5. Ian is Confused (As Usual)

Ian wonders if their tryst was a mistake.

Ian knew that he wasn't unattractive to women. He took good care of himself physically. He hadn't let himself go like so many other men his age. He jogged and occasionally entered local 5K races. He kept a set of weights in his spare bedroom and worked out a couple of times a week. He stayed away from fast food places and tried to eat a fairly healthy diet. He was hygienic and didn't dress like a slob. Women sometimes flirted with him and he occasionally dated.

Still, he really hadn't expected a woman Chrissy's age to show a physical interest in him. Nor had he thought of her in that way. He just enjoyed their growing friendship.

Chrissy had certainly surprised him! And a very pleasant surprise it had been, too! Without warning, she had sat on his lap and started kissing him passionately. Afterward, they had ended up on his sofa in a heated bout of passion.

But he was very baffled by what occurred afterward.

They were lying together recovering from their lovemaking when Chrissy sat up and began to hurriedly get dressed. “I have to be somewhere,” she said. She finished dressing, grabbed her things and said, “See ya,” and left!

As usual, Ian was confused! What a strange way for her to act. They had just had sex for crying out loud! Yet, she acted like they had just played a game of gin-rummy.  Had she acted impulsively and then regretted it afterward? Perhaps she was embarrassed about it. He worried that she might not return to his studio anymore.

He needn't have worried. He stopped by his studio on the third day after their little tryst on his sofa and tried working on his painting again. She walked in about an hour after he got there and plopped down on the sofa and began reading a novel she had bought the last time they went to the used bookstore. She greeted him with her usual, “Hey,” and then turned her attention to her book as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. After about a half hour of silence, he decided to mention something about it to see what her reaction would be.

“You know that crazy theory I had about our lives really being just a story that some author is writing?” he asked her.

“Yeah?”

“Well, thanks to you, now it's a pornographic novel,” he said with a smile.

Without looking up from her book, she said, “Now maybe somebody will read it.”

He chuckled. At least she acknowledged that it had happened. He decided not to pursue it any further.

A couple of days later he had been painting for about an hour and decided to call it a night. He started cleaning his brushes and turned toward Chrissy, who was in her usual place on the sofa with her book.

“Want to go for a beer?” he suggested.

She set her book down and looked at him with a straight face. “I'd rather have sex.”

Ian hesitated. She had a really dry sense of humor and it was hard to tell if she was serious or kidding sometimes. Her face was unreadable.

“Um... yeah... that's also an option,” he said hesitantly with a shrug.

She stood up and began removing her clothes. She was serious!

He set his brushes down and went over to the window and drew the blinds.

Author's Note

Not much to this chapter. It's really just a filler between the last one and the next one, when the REAL excitement starts!

Reviews

[John Lauterbach]

I want to get a more helpless feeling from Ian during this part. I was close to feeling really bad for him until I read "He needn't have worried." At that point I said "Oh, I wont worry then, I guess it works out."

I think this is an important part to work on. It's the first time Ian is threatened with not seeing Chrissy again, and I think what he does without her is important for the audience to see.

[Craig2591]

Good point. Thanks.

[Bella Luna]

Haha oh Ian, Chrissy is just always keeping him guessing! I love how she is so relaxed about everything! I'm very curious to see what happens next!

[Craig2591]

Thank you.

[Faith]

She does keep him guessing! The mystery of it all. On to the next chapter, want to keep going!

[Tina Kline]

I think she's getting him all tied up in knots. I think most people can be confusing sometimes, I think we even confuse ourselves sometimes. It seems right now she has him eating out of her hands. Good storytelling.

[Tabitha t]

Lol women...always confusing men. hell i am a woman and I dont understand them any better. I liek the joke about being a character in a book it made me chuckle.

[Kaya]

Poor Ian, I can just picture him sitting there there after she leaves, completely confounded. This chapter really did give the story a much better flow in my opinion. Before, the jump the the snippets was a little jarring, now there's a much better sense of time passing, and the sense that this may be growing into something. Like the rest of the story, its really well written and I thoroughly enjoyed it!