Submission

Chapter 1

 Lorelei sighed as fastened the strap on her heels. Her skin-tight dress made it difficult for her to lean forward and reach her feet. She sat on the end of Bryan's bed as she finished getting changed. He was still in the bathroom, and she hoped to get out of the apartment before he came out to make awkward small talk.

She had gone on a few dates with Bryan, and he seemed like a nice enough guy. After a few glasses of wine, they started taking each other's clothes off on the couch and moved to the bedroom. The sex was lackluster. He insisted on missionary and it lasted a total of three minutes. He was smiling at the end, and Lorelei struggled to not look disappointed.

Lorelei gave the man a chance. He was one of Molly's fiance's friends. Molly was insistent that Lorelei goes on at least one date to try and get over her messy breakup with Matthew. She had spent the last month in a funk, and Molly wanted to see her happy again.

Lorelei stepped out into the hall. She muttered a curse when her heels loudly clicked against the hardwood floor. The bathroom door flew open, and Brian rushed out. He had put on a pair of basketball shorts but remained topless. Lorelei sucked in her bottom lip and clutched at the strap of her purse.

"Where are you going?" Bryan asked.

"I have to get home," she said.

"I was hoping you could stay the night."

That was the last thing she wanted to do. She struggled to sleep next to a warm body in a hot sweaty apartment. She was a light sleeper, so if the person snored she was in for a sleepless night. Matthew never snored.

"I have to go home and check on the cats," she said.

Bryan raised a brow. Lorelei swallowed past the lump forming in her throat as the awkwardness sat heavy in her gut. She thought that she could be sick at any moment. She hated these kinds of talks. That is why she had been rushing out of the apartment. She already knew the chances of her returning his texts after tonight was unlikely.

"They're cats," he said. "They'll be fine for a night,"

"They have separation anxiety," she said. "They will tear the place apart if I am not home."

Bryan shook his head. Lorelei tightened her grip on her purse. Her heart was pounding in her chest as her mouth went dry. Her eyes darted over to the door and she contemplated how fast she could run in heels.

"Did you not have fun?" he asked.

"I did," she said.

Her voice came in a high-pitched squeak. She was never good at lying.

"Let me make sure you at least get home safe," he said.

"I'm going to take the subway," she said. "I'll text you when I get home."

"I'm not going to see you again, am I?"

"No, you will."

Lorelei's voice gave away her lie. She did not know why she insisted on lying. He was giving her an opening to speak her mind and she was not taking it. They both knew after she texted him that she got home, he would never hear from her again.

Bryan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Goodbye, Lorelei," he said.

Her teeth were digging into her bottom lip. She did not want to say anything because she knew her voice would come out in a squeak again. She nodded her head and rushed toward the door. She ran down the hall as fast as she could. She bounced from foot to foot while she waited for the elevator that felt like it would never come.

Once the doors opened, she stepped in. Her knuckles ached as she had not let go of the purse strap. She stretched out her hands as she stepped out into the cool night air. It was late, so not many people were out on the street. She walked to the subway station and struggled to not trip on her heels as she went down the stairs.

There were only two other people on the platform. They both had headphones on and were staring at their phones. Lorelei looked up at the screen to see that the train was coming in two minutes.

She wished she had her headphones. Music could drown out the thoughts of her night with Bryan. There was very little foreplay and the whole thing felt rushed. Lorelei wanted to stop halfway because it felt awkward and Bryan had no rhythm. She walked away not feeling satisfied.

The train whooshed by and the doors opened. Lorelei stepped in and took a seat. She glanced up at the green lights on the map. It was a ritual of hers because she always had an irrational fear that she got on the wrong subway and would end up lost in Toronto.

Lorelei looked forward to see a man sitting on the seat across from her. He was about ten years older and his hairline was starting to recede. His eyes were locked on her chest. She regretted wearing a low-cut dress. She thought that Bryan would appreciate it, along with the black lace lingerie she had picked out, but he was so focused on getting her naked that he did not appreciate her effort. The man chuckled and leaned forward.

"Big night out?" he asked. "You look beautiful."

Lorelei pressed her lips into a line. A chill ran through her body as she stared at the man. The more she looked at him, the bigger his smile grew.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" he asked.

They stopped at the next station. She only had two more stops until she could get off. She wondered if she should move to another seat, but she was not going to let two different men ruin her night. She looked down to see a gold band around his finger.

"Does your wife know that you hit on younger women on the subway?" she asked. "Sweetheart?"

The man's smile dropped off of his face. Lorelei smirked and raised her brows waiting for his response. He cleared his throat and leaned back. Lorelei maintained eye contact with him. He sunk further back into his seat as she stared at him.

Her stop was announced and she winked at the man as she walked off of the train. She made her way out of the station, and down the street to her apartment building. She fished through her purse for her keys before entering and making her way up to her apartment. She slowly opened the door and slid in so that the cats would not run out. She flicked on the lights and set her purse down on the counter. She unbuckled her heels and kicked them to the side. She ran her fingers through her hair as she let out a deep breath.

Her cats, Milo and Oliver, were lounging in their cat tree next to the couch. Lorelei flopped down on the sofa and set her feet on top of the coffee table. She grabbed the remote and turned on the television. She looked at her phone to see a message from Molly.

Molly: Breakfast tomorrow? I want to hear all about your hot date ;)

Lorelei laughed. Her best friend had been the polar opposite when it came to dating. She was a month away from her wedding while Lorelei was forever stuck on only going on first dates.

Lorelei: There's not much to say. It was a bust.

Molly: Bad details are still something I want to hear.

Lorelei: Alright. I can meet you at 10.

Molly: Perfect.

Lorelei pulled the blanket off of the back of the couch and wrapped it around herself. She laid down and curled up on her side as she watched the movie. She drifted off to sleep partway through the movie.

She woke up in the middle of the night and dragged her feet to her bedroom. She pulled off her dress and laid down on her bed. She fell asleep with thoughts of how Matthew used to hold her while she slept.