by Jason Starr
“Oh my God, this place is incredible,” Olivia said.
Michael picked her up and carried her through the loft into a large bedroom. Then he dropped her on the bed and started getting undressed in front of her. Okay, this was definitely one of the weirdest nights of her life, but she thought, Just relax, go for it.
His body was incredibly sexy, or at least she thought it was. He was big and muscular and hairy. Normally she was attracted to wellgroomed guys, but on him the hairy look worked.
“Get naked,” he said.
A guy had never talked to her this way before, but she liked it.
After she got undressed, he took off his clothes and climbed onto her, pinning her down hard and kissing her the way he had in the car, and she felt like she was on an adventure to some forbidden land far, far, far away, and she wanted to stay there forever.
Later , Olivia was curled up into Michael’s sweaty body. He had a pungent, musky odor unlike anything she’d smelled on a man before, but she liked it . . .a lot.
She was still tingling all over, amazed by how great the sex had been. Usually she had had to be with a guy three or four times before she felt in synch, and some guys she never connected with. But with Michael she felt comfortable from the get-go, and she wanted to give everything to him, and lose herself.
She snuggled closer. She was sobering up but she was still pleasantly buzzed, from the remnants of alcohol in her system and from the aftermath of the powerful orgasms she’d had. She thought about the events leading up to tonight, how she’d acted impulsively at the bar, but how great it had worked out. Maybe she’d discovered the secret for meeting a man in Manhattan—get tanked and leave with the first good-looking guy you see. If this worked out, she could write a book about it and make millions.
She laughed at the thought, and Michael’s eyes opened.
“I thought you were asleep,” she said.
“I don’t sleep,” he said.
She chuckled, but when she saw he was serious, she said, “What do you mean, you don’t sleep?”
“I mean I don’t sleep,” he said.
“Everybody sleeps,” she said.
“Not me,” he said.
“Okay, then what do you do?” She found this amusing.
“I rest,” he said.
“That’s what sleep is, isn’t it? When you rest, when you’re unconscious.”
“But I’m not unconscious,” he said. “I’m always aware, ready to react.”
She’d known him for less than two hours, but she knew him well enough already to know that it would be impossible to get a straight answer out of him, or at least a logical one.
“Well, you’re definitely one of the most unique guys I’ve ever met,” she said, “and you’re also one of the sexiest.”
“I am the sexiest,” Michael said, deadpan.
Olivia laughed. “God, you don’t have a small ego, do you?”
She started kissing his neck, under his jaw.
“So tell me,” she said. “How did you get so good in bed?”
“I’ve been with a lot of women.”
“How many is a lot?” She stopped kissing him and shifted away. They’d used a condom, but still.
“I’ve satisfied all of them,” he said.
She had to laugh. She kissed him again, then said, “You don’t like to answer questions, do you?”
“I answered your question,” he said.
“I guess in a way you did,” she said. “Well, you don’t have to tell me about your past tonight; it’s more exciting if we prolong the mystery, don’t you think?” Now she was on top, kissing his chest. “Mmm, you smell so good.”
“You’re glad you came,” he said, as a statement.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m very, very, very glad I came.” She laughed at the double entendre.
“Your friend told you you’re not making a good decision,” he said seriously.
“If she had experienced what I just experienced, she wouldn’t have said that.” Olivia continued kissing him on his firm, sweaty, hairy tummy, and then something clicked and she sat up and said, “Wait a sec, how did you know that?”
“Know what?” he asked.
“She had her back to you at the bar, she had to be like twenty feet away. How did you know she said that to me?”
“I have excellent hearing.”
“But the bar was so noisy, with music playing, people talking. How could you possibly have heard that?”
“The problem isn’t that I don’t answer questions,” he said. “The problem is you ask too many.”
He turned her over swiftly and was on top again, manhandling her. She couldn’t believe he was ready for another round already. What was it with this guy?
In the middle of the night, after they’d had sex four times, Olivia had to go to the bathroom. Michael was sleeping soundly—He never sleeps; yeah, right—so she got out of bed quietly and headed toward the bathroom off to the right. She was about to go in when she saw a big section of the loft she hadn’t seen yet, so, out of curiosity, she went to check it out.
There was a sort of lounge area, with very expensive-looking furniture and an area that had tall bookshelves filled with very old books, which somehow seemed jarring in the otherwise ultramodern apartment. Further, there was a large pool table, a Ping-Pong table, and was that a tricycle?
“You’re lost.”
Michael’s voice startled her. He was about ten feet away from her, buck naked.
With a hand over her chest, she said, “My God, you scared the hell out of me. I thought you were asl—” She caught herself and continued, “I just didn’t expect you, that’s all.”
“You should go home now,” he said. “My driver will take you where you need to go.”
“Oh, okay,” she said. “I live on the Upper East—”
“I’ll tell him you’re coming down,” he said, and headed back toward his bedroom.
Normally she would have felt like she was being kicked out, but somehow she didn’t mind. This night had been what it had been. She had no expectations.
While Michael made the call to his driver, Olivia got dressed.While she was slipping on her shoes, she glanced over toward his clothes on a chair and saw a holster. Okay, so the guy had a kid and carried a gun. Who wasn’t walking around this city with a few secrets?
“Ready?” Michael said. “I’ll walk you down.”
He put on a red silk robe, like one Hugh Hefner would wear, and they rode the elevator to the ground floor. She was going to ask him about his kid—what was the big deal about having a kid?—but then she figured, what difference did it make? They’d had a one-night stand. She’d probably never see him again.
On the street, he opened the door of the Lexus for her. She was surprised; not even a kiss good night? Oh, well, what could you do?
She got in and he said, “See you tomorrow,” not as a question, of course. He wasn’t asking her out, he was telling her out.
Before she could answer, he slammed the door shut and the car pulled away.
SIX
The rain was lashing against the apartment’s windows.
“Looks like an indoor day today,” Alison said. “Why don’t you take Jeremy to a movie or something? I think there’s a new Pixar movie playing at the IMAX.”
She was dressed for work in a black pantsuit and heels, in full makeup. Simon was in bed in boxers.
“Yeah,” Simon said. “I guess the playground’s out today.”
Alison had her back to him, looking in the mirror.
“So I wanted to talk about the counseling session,” Simon said.
“What about it?”
“I just wanted to know why you’re—”
“Mommy!” Jeremy called from his room.
“Can you get him?” Alison asked. “I have to run, I’m already five minutes late.”
“Can we talk about this later?” Simon called after her.
“Sure, later,” she said, and lef
t the apartment.
Simon got Jeremy dressed and gave him breakfast. Simon was getting better at managing the morning routine. He knew in which drawers to find the jeans and the T-shirts and sweatshirts. He still couldn’t make the pancakes quite the way Margaret used to, but with a little work he’d get there.
After breakfast Simon said to Jeremy, “So what do you feel like doing today, kiddo? A movie? A museum?”
“I want to play with those kids again,” Jeremy said.
“We can’t today,” Simon said. “It’s raining.”
“No, it isn’t,” Jeremy said.
Simon looked toward the window and saw that the rain had in fact stopped and the clouds were breaking and some sun was peeking through.
“I don’t know,” Simon said, “the playground’ll be wet. I’m not sure those kids’ll even be there today.”
“But I want to,” Jeremy said.
“I’ll tell you what,” Simon said. “Let’s see what the weather’s like at noon. If it’s nice we’ll go, okay?”
At noon the sky had clouded up again and it was drizzly out, but Jeremy had been having a good day—maybe his best-behaved day yet since Simon had become a full-time parent—and Simon didn’t want to risk a regression.
“Okay, we can go by there and see,” Simon said.
“Yay,” Jeremy said.
Simon’s legs ached from yesterday’s jog, so they took the subway downtown. When they got out at South Ferry it was still drizzling, and raw and chilly too, and Simon wished he’d insisted that they stay uptown today. Still, the playground wasn’t far away, so he figured since they were downtown anyway they might as well go by there.
As they walked along the Hudson, the drizzle became light rain. Jeremy said his legs were tired—they hadn’t brought the stroller—so Simon had to pick him up and carry him. They didn’t have an umbrella, so they were both getting soaked and Jeremy was complaining that he was cold. Simon was going to turn around and just bag it when up ahead he was surprised to see the three guys he’d met yesterday. They were playing soccer with their kids in the playground and seemed undeterred by the weather. Ramon spotted Simon first and waved to him, and then Michael and Charlie looked over.
Jeremy saw the kids and said excitedly,“ They’re here!” and wriggled out of Simon’s arms and ran over there.
“Slow down, it’s slippery,” Simon called after him, but, of course, he didn’t slow down and dashed into the playground at full speed.
When Simon entered, Charlie came over to greet him.
“Hey, man,” Charlie said, smiling widely, and the other guys seemed genuinely happy and excited to see him. “It’s great to see you.”
“It’s great to see you too,” Simon said. “I wasn’t sure you guys would be here today.”
“Oh, a little rain doesn’t bother us,” Charlie said. “Come on.”
Simon and Charlie went to the other end of the playground. Like yesterday, the guys were scruffy, well dressed, and very warm and friendly.
“Welcome back, my friend,” Ramon said when he shook Simon’s hand.
Then Michael shook Simon’s hand very firmly, looked right into his eyes, and said, “We’re very glad you came.”
They sat on the bench and exchanged some small talk about how nice the playground was and how the kids seemed to be having a great time. As a fellow stay-at-home dad, Simon felt an unusual connection to the guys. It was as if he’d been lost in some remote foreign country and had suddenly stumbled upon a group of friendly Americans.
Then Simon saw Michael’s nostrils flare, as if he were smelling something, and he went to one of the strollers and from a pouch took out a diaper, a small package of Huggies wipes, and A&D cream.
“Jonas!” he called, and his son immediately ran over to him.
Simon was impressed; Jeremy never would’ve acted so obediently. He was also impressed that Michael had been able to tell that his son needed a diaper change from across the playground.
“Impressive,” Simon said to Michael. “How’d you do that?”
“Father’s instincts,” Michael said, and then he led his son to an empty bench and started to change the poopy diaper.
Simon remained on the other bench with Charlie and Ramon.
“We’re really happy you came back,” Charlie said. “My son, Nicky, was saying how much he likes Jeremy.”
“Diego was sayin’ the same thing on the way home yesterday,” Ramon said. “He was like, ‘Is Jeremy coming back tomorrow?’ And I was like, ‘I hope so ’cause I think his dad’s really cool too.’ ”
Ramon, wearing the same gold cross he’d worn yesterday, was smiling widely. It was a perfect, infectious smile, and it was almost impossible to not smile along with him.
“Jeremy likes your kids too,” Simon said. “He was practically begging me to come down here today.”
“So you have Jeremy every day now?” Charlie asked.
“Yeah,” Simon said. “My wife works and we don’t have a babysitter. . . . Are you guys married?”
“I’m divorced,” Charlie said.
“Oh, sorry to hear that,” Simon said.
“Only married people say that,” Charlie said. “Divorced people always congratulate me.” He laughed. “Seriously, it was rough at first, but it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. And it’s better for my ex and Nicky too. My ex and me, we’re still good friends, we just couldn’t live together, you know?”
“How about you?” Simon asked Ramon.
“Me, I’ll never get married,” Ramon said. “I love the ladies too much.”
“That’s Ramon,” Charlie said. “Gotta love his logic.”
Simon and Charlie laughed.
“Seriously,” Ramon said. “I live for women. Women are the most beautiful things in the world. And I’m not just talking about the women in fashion magazines.You can point to any woman on the street and I’ll show you something beautiful about her. It could be her eyes, her hair, her hands, or the tone of her voice, or the sound of her laugh, but every woman has something that makes her beautiful and special. And the way I see it, if God wanted us to be with one woman, he wouldn’t have put so much beauty in the world.”
“Okay, I guess that’s one way to look at it,” Simon said.
“Or more than one way,” Charlie said.
They all laughed. Simon really liked these guys.
“Actually there’s one woman I would’ve married,” Ramon said, “but she took off on me so I had no choice.” Ramon was suddenly teary eyed. “But I’m not mad at her for it. How could I be? She gave me the best gift ever. Diego’s my life now. I can’t imagine living without my son, and my mother, his abuela, helps me raise him, so it’s all good.”
Michael finished changing the diaper, and Jonas ran off to play with the other boys.
During the rest of the play date, Simon had a great time talking to Charlie and Ramon, but Michael wasn’t quite as talkative. Occasionally Michael laughed or smiled or made a comment, but mostly he just sat there, listening and watching his son play.
When the play date ended and the guys were pushing their strollers toward the gate, Charlie said to Simon, “Hey, I think I’m heading your way. Want to ride the subway up together?”
“Yeah, that would be great,” Simon said.
They walked along the Hudson toward the South Ferry station.
Simon made sure Michael wasn’t nearby, then said, “So what’s the deal with Michael anyway?”
“Deal?” Charlie asked.
“He doesn’t talk much,” Simon said.
“That’s just the way he is at first.”
“Oh, okay,” Simon said. “Because I thought maybe he didn’t like me or something.”
“That’s crazy, he thinks you’re a great guy. Michael can just be, what’s the word I’m thinking of? Reserved. Yeah, he can be reserved. But you’ll see, he opens up once you get to know him.”
“Is he married?” Simon asked.
“I don
’t think so,” Charlie said. “Actually he doesn’t talk about Jonas’s ’s mother. But, yeah, Michael’s a great guy . . . He really changed our lives.”
“In what way?” Simon asked, and then he saw Jeremy running ahead with Nicky and he said, “Hey, Jeremy, no running, you have to walk, okay?”
When Simon and Charlie caught up with their kids again, Charlie said, “I’m a fireman.”
“Wow,” Simon said. “I had no idea. That’s very cool.”
“See? That’s what everybody kept telling me, how cool I am. You know how it is—a fireman post-9/11 in New York, you’re an automatic hero. But what did I do? I was home sick that day, hundred and three fever. But afterward, people would cheer and congratulate me, tell me what a great job I was doing. Kids wanted my autograph, people called me ‘sir’ and held doors for me. I didn’t think I deserved it, you know, so I walked around with a big chip on my shoulder. It took a toll on my marriage too. Nicole and me, we’d been having trouble for years anyway, but still, my life was falling apart . . . Then I met Michael and I can’t really explain it. The guy’s like one of those whatchamacallits . . . motivational speakers. He has a way of making you look at yourself differently, of transforming you. It sounds corny, I know, but it’s true.”
They continued to the subway and rode the 1 train uptown together. Charlie asked Simon about his old job, and Simon told him about the clients he’d had and the campaigns he’d worked on.
“Well, if there’s anything I can do to help, you just let me know,” Charlie said. “I mean if you need to go on interviews, need somebody to babysit Jeremy, whatever. I work two twenty-four-hour shifts a week and my ex works full-time, so I’m with Nicky a lot during the day.”
“Thanks,” Simon said. “That’s really nice of you.”
At Times Square, Charlie and Nicky got off and Simon and Jeremy waved good-bye to them through the window as the train pulled away.
