by Sarah Tork
Which wouldn’t be odd, except for one small detail; the person has stopped right beside me, even though there’s enough room for about twenty people in the little elevator hallway.
So why is this person standing right next to me?
I turn my head slightly, and from the corner of my eye, I look at the person.
The first thing I see is a white fur coat that stops at their waist. Curly hair spills from underneath a blue beret and stops after her shoulders. She’s tall. I glance down at her high heels that look about six inches. As my eyes make their way up to see her face, I’m startled when I see that she’s staring at me.
Creepily.
I turn back to face the button pad, feeling the side of my face heat from her constant gaze that hasn’t turned away.
Why the hell is she staring at me?
The sound of the elevator arriving rings, thank God, and the doors open with a ‘ding’. I walk inside, and the tall, curly-haired girl follows right behind me. I push the fifteenth floor button as the girl comes inside, and this time, she doesn’t stand next to me, but slumps against the back mirror.
“Um…what floor?” I ask, my voice a tad hoarse.
Silence.
“Sixteen, please,” she murmurs softly beneath a bundle of curly hair that has escaped her beret and fallen in front of her face.
“No problem,” I murmur back, pressing her button. I stare at the elevator number pad as the floors light up, wishing it would go faster; then I could get off one the creepiest elevator rides of my life.
What’s with the people I’m meeting today? Did Ottawa turn into a safe haven for the unusual while I’ve been gone?
Canada’s creepiest people, please head to Ottawa; you’re safe there. Envisioning the new tourist ads by the Canadian government makes me chuckle a little. I turn my face away so she won’t think it’s about her, when it kind of is, but it’s not. But I still don’t want any more crazy vibes from her, so the less I offend, the better. As soon as I think I have a handle on the chuckles, I look back up, and from the corner of my eye, I take a glance at her. She’s staring at me, eyes wide.
The elevator rings at the fifteenth floor.
Thank God!
The elevator doors open; I give a small nod to the strange girl and walk out. As the doors close, I take another glance, and she’s still staring at me.
I shiver a little at the look she is giving me. What the hell is that?
Okay, time to find Xander and do this thing so I can get on with my life without thinking I owe anybody anything more.
I head down a long hallway, following the numbers on the door. It looks like Xander’s room is down the hallway, which makes sense since the closer I get, the sound of love-making music echoes loudly into the hallway. It’s getting louder as I approach his door. The sound of the elevator rings and I hear the doors open.
Shit!
It could be security or something! I reach his door and knock.
No one.
What the hell is he doing in there? And why is he playing music like that? I thought he was just seeing me tonight?
Oh God! I grimace once I realize that this might not be a party of two, and might be a party of three. Xander doesn't mind; just ask Bitch Blonde from last night.
Ugh, I don’t want to think about her. I’ll be lucky to evade the memory of her and her nasty juices in her cheap choice of undies in the future.
I wait for a few seconds before pushing against the door knob; I’m surprised when it opens.
Xander didn’t lock the door? Confused, I open the door and go inside. A blast of sexy music hits me as I close the door behind me.
What the hell is going on in here?
Wow! What a room! A bit different from the room I have back at the Old Country Bed and Breakfast. My room could fit inside his suite about four times. But then again, I’m sure he’s paying more than twenty times what I’m paying for mine.
Xander is rich…but what does he do?
Again, things I don’t know about this man, who I actually went out with last night and let take me home drunk out of my mind. He could have been a psychopath that could have done anything to me, and nobody would have known.
I’m too trusting!
The sound of a girl giggling comes from the open door of the bedroom across the large living room.
What the hell? I’m horrified. What did I just walk into?
Xander is with a girl! He’s probably having sex and doing dirty things, and I’m about to walk right into it.
That fucking bastard! What a freaking pervert! I look around trying to think quickly about what I should do. Why did I come here? I came here to give Xander the thong he wants in exchange for the nice makeover he paid for this morning.
Okay! All I have to do is give him the thong, and then I’m free to go. I came here; I’m going to give him the thong.
I drop my clutch and the paper-towel surprise on the side table next to the door. I bend over and yank the thong off, cold air instantly hitting me down there. I notice a pen on his coffee table and skip over trying to make the least noise possible. I grab the pen, but when I make my way back, I trip.
“Ow!” I hiss, holding my knee.
“Oh my God, what was that?” I hear a girl screech from the room.
“Don’t move!” I hear Xander order her. “Who’s out there?”
I lay on the ground practically paralyzed. My knee is killing me and won’t let me get up without making more noise out of pain.
“It’s me,” I yell out.
“Who’s me?” Xander asks, clearly amused.
“Marisa, you idiot!” I yell, mortified.
Oh God! I can’t believe I just walked in on him having sex. Crazy, underwear-involved sex, whatever that is.
“Hold on a second, my dear,” Xander murmurs. He comes out of the bedroom in a pair of tight black boxers that look like they’ve been painted on him.
My mouth drops at the sight of him. Muscles sculpt every inch of his lightly tanned body. Xander’s eyes narrow at my expression and I snap out of it, as the memories of the last twenty-four hours resurface.
“Well, what do we have here?” he asks, amused. “You’re early.”
“I said I would be here within the hour; it’s not my fault you decided to squeeze in a quickie with one of your hoochies!” I growl at him from the floor as he comes to a stop in front of me.
“Hoochie!” A girl yells from the other room. I can hear stomping from the other room, coming toward us. “Who are you calling a hoochie, bitch?”
Out comes a familiar face.
Blonde Bitch!
“You again?” She stops in the doorway, glaring at me with fury.
“Irina, I thought I told you to stay put,” Xander tells her as she looks back up at him, scowling.
“Xander, why is she here? Every time I’ve seen you, she’s been there,” Irina cries like a spoiled brat.
Spoiled, bratty hooker?
“Yeah, Xander, why am I here? Especially when you have a guest? Rude behavior much?” I scowl at him. I rub my knee, bending it a little. It hurts a bit, but I’m okay to get back up and get the fuck out of here.
Xander scowls back at me as I get up.
“No, don’t help me up. I’m good,” I tell him sarcastically as I grab hold of the coffee table and pull myself up. Xander starts to come toward me, but I hold out a hand to stop him.
“No – no, I’m just kidding. Don’t touch me. Especially since you’ve been touching that,” I point to Irina, whose mouth drops.
“Are you saying that I’m dirty? You cockroach!” she yells from across the room.
“How about you go put your G-string back on, and then we can have a talk like serious, mature adults!” I say back, rolling my eyes.
“Now, now ladies, come on. There’s no need for this kind of attitude with one another; why can’t we all just be friends?” Xander interrupts, holding his hands in-between the two of us as if it’s enough to hol
d us back.
I’ve been holding a grudge against this girl since the first undeserving scowl she sent me at the club last night. Then there was the slight shove to the shoulder.
Nobody touches me, and the fact that I was drunk is the only reason she got away with it. Trust me; she would have been on the ground if I was sober.
Like I am now.
“Oh, I remember you, hoochie! Shoving my shoulder last night just so you could go back to the private room first,” I remind her.
Irina smiles, “Ladies first!”
“Keep talking and I’m going to skull-fuck your ass out of this room. Trust that those wild screams I heard earlier will be traveling into the hallway; and everyone will hear and come out to investigate, seeing your naked, jiggly ass like the cheap whore you are!” I yell at her.
“What did you say to me?” Irina screeches in fury, coming towards me with her arms flailing in the air wildly.
Oh yeah, I’m ready, especially with the night I just had. I could use a punching bag.
“Come and get it, bitch. I’ve been waiting to do this all night, maybe for my entire life. That’s right, I time-traveled from the future. I’ve just come back from visiting you at the hospital where I put your nasty ass!” I taunt her.
Okay, what the hell? Even I know that doesn’t make any sense.
Xander runs in-between us. “Stop it, the both of you. There’s plenty of me to go around for the both of you.”
The sound of the door shutting loudly makes us all jump. “Well, what about me, Xander?” A furious-sounding voice calls from in front of the door. I look up and see the creepy, curly-haired girl from the hallway.
She followed me here! I do a double take when I realize that she just called Xander out. Of course Xander would know who she is; creepy, meet creepier!
“Demetria?” Xander murmurs confused.
Oh my God! What did Xander just get us all into?
Chapter Eleven
*Marisa*
Creepy Curls! Fuck!
She actually followed me inside?
Wait a minute, why did she call out Xander? How does she know him? I turn, slowly facing boy-wonder standing virtually naked in just tight black boxers, examining his face for any signs of guilt.
Blank.
I can’t read his face; he looks normal, as if he’s waiting at a bus stop, minding his own business.
That sneaky little prick! I turn back to face Creepy Curls, who still hasn’t shed the shocked look off her face. I open my mouth to say something, but I’m interrupted by a loud cry as mascara tears stream down her trembling face.
“Xander, what’s going on? Why are there girls in your room?” she cries loudly, her lips trembling.
Oh God, please don’t pass out. I don’t want to be questioned by the police; I don’t have time for this shit.
I open my mouth again to say something, but Xander beats me to it.
“Demetria!” Xander exclaims, sounding surprised.
Demetria? Creepy Curls has a name!
“Demetria,” Xander repeats, as if he’s reminding himself who she is again, mentally flipping through the rolodex of lucky females he’s had in his life these past few months. “I thought we talked about this before we started. It wasn’t supposed to be anything serious, just some fun.”
Fuck! Clearly someone didn’t get the friends-with-benefits or booty-call memo; this girl does not look like one of those types.
“Why are you practically naked?” Demetria screeches in disbelief. I glance at Irina, who is busy putting on a tiny silk robe to hide her practically-naked body. I cross over to Xander, who doesn’t move to cover himself.
I shake my head, looking back at the hysterical Demetria. What? Did she think his hard, chiseled abs are for her eyes only? Clearly someone didn’t get that memo either; Xander Barns obviously isn’t a one-woman man.
I turn back to Xander again, scowling at him in disgust. “Well, obviously that talk you had with her went to the shits! She didn’t understand anything, which means you were wishy-washy with the terms of your disgusting arrangement! Fucking hell, she thinks she’s your girlfriend!”
I look at Demetria, whose jaw is clenched as if she’s staring off into space.
Oh God, she’s one of those easily-traumatized types.
Irina huffs and puffs behind us from the doorway of the bedroom. “How is that possible? That thing looks like it needs a leash!”
Wait, who is she talking about? It better not be me; I am this close to punching her. But then again, I kind of hope she is; any excuse to set her straight sounds great to me.
I face Demetria again, who abruptly snaps out of her trance and screams bloody murder. “I’m his everything!” As her scream dies down, her face turns crimson.
“Now, now, Demetria, there’s no need to raise your voice. Remember we talked about that, too,” Xander says.
Demetria starts crying again, and it sounds screechy. My eyes widen in disbelief as I assess the girl in front of me.
She is mentally imbalanced! I’m talking psych ward, the red zone, padded rooms, straitjackets, and tired orderlies carrying little cups filled with pills.
Demetria is not all there.
It’s so obvious, but if that’s the case, then what the hell is Xander thinking hooking up with someone like that?
I turn to him, shaking my head in disgust, yet again. “It’s bad enough you hooked up with that thing over there!” I jerk my chin to Irina. “But, oh my God! You were hooking up with a mentally imbalanced girl? Have you no shame? What is wrong with you?”
Irina starts up again upon hearing my assessment of her. “Fuck you!” She then turns to Demetria. “He was fucking me before you ugly dogs barged in interrupting! ME! Not you…you freak!” Irina shouts hysterically. “Go home to Mommy!”
Go home to Mommy? I turn back to a blanched, yet fumingly shaking Demetria. A smart person could see she’s about to blow.
“What did you just say?” Demetria asks Irina slowly.
Shit!
“Fuck off,” Irina snaps back, oblivious to the quick change in tone.
All of a sudden, a loud roar escapes out of Demetria’s mouth; my jaw drops. Holy fuck! The roar quickly dies down to silence as Demetria breathes heavily in and out.
There is silence for a few more seconds.
“I’m a grown woman! I don’t have to listen to my mother anymore!” Demetria screams out of nowhere, making me jump.
Xander takes a step towards Demetria. “Demetria…alright, now calm down; there’s no need to get all worked up.”
I add in my two cents, just to keep things in the lighter region. “Yeah, let’s just calm down.”
Irina doesn’t share our strategy and instead, decides to turn things up a notch, ruining all our hard work. “Xander what about me? We were having such an amazing time!”
Demetria’s eyes bulge out of their sockets. She screams out, “What?”
The smart way of handling things is clearly out the window; I’m about to blow. “Bitch, this isn’t about you anymore!” I yell at Irina. “We have to calm the princess down before she does something whacked!”
Irina jerks her chin up at me.
Uh, excuse me?
“I don’t care about that bitch, or you!” Irina screams at me.. “Fuck her, and fuck you!” She then turns to Xander, pouting in despair. “Xander…Xander!”
Xander stands frozen; he is clearly overwhelmed and doesn’t know what to do. It looks like I’ll have to be the one to take care of things.
With pleasure.
“Shut the fuck up! We’ve got a crisis on our hands and your loose libido is not helping. In fact, if I recall, it isn’t required anymore,” I snap at her. “Xander, contain your plaything before I call security and have her removed for solicitation!”
“Plaything?” Irina screeches incredulously.
A loud whimper breaks through all the verbal cat fighting. Simultaneously, we all turn to Demetria. “But Xander, wha
t plaything? I’m supposed to be with you, and you’re supposed to be with me. I love you.”
Oh shit!
“Oh shit!” I say, then turn back to Xander. “What have you done?”
Xander’s eyes widen. “I haven’t done anything; Demetria and I had an agreement!”
“Well, obviously you didn’t explain it well enough, considering you’ve got a stage one-thousand stalker on your hands,” I tell him.
“What about me, Xander?” Irina cries from behind.
“Oh my God! Xander, are you done fucking this bitch?” I snap at Xander, pointing to Irina.
He subtly nods.
“I’ll take that little nod as a yes,” I face Irina again. “You hear that? He’s done with you. Finite. So go away. Don’t talk. You don’t matter anymore.”
Irina turns bright red and screams, “Fuck you! I matter; I matter to him!”
It’s Demetria’s turn to scream. “You liar! How dare you! The only person who matters to Xander is me. Me!”
“Seriously?” I mutter to myself. Has she not been listening for the past five minutes? Xander does not want her; we’ve got one of those dangerous, delusional-types here. God, he sure knows how to pick them!
“He loves me; I love him!” Demetria adds dramatically in the midst of choking on a sob. “Don’t any of you say anything differently. I swear, I won’t stop myself.”
Stop yourself from doing what?
“I’m not scared of you!” Irina belts out and stomps towards Demetria. Xander jumps in front of Irina, holding her back as I jump in front of Demetria, who is a good few inches taller than me. Demetria backs away and grabs a small figurine off the side table next to the door. She hurls it across the room at Irina, who screams bloody murder while holding onto Xander for dear life.
“She’s trying to kill me, Xander! Save me!” Irina screams.
My eyes roll. Bitch, save yourself!
Demetria eyes another figurine and grabs it. I jump right in front of her. “Demetria is it? Girl, you’ve got to calm down. Xander won’t like it if you act like that!”
“I’m a lady!” she snaps. “I’m a proper lady!”
Okay?
“That’s right, you’re a lady, a proper classy lady,” I tell her calmly. “Now put the figurine down. Ladies don’t throw shit.”