Chapter 5

He thought he'd cruise the bars for a woman, since he had the car, but his heart wasn't in it. He picked up some beer and a couple of McDonald's burgers. Then he returned home and stretched out on the sofa with his feast.

He was dozing, when he was jarred awake by the ringing telephone. He stumbled to the table by the stairs where the phone sat and picked it up.

"What?" he said, in a sleep-slurred voice.

"Greg. Thank God, it's you." Bob said. "Can you pick me up?"

"What? Who… Bob, that you?"

"Yes. Come and pick me up."

"Where the hell are you?"

"Little Italy."

"What…"

"Just come and get me." She gave him the address. He told her he'd be there.

After splashing some water on his face to wake himself up, he put on his sneakers, grabbed her keys and was on his way.

He found her sitting on a bench outside of an Italian restaurant in the Little Italy section of Baltimore. When she saw him pull up, she jumped up and ran into the car. He looked at her and started to speak, but she just shook her head.

"Just drive. I just want to get home. We can talk then."

So he did. It was only a few minutes drive anyway. Once they were inside, she sat on the sofa and closed her eyes. He watched her for a moment, then went into the kitchen and returned a minute later with two beers. He handed her one and she took it. She didn't drink, she just held it in her hands like a security blanket.

He sat beside her. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

She sighed and nodded. "I guess so."

She told him the events that had transpired.

It had really started out quite nicely. Jack had picked her up and they went to an upscale, but casual restaurant. They ate, they talked, they laughed. Bob really enjoyed herself. It felt wonderful to have a man so interested in her. Not like Greg, who was just her pal, but a man interested in her as a woman. A few times he put his hand on top of hers or gazed into her eyes.

He made her feel like she was beautiful and desirable.

When they finished dinner, they decided to take a walk. He held her hand as they strolled. They talked and laughed some more.

Finally, he said to her, "It's getting a little chilly out here. Why don't we continue this over a glass of wine at my place?"

"Sure."

She was surprised to find that he had an apartment in Little Italy. Most of the students liked to stay closer to the college, but some people did live there. The building wasn't the nicest she had seen, but that was okay. Unfortunately the apartment wasn't too much better. Still, he was a student. Most of them didn't have too much money and lived wherever they could afford.

She sat on the sofa while he poured wine for both of them. She took a few sips of hers, then he took the glass from her hand and put it on the side table. He reached over and kissed her. She responded. It was nice to kiss him.

She was thinking about whether she would move to the next step with him. Despite her bragging to House, they hadn't done much more the night before than kissing and some groping. She wasn't sure what base that was, but didn't think it was much past first.

She thought about whether she would try for the grand slam home run tonight.

While she was thinking about it, he went past the thinking stage. He started grabbing her breasts and unbuttoning her blouse. She tried to pull back a bit, but he kept at it.

"Wait, Jack, just wait a minute!"

"What? What's the matter? I thought you wanted this."

"I did. I do. Just, can we take our time about it?"

He sat back and looked at her. "How much time do you need to be ready to have sex?"

She stared at him. "What?"

"You heard me. How much time do you need before you're ready for sex? Come on, Roberta, you know why we're here."

"I do?"

"Sure. You want a man to make you think you're skinny and beautiful and I want to get laid. We can play games for another hour or two or we can just get down to it."

She sat in shock, unable to believe he was saying this.

"I'm playing my part." He told her. "I've treated you all night like you're a beauty queen. Do you want me to say it? Okay, here goes. Roberta, you're so beautiful. I want you so much. Can I please make love to you?"

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was hurt, she wanted to cry. She thought this guy was special. Then she got angry.

"You fucking asshole! Do you think I'm some kind of desperate tramp that will put up with a dickhead like you just to have sex? "

"Nice language, sweetheart. You're not going to get Prince Charming that way."

"If I was looking for Prince Charming, I'd definitely be in the wrong place." She stood up, buttoned up her blouse and reached for her jacket.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Home."

"No fucking way! I wasted last night on you when I could have gotten laid and I spent a wad on dinner. I'm getting laid tonight, whether you like it or not."

He grabbed her arm and threw her back on the sofa. He started to tear at her clothes. She tried to fight him off, but he kept at it. Using his legs, he pushed hers apart and started to reach for her pants to pull them down.

Unfortunately, he didn't know how strong she was and that her cousins had taught her how to fight. The first thing she did, was pull up her knee and aim it for his groin. It was a bullseye. Then she rolled up her fist and socked him in the eye.

While he was writhing on the floor, she pulled her blouse together and picked up her jacket. She put it on and left the apartment. Once she was outside, she started walking as fast as she could to get away from his building.

After she had walked several blocks, she looked around for street signs to see where she was. Then she found the nearest pay phone and pulled a dime out of her jacket pocket and called House.

"And here I am." She told him finally. "The fat girl. Still a virgin and likely to remain one."

He took a deep breath. "Do you want to hear the truth? All of it?"

"Why not?"

"Men are stupid, shallow pigs."

"I knew that."

"No, you didn't. Cause you thought old Jack wasn't like them. That he saw through to your soul after talking to you for five minutes. It doesn't work that way. Men want beautiful women. They want to sleep with them, they want to be seen with them. They don't care if they have a single brain cell. Men think with their dicks."

"So I'm destined to be fat and alone?"

"I didn't say that. Men think with their dicks when they meet women. So a guy who meets you isn't going to want to sleep with you."

"Gee thanks. You've been so helpful."

"You said you wanted the truth. Shut up and listen. Men are going to be swept away by a beautiful woman and want to be with her right away. For a woman like you, a guy would have to get to know you. To find out that you're a smart, funny, terrific person."

"I am?"

"You know you are. But you need to be wary of any guy that tells you everything you want to hear as soon as you meet him. He's probably bullshitting you to get into your pants."

"I guess I know that. I told you that. But does that mean I shouldn't trust any guys?"

"No, you can trust them – after you've gotten to know them and they've gotten to know you."

"I just feel like such a loser. My first almost sexual experience was a disaster."

"Most people didn't have great ones."

"Did you?"

He shrugged. "Okay. Not monumental."

She was silent for a few moments, staring at her hands in her lap. Then she looked at him, meeting his blue eyes with her hazel eyes. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Would you sleep with me?"

He choked on his beer. "What???"

"I don't want my first sexual experience to be with some jerk like Jack that is just using me. And I don't know how long it will be until I find someone who will take the time to get to know me like you said. So if you do it, I know my first will be a good experience."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because, because…" he sputtered, trying to find the words. "We're friends. It would be weird. I'd feel like I was banging one of my buddies."

She looked at him and said. "The truth is that you're just not attracted to me."

He averted his gaze, then sighed and said, "Yeah, well, in a way that's a good thing."

"It is?"

"Sure. If I found you attractive, I would never have become friends with you."

"You wouldn't?"

"No, I would have been too busy trying to bang you. Then once I'd done that, I would have moved on. But we wouldn't be friends like we are now."

"First of all, how do you know you would have banged me?"

He just gave her a look. She smiled, well aware of the way he was with women. "Okay, so maybe you would have. But maybe you would have fallen in love with me and we would still be together."

"Doubtful."

"A few minutes ago, you told me I'm a great person! That guys will fall in love with me when they get to know me."

"They will. But that's because they won't be attracted to you at first."

"That makes no sense at all! Either I'm attractive to men and they want to sleep with me, but won't love me or I'm not, but eventually men will love me? That's ridiculous."

"I know. But it is what it is."

"So you don't find me attractive enough to sleep with me?"

He shrugged. "Men are pigs."

"Stupid shallow pigs."

He nodded.

"It sucks."

"Big time, babe."

She sat back on the sofa, realizing that he would never feel for her what she felt for him. But he was there for her as her friend. She didn't know if that was better or not, but she definitely did not want to lose his friendship.