Her Anchor (53 page)

He sauntered into the kitchen and saw a note on the counter. He snagged a bottle of beer from his refrigerator in an attempt to get ahead of the hangover and opened it as he picked up the letter.

“Tom, I’m sorry I had to leave so early, something came up. Nice move with the blindfold. I hope you don’t mind, but I hated to see you living like this so I tidied up a bit. I would have thrown everything away too, but I couldn’t find trash bags so it’s just all in one place now. This was a lot of fun though, give me a call sometime, okay? P.S. You’re a bit of a bed hog. Something to work on.” Her number was scrawled at the bottom of the note with a smiley face.

He put down his beer and examined the note more closely, just enjoying the fact that someone had written him a handwritten note. Thomas went to find his phone, but couldn’t find it in any of the normal places that he was used to putting it.

He walked back into his bedroom and searched for his phone, finding it eventually in the bed side table where he normally kept his condoms. However, the box wasn’t here. The condoms were all laid out and the box was torn to pieces. He picked up his phone and smiled, remembering actually doing that. It was a pretty pathetic way to get back at Sarah, but it was therapeutic.

He ran back into the kitchen and typed in her number, trying to come up with the perfect way to start a message. He eventually decided on this message: “Hey, want to know what’s intense?”

****

Thomas sat and waited on his couch, drinking a cold beer, catching up on all the sports news that had occurred the night before. Every few seconds he would reach for his phone and click the lock button so that his phone would light up, just to see if Anne had responded, but he had no such luck. Instead, after about twenty minutes of doing this his phone vibrated with a message from Sean and then another from Doc.

He opened them both and read them, but they basically said the same thing: “We’re hungover and we have breakfast. Plus, we’ve got stories so we’re coming over.” Thomas gave them both his new address and waited in his clean apartment.

He could hear the elevator bell ding as he remembered the note on the counter. He vaulted over his couch and slid over the top of his counter, grabbing the note as he fell off. Just as he hit the floor and stood up the door opened and Sean and Doc poured into his room.

He took in their appearance right away. They were both still wearing the clothes from the night before, Sean had an obnoxiously large hickey on his neck, but Doc had a clear bruise on his face that resembled that of an open hand. Sean tossed the bag of breakfast food onto the coffee table and Doc placed the three coffees on the table beside them.

They both circled the room like wolves, studying their prey for any kind of weakness, just taking in the apartment. Sean, not out of place, was the first to speak.

“Damn, Tommy, this place is incredible.” Sean whistled to himself. “What do you do again, because I think I should get into that business too?” Thomas walked around from behind the counter, slipping the paper into his back pocket. He walked over to Doc and shook his hand, examining his face.

“The girl liked slapping dudes, I was so drunk I couldn’t feel it so I kept telling her to hit harder. So now I’ve got a new bruise to add to this one.” Thomas and Sean both laughed until Doc stood up and showed off a bite mark that was bruising on his upper ass cheek. They both laughed uproariously and Sean walked over, shaking hands and hugging Thomas.

“You should have heard it, man. I was in the other room and it sounded like she was trying to kill him. She was getting mad he kept asking for more.” Doc shrugged and grabbed a coffee out of the drink holder and passed it to Thomas, who walked across the room to his fridge and pulled out a bottle of Bailey’s. He poured some into his drink but both Sean and Doc declined.

“No more for me until this bruise heals, lord knows what else I would do if I started drinking now.” Sean went and sat down on the couch and stared at Thomas who sat at his little kitchen island. Thomas stared back at him and broke the silence.

“What about those hickeys, bud?” Thomas and Doc both laughed, but Sean didn’t do anything to cover them up or even laugh. He stood up and walked over to Thomas, sitting down next to him, very intensely.

“So, tell us about this girl.” Doc leaned in and chuckled a bit. Thomas sat back and looked back and forth between the two of them.

“What girl?” Thomas had never been a very good liar, especially when it came to girls and Sean. Sean was a bloodhound when it came to sniffing out lies.

“Come on, man. We saw you leave and you both know you can’t lie to me.” Sean lifted his coffee to his face and took a sip, not breaking eye contact.

“I mean, she came back here, we watched some TV and had a drink or two, and then we went to sleep. That’s it.” Sean leaned forward in his seat and sniffed. He sat back and took another sip of coffee.

“Damn, I thought for sure you got lucky.” Sean stood up and walked over to the couch, grabbing the remote. “I guess my sex senses are getting a bit rusty with old age.”

****

After about two hours of more ESPN and eating cheap, greasy food to crush their hangovers, Sean and Doc headed out, leaving Thomas alone with his thoughts. As he closed the door behind them he fell back into the old rhythm he had before they arrived. He grabbed another beer from the fridge, sat down on his couch, and checked his phone.

It wasn’t too long though before his phone vibrated with a new message from Anne. The message said that while she enjoyed herself and they hit it off well, she was waiting on someone who was currently abroad on business. She felt that they could be something special and she didn’t want to miss out on that potential opportunity.

Thomas was crushed and stared at the message on the screen for a while before responding as he attempted to take it all in. The way they had been together was like something he had never experienced. She brought out a side of him that he had felt like he had needed to lock away and they had only known each other a day.

But, Thomas was nothing if not respectful and understood that she wanted to give the other relationship a shot. He would have wanted the same chance in the other guy’s situation. So, he replied by telling her that he understood and that she needed to do what she felt was right.

So, over the next few weeks Anne and Thomas spoke on and off. Thomas learned about where she worked, her hopes and dreams, and her passions. He even considered her one of his closest friends after only a few days, even if the list was fairly short. He also stayed in touch with Doc and Sean and helped them with various girl issues that came along. Until one day there was a knock on his door.

****

Thomas went to answer the door and heard the familiar clicking and twisting of a key in the lock. He quickly ran to the closet and pulled out his Louisville Slugger and stood, hiding behind a wall, just in case someone was attempting to break in. As the door opened though, a familiar voice chimed out from the crack.

“Thomas, its Sarah, are you home?” Thomas placed the bat down and opened the door completely. Sarah stood in the doorway, just as beautiful as he remembered, save for the makeup that was running down her face.

“Why the hell do you still have my key?” Sarah held up the keychain and dangled it. She had clearly been crying and didn’t know where else to go. Thomas had actually noticed that his boss was spending a lot of time with his new secretary and Thomas might have given her a few tips on his hobbies to ensure that he would like her.

“I don’t know, I held onto them just in case I guess.” Sarah pushed passed Thomas and sat down on his couch, resting her face in her hands. Thomas closed the door and walked across the room, choosing to sit across from her in a chair, not on the couch. Even though he had thought he had moved on, he couldn’t help but be happy to see her again.

“So, what brings you back here?” Thomas awkwardly checked his phone and saw that he had a message from Anne. He opened it and read it. It said that she didn’t want to wonder what life could have been if she missed her chance with him. He quickly replied back that he understood she wanted to wait for the guy who was abroad and that was a bit insulting that she kept bringing it up.

“Well, Peter left me for some bitch. His secretary of all people. Can you believe it?” Sarah began to cry and occasionally looked over at Thomas who was paying attention to his phone. “I mean, I’m just so hurt. Why aren’t there any good guys?” Thomas nodded absently as a new message from Anne popped in.

It said that she meant Tom. She wanted to give them a chance. She didn’t want to wait for the other guy. She wanted to meet him. He replied back immediately: “Just one drink,” and then turned his attention to Sarah.

“What do you want me to do about it? Peter is my boss, I won’t do anything to jeopardize my job.” Sarah sniffled and looked at him with puppy dog eyes.

“Well, can’t we give ‘us’ another shot?” Thomas laughed loudly and stood up. He pulled out his wallet as he walked towards her.

“I begged for you to stay and what was it that you said?” He opened up his wallet, “the love was gone, and that no amount of money or success would keep you around?” He took out a $20 bill. “And then I found out you went and fucked my boss behind my back while we were still together.” He placed the $20 bill in her hand and closed her hand around it. “There is no ‘us,’ get yourself a taxi home, maybe this will be enough money to get you to leave. I’ve got a date.”

****

Thomas pushed Sarah out and the door and closed it behind him, locking it. He looked at Sarah and put his hand out, palm open. She looked at him confused and he nodded towards the keychain that she was still holding on to. She tentatively raised it up towards him and he snatched it out of her hand. He gave her a wave as he turned and ran down the hallway.

As he made his way to the entrance he called out for the woman who was there to hold the door. He jogged out through the door and stopped at the street corner, trying to wave down a taxi. A voice called out to him from behind and he turned to look.

The woman who was holding the door closed it and walked towards him, who he finally realized was Anne. They slowly started walking towards each other and stood face to face quietly. Neither said anything for a few moments. She reached out and took his hands and placed them on her hips. He laughed and leaned down, kissing her passionately as they stood on the sidewalk.

“You wanna go upstairs?” Thomas asked, his hands massaging her hips. She contemplated the question and began to walk backwards to the door.

“I’d like that.” Thomas followed her inside his building and through the doors towards his apartment. He walked with his hand around her shoulder and as they neared the door he kissed her on the cheek. They turned the corner to his apartment and he saw that Sarah was still sitting in front of his door. He went to stop and turn around, but Anne kept walking. “Is that her,” she asked in a hushed tone as they got within a few feet of the door.

“Thomas, who the hell is this skank?” Anne looked down at her clothes, she was dressed in a pair of jeans, a tank top, and the same knitted cardigan sweater from the first time they met. She looked back up at Sarah who was dressed in what appeared to be a cocktail dress, makeup running down her face. Thomas stuttered for a few seconds looking between them, but Anne responded.

“Skank? I’m not the one sitting outside my ex’s apartment looking like I’m on a bad walk of shame.” Anne took a step forward towards Sarah who had stood up to confront them. “This lady in front of you is here to fuck this man.” Anne pushed passed Sarah towards the door. “Now, please, unless you want to hear me screaming his name, I would leave.” Sarah looked at her horror stricken and stared at Thomas who shrugged and pulled out his keys to unlock the door.

“You heard her, it’s your choice.” Sarah gasped and picked up her purse and trudged away, swearing. Thomas looked over at Anne whose chest was puffed out, her pierced nipples could be seen clearly through the shirt. He grabbed and lifted her up, kissing her. “My god that was sexy.” Anne laughed as the door swung open and Thomas carried her inside. She looked around the apartment and smiled at how clean it was.

“I’m glad to see you kept up the place,” she told him between kisses. He began to kiss her neck as they made their way into the house and he put her on the counter in the kitchen.

“Somebody important told me to take care of myself,” he pulled off her sweater and started kissing her neck again. “I decided to listen.” Anne tugged at his shirt and pulled it over his head exposing his back to her raking fingernails. He kissed and sucked at her neck, hickies quickly started to form across her tender skin. His hands searched for the edge of her shirt and he slid his hands up into her shirt, his thumbs began to flick and play with her nipples. She moaned as she turned and playfully bit him in the ear.