Stranger

So down to baggage claim I went, twenty minutes at the carousel before it finally started to begin the slow dispersion of luggage. I had my notebook with me already, of course, and only had two small pieces of luggage, which after another ten minutes had dropped on to the carousel and was making its way towards me. The tall brown-haired man was smiling at me and I remembered what I had on—I was going to have to be careful not to give a show. I was distracted enough and so uneasy under his steady gaze that my luggage passed me by. I carefully dipped down and collected my first piece when a man I’d noticed before was suddenly next to me lifting my second piece.

 “Is this one yours, too?” he passed it to me.

“Yes, thank you.”

“My name is Josh, and you are?”

“I am leaving. Thank you, Josh.” I shook his outstretched hand and left.

“Just a minute, my bag is coming—please, could you wait a moment?”

“Uh, no.”

            I left for the exit, then stood waiting to cross at the crosswalk when I noticed Josh standing next to me. He didn’t say anything, he just smiled at me behind his dark glasses. Finally the light was green; I crossed the street and headed to long term parking where my car was. Josh was right behind me. He followed me all the way to my car.

“Look, mister, I don’t know what your deal is, but you need to leave me alone,” I turned around and warned him.

“I saw you in the terminal in Honolulu—and I was sitting behind you on the plane,” he said as he took off his shades to shoot me a knowing look. Ah, hazel eyes.

“So?”

“So, you are someone I'd like to get to know better. And I really would like to take you to dinner."

“Oh, so you think I’m some…”

“I think you’re a lovely woman and I would like to get to know you,” rephrased he.

“Look, I just want to go home. Besides, I’m positive that I’m too old for you. Goodbye.” I turned to get into my car and Josh took my wrist, turned me around to face him and brought me close into an embrace.

“Not so fast.”

“Hey, get your hands off me.”

“Tell me your name and I’ll let you go.”

“What is this new manhandling thing you guys seem to all be in to now? Did a new memo come down or something? Geez.”

He said nothing, just chuckled lightly and raised an eyebrow as he looked a question.

“Evelyn. Now let me go.” Instead Josh hugged me tighter and brought his face perilously closer to mine. “Wait just a minute…” but he silenced me with a kiss. I lost my consciousness for a while.

“Now, was that so bad?”

“I don’t know you. This has been the most unreal week of my life. Whatever you are thinking of me—you have it all wrong. Now please leave me alone.” I murmured, trying to suppress my rising heart beat.

“What I think is that you are a beautiful, intriguing woman and I must know you. I know that you need someone; I know that you need a shoulder to cry on because this…” he dared to rub my left cheek with the ginger grazing of the back of his hand, “is way too many tears drop; I know that I probably scare you, but don’t be. I’m not crazy, I’m not dangerous. I do know that I cannot let you get away without this and I hope that you will have dinner with me.” He handed me his business card.

“Alright. Thank you. May I get in my car now?”

“Will you at least promise to call me? Even if to say no?”

“Yes, I will call you.”

“I wish we didn’t have to part now.”

“But we do. Thank you for walking me to my car. Thank you for feeling me up. I’m sure on the way to your car you’ll meet some other lady who will intrigue you even more and you’ll be able to manage a proper fuck on the hood of her car.” I made to get into my car as he held the door. He stopped me by barring my entry.

“Please don’t confuse me with any men you probably met, Evelyn; despite my young appearance I possess a much more mature attention span. You see, I would never make a woman still sinks in her sadness even after she was on vacation.”

            Tears were starting to well in my eyes, my anger so heated that I thought I would spontaneously self-combust. I had no words. How could this stranger guess exactly what I have been through?

“I’m sorry, I know that sounded crude, but I didn’t mean it that way. Just like I know you didn’t mean that harsh accusation you leveled at me. Please call me soon. You deserve better than that and I know that I can show you what better is.”

“I doubt that, Josh.” I threw my bags onto the back seat, got in and slammed the door closed then started the engine, threw the car into reverse and peeled out.

There was the usual airport traffic, but because my apartment was  nearby I was home within twenty minutes or so, parked and heading for the lobby elevator. Little did I know another surprise was waiting for me.

I said nothing as I noted how delicious he looked in his black suede Armani moccasins paired nicely with some well-fitting Diesel jeans and black designer hoodie. Damn, Brad is a handsome son-of-a-bitch and every self-aware move he made confirmed that he knows it. He was my boss, but I did my resign after feeling no longer comfortable with his flirting because he had a wife. They finally divorced though I still had no intention to start any kind of relationship with him.

However, he had a habit of popping in and out of my life whenever he felt like it, hoping he'd catch me at a weak moment and that I'd take the bait. I hadn't fallen into his trap in a year and I wasn't going to do it now. “What the hell are you doing here, Brad?” I asked him, greatly irritated and not trying to hide it.

“I ran into Collins at the club a couple of nights ago. He mentioned that you went on vacation for Christmas and would be back today. Aloha, baby,” he said, smiling his most devilish smile at me.

 “I am not your assistant anymore you could order as you please, not even to speak when your ex-wife treated me like a whore.”

“Don’t be like that. What’s it been—about 2 years? You still mad at me?”

“I really don’t know how long it’s been, Brad. And I’m not mad at you. I don’t care enough to be mad at you. I just know it’s always nice without you around. How dare you intrude on me like this. Don’t even think about getting on this elevator.”

“You still care…” he leaned into me, whispering seductively into my ear. “It sure hasn’t been nice without you…”

I pushed him away from me forcefully. “Brad, I’m not in the mood for your bullshit, now or ever again. I’m going up to my apartment and if you do anything less than get your ass out of this building immediately you’ll be sorry.”

“Oh really? You are threatening me, Evelyn? I’m talking to you…” he made to follow me into the elevator but I shot him a look full of daggers and he wisely pulled back. I hit the button as calmly as I could manage and was thankful when the door finally closed. If he dared to come up and knock on my door I would call the police and report an intruder in the building. And he knew it.

At last I was in the familiar—safe—confines of my own four walls. I threw my bags in the middle of the dining room floor angrily, tore off my stupid sundress and headed for the shower. Fifteen minutes later I emerged tired but refreshed. I poured myself a shot of vodka, downed it quickly and did the last annoying thing on my agenda—I retrieved Josh’s card and dialed the number.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Josh, this is the woman you molested in the airport parking lot earlier this evening. You said to call even if the answer was no. Being that I’m a woman who keeps her word I’m just calling to tell you the answer is no. Goodbye.”

“Wait a minute, Evelyn? Don’t hang up!”

“Josh, really, it’s been a day from hell.”

“I know…first your trip, then your former boss.”

“Excuse me?”

“I heard that little exchange in the lobby earlier. It was no small feat, but I managed to catch up with you and follow you home. I thought I was going to have to intervene, but that douche-bag left as ordered. Bravo.”

“Well, that was very stalkerish of you. And unappreciated. Looks like I’ll have to call the police on you, now.”

“No, you won’t and you know it. I’m not a stalker. I just want to see you again. It doesn’t have to be tonight. And anything you want to know about me I’ll happily tell you: full name, address, home phone, e-mail address, work address, social security number—you can run a background check on me. Whatever you need to do to make yourself feel that you’ll be safe with me.”

“Somehow that all just makes you sound creepier, Josh.”

“I’m not creepy, Evelyn. I am persistent.”

“I think I got that one already.”

“C’mon, relax, breathe deep. Tomorrow, lunch in Santa Monica. With me. I’ll pick you up at eleven. Say yes.”

Was I crazy? Everything in me was screaming ‘no’ but of course I said..

“Okay, Josh. Just a lunch.”

“Wonderful. What’s your e-mail address?” I want to send some information to you.” I gave it to him. “Sweet dreams, Evelyn. I’ll see you tomorrow.” And then he was gone.

I fired up my laptop and opened my e-mail. Sure enough there was a new message from hailstormjosh@gmail.com with the simple subject line FYI. When I opened it up there was a link to the company noted on his business card, a Google map link to his address, his home phone number, his social security number and a link to Intellus.com. I went to his company website and got quite enough info about him from there. It was all very impressive. I sent him a reply stating simply: RECEIVED.

I read Josh’s company bio and cheeked out the Google map link to his address. He lived in a nice old 1950’s house nestled in the hills off of Laurel Canyon. I did the street view but that’s all one could get as the homes were off road and spaced far apart from each other, but it was enough to let me know what I was dealing with and confirmed that anything other than dropping me back at my own doorstep would not be on the menu after lunch. I sent a few select e-mails to let people know that I was home and texted my mother to her cell phone. I just really didn’t want to speak to anyone.

After that, I paid some bills and then accessed my work e-mail to see what horrors awaited me after being a week away from my desk. It just needed a few seconds to upload my vacation pictures from my phone into my laptop and I realized with some regret and regardless of how it all turned out that I had not one picture of me smiling happily. My holiday seemed almost like a figment of my imagination. And now my Sunday was going to be taken up by a new stranger and Monday it would be back to the salt mines. I cursed myself for not taking that day off, as well.

I realized that I had been on the computer for couple of hours and was actually exhausted. I shut everything down: laptop, PC, phone and living room lights. I didn’t bother to unpack as all of my toiletries had been bought specifically for the trip and the clothes all needed to be sorted for wash and the cleaners, anyway. It was early but I just wanted to relax in my own bed. I sat up for a while just thinking about everything. Of course my thoughts quickly turned back again to Josh Hailstorm, young businessman extraordinaire? What was he doing? Nestled up in the Malibu hills maybe with a sex slave chained up in the closet? And what was more horrible—that I thought him capable of such a thing or that I could dredge up such a vision from my own mind?

It was really too early to go to bed. I didn’t want to watch television or read a book. I didn’t want to go online because I knew I would just research more about Josh and my heart wasn’t really in that, either. I didn’t want to hear music because everything in my media player now would forever remind me of my past life. I wasn’t sleepy. I wasn’t hungry. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I finally decided to get up and kill some brain cells with a martini and a movie.

An hour later I had nodded off all cozy and warm on the couch. When I heard someone knocking on the door I thought I was dreaming. When I opened my eyes and still heard it I became angry immediately. I grabbed my phone, turned it back on and marched to the door, ready to call the police and curse Brad out. I knew it had been too good to be true that he’d just gone away so easily but I truly did intend to make him sorry that he’d decided to pull such a stunt.

“Brad, I’m calling the police right now…” I shouted through the door.

“It’s not Brad, Evelyn. It’s Josh.”

I was shocked. I looked through the peephole to confirm that it was him. “I’m still calling the cops,” I yelled at him.

“Please, Evelyn, just open the door for a minute and hear me out. Please?”

“Have you ever heard of a phone, Mr. Hailstorm?”

“I’ve been calling you for the past two hours—have you ever heard of answering your phone, Miss Grayle?”

Sure enough I looked down at my phone and saw the missed message icon and that I had two voice mails. “My phone was turned off. Obviously, I was unavailable which gives you no right to come knocking on my door uninvited,” I informed him, not yelling now but loud enough for him to hear.

“Would you please open the door so that we can discuss this like civilized people.”

“I would, but I’m not entirely sure you are civilized, Mr. Hailstorm.”

“Evelyn, open the door. Please.” It was an order, not a request.

I stood there, nonplussed. The nerve. The gall of this man! Standing at my door uninvited and unexpected, ordering me to open my damn door? Really? Again, with this man I found myself with no words to say that could express the exact level of my contempt.

“Evelyn?”

Against my better judgment—and because I was actually in pleasant disbelief—I opened the door.

“You must forgive me…I lied, Evelyn,” he said, smiling apologetically as he stood looking at me.

“About what?”

“It does have to be tonight.” With that he embraced me warmly, backed me up through the doorway and then kissed me hungrily.