Page 33 of Mending Me
“Dale being a pain in the ass?” I laughed as she threw her bag down on the counter and kicked off her heels.
“He’s always a pain in the ass. But I pay him to be a pain in the ass, so it’s fine.” Ophelia was the head of a marketing firm and Dale was her second in command. She complained about him constantly, but deep down, I knew she appreciated everything he did for her.
My eyes went back to my computer, still searching for something to apply to so I could stop jumping from one sidehustle to another, as Ophelia started to make her lunch in the kitchen. Our condo was split in the center with an open kitchen that looked out over the living room with our bedrooms on either side of it. It was the perfect size for the two of us, even though she hadn’t bought it with me living with her in mind. After I was attacked, I quit my job, too ashamed to go and work where it happened, and she offered to have me move in with her while I got back on my feet.
Two years later, I was still here trying to figure my shit out.
Walking over with her lunch, she sat on the couch behind me and looked at my computer screen. “Job hunting?”
“Yeah, I’m tired of working all these odd jobs and planning birthday parties. I want something stable and something that will help me get out of your hair,” I sighed.
“B, I wish you would stop saying that. You know you’re not in my hair. I love having you here.” She nudged me with her foot and I turned to look at her.
“All the same. I still need to find something that pays me more than what I’m making, which is almost less than nothing.” My current employment included picking up odd event planning jobs around the city. I’d been lucky and hosted events at my old job for some of the city's most prestigious families. After I left, a few of them had tracked me down and asked if I would organize private parties in their homes. The idea of starting my own event planning business had crossed my mind, but I didn’t currently have the money to make it happen. Hence, the job search.
“I know how much you’ve considered starting your own business. Why don’t you just let me loan you the money?”
“No way, Ophie, I’m not letting you do that.” I had shared my entrepreneurial dream with her in the past and she instantly offered to front me the money to get it off the ground. I’d already taken so much from her, though, that the thought of taking anything more was too much.
“I don’t know why you have to be so stubborn. You were the best of the best at your old gig, you would smash if you went out on your own.”
“Can we please drop this? I’m not taking your money, period.”
“Fine, fine. If you don’t wanna talk about job stuff, we can talk about the hot soldier who you snuck into your bed last night.” A devilish grin spread across her face as she brought him up. I felt my cheeks warm as the memories of last night flooded my brain. “Oooohhhh she’s blushing! Must have been a good night then.”
I rolled my eyes and pushed myself off the floor to sit on the other side of the couch. She placed her lunch plate on the coffee table and turned towards me, giving me her full attention.
“It wasn’t like that, Ophie. We didn’t do anything.” I shook my head at her as she gave me a disappointed look.
“Why the hell not? Could he not get it up?”
“Oh, he could get it up.” I licked my lips remembering how hard he’d felt on top of me.
“So what’s the issue? You’re hot as fuck, any man would be lucky to be with you.” I looked at my friend and took a breath before speaking.
“It was me. I kinda…got spooked.” My eyes fell to my hands which were in my lap. I don’t know why I felt embarrassed to share this with her, she was my best friend. Maybe it was because she never had any issue getting men to do exactly what she wanted them to do and was never shy about her sexuality.
“Did he hurt you? Did he try and do something you didn’t want to do?” The tone of her voice was cut with a fierce protectiveness.
“No, not at all.” I waved my hands in front of her, trying to calm her down. “It was me, I just…panicked for a second. He came over because he wanted to see me and then we startedto, ya know. And I was into it until my brain jumped to what happened to me two years ago for a split second and I panicked. I tried to move past it, pretend like it didn’t happen, but he saw it…” I trailed off.
“And then what happened?”
“Well, I tried to keep going but he told me no. He said that we didn’t have to go any further than I wanted. He told me that he wanted me to know that I could trust him and that I was safe with him. So he helped me get dressed and we fell asleep. I hadn’t meant for him to stay the night, that was a total accident.”
“Girl, you know I don’t care who stays the night here.” When I caught the sly grin that had spread across her face I rolled my eyes at her for the third time.
“There’s something else…” I started, unsure if I should tell her what I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about.
“Oh no, please don’t tell me he has a tiny penis.”
“Ophelia, no. Stop, I’m being serious here,” I nearly whined.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Continue.”
“Well last night, when he had his shirt off, I could feel what felt like giant scars on his back. I didn’t see them because it was dark, but they were long and pronounced. And it wasn’t just one, there had to have been at least fifteen or twenty of them.” When I felt them last night, I wasn’t sure what to make of them. He hadn’t given me long to examine them before he flipped himself over and pulled me on top of him. When he had, I took it as his way of telling me not to ask any questions.
Ophelia let out a long breath before speaking. “Damn, did you ask him about them?”
