Don't Get Caught

Chapter 6 - Ariel

Danny and I kept up our arrangement for a few months. The sex was great, and I did my best to keep my emotional distance from him. It was hard because I could see there was something bothering him - the way he often looked right through me - and I cared about him in a strange way. As much as one can care about someone they don't know.

Pretending not to care was eating me up. But I had to stick to my end of the bargain. He was sticking to his - being just as attentive the morning after as the night before. I hoped that whatever was going on with him, he had friends and family supporting him and that I was simply a distraction rather than a lifeline.

I agonised over it endlessly with Leah and Hasmita. They both concurred that Danny was bad for me. And I knew they were right. But I couldn't extract myself from him. I was addicted. Sometimes the sex was slow and gentle, other times rough and angry. It was impossible to know what I was going to get, but I loved both. His large house had plenty of places to get it on and we spent a lot of time there with very few clothes on.

My plan to investigate him met many a dead end. But there was a part of me that didn't want to find out. If I uncovered something bad, I would have to act on it. I couldn't deny I loved the intrigue.

It wasn't sustainable though, and when it transpired that Alex hadn't been lying about his relationship - he really was breaking up with his fiancée - I opened up to the idea of exploring something with him. I'd have to give up high heels, but I wasn't especially upset about that. My feet would be thankful, too.

Guess who's single again? his opening text to me one Sunday lunchtime.

I was at my parents (or, what I liked to think of as, my) house preparing to get stuck in to a Sunday roast. The dining table was filled with bowls of steaming veg, a large pot of gravy and a stack of Yorkshire puddings; all waiting to be added to our plates of carved roast beef. It was too hot outside for a roast dinner but mum insisted on the tradition.

"Take your phone off the dining table," my dad scolded, as the vibration interrupted his steady stream of consciousness.

I picked up my phone, moving it to my pocket slowly to give myself enough time to type a response. Brad Pitt?

It's Alex ...

I know

"Ariel. At least wait until after we've eaten," my dad chastised once more. He loaded potatoes onto his plate.

I looked at Alex's final response (Dinner at the weekend?) before slipping it into the pocket of my jeans.

"Sorry, dad. Do continue. Something about the Thai cave rescue. Some kind of conspiracy?"

And off he went again, a strained smile from my mum to show her lack of appreciation for setting him off once more. Dinner with the family was to be endured, not enjoyed.

***

There was chemistry with Alex. And he was after more than just sex ... I thought. He wanted to get to know me; take me out. We spent a week messaging back and forth before I agreed to dinner.

It was refreshing having an in-depth conversation with him about his life, his interests, his past, his fears and aspirations. I devoured all the nuggets of information that I was missing from Danny and found myself sharing a lot more than I normally would on a first date.

Danny didn't even know what I did for a living, yet Alex was intrigued by my job and took great interest in the recent case I'd been working on.

"I obviously can't say too much about what I'm doing ..."