Gypsy
He locks the door and places his keys onto the silver plate. He holds her prisoner with his gaze. Insecurity, uncertainty, resignation, and sadness. The long-term dwellers in her eyes. Tired. Pale. And the trace of tears on her face. She looks like someone's abandoned pet. One of his men is planting a tracker on her newest excuse of a car downstairs. He wonders why she's here. A healthy tasty meal prepared by Ella? A decent and much better car? Some help with her job? A makeshift haven for a couple days? A bottle of his shower gel? Or another round of the game they sometimes play? The game that always ends with her running away screaming back to that hairy man with a timid, awkward "Thank you" and a lingering backward glance the very next day?
It was supposed to be a grown-up game. A game of give and take. A game of take it or leave it on the table and walk away. It was perfectly designed and expertly arranged. A night of pleasure. A moment of passion. To quench the thirst. To satisfy the need. To silence the lust. To fill the void and emptiness. No price. No obligation. No strings attached. However, it has somehow become something much deeper than a one-night stand. It's now an affair of the heart, an affair of the soul, and a tangle of trust, betrayal, love, and guilt. And now the stakes are high. Too high to ignore by looking the other way while your heart and soul yell in pain. He sits down beside her and almost smiles. Will he be interested in the answer? Will he start searching for redemption? Will he ever grow tired of the boring loneliness? Will there be a "someday"? Right now he honestly has no idea.
He's a busy man. He lives a regularly dangerous life and walks his own chosen path. He has his needs and desires. He has remorse and regrets. He has goals, directions, destinations, and aims. He's never a wounded, scarred, lost, or desperate man. He knows what he likes and doesn't likes. He follows his own rules and understands his limits. He keeps his distance from impractical longings and impossible dreams. He can be adventurous and wild at times. And he can also be smart and perceptive should the need arise.
He can cope with detours and change of plans. He knows why she is here. He knows why she looks so frustrated and scared. But it's a decision she has to make. It's a choice she has to learn to accept. And there will be no turning back once she takes the first one small step.
"I need to pee." She blinks nervously and finally squeaks before jumping off the couch and scuttling away like a crab.
He hasn't laughed so hard in years.