There was no way I could see him again. I caught the later train and hoped he wouldn't knock on my door. By the time Friday came and he hadn't, I had relaxed. To avoid him, I'd have to continue to catch the late train, which was a real pain. Stupidity comes with a cost.

When I met with the girls that night, I asked them if they thought I should go and get tested for a sexual disease.

They both laughed.

"What's the point if you have no symptoms? If he gave you something, there's nothing you can do about it until you have some signs."

"I might give it to someone else," I said, stunned they were so naïve.

They laughed again. Macy said, "Yeah, sure, the next time you have sex will be in five years. You'll know by then if you caught something."

Belinda noticed my stricken face. She slapped Macy on the back and then hugged me. "Just make sure you use a condom."

I put my straw in my mouth and sucked a large mouthful of my vodka and orange. After a few drinks, I loosened up and told them about him. How he'd made me orgasm, his tattoos, great body and eyes. I had them both swooning by the time I was finished. They told me to go back to catching my normal train so I could have sex with him again.

We arranged to meet at my place the following night to go to the movies and maybe a nightclub. I was putting on my lipstick in the bathroom while Macy and Belinda went through the Saturday paper, laughing at the happenings in the world and fighting about what movie to see. They went into hysterics over a weird story they read. A man wanted his ears changed so he would look like a dog.

Someone knocked on the door. Probably Percy returning the vacuum cleaner he had borrowed that morning. Belinda said she'd get it.

A man's deep voice said, "Is the girl who lives here home?"

I peered around the bathroom door and stared wide-eyed at Macy as Belinda stammered, "H...hang on." She stepped back inside, half-closed the door and whispered, "It's him."

I knew who she was talking about but said, "Who?"

"Train Guy," she muttered.

I wrenched in a breath. They giggled. "Tell him I'm not home," I hissed.

"I can't do that. He knows you're here. You have to talk to him."

I realised, that even though we whispered, he could hear us because the door was partially open. I sucked in some courage, held my head high and opened the door fully.

He leaned against the rail, his head hung, his ankles crossed, and his arms folded over his chest.

Belinda and Macy hovered behind me. Train Guy's eyes shone bright with humour. He'd heard every word we'd said. He glanced at the girls and then looked at me. They giggled as he said, "Hi."

"Hi," I replied.

He glanced at the girls again.

Belinda got the hint. "Macy and I are going to the Crown for a wine. Maybe we'll catch you there soon." She steered Macy inside to get their bags.

He grinned and said, "My name is Adam. Adam Croe. Not Train Guy."

I blushed and managed to stammer, "S...sorry."

"You've been avoiding me," he said.

"I've been working late," I lied.

He grinned and said, "Right...?"

"Look," I said. "I don't do that. It was a mistake. I was upset. I didn't want to see you again. I'm embarrassed and have caught the later train because I didn't want you to feel you had to talk to me. Thank you for being nice to me and walking me home, but I'm not like that. I'm not easy, at least, normally I'm not. I don't know why I did it. If you think I'll have sex with you again, I won't. So, you better go...and...and you didn't even use a condom. You could have given me an STD for all I know, but I'll have to live with that now." I ran out of puff, bit my lower lip, folded my arms and glared at him, hoping he would walk away.

He smiled and stepped towards me. Adam flipped my lip from my teeth with a slight touch of his finger and said, "What's your name?"

I gasped but wasn't sure if it was because of the touch of his finger or the way he looked at me with his gorgeous eyes. "Jasmine," I whispered. "Jasmine Baker."

"Hello, Jasmine Baker." He grinned and tilted his head.

"Hello," I said, swallowing the lump in my throat.

"I would like to take you to dinner."

"Oh!"

He laughed and added, "We won't have sex unless you want to, and I don't think you're easy. It took me a long time to find a reason to approach you." He grinned and cocked his head again. "And just so you know, I'm not that easy either." He laughed again as I blushed. Then he bent his head and whispered in my ear, "I don't have an STD."

His warm breath caressed my skin. My face burned with embarrassment. I didn't know what to say. Then he added, "Will you come to dinner with me, Jasmine?"

I felt like a blank whiteboard because it took me a moment to speak. "Okay. I'll get my bag."

Adam smiled and stepped back. I went into the bathroom, checked my appearance in the mirror and waved my hands in my face. I took a deep breath. "Why did you say yes, idiot," I whispered, then grabbed my bag. He had leaned on the rail again and pushed off it as I locked the door.

Adam led me to an old Toyota four-wheel drive tray-back Ute. He opened the door and helped me in. We drove in silence to Footscray. He stopped at a red-painted restaurant with a round doorway trimmed in black. Two large gold dragons sat on either side of the entry, blowing flames at each other. "I hope you like Chinese."  

Yikes, they haven't said much to each other. Awkward or what?

Photo copyright - istock

Words - 1000