“Oops, sorry about that.”
I giggled at Crystal. “Thank God, it’s a young crowd out there right now. I’m afraid the morning crew may have been appalled.”
“Well, you never know,” Crystal gave me a sideways smile. “You might be surprised.” Then she leaned forward. “Now, give me some more of the juicy details.”
“Crystal… you’re so naughty,” I giggled.
“Whatever… So, you’re saying the sexual chemistry isn’t an issue at all? That’s a good thing. Look, even if you just have a fling with this guy, what’s the worst that could happen? Both of you are single, right? You’ve already had mind-blowing sex. Stop putting up so many walls and just go for it already. I don’t see the problem here.”
I laughed a little bit and thought about what she was saying. Except I knew that I wasn’t a ‘fling’ kind of person. I wanted a relationship, a long-term commitment with someone that I could see getting married to one day. Even if Richard hadn’t come into my life, finding a fling wouldn’t be that hard to do. Not with the type of men I’d seen on the dating apps, at least, or at the local bars.
“I’m not looking for a fling, though, Crystal.” Both of us chuckled. “Richard just reminds me of some of the guys I’ve dated before.”
“Remember, Tom, that guy you met online?”
I rolled my eyes, remembering how much of a jerk he was. Just like Richard, he seemed like a great guy at first. He started and helped run an organic coffee business, loved to travel overseas, and was highly intelligent. He was also sleeping with about a dozen other women when we were dating.
“How could I forget. I caught Tom making out with another woman at the local bookstore. He dared to say she was just a coworker as if it was okay to be kissing someone while on the clock.”
Crystal wrinkled her nose and put her feet up on the desk, pointing at me. “Tom wasn’t as bad as Martin, though.”
Martin was on the creepier side. After getting out of prison and turning his life around, he worked alongside his father running a national chain of restaurants. He had spent time in jail for tax evasion, and I believed him when he said that he was a changed man.
“I’ll never forget the day I woke up, found that he wasn’t in bed next to me, and I was also missing my wallet.”
Crystal laughed loudly. “At least you got all of those charges dropped from your credit cards, though. What an asshole.”
I let out a sigh and nodded. “Karma will catch up to those men. But see, that’s what I’m talking about Crystal. These guys, like Richard, they’re all the same. They’re never satisfied with what they have. Take a look at Martin. Why would he risk going back to prison after being given a second chance? They live on adrenaline. It’s only a matter of time before Richard stops getting that rush with me.”
I laid my head on my desk, not wanting her to see the tears forming in my eyes. Crystal’s chair scooted against the floor when she got up and walked behind me, placing her hands on my shoulders. “Believe it or not, there are good men in the world. Some men don’t want to sleep with a dozen women at a time or evade paying taxes and commit credit card fraud. You just have to look for them, and there’s a chance that Richard is one of those men.”
I looked up at her and smiled. “That was cheesy. Inspirational, but cheesy.”
I rested my head on her shoulder.
“That’s what I’m here for,” she said. “From everything you’ve told me about him, he seems pretty normal. I don’t think you have anything to worry about with Richard. Well, unless he has some weird fetish, like watching a woman juggle Jell-O in her toes or something.”
I pulled my head away and looked up at her, my mouth wide open. “Gross! Why would you put that image in my mind, Crystal?”
I couldn’t help but picture women’s feet, juggling green Jell-O while Richard watched. I hoped he wasn’t into anything weird like that.
“I’m just saying Annie,” she said. “There are some weird-ass people in the world. You know how guys can be. But I don’t think you should worry. If he’s into anything remotely weird, it’s probably something like BDSM.”
I held up my hands and shook my head.
“Oh hell no, Crystal. I just want a normal guy. Why is that so hard to find? You’re probably right, too!”
She burst out laughing and sat back down in her chair. “Relax, Annie. I’m sure he’s not into that stuff. Anyway, you owe it to yourself to at least go out on one date. You’ve already slept with the guy. What could go wrong?”
I leaned back in my chair and looked at her, processing what she had said. She made a valid point. One date wouldn’t be so bad. We could meet for coffee or get a light dinner, nothing too serious that would cause us to end up in bed together again. I wanted to take things slow, also.
“He’s been a lifelong bachelor, too. If he doesn’t try to sleep with me on the first date, that’d be a good sign, right?”
Crystal nodded with a big smile on her face. “That would be an excellent sign.”
“Alright, I’ll do it. I’ll go out with Richard, but just for you.”
Crystal stood up and left our office, giving me some privacy to call him.
