The rest of the workday dragged on. I spent a good hour staring out the window and pondering everything that had been happening to me. By five o’clock I was ready to just go to bed. That was when the phone rang. I let out a breath and picked it up.

“Hello?” I said.

“Well, look who it is!” yelled the voice on the other end. I recognized it as belonging to Tonya—the one and only arsonist. “Hey, how are you doing?”

I wanted to hang up immediately, but I was too curious about what Tonya wanted. “Tonya, hi. I’m sorry, my phone was broken and I didn’t get a new one yet. What can I do for you?”

“I need your help with something! It could be big! We should meet up so we can talk about it in person—maybe have dinner or something?”

“I’m thinking about going to the lecture on Mars this evening at eight-thirty. Perhaps we could meet up there and get a drink at the bar across from the lecture hall after?”

I knew what Tonya wanted and it scared me. What if she killed someone? Was she really just a harmless prankster with a god complex? I was still completely freaked out by the whole prank back in high school. So I decided to be cautious and meet her somewhere public.

“That sounds like a plan. I’ll meet you there at eight-thirty and we’ll see where the night goes from there,” she said. I could tell from her tone that she had a huge smile on her face.

“Okay, I will see you then!”

What could she be smiling about?

– – –

The lecture hall was a small auditorium with enough seats for about a hundred and fifty people. I could tell it was Tonya waiting outside as I approached. She wore a bright red headband to match her red dress. Though, I was wearing my dark green dress shirt which clashed horribly. We were both complete opposites and that just made our chemistry better.

“You look amazing!” Tonya exclaimed.

I smiled at her, “Thanks. You do too! You make a gorgeous redhead.”

She blushed and thanked me for the compliment before turning around to show me her dress. It was a beautiful ruby red and hugged her figure. I took a deep breath, feeling butterflies in my stomach at the sight of her. She wore black flats and had on a thick belt that matched her shoes and dressed up the outfit considerably.

“What? You don’t like it?” Tonya asked, fluffing up her dress.

“Oh, no. I love it! It’s perfect for you.” I said with a smile, before taking her hand and leading her to our seats in the back of the auditorium.

Tonya and I sat next to each other on the aisle and as soon as we sat down it felt just like old times. What was I worried about?

The lecture was about to begin, but we had to wait for a few minutes before the lights dimmed and the stage lit up. The lecturer strode across to the podium. We found each other’s hands and squeezed them as the theater continued to fill with people. The lecture on Mars began.

I couldn’t help but steal glances at Tonya from time to time, feeling her hand in mine. It was so comfortable and natural, I felt like we’d been together for years. It was easy to forget that we were just friends in high school and had only recently reconnected.

“I’m going to step out to the restroom,” I whispered. “Bathroom’s over there. See you in a few minutes?”

She nodded and I let go of her hand, making my way to the back of the theater where I knew there was a restroom.

There was no line and I walked right in, feeling anxious as I looked around. The bathroom was surprisingly large and luxuriously appointed. There was an individual stall for each person. I exhaled loudly as I closed my eyes in relief, grateful for the privacy. My heart pounded as I stripped off my clothes and stepped under the shower head. Then soaped up my hands and began to wash myself gently. I let the warm water run over me, rinsing off the sweat and tears from my face, and I finally felt safe again. The soapy bubbles covered my face and comforted me. My heart started pounding in my chest as memories of that night in high school came back; sending shivers up my spine.

I was startled by a sudden knock on the stall door and quickly shut off the water. I had no towel so I grabbed one of the used ones hanging in the stall, wrapping it around myself as I opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" I exclaimed in surprise to find Tonya standing there.

"I need to talk to you," she said, holding my gaze with a playful expression. "This is important," she insisted.

"Fine, come on in then," I said. Tonya stepped inside and walked over next to the shower controls, leaning her back against the wall with a sly grin on her face.

"What's so important?"

"Well–I was wondering–”

I stopped her with a kiss.

I let go of the towel around my waist and turned the water on, soaking her ruby red dress. She let out a startled squeak as the cold water hit her and then she was kissing me back. I couldn't help but gulp at the touch of her tongue against mine, so slick and warm.

No one had ever kissed me like that before.

"Hey," she breathed when we broke apart.

"Sorry," I said, blushing furiously as I realized what had just happened.

"You're a good kisser," she said, running her fingers through my hair.

I was so unbelievably and stupidly happy that I didn't want to say anything. Or do anything. Or show any sign of how much that one little compliment meant to me. So I just smiled at her and said thanks before reaching around her back to unzip her dress as I kissed her neck. She let out a soft sigh as my lips made their way up to her ear, and then she put her hands on the tile wall of the shower.

"I really like you," I whispered.

"I like you too," she said.

My hands found the zipper on her dress and I pulled it down in one fluid motion. She was smiling when she stepped out of it, and she leaned back against the shower wall, letting me take in her entire body.

I kissed her shoulder briefly before beginning to wash her, washing every inch of her skin with my fingertips as I slid my hands up and down her arms. She giggled and grabbed onto the bar above the shower.

"You're good at this," she said, running a hand through my hair. I smiled up at her and kept moving my hands down to her hips.

"That's the first time anyone's said that," I told her.

"I'm serious," she said, biting her bottom lip as she leaned into me. "You should do this for a living."

I laughed as I kissed her down her body. Kissing her bare breasts and working my way down her stomach.

"You should come work for me," I said, smirking. "I could pay you in kisses."

She blushed and leaned into me. "That sounds fair," she said softly as I kissed her hipbone.

I had to admit she was a beautiful woman. The way her body felt under my hands and lips and tongue only made her more attractive.

I started kissing her softer and longer as I reached places farther below her belly button. She took my hand and pulled me back towards her and kissed me deeply. Her lips were soft and warm and tasted of cherries. We both leaned in to kiss again, her lips still soft but her tongue was fast and wet.

Our tongues met and parted and we kissed again and again until I finally broke the kiss and said, “I'm sorry. My car is gone. What was I thinking?”

She looked at me with her beautiful blue eyes and smiled. “I think you're right. You're probably right," she replied. "How could I love a man without a car?"

I stepped back feeling foolish. "I don't think anyone could," I said quietly.

Then she did something that surprised me, she took my hand and pulled me to her. Her hand was warm and soft. “I'm not sorry,” she whispered.

My heart pounded in my chest as my body felt the need to move. To move closer to what she wanted. That she needed me so badly. I needed her.

“I'm not sure what you want. But you are not going to leave me alone tonight. Not ever,” she whispered, her voice soft.

Even if I wanted to, I knew it would be impossible to stop her as she moved toward me. It was like a drug, a long-awaited high that mixed with the intricacies of pure desire and need. She drew me in close until I could feel her heart beating against my breasts, and then she put her arms around my neck and pulled herself into me. It was only then that I realized what she had done. She had pushed us over, and we were on the ground.

”You are not going to leave me alone tonight,” she whispered again. “I was waiting for you my whole life. And you finally came to me.”

– – –

I offered to walk Tonya to her car since it was so late in the big city and dangerous people came out at night. I should know!

We walked in silence, side-by-side, feeling the warmth of each other’s hands. We reached her car and I opened the door for her. She got in and I closed it behind her, leaning in to give her a kiss that lingered on for a long time.

“I had a great time tonight,” I said as she leaned away from me.

“Me too. I’ll see you soon, okay?” Tonya said before giving me a quick kiss on the cheek and driving off into the night.

I watched her car disappear, feeling my heart just sink back into my stomach. I was so content with the night that I hadn’t even thought about where she might be going. As soon as she was out of sight, a small part of me died inside as I heard the tap-tap of a cane behind me. Then the street lamp overhead grew dim and I could feel the shadows around me expanding, ready to engulf me. The thin man walked around from behind me and grinned. The shadows congealed behind him and the woman in the pink shirt and blue jeans appeared as well.

“I’m sorry, Evan,” she said. “But you’ve been a bad boy.”

“So you’re with him now?” I asked.

“No, I’m not with him now, but I was before. It always goes back and forth. You never know which way you are going to end up, do you?”

“Sometimes things bring you together,” said the thin man. “This time it’s you.”

“I can’t deal with this now,” I said.

I tried to walk away but they blocked me. I tried again and the woman in the pink shirt and blue jeans caught my arm.

“The boy doesn’t want to see us,” she said.

The thin man shrugged, still smiling. “He has to see us sooner or later, it can’t be helped. You can’t just go away because you don’t want to see us.”

“Yes I can,” I told him.

The thin man became angry and got in my face. “You know you can’t keep running. There are consequences for what you do. Did you think that brushing me off would free you? That knocking this woman around would be accepted?” He paused to catch his breath.

The woman in the pink shirt and blue jeans placed a hand on his shoulder and stepped forward. “The One demands your presence.” She finished for the thin man. 

“You’ll have to come with us.”