Chapter 41 Speak of the devil

Chapter 41 Speak of the devil

Daphne
“So, when was the last time you were back home?” Randy asks.
“God, it feels like forever.”
We are sitting by the town lake. A beautiful long worm of water flowing away. Rays of sunset bounced off its surface.
Randy keeps himself busy by chunking rocks across it. We watch the stones skip along before sinking at some point. It feels like a metaphor for my life: everything sinks eventually.
“The memories just became too painful after my parents’ deaths,” I add.
Randy stops his throwing and turns to me. “I can imagine that.”
I cheer up. I haven’t thought about my parents in ages. I don’t like thinking about that part of my life. The losses, the pain, it is all too unbearable.
“Anyway, I didn’t mean to be such a sourpuss. Let’s talk about you instead. You are not in college?”
He shakes his head. “Not yet, I have to help my mother out so I took a sabbatical. I’ll start applying next year.”
I can tell that he is a very sensitive boy. Sweet, kind, in touch with his emotions. The kind of boy I’ve waited for my entire life back when I was still a virgin. Why did I have to meet Hades before him?
“My father’s not really in the picture. It’s a long story. But hey, I like Meadowbrook. You won’t see me complain about living in this town. Sure, there are no kids my age to hang out with but I like hanging with the old guys, my mother and occasionally, we get interesting visitors…” he pauses, peering me deep in the eyes, “Like you.”
I smile at him. The first real smile I’ve had in ages. I hadn’t realized the kind of stress I’ve been under these past few weeks with Hades and Adonis. My entire nervous system has been shot, worn down, depleted.
Randy has a calming effect on me. Maybe it was the lake and sunset and his smooth voice. Whatever it is worked wonders on me. I didn’t have to worry about what he thought of me, or how he made me feel.
There is no heat, no tension, just smooth vibes. Clean softness that I deserve. I like the boring slow vibes. It soothes me.
Randy plops himself down next to me on the picnic mat. “Seriously, I’m glad you came back. It’s been really nice getting to know you.”
His hand travels along my thigh.
He is so sweet, so gentle, I almost feel bad for him. “You know, I’m returning to school eventually. Next week. We shouldn’t get attached to each other,” I say.
His brows furrow. “Wow, do you usually say that to all your first dates or is it just me?”
He has an amused expression, unhurt by my words. Everything I say to him will wash off his body like nothing. I wonder if he’ll ever get mad at me or anyone for that matter.
“I’m serious, Randy. I just wanted to hang out with you. To forget someone.”
He perks up, attentively now. “Who?”
“Forget it.”
I have not talked about Hades to anyone. I wasn’t about to start now.
Randy swipes his large thumb across my cheek near my eyes. “You look sad. Like a lot is weighing on you. You should talk to me.”
There’s something so earnest about him, the way he spoke to me that made me open up to him. I start to tell him everything: about Hades, Adonis, Anna, the entire fuckfest of my life. I spill my entire guts to this stranger I just met.
He doesn’t judge me at all. He listens patiently, kindly. By the time I’m done, he sighs. “Phew, that Hades is a fucking bastard.”
My eyes are teary with relief. Someone had heard my story and didn’t judge me. It was almost a miracle to me.
Randy squeezes my hand tight. “You did the right getting away from there. It sounds like you needed some time to think things through. Your body remembered home. It needed this break. You needed Meadowbrook,” he says.
He stops himself just short from adding something else. I lean forward waiting to hear him out.
“You can’t blame yourself for Hades. He’s the one to blame here. He’s the adult, the professor, the one in a position of power. If anyone should be getting expelled, it should be him,” Randy continues passionately.
I smile at him, grateful for his support. “Thank you but I don’t think that’s necessary. I think he has enough connections to save us both.”
“Fuck him,” Randy adds with visceral passion that shocks me.
I am so moved by his passion; I lean forward and plant a kiss on his lips. He freezes, doesn’t kiss me back which makes me feel embarrassed. I pull back immediately.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.”
Randy observes me quietly. A tense moment passes. Charged tension hangs in the air, his eyes soften. Then, before I could react, he grabs my cheeks and kisses me deeply, long.
The kiss surprises me. I hold myself back for a while. Then, I kiss him back, tasting him.
He breaks off the kiss before it can go any further. He is flushed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that,” he repeats my own words to me. We both burst into laughter.
“That was nice, though,” I repeat to him. I stop myself from adding it lacks the fiery passion of Hades’ kiss.
I’ve accepted no man will ever be like him.
Randy and I walk back to the motel hand-in-hand. When we get there, we see a car parked outside. A Mercedes.
“Could be a new customer. Seems like we are in high demand this tourist season,” Randy says.
As we draw closer to the car, the driver’s side opens and out steps a man.
I knew it was him before I even saw his face. That physique, that scent, all of it feels too familiar.
Then, he turns and my heart sinks to my belly.
Hades.