Protect Me Not

Chapter 16

Mary extended her arms out to her sides for a long needed stretch like she did most mornings. The bedroom drapes were drawn keeping her suite rather dark. Mary could tell the morning had arrived based on the glow around the outer rim of the curtains. Anticipating a nice long jog for the morning, she pre planned a jogging route through the park adjacent to the hotel. After that, she would come back to the hotel suite to shower and make lunch reservations. She thought about inviting Camden for another lunch filled with food, drink, laughter and storytelling. Although the last story Camden told Mary about was heart wrenching and rather tragic, she was hoping there were a few feel good stories to be told. Listening to him speak about his life helped Mary understand hers a little more. Getting past the abuse and moving on with Victor can't be the whole picture. Is life really all about work and marriage? Why did she always feel so incomplete? How was Richard successful in taking a piece of Mary and leaving her feeling so hollow? Without opening her eyes, she rolled over and felt a warm body next to her. Opening her eyes, she let out a scream.

"What! What! What's wrong?" Camden replied.
"What's wrong is that you are in my bed," she responded.

"We must have fallen asleep last night," Camden offered the most reasonable explanation he could think of.

"Fell asleep, yes that's what probably happened," she agreed. "You don't think we...um..."

"No! I'm pretty sure about that," Camden replied.

"I'm married, this should have never happened," Mary said still thinking more than an innocent sleep over occurred.

"It's okay Mary," Camden assured her. "Nothing happened last night other than two friends forging a lasting friendship."

Mary convinced herself that Camden was telling the truth. After all, they both drank a bit and partook in smoking a joint together; something Mary had only done once before in her life. Mary playfully peeked under the sheets as if to tease Camden but to her surprise, he was stark naked.

"You had a towel on last night. Why do you not have the towel on anymore," Mary asked while increasingly becoming more paranoid again.

Camden started to laugh. Amused by her innocent thinking, he gave the best explanation he could.

"I think you're looking for an excuse to convince yourself, and maybe me, that we had sex last night," he suggested. "Would it have been all that bad?

"No I'm not! I'm merely making a blatant observation," Mary snapped.

"Relax doll. It must have slipped off while I was sleeping. I'm not sure how you sleep on a regular but I have a tendency to move around a lot in my sleep," Camden explained.

"Right, of course," Mary giggled. "I'm not thinking clearly. It's not every day I wake up to find a naked man in my bed, who is not my husband I might add." Mary purposely ignored his questionable attempt at fishing around for sexual relations approval.

"Don't be making this a habit then young lady," Camden teased.

Mary slid out of the bed careful not to expose anymore of what she already had and jetted off into the bathroom. Closing the door behind her, Mary secretly enjoyed Camden's piercing eyes on her backside. It seemed like a lifetime ago when men would gawk at her innocent beauty, only she could never flirt back with the admiring men because Richard would surely offer a few choice remarks. It was always Mary's fault if another man looked at her. Richard's controlling mannerisms and condescending interpretations of the other men's glances would almost always end up in a heated argument. Richard would then go on to raping Mary just to teach her a lesson as to what the glances from other men really meant inside their sick heads.