
• What the hell? I tried to speak, but he returned to his room and removed his wallet from a drawer.
• “You want money, yes?”
• “How dare you?”
• “Money it is,” he replied.
• Shock etched on my face. The comebacks I could think of vanished as he pulled out five hundred-dollar bills and threw them at my feet.
• “There. Get out.”
• “Are you insane?” I thundered. “You think I’m a call girl?” He folded his arms on his chest and lifted one eyebrow. This… this animal. I stopped myself from lashing out at him. I was right all along. All men were scum. “I’ll just get my shoes and leave.”
• I walked over the money at my feet as I re-entered his room. But Waylen held out a finger to stop me. The shoes had to be somewhere. That was the only thought raging in my mind as I tried to check under the bed. Again, Waylen yanked me up.
• “I said leave. Are you deaf?”
• “What the fuck is your problem?” I pushed him once, but he didn’t budge. Damn him and his thick body. “What? You bring me up here to fuck all night and treat me like shit the next day?”
• “I promised you a good night, and now you have it.” He pointed at the door, his breath leaving his lips in short, angry pants. “Now, get out.”
• “As soon as I get my shoes, I’ll leave,” I gritted.
• He stormed to his wallet and rained more money on me. “That’s enough to cover your shoes. Leave before I ask security to throw you out.”
• I squatted to pick up some bills on the floor, slapping them across his face. “You and your money can go to hell. Knowing I was coming here for so much disappointment, I wouldn’t have wasted my night. You can’t even fuck a woman. All you do is talk and talk. Loser.”
• Shoving my hands into my bag, I sprayed the available one-dollar bills on him. “Here, use this to get you some Viagra, subscribe to a porn site, or something, so the next woman who comes isn’t as disappointed as me. Okay, Mister ten seconds man?”
• “What did you say?” he whispered.
• A storm gathered in his eyes. I stormed out of his room barefoot without giving him a chance to kick me out. What was I thinking when I agreed to fuck a stranger? Stupid me even gave him ten dollars. I should have taken the money. I looked back once, almost tempted to charge into the room like a bulldog and give him a piece of my mind. But I pushed forward, far away from the foolish man.
• He was stronger and bigger. He could easily overpower me and do worse. Why did he have to be so good in bed? With such a sweet voice, it had been difficult to resist him.
• Cold traveled up my legs when I arrived at the last floor. I was sore, my thighs hurt, a headache was building, and I was famished. Even worse, I couldn’t go outside without footwear. I strolled to the man at the entrance. He was on a call, so I waited for him to end it. When he did, he smiled at me.
• “Looks like you need some shoes,” he said.
• Heat crept up my neck. The ground might as well open up and swallow me. “Yes. Yes, please.”
• “Wait here.”
• He directed me to a chair behind an empty counter. I waited for about twenty minutes before he returned with a pair of flip-flops.
• “I’m so sorry for the inconvenience,” I said, slipping my feet into them. They were a size too big, but they fit. “How much did this cost?”
• “On the house.” Stepping away from me, the tall gentleman offered another smile. “Have a good day.”
• Frowning, I exited the building. I was in the backseat of a cab when my phone rang. A groan shot out of my lips when Mom’s name flashed on the screen. I wasn’t interested in another one of our family gatherings she might be calling for me to attend. Those things were pretentious and always made me sick. I would have to fake smiles at my stepmother or pretend to like my father. I didn’t hate him; he was a waste of such emotion, but I didn’t exactly love him either. That was his punishment for cheating on my mother. I didn’t care for his reason.
• “Elizabeth,” she greeted. She was the only one who called me by my full name. “How are you?”
• “Fine.” My head rested on the car seat, and a sigh slipped out of my parted lips. I couldn’t tell her or my best friends how I spent Friday night. They would laugh at me. It was my job to set those two on the right track, not theirs. “How are you, Mom? Been a while.”
• “It wouldn’t if you called to check on me more often.” My eye roll was automatic. I paid for the cab and left when we arrived at my building. Lodging my phone between my shoulder and ear, I punched the number of my floor into the wall panel. The elevator opened, and I stepped in. “It would be nice if you came to visit your mother.”
• “Work, Mom. I’m quite busy.”
• “Not too busy for Uncle Jon’s sixtieth birthday, right? He will be holding a party at the Conrad Hotel.” I placed a hand over my forehead. I knew she had a reason for calling. “You must come. They miss you. The whole family misses you.”
• No, they didn’t. And why was she acting like we didn’t see each other last week? I made it a routine to visit at least twice a month, thrice if I could. The only people who could be missing me were Uncle Jon and his wife. The others could rot in hell. I hadn’t seen Uncle Jon in a while. It was hard to be nice to the man related to my asshole of a father.
• “I’ve got work, Mom.”
• The elevator jerked and began its ascent to my floor. I wanted this conversation over, and it had barely started.
• “It’s a Saturday. Who works on a Saturday?”
• “I do. Myself and a couple of others.”
• “You need to let your boss know that—”
• “I’ll go,” I cut in to end the argument.
• “That’s my girl. Thank you, Elizabeth. Please don’t get into a fight with your father. Behave.” As if.
• After blowing her a goodbye kiss, I ended the call and walked out of the elevator. If she had so quickly forgotten how she begged him to stay married to her because she didn’t want the scandal of being divorced, I had not. She was willing to let him keep his mistress as long as he was low-key about it. Not me. I would have torn both of them down.
• Those thoughts took a backseat in my mind as I got into my apartment. I curled on my couch, too lazy to make the short walk to my room. The events of last night played over again until realization hit me. Shit.
• I shot off the couch.
• I forgot to get the after-morning pill. I couldn’t get pregnant with that fucker’s baby. He was worse than Ian, and I lost my virginity to him. After a quick bath and breakfast, I rushed out. Starting today, I would stay away from men.