nothing
wrong.”
“He would hate me even more if he knew what I
was doing now.”
“What’s wrong with it? You’re helping people.
You’re definitely making my life easier.”
“When I tell people what I do, they still
assume I’m a prostitute.”
“Then correct them. Because you aren’t.”
She leaned against me and fell silent. Her
hand rested near my thigh, and her fingers grazed my jeans. Her
deep breathing slowly decreased until she was calm.
I knew better than anyone what it was like to
be ridiculed for doing something society didn’t tolerate. It was a
pain in the ass, and people needed to get off their high horses and
mind their own business. We lived in a sexist world and it wasn’t
fair.
She finally sat up and left my shoulder.
“Thanks…I needed that.”
“Anytime.” It was pretty lame to make her
feel bad about something she had little control over. What else was
she supposed to do? Be poor for the rest of her life and have bad
credit like I did? She made the right decision.
“Well, it’s midnight. I guess I should
go…”
I didn’t want her to go. It was nice hanging
out with her. I felt like I had a new friend—a really hot one. “Let
me walk you home.”
“You can walk me to the office.”
“But then you’re just going to walk home when
I leave.”
“Exactly,” she said. “Which is why you should
just leave me on my own.”
I wasn’t the nicest guy in the world but I
knew better than to let a beautiful woman walk home alone in New
York City at midnight. “That doesn’t sit right with me. I can’t let
you go dressed like that. There are murderers and rapists out
there. No one will look at you twice if I’m next to you.”
“Thanks for offering, but I’ll really be
fine.”
The stubborn man inside me was coming out.
“Look, I swear I’m not a stalker. I’m going to walk you home, right
up to your door and watch your beautiful ass walk inside, and then
I’m going to go.”
Her eyes burned in fire. “Excuse me?”
“If I really was some kind of weirdo, keep in
mind that you’ve been in my apartment alone with me…” I looked at
my watch. “For three hours now. If I were going to do something
creepy, I would have done it by now. And have you seen me? A guy
this good-looking doesn’t need to resort to weird shit to get laid.
So, just chill out and let me walk you.”
“Why are you being so stubborn about
this?”
For a lot of reasons. “I’ve seen shit. Just
leave it at that.”
“What kind of shit?”
“Stuff that will make you afraid of the
dark.” I’d invaded cities and villages during my tour, and the
things I’d seen there made me proud to be an American. Women were
second-class citizens and raped on a daily basis. They were held
on…I couldn’t even finish the thought. “Just trust me when I say
you don’t want to know. I know you feel safe in your city but you
are much safer with me than you are alone.”
She stared at me with calculating eyes.
“At least compromise with me. Let me walk you
to your building. I won’t go inside so I won’t know what apartment
you’re in. That’s fair.”
“You could just read the list of names on the
intercom outside.”
I rolled my eyes. “Seriously, why are you
paranoid like this?”
Her eyes filled with sadness. “Because I
don’t trust people. I’m sorry. You seem like a really good guy and
I’m sure you are. But I’ve been wrong before…”
What did that mean? “Did someone hurt
you?”
She lowered her gaze. “I don’t want to talk
about it.”
That was as good as a yes . “I give you
my word I would never, ever hurt you. I have nothing but respect
for you. I won’t be able to sleep tonight unless I know you got
there safely. I would ask you to call me but I know you won’t give
me your number. And if you don’t call me, I’ll have no way of
making sure you’re okay.”
“Just let it go.”
“No!” I rose to my feet and felt my anger
rise. “Alessandra, do
wrong.”
“He would hate me even more if he knew what I
was doing now.”
“What’s wrong with it? You’re helping people.
You’re definitely making my life easier.”
“When I tell people what I do, they still
assume I’m a prostitute.”
“Then correct them. Because you aren’t.”
She leaned against me and fell silent. Her
hand rested near my thigh, and her fingers grazed my jeans. Her
deep breathing slowly decreased until she was calm.
I knew better than anyone what it was like to
be ridiculed for doing something society didn’t tolerate. It was a
pain in the ass, and people needed to get off their high horses and
mind their own business. We lived in a sexist world and it wasn’t
fair.
She finally sat up and left my shoulder.
“Thanks…I needed that.”
“Anytime.” It was pretty lame to make her
feel bad about something she had little control over. What else was
she supposed to do? Be poor for the rest of her life and have bad
credit like I did? She made the right decision.
“Well, it’s midnight. I guess I should
go…”
I didn’t want her to go. It was nice hanging
out with her. I felt like I had a new friend—a really hot one. “Let
me walk you home.”
“You can walk me to the office.”
“But then you’re just going to walk home when
I leave.”
“Exactly,” she said. “Which is why you should
just leave me on my own.”
I wasn’t the nicest guy in the world but I
knew better than to let a beautiful woman walk home alone in New
York City at midnight. “That doesn’t sit right with me. I can’t let
you go dressed like that. There are murderers and rapists out
there. No one will look at you twice if I’m next to you.”
“Thanks for offering, but I’ll really be
fine.”
The stubborn man inside me was coming out.
“Look, I swear I’m not a stalker. I’m going to walk you home, right
up to your door and watch your beautiful ass walk inside, and then
I’m going to go.”
Her eyes burned in fire. “Excuse me?”
“If I really was some kind of weirdo, keep in
mind that you’ve been in my apartment alone with me…” I looked at
my watch. “For three hours now. If I were going to do something
creepy, I would have done it by now. And have you seen me? A guy
this good-looking doesn’t need to resort to weird shit to get laid.
So, just chill out and let me walk you.”
“Why are you being so stubborn about
this?”
For a lot of reasons. “I’ve seen shit. Just
leave it at that.”
“What kind of shit?”
“Stuff that will make you afraid of the
dark.” I’d invaded cities and villages during my tour, and the
things I’d seen there made me proud to be an American. Women were
second-class citizens and raped on a daily basis. They were held
on…I couldn’t even finish the thought. “Just trust me when I say
you don’t want to know. I know you feel safe in your city but you
are much safer with me than you are alone.”
She stared at me with calculating eyes.
“At least compromise with me. Let me walk you
to your building. I won’t go inside so I won’t know what apartment
you’re in. That’s fair.”
“You could just read the list of names on the
intercom outside.”
I rolled my eyes. “Seriously, why are you
paranoid like this?”
Her eyes filled with sadness. “Because I
don’t trust people. I’m sorry. You seem like a really good guy and
I’m sure you are. But I’ve been wrong before…”
What did that mean? “Did someone hurt
you?”
She lowered her gaze. “I don’t want to talk
about it.”
That was as good as a yes . “I give you
my word I would never, ever hurt you. I have nothing but respect
for you. I won’t be able to sleep tonight unless I know you got
there safely. I would ask you to call me but I know you won’t give
me your number. And if you don’t call me, I’ll have no way of
making sure you’re okay.”
“Just let it go.”
“No!” I rose to my feet and felt my anger
rise. “Alessandra, do
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