Free Along for the Ride by Ruby Laska

Rafi was everything to her, everything she wanted in a man.
    But he wasn’t going to be hers forever. Her appeal would wane when some gorgeous younger woman came into Rafi's life, a woman with everything ahead of her, with taut skin and glossy hair.
    Philip, on the other hand, had come back. She guessed she shouldn’t be surprised. Men like Philip strayed, but they returned to their reliable, proper mates, if only for appearances.
    When she was with Rafi, she never doubted that he wanted to be there. But how long would it be until Rafi tired of her? Her lip trembled. She would trade all the rest of her days for a week of his love, if she could have him completely. But that’s not the way it was going to be. She was a novelty. Maybe even a project, an outlet for Rafi's generous heart. But she couldn’t ask him for any promises.
    Lauren decided. She would dispense with Philip once and for all; then she would go to Rafi and accept whatever time he would give.
    “All right,” she said to Philip. “Let’s get this over with.”
    Turning to Rafi, she could barely hold his gaze, his face a stormy mask of disbelief.
    “I’ll, um, contact you soon.”
    #
    Lauren slipped into a chair with her coffee and took out her phone. Rafi’s number glowed in the twilight of the coffee shop. She dialed nervously, waiting through the first ring.
    He picked up. “Hello?”
    “Rafi — it’s me. Lauren.”
    There was a pause, painful to her, even over the wires she could sense his coldness.
    “You went with him. How could you do that, Lauren? You were ashamed of me?”
    “No!” Lauren’s heart skipped in astonishment. “Of course not! I went because I had to, not because I wanted to. I wanted to be with you.”
    “If you wanted to be with me, you would be here. Now .”
    Lauren was dismayed by the hardness of Rafi’s voice. His anger took her off guard. Of course it had been vile of her to leave him at the airport, but if he only understood the lengths she needed to go to rid herself of Philip, he would understand. “You don’t know Philip. He doesn’t take no for an answer.”
    “Evidently. So, you said yes.”
    “No!” Lauren clutched her slim phone more tightly. “I had to make it plain to him that I never wanted to see him again.”
    “If you allowed me, Lauren, I would have made it plain to him. That I was your lover. When he understood that, he would have left. A worm like him does not compete well.”
    Lauren let his words sink in. I was your lover. It was not what she had expected of Rafi, and she couldn’t fashion an answer in time.
    Rafi’s last hopes dissolved in the lengthening silence. “What would you have done, Lauren, if I had taken your hand? And what about next time, when your colleagues might pass by? Your family? How many times, Lauren, would your hunger for me outweigh your common sense?
    “I have nothing for you, Lauren. I am not the man for you. I have just been stupid enough not to see it until now.”
    “Rafi, don’t—” Lauren’s voice was edged with distress. It was a good thing that she wasn’t in his presence, or he might not have been able to stop himself from reaching for her, comforting her.
    “Lauren, you are not thinking with your mind. We have shared something rare but it is not love that you feel for me. Other men can love you well. They are not all like Philip. A good man, one who has something to offer you—”
    “I don’t want anyone to offer me anything!” The heat was returning to her voice. “Damn it, Rafi. I am a grown woman. Who are you to tell me what I want? I want you. I want to be with you .”
    Rafi’s own anger flared. “Ah, which parts of me do you want? I can tell that you love my body, my hands on your skin. But do you want my heart? My life? Do you want to share my tiny dark apartment? Would you enjoy preparing meals that would wait in the oven until I returned from work, doing a job that none of your friends would ever lower themselves to do?
    “Or