The VIRGIN STRIPPER

65

***** Lisa Michaels *****
To be honest, I had resigned myself into thinking that nothing could really surprise me at this point.

My resignation to such thoughts might have been my worst undoing yet.

I stood at the side of the bed as I looked over my packed suitcase once more. All I had remained were some bathroom utilities and the clothes Essie had washed yesterday.

The door opened with a soft knock and I spoke without looking as I tried to rearrange my jumpers to make room for a pair of shoes and the remaining items.

"Hey Essie, I'm almost done. Where di-"!

"I dismissed her early." Dave said.

What made me stop mid sentence though, wasn't his unexpected presence but his unexpected presence and  the way he was dressed.

He wore a pair of stylish looking tracksuit trousers and a grey v-neck long sleeved t-shirt with two white buttons at the top where the plunge of the v ended.

I was still mad at him for earlier today and his presence didn't help my scattered brain at all.

"She was supposed to help me pack," I said quietly before turning to finish my very unimportant chore.

"Can we talk?"

"We already did."

"Don't be stubborn," he said but it wasn't a scold. Just a statement.

"I didn't complain when you were being an asshole. " I snapped at him but all he did was stand there looking hot like he knew it bothered me.

"I'm sorry," he told me and I rolled my eyes without turning to him.

"It's okay. Just don't go around kissing me if you're  going to regret it and push me away."  Because it hurt!

"I don't regret kissing you."

I scoffed and clicked my tongue before responding.  "And I'm covered in feathers."

"Can we talk like adults? Without you accusing or putting words in my mouth?" His voice was soft, like he had no energy to argue at all and that made me so damn angry that I gripped the top I was folding for the third time so hard my fingers became weak and painful.

Closing my eyes, I took a breathe in and then exhaled slowly before opening my eyes and turning to him.

"Go ahead and talk." I told him quietly as well, waiting for him to say something that would set me off.

"Well, I really don't want you to leave right now, at least not because you are mad at me and thinking that I regret getting physical with you-"

"Don't say physical," I cut him short, " it sounds like we were fucking each other's brains out."

I watched as his shoulders tensed and he swallowed hard before taking a step backwards as if I'd  punched him or thrown cold water on him.

His eyes fell, hands tucked in his pockets as he searched the space in front of his feet visually.

"I don't regret kissing you," he said quietly but without  meeting my eyes, "my place is less lonely with you around and I'm worried about you staying alone at your apartment with no one to watch over you. I know you're responsible for yourself but I'm going on a leap here and admitting that I'm selfish to want you around me for a little bit longer."

"Couldn't disagree even if I wanted to," I mumbled and turned to him. "I don't like this awkward tension between us and I wanted to leave before things got bad between us. It's clear that you are not comfortable with me around and I don't like feeling like crap because you're avoiding your own house just to avoid me."