Page 62 of Animal's Reformation
Rose:Maybe when we get to know each other better. Your picture is a bit vague too.
She opened a bottle of water on her desk and took a sip.
Hunter:It wouldn’t be fair if I shared and you didn’t. How many men are you talking to?
Rose:Not many. You’re the first to reach out to me in Real Time.
Hunter:That’s because I’m serious. A lot of men just want only one thing.
Olivia scribbled in her notebook and took another drink of water.
Rose:And you don’t?
Hunter:I’m not vulgar like that. I want the right woman for a real connection. What do you want?
Rose:The same. I’d love to share my life with someone, but that special person is hard to find.
Hunter:I totally agree. Do you live with your parents?
“That’s an odd question,” she muttered under her breath while writing it in her notebook.
Rose:No. Why?
Hunter:Just wondered. Your profile said you were twenty-five. A lot of people in their twenties, even thirties still live at home because of the expensive rents. I guess you must have roommates.
“Okay, buddy, you’re just getting weirder,” Olivia said out loud.
Rose:Nope. What about you? I see you’re thirty-seven.
Hunter:I don’t live with my parents, if that’s what you’re asking. Just joking. I own my home and live alone.
Rose:That’s cool.
Hunter:It can be very lonely sometimes. Do you ever get lonely, Rose?
Rose:I do.
For the next half hour, Hunter kept messaging her and they talked about a lot of different subjects and topics, but never anything racy. Olivia could see the way he was trying to play on her emotions, especially on her professed loneliness. “He’s definitely trying to reel me in,” she muttered as she leaned back against the chair and stretched her arms high above her head. Olivia had decided that Hunter Lewis would be the star in her research paper. She’d have to dig up a photo to send him, then see how far he would take this. She didn’t believe for one minute that he was as unique as he claimed to be. Even though he acted like a gentleman, Olivia wasn’t really buying Hunter’s act. Maybe he’d surprise her and be exactly what he claimed to be: an old-fashioned man, who respected women and wanted to make a soulful connection. The only way she’d find out was to meet him, and with her paper due in less than six weeks, Olivia had to make sure to move things along quickly.
There was one thing for certain: Hunter Lewis was different from any of the other guys who’d contacted her. A part of her was more than curious to meet him, and another part of her was terrified. Hunter set off small alarm bells inside her, but she chalked that up to him being a stranger in cyberspace, where so many people weren’t who they claimed to be.
Rose:It was nice getting to know you, but I have to go now.
Hunter:I want to get to know you better. Let’s talk tomorrow night at around nine?
Rose:Sure. Nite, Hunter.
Hunter:I look forward to continuing our conversation. Nine o’clock can’t come fast enough. Goodnight, Rose.
Olivia clicked out of her profile and shut down her computer. Hunter seemed fascinated by her and anxious to move things along. A thread of apprehension wove its way along her spine. She stood and switched off the floor lamp, then walked around the house and double-checked all the doors and windows to make sure they were locked. “Can I get any more paranoid?” she mumbled while slipping the chain on the front door. Olivia pulled aside the sheet covering her living room window and looked out at the empty street. The evergreens stood erect in the front yards across the cul-de-sac. The tops of the neighboring maple trees swayed slowly in the nighttime breeze. She shifted her gaze to a window at Animal’s house. Slits of light filtered through its shutters, casting thin threads of gold onto the frost-covered bushes on the side of the house.
Olivia pictured Animal sitting on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table as he watched television, and a cozy feeling spread through her. As silly as it sounded, just seeing a light on in his house made her feel safe.
She let go of the sheet and crossed the room to her bedroom. Tucked under the comforter, Olivia drifted off to sleep as thoughts of Animal floated through her mind.
