The Darkness We Hide

That night, Michelle’s dreams were peaceful and serene leaving her feeling relaxed and content. She awoke refreshed but alone, and other than her bed being on the wrong side of the room, there was no trace that anyone had been there. No trace except a men's watch on her nightstand.

Had he left it there on purpose? Picking it up, she studied the face and back of the watch. It wasn’t an expensive piece, but there was an inscription on the back that read, ‘To the love of my life, happy birthday, Caroline.’

‘Love of my life’? Was he married? Michelle unconsciously began to chew her finger nail as she pondered the thought. Married… Had he been wearing a ring? She couldn’t remember.

Maybe it was an unhappy marriage. Maybe he was divorced and just kept the watch out of habit. Maybe, maybe, maybe…

Shaking her head, Michelle dropped the watch back on her nightstand and decided there was nothing she could do about it. If he was married, she would never speak to him again, cheaters were always cheaters no matter what they promised.

Slowly, she hobbled to the bathroom, her ankle sore, but able to bear her weight.

Looking into the mirror she was amazed at the radiant glow coming off of her body. She felt her loins moisten and her knees weaken when she thought of Gareth and his incredible stamina. She took long hot shower, reveling in how great sex can make everything feel sensual.

Drying her hair, she hummed to herself, wondering what she should do on this chilly Saturday morning. With her ankle throbbing, she decided to put off her to-do list and just enjoy the afterglow of good sex.

Michelle curled up on her sofa sipping coffee and looking out on the cold, wet Seattle afternoon, reminiscing about the night before. It wasn’t like this was the first time she’d brought a guy home, but this was the first time she’d woken up alone. How could someone who’d been so nice the whole evening, turn out to be such a jerk?

Such a jerk he was parking his car across the street and heading towards her building she saw in amazement.

Michelle sat bolt upright realizing what she was seeing. Pulling the curtains aside to make sure she wasn’t imagining things. She watched him cross the busy street below, waving thanks to cars that let him by.

No, there was no mistaking his animalistic grace as he walked towards her building, head down against the slushy rain. Michelle pressed her cheek to the glass, ignoring the cold, watching until he disappeared from view under the canvas awning that protected the sidewalk in front of her building.

Holding her breath she counted to five, the average amount of time it took for her buzzer to sound. When she reached ten, Michelle began to think she’d been mistaken, when her buzzer finally sounded.

Rising slowly from her seat, she limped to the intercom.

“Hello,” she said, trying to calm the shaking in her voice.

“Hello,” Gareth replied, his deep voice vibrating through the speaker. “Is this Michelle?”

“Yes, it’s me,” she answered, her breath caught in her chest.

“It’s Gareth,” he explained. “Is there a chance I could come up and we could talk?”

“Uh,” Michelle faltered, not sure it would be a good idea.

“Please,” he replied, “I would really like to talk to you about last night. And,” he added, “I would like to get my watch back.”

“Fine,” Michelle said, resigned, pushing the release for the front door.

While waiting for him to make the three floor trip, she limped to a wall mirror and raked her fingers through her hair. She also managed to dig into her purse for some lip gloss.

It was a piss poor effort, but it was the best she could do before there was a tentative knock on her door.

Taking a deep, steadying breath she opened the door barely able to meet his eyes.

It seemed neither of them really knew what to say, so after a few minutes Michelle hobbled back to the sofa leaving Gareth standing in the open door.