Tame Me If You Can

Chapter 17

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Chapter 17

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Mother nature decided to visit today.

And she brought uncle cramps with ugly cousin moodiness, who've been whining for a heating blanket and rocky road ice cream all morning.

The black lingerie lays neglected on my bed, offended at my body's timing.

It's not like I have a date today or anything.

Now it's pointless. Why put yourself through such pain without a happy ending?

Dates are overrated, underwhelming, and obligatory rituals we follow just to mask our physical motives. The fact that men need to walk and feed us to earn the justification to get some is just as ridiculous as us requiring to be pampered before we get railed.

So obviously, based on this sound reasoning, I announce the following when Jake calls.

"I'm on my period."

"Uhm...ok." He chuckles. "Good morning to you too."

"No, like...I'm on my period. So we should probably reschedule."

"I'm so confused."

I give him another moment, but he doesn't continue. "We can't fuck."

Silence...

"It's not permanent..." I say.

He sighs. "If you don't feel well, I'll drop off some chocolate, tacos, or In-n-Out and reschedule the date. But if you're fine, I want you outside by 4 p.m."

I blush. "Fine."

"Good girl." He says and hangs up before I'm able to cuss him out.

~

I'm on the floor of my living room next to the floor-length cottage window. It overlooks the great jacaranda tree. A pool of lavender petals swim beneath. The gentle breeze plays with a few of them every once in a while.

My phone rings, and I put down my book to check who's bored enough to remember me.

"Molly?" I wonder what her mother must've done now for her to call me. Memories of our last session and the parking lot meltdown with Jake flood my mind.

I hear sniffles on the other line. "H-hi Mia...sorry to b-bother you. I didn't know who to call."

"What's going on?"

"I-I really need to see you, but my mom refuses to pay and dad's out of town..."

"Girl, don't worry about it. Can you meet me at my office?"

~

It's 3:30 PM and I'm at a park with Molly who didn't have a car to meet me across town.

I ignore the tiny villains in my stomach. "So what's going on?"

She sighs and collects herself. "Nick and I got into a fight."

"How come? I thought you guys were getting along so well."

"We were," she whines softly. "It was so perfect at first. But lately, I feel like he's been asking for too much. He doesn't understand me. And I just— like today, my mom got me this gift—"

"Your mom got you a gift?" I blurt and cover my mouth. "Sorry, continue."

She smiles. "I know, I was surprised too. So, I was like 'oh my God, maybe she's changing.' Boy, was I wrong. You know what she got me? She got me a mug set that said 'designated listener' and 'designated speaker'. She said the second one was for her and laughed about it."