Alex started to stalk after her, but I grabbed his arm. “Please don’t make a scene, Alex,” I begged. “Who cares what she thinks?”
For a second I thought he was going to pull away from me and go after her, but then his muscles relaxed. “Okay, Elle, I’ll let it go. It’s just that she has a way of getting to me. I’ve hardly seen or spoken to her since she walked out, and I thought she couldn’t upset me any more. Then, in less than two minutes she insults me and you, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
I didn’t want to ask but I couldn’t stop myself from voicing my fears. “Do you still have feelings for her, Alex?” I asked.
He was startled. “Oh, God, no! It’s not that at all. I guess what upsets me so much is that she was the one who screwed around, she was the one who lied and walked out on me, and I’m the one who feels bad. Then she suddenly appears tonight and acts as though everything is my fault. And there’s nothing I can do about it.”
It was clear that he was still hurt by what had happened, but I felt better that he wasn’t still hung up on Glenda. I tried to divert his attention by talking about his work and my own. We stayed and circulated, me drinking champagne, him drinking soda water, and the two of us eating enough hors d’oeuvres to make a meal. We even went out on the floor and danced a little, and both of us began to feel better. Finally, Alex leaned over and told me, “I’m ready to go if you are.” When I nodded, he escorted me downstairs and we grabbed a waiting cab. “I can afford one of these more often now,” he said with a little smile.
As we rode down to my apartment, I thought about what had happened tonight. I really liked Alex and admired him in so many ways. At the same time, I realized that he’d been badly wounded by what Glenda had done. He’d told me that before, but tonight I got to see first-hand what a hold she still had on him. “What a bitch!” I thought angrily, and wished there were something I could do to help. I was beginning to feel very protective of this contradictory man who was both strong and weak at the same time. Perhaps because of that, or just because a little of the courage from his Superman suit was rubbing off on me, when we reached my place I asked him if he’d like to come up for a little while. He looked at me solemnly and said, “Yes, very much so.”
As I unlocked the door to my darkened apartment, I whispered, “My roomie is probably asleep, so we’ll have to be quiet.” But when I reached for the light switch, his big hand covered mine to stop me. Then he swept me up in his arms like I weighed nothing. “Which one is your bedroom?” he asked, and all I could do was point.
Truthfully, this was what I’d hoped for when I invited him in, but I hadn’t expected him to read my mind so well nor to take charge so completely. But now I was glad he had done so.
He laid me on my bed gently, and then his mouth was on mine and his tongue was searching and teasing my own. I was startled to discover I was panting. In no time at all my clothes had disappeared, and I was glad for the semi-darkness. Then his costume came off, and I marveled at the musculature I could see in the dim light.