by Angela Blake
“You fucking animal,” Selena told herself.
Despite seeing all of this, however, her opinion of Tom still didn’t waver. If he was a playboy and a heart-breaker there was no sign of it from last night. Last night, she spent her time with the most polite man in the world. He was quiet, shy and friendly. Tom was more like a little boy with a flair for something more dangerous instead of being the actual danger.
Satisfied with what she discovered, she got dressed. This time around she wore tight jeans and a grey no-shoulder top. It was loose and hanging, further enhancing her petite form. She was with Tom so she didn’t even bother wearing a bra underneath this time.
Before walking out of the apartment she took her folder which had her resume and a printed portfolio of her previous designs. That was when she remembered the real goal of their date: she also needed to apply for a job. If the person interviewing her was a guy she might get lucky so she decided to put on red lipstick and large hoop earrings aiming to get his attention. Maybe a combination of charm, good looks and an impressive resume and portfolio might get her the job.
Finally ready, she locked her apartment and took her car out to the nearby mechanics shop. When she asked how long it might take they did tell her it wouldn’t be ready until later that evening so she decided to just wait and call Tom to pick her up.
He picked up the moment she rang his number.
“Hello?” he asked on the other end.
“It’s Selena,” she replied, holding her phone up as she paced around the parking lot of the shop. “I’m ready. I’m at Groucho’s, you know it?”
Tom was silent for a second and then answered, “Uh, yeah, that’s the one near Johnson’s Square Mall, right? It’s the one near the theater?”
“Yeah,” she told him. “They said my car won’t be ready until later so I’ll really need that ride if you’re still up for it.”
“Oh of course,” he told her. “I was just waiting for you to tell me.”
“Will it take long for you to get here?”
“No, I’ll be there in ten,” he answered. “I was already on my way out, anyway. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Selena ended the call and sat back down on the benches near the entrance. There was nothing to do and she didn’t want to go over her resume for the hundredth time. She swiped her phone, browsed online for a game to download, and decided to get one of the titles Tom worked on.
They were easy to find. Tom didn’t work for someone else’s company nowadays and she quickly found apps developed by Sellick Entertainment. Most of them were paid apps but she did find one that had a free demo. To her surprise, it was quite enjoyable.
As a matter of fact, she was having so much fun she didn’t even notice when Tom’s car parked right in front of her.
“Hey,” Tom had called out.
When Selena looked up she found he had already opened the passenger door and was waiting for her to hop in. The sight did seem surprising though – she knew Tom was rich but strangely enough he was driving an old 2004 Chevrolet Camaro.
“What’s with the decade-old car?” she asked as soon as she sat in his car, shut the door and buckled the safety belt in.
He gave her a soft peck on the cheek and looked at her as he replied, “Really? The first question you ask is why I use an old car?”
“You can buy a yacht,” she told him with a nonchalant shrug, “so why this?”
“I like this car,” he answered. “And more importantly, how did you know I bought a yacht?”
Tom began to drive out of the parking lot and got back onto the highway. He began heading towards the downtown district where Selena’s job interview was at.
“I did some digging,” Selena answered without any fuss or fluff about it. “Who would’ve guessed you screwed an entire team of girls in Thailand?”
Tom gave her a horrified look, “How the hell did you find that out?”
Selena responded with a wicked smile of her own then said, “I know how to dig around. You can take all that stuff out of your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and I’ll still be able to find it.”
A moment of silence filled the car as Tom tried to respond to that.
“Are you really a player?” Selena asked him, straight and direct.
Tom shook his head but kept his eyes on the road, “No. I mean, sure, but not like the way you think it is.”
“Players fuck girls then leave girls,” she said. “That’s how it is, plain and simple.”
“I’m not like that,” he said.
Selena chuckled in disbelief, “Don’t try to lie. Are you trying to tell me you were seriously involved with all those girls?”
“No, but ---“
Selena cut him off, “There it is then. Don’t try to play with me, Tom Sellick. Just because I found you cute last night and because I slept with you it doesn’t mean I’ll let you play with me like an idiot. So you better tell me right here, right now if you’re going to just play games.”
That was a lot to take in and Selena knew that. She also knew it was a lot of pressure on him. After all, they just met and had sex just hours ago. It came as no surprise when Tom had to park at the side of the road to fully compose himself.
“All right,” he started. “I have a sex drive. I can’t really explain it but when I’m not busy or anything my mind always goes back to sex. I need it. I’ll look at a girl, go back to my car and masturbate thinking about her and what I could do to her. I have the means so I don’t have to imagine things to get girls that will do whatever I want.”
“You’re not going to do that to me,” Selena told him. “If you want to step into the light with me, Tom Sellick, you better be serious about it or else I’m stepping out of your car this very moment. You can keep last night as a memory but I will not let you add me to your list of side dishes.”
Tom gave her a forlorn look and for a second she felt sorry for being so harsh on him.
“Give me a chance,” he told her. “You don’t seem like any of the girls I’ve met and I’m not just saying that so you’ll go out with me. I mean it. You’re real. You’ve seen the real me, as well, when I took you into my attic. Let me show you that that’s the real me and not what you read in the tabloids.”
Selena looked back at him and then pointed a finger at his face, “You’ve got one shot. Just because I liked it last night doesn’t mean I’ll let you get between my legs again for free.”
A smile cracked his face, “So you did like last night?”
“Okay, I kind of set myself up for that one,” she answered with a chuckle. “Yes, yes I did like last night.”
Tom, satisfied and cool, began driving again and said “Well, that’s a relief. I honestly didn’t have anything planned if you said I was horrible last night.”
They both laughed and Selena realized she was indeed having a good time around him. For the rest of the ride they talked a little less about Tom’s promiscuity and more about what they could do together. She wanted to go out during the night to see movies and he wanted to take her out for go-karting.
By the time they arrived at the place Selena was applying at she didn’t really feel like leaving him in his car.
“Hey, I got to do this real quick,” she told him. “I promise it’ll be really fast. I’m not even sure they’ll take me.”
Tom nodded back and gave her a kiss, “Go get ‘em, tiger. I’ll be parked right outside. If I’m not in the car, just go to the coffee shop across the street. I could use some donuts.”
Selena nodded and got out of the car.
Chapter Five
“Selena?” Tom asked the moment he saw her walk into the coffee shop.
She plopped into the seat next to his, crossed her arms over the table and buried her face down, “Fuck.”
Tom took a sip from his cappuccino, “It was that bad, huh?”
“The whole thing started with them asking how old I was. The moment they f
ound out I was over twenty-one they kind of looked at me like I was a freak or something. Like Jesus, what were they expecting? They want someone with experience but they want someone young enough to be their daughter. It’s disgusting.”
He wrapped his arm around her and gave her a pat on the shoulder, “It’s okay. I’m sure we’ll be able to find something else for you. Donut?”
“My rent is due in a week,” she replied with a depressing tone in her voice. She took one of the glazed donuts he had and bit off a large chunk. “I’m fucked. Like, totally fucked. I just had my car up for maintenance and the last of my savings is going to that.”
“You can always borrow from me,” Tom told her as he took another sip. “I wouldn’t mind.”
Selena finally looked up and gave him a frustrated stare, “No way. I’m dating you, not turning you into my financer or anything. I don’t need a sugar daddy.”
“I’m just saying,” he responded and then gave her that wicked smile she had started to grow fond of. “So we really are dating now?”
Selena rolled her eyes and chuckled before she gave him a nod and said, “Okay, fine, yes we are dating. Don’t get any funny ideas though. Don’t think you can turn this around just because we slept together before dating or anything.”
“I can be serious,” he told her as he drank his coffee. “Just because the tabloids say I’m a rich playboy doesn’t mean I’m all bad. Bruce Wayne’s a rich playboy and he saves lives.”
“Bruce Wayne?”
“Batman,” he answered. “You know, from the comic books and movies?”
Selena dipped the rest of her donut in his cup of coffee then continued, “You’re not a superhero in disguise.”
“That’s not what I’m saying,” he said, “but I wouldn’t mind it though. What I mean is you shouldn’t just take me for what the public says I am.”
Selena nodded, “That’s why I agreed to letting you take me out. I want to get to know you, Tom. I just have to tell you that I also don’t want to get hurt.”
“This is a unique situation we’re in, isn’t it?” he asked in response. “Usually people get drunk, sleep together, then go their separate ways or people date, stay together and then start sleeping with one another. We’re kind of in a weird gray area in between.”
“Weird because I’m not your fuck-buddy but also not your girlfriend?”
Tom nodded and finished off his coffee, “So, let’s head off?”
“To the park?” she asked.
He nodded back.
“Sure,” she then answered and they headed out of the shop and back to his car.
On their way they stopped over for a few cans of root beer and hotdogs. Selena had hers in a bun, layered with hot sauce, cheese and ketchup. Tom had his on a stick, topped with just cheese. They ate a bit while on the road and Tom let her play her music from her phone. For the most part, it was the most fun Selena had in a while and the best thing was how unfiltered it was. There was no beer, no sex, no partying and nothing broken about it.
Tom had to park a long way from the park entrance because there was no parking area. Neither of them really minded it though and it gave them a chance to continue talking while walking.
He took her arm and they walked side-by-side, closely, as they went down from the parking lot and towards the park. He then asked, “You got any family here?”
“Hmm? No, I just live by myself,” she answered. “My parents split and they both live out of state. I have a younger sister; she lives all the way in Salt Lake. What about you?”
“Didn’t find that in your research?” he sarcastically shot back.
Selena laughed and shook her head, “Didn’t think to look it up.”
“Well, I have a younger brother who’s in Seattle,” he said. “He’s med-tech and works in a big hospital our uncle owns. As for our parents, well you and I are kind of in the same boat. My mom lives in Boston and she runs pretty much most of our family business. My dad is in Thailand. He retired there.”
Selena looked at him with a grin, “Now I understand where you come from.”
Tom shrugged in reply and then pointed out ahead of them, “Those the swings you were talking about?”
“Yup,” she answered. “I love just sitting there and thinking. They face the see-saws and slides so I get to lose myself watching kids play around.”
They headed over and fortunately enough there were swings still available. The snow had begun to fall but it wasn’t the middle of winter yet so the ground wasn’t fully covered. There were still a few kids running about, with their parents chasing them from behind. Selena pointed to a little girl trying to maneuver a bicycle around the sidewalks and marveled at how young she was to be playing with that kind of ride.
“She must be like four or five,” Selena said.
“That seems right to me though,” Tom told her. “I learned how to ride a bike when I was five.”
Selena gave a sigh then said, “I didn’t learn until I was like twelve or thirteen.”
“I hope it won’t take you that long to trust me,” Tom said.
“I hope so too,” she answered. “It depends on you, actually. I fall in love easily but trust doesn’t come as quickly for me. I’ve been fucked over too many times to be a fool, especially with guys like you.”
“Guys like me?”
Selena nodded as she began to swing a little, “Rich guys who think they own the world and can do whatever they want.”
“What if I’m actually bankrupt and everything you saw in my home is a lie? What if all that’s due to go?”
Selena shrugged, “If you went poor today it wouldn’t change who you were for the past few decades. We are who we are based on our experiences, memories and mistakes.”
“That’s deep,” he commented. “But I do guess you’re right. What does all this mean for me?”
“The short answer?” she said. “Don’t screw me over.”
“I think we already tackled that,” he pointed out as he began to swing as well, following her pace. “I mean, for us, what’s our status now? You said it yourself: I’m not really your boyfriend yet and we’re not friends with benefits.”
Selena gave him a solemn look and answered, “Let’s just not put a label on it and go with the flow, eh?”
“The flow is telling me to give you a kiss,” he said. He kept his gaze solely glued to hers and Selena could feel sparks beginning to fly between them, in a good way.
“You’re really evil, Tom Sellick,” she replied as she leaned a little to his side and planted a kiss on his lips.
“Well, it is like you said,” Tom said, “guys like me think we can get away with whatever. We can demand anything.”
Selena laughed a little then asked, “So what are you demanding now?”
“You,” he quickly shot an answer back.
“Those lines don’t work on me,” she said as she bit her lip, “but I do have to admit I kind of set myself up for that.”
“You walked right into it,” Tom told her and got off his swing. He walked towards her and hugged her from behind. “Now I’m not going to let you walk out of it, not as easily as you’d think. I like you Selena, I honestly, deeply do.”
She felt a warm tingle in her chest and without saying anything back she snuggled into his arms. It was cozy, comforting and for a moment she felt like everything in the world was right. She knew it was wrong to trust him, given how open he was about his past behavior around women, but Selena had this strange feeling that maybe things could go right if they both played their cards right.
“I don’t think the parents appreciate us snuggling like this in front of their kids,” Tom whispered into her ear.
Selena laughed and nodded. “It is getting a little too cold for comfort.”
“Want to head back to the car?”
“Sure,” she answered. “What do you think of this place though?”
Tom tightened his
hug a little, “I love it. Maybe because my first time here was with someone I care about. It’ll sprout good memories.”
“You’re getting cheesy,” she told him as she sprung up to her feet and began walking back to the car. “Come on, let’s go before you start getting a boom-box radio and serenade me while fist-pumping the air.”
“Oh, hey I know that movie,” Tom commented as he gave chase.
Chapter Six
“Tom,” Selena whispered as she got into the car. “I really want to thank you. I had fun today.”
“Really? You’re still broke and jobless,” he answered right as he locked his door.
Selena nodded and said, “Despite that, you still made an effort to make me feel good.”
“We didn’t really do anything but talk, you know,” he reminded her. He still didn’t put in his car keys to start the car.
“Yeah, but I don’t really need us to do anything. I love to just relax and talk,” she replied. “I hate it when people try to date at a bar or club because it’s too noisy to actually talk and get to know each other. Even going to the movies or a restaurant isn’t a good idea, in my opinion, because you’re too busy looking at a screen or a plate to really talk to one another.”
Tom reached out and caressed her face and said, “You’re really deep sometimes, you know that?”
“Maybe I’m just depressed I don’t have a job.”
He pulled her face in and gave her a soft kiss on her lips, “Don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about anything. It’ll all be all right, I promise you.”
“Are you god now?” she whispered back and gave him a kiss as well.
“I just know things,” he answered and this time kissed her a little deeper. He pulled her in closer and began to kiss her passionately. He began to push his tongue between her lips and with a soft moan Selena opened her mouth and they began to tie into each other.
It was getting a little uncomfortable, however, and Tom immediately sought to fix that issue by getting out of his seat and wiggled his way to the rear seats. Selena quickly followed and sat on his lap, facing him as he hugged her in closer to continue their exchange.
