Aversion to Love---Chapter 5

A Story by J. V. Moffatt

A story about a writer

"Is this seat taken?"

I looked up from my notebook to find a tall, attractive dark hair man standing in front of me. I looked around the cafe. Spot had just expanded and the space had more than doubled. Every seat around me was empty. I couldn't understand why this guy wanted to sit with me.

"It's not taken," I answered him sarcastically, "but there are several empty tables around me."

"There are no pretty girls sitting at them."

"Oh really? Well if that's the case... bye." I went back to my notebook. I was in no mood to be hit on.

"What are you writing?"

"You're not going to go away, are you?"

"Nope. I'm Nick by the way."

"I didn't really ask."

"What are you writing?"

"If you must know, I'm working on a piece for my writing class?"

"Where are you going to school?"

"Epiphany."

"Do you have Regina as your writing professor? She is amazing!"

"You know her?! I'm in love with her! I'm in love with her class. I'm changing my major and everything!"

"That's what she does. She changes lives. She makes people pursue their dreams instead of just making money like mindless drones. I'm pursuing my dream right now because of her."

"What is this dream you are having by the way?"

"Music. I play here at Spot almost every week. Last week, they started paying me. I mean, it's only fifty bucks but it's fifty more than I have ever made for my music. I plan to continue on. I used Regina's class to write songs."

"That means that your songs aren't only about love. That's pretty impressive."

"Well, before Regina I wrote songs about love After Regina, I fine-tuned them. I'd say I'm pretty good now."

"Oh yeah?"

"They keep asking me to come back don't they? You should come hear me play some time."

"I'll think about it."

"Maybe you could even let me read what you wrote..."

"Kellie."

"Ah, a name. Hello, Kellie. May I sit with you?"

"I suppose that's alright."

I spent the entire day in Spot with Nick. We talked about anything and everything. I didn't get any writing done but I still wanted to write. Every once in awhile he told me how beautiful I was. Every time he did, I felt a little more uneasy. Guys like Nick never talked to girls like me so it made me nervous. He asked me if he could see me again and I told him he could. I gave him my number and told him to give me a call. Later in the day, I met up with Mike.

"I met someone very interesting today," I said to him as I flopped on his bed.

"Oh yeah? Romantic interest?"

"I don't know. I think so. He's definitely romantically interested in me. I'm not sure how I feel about it though."

"What happened? Where did you meet this guy?"

"I was just minding my own business sitting at Spot when this guy just came to my table and asked if he could sit with me. Long story short, I really enjoyed talking to him."

"What did you guys talk about?"

"Anything. Everything. It was refreshing to talk to someone truly intelligent. He had Regina too. We spent a lot of time talking about her."

"No wonder why you like this guy. Regina's like your favorite subject. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were in love with her."

"Shush. Anyway, he plays at Spot pretty much every week so I'm going to go hear him play Thursday night."

"That's pretty impressive. Wait a minute. Is this guy's name, Nick?"

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"I think it's in your best interest to stay away from him, Kel."

"Why?" I sat up on looked at him. Mike had his back against the wall on the opposite side of his bedroom. He looked sullen. I couldn't figure out why. Generally, I could read Mike like a book but for some reason I couldn't get a clear signal.

"Kel, he has a bad reputation for f*****g girls over. He has a set pattern. You're too smart to fall into that but I think you should just stay away to play it safe."

"I'm not in love with him Mike. Plus, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"Just be careful. I don't want you to get hurt. Getting hurt will affect your writing. You'll want to write through the pain and you know Regina will see right through that. You don't want to disappoint your muse."

"I know. I'll be careful. Don't worry about me so much, Michael."

I spent the rest of the night writing on Mike's bed. I thought about Nick a lot but I couldn't write about him. I couldn't write about him because it could involve writing about love. Then again, I wasn't in love with him. He was definitely penetrating my thoughts. Regina did say that sex and love weren't synonymous so I could definitely write about my lust for Nick. What gets me going? Having an intellectual conversation with someone then becoming physically attracted to them. Even if my body wasn't going to have hot sex tonight, my brain was in another place entirely getting fucked to pieces.