Page 53 of Rafferty's Rules
Fuck my life.
She even left me a pen.
Chapter 15
ALYSSA
I lower Cat in a cardboard box, complete with the towel I’d liberated from the bathroom, then fill a ramekin dish—which is an odd thing to have found in the kitchen cabinet of a house that’s missing whole rooms full of furniture—with the kitten food we’d picked up from a grocery store. When I say we, I mean me and Cat, the latter smuggled in, wrapped and carried in the hem of my oversized T-shirt. Poor little thing was so dehydrated he barely made a peep and snuggled up tight in the basket of the yellow bicycle for the ride home.
Just thinking of today’s mode of transportation makes me smile. It had been so convenient today, not to mention fun. The only downside is the concern that I’ll park somewhere only to find later that someone has swiped their credit card and ridden it off. But it had been kind of exhilarating to ride through the city traffic with the sun on my shoulders and the wind in my hair. At least, the bits not covered by the prerequisite helmet. But it was freeing with a side order of terrifying because city traffic is hair-raising, and Sydney motorists seem to hate more than a little on cyclists. I thought my heart would stop when a cab driver honked his horn as I’d veered into his lane when Cat had popped his head out of the basket, but my gesticulated apologies seemed to do the trick. Either that or the driver assumed I was on acid and not to be messed with.
But I loved it. There was no one to fuss or chide. There was just me and my borrowed yellow bike. I didn’t learn to ride a bike until I was twelve. Wrapped in so much cotton wool as a child, I’m surprised I grew to reach five foot tall. My parents only relented when I swore I’d apply for a motorcycle license as soon as I was able as payback. I was mostly a biddable child, a biddable adult up until recently, but like everyone, I have my breaking point. Not to mention a latent stubborn streak a mile wide.
‘That stubborn streak sure surprised them again when I said I wasn’t going to marry William,’ I whisper to Cat, who doesn’t seem all that impressed for something that might still be clinging to the branch of a tree, fighting the birds for space, were it not for me and my stubborn streak. I rub the sore patch on my elbow, a result of that rescue, as I decidesurprisedisn’t quite the right term. I shocked my parents speechless, though not long enough for my liking because they’d shortly began to harangue and argue at every point.
William has always been so careful of you, my mother protested.Can’t you see that this little incident as the same? Foolish and misguided yes, but that he was thinking of you?
I refrained for asking if she thought he was thinking of me when he’d paid to house his dick in another woman’s mouth. Not that I’d have actually saiddickout loud. I didn’t want to give her a coronary.
Judge not,added my father, and you will not be judged.
But that ship has sailed. I never want to set eyes on my ex ever again. As Cat begins to purr softly, I push the memories away. They’ve no business invading my head today.
‘Night, sweetie,’ I whisper, stroking his bony head one more time. ‘Don’t worry about the vets tomorrow. I’ll think of something.’ Straightening, I make my way over to the door, switch off the light, and then go upstairs.Maybe I shouldn’t have given him a name,I think,given my recent experiences. And I probably shouldn’t have named him after a prostitute’s cat.
But I just loved the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” as a tween, swept away by Audrey Hepburn’s stylishness and fabulous accessories—oversized sunglasses and hats; tiara and jewels, bags and bangs. Of course, I didn’t realise at that age that Holly was an escort. I wish I’d never picked up Capote’s novella because prostitution can’t ever be glamorous, can it? Not for the first time, I wonder why William didn’t go the escort route. Why pick up a streetwalker with a wallet like his?
And why am I thinking about this right now? Maybe because I’m nervous about what I’ll find upstairs. Will Rafferty have written a list, or will he have torn the paper to tiny bits?
I breathe in deeply as I reach the third floor, releasing a long, cleansing breath.
I’ve got this.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my twenty-five years on this earth, it’s that you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth. Happiness is a talent we can all perfect. It’s not diamonds or holidays or that perfectly posed image posted to Instagram. It’s in the way we recover from life’s disappointment because anything worth having is usually difficult at first. Ask the blue baby who had open heart surgery in order to live. Then ask her tomorrow morning how she fared with the man in the bedroom she’s entering...
Rafferty sits on the chair, not the bed, which is probably a bad start.But it’s nowhere near the end, the wicked shoulder sitting Lissa whispers in my ear.
His head doesn’t lift as I enter the room.
‘Are we sleeping on the same side?’
‘What?’ This time, he looks up though he doesn’t hold my gaze. He looks weary. No, confused. Maybe a little annoyed?
‘Sleeping? Are we on the same sides as last night?’ I ask blithely as my stomach does an excellent impersonation of a washing machine on spin cycle.
‘I suppose.’
I still can’t make out his expression as his eyes dip to the note—my note, my mad idea—in his hand, and his other rubs the days scruff on his cheek. The rasp is almost audible across the room, an unravelling auditory memory that quivers between my—
‘Lissa, what the hell is this about?’ As his gaze hits mine, I find I can now name the expression. He’s conflicted. That’s a good sign, isn’t it?
‘Exactly what it says on the tin.’ He opens his mouth, but I beat him to the punchline. ‘It’s all there, written between the lines. I find things are always much clearer when written in black and white.’ Or blue and white, as the case may be. God knows I tried long enough to craft the initial words.
Rafferty’s Rules.
In order to spend the next twelve days with Alyssa Montgomery, having wonderful no-strings and no-holds-barred sexy times, I need her to:
Just fill in the blanks. That’s all you need to do.
