Free Until the End of Time by Melanie Schuster

goofy dogs of his, the way he always does, and they jumped their muddy feet all over me. So I got my gym bag out of the car to change because I have to run by the hospital,” he glanced at his watch, “like now. And I took a quick shower, which may have been a mistake,” he said darkly. He stared at Renee as he rose to go. “And for your information, LaKeisha is not my date, we were just…talking.” He cast one more long look at Renee that said he wasn’t though with this discussion quite yet.
    Bennie looked from her brother’s retreating figure to Renee’s smiling face, trying to figure out what was going on, as there was obviously something afoot. She said as much to Renee who continued to smirk like the Cheshire Cat.
    “ Well, Bennie, I think Andrew and I are finally even,” was all she would say.
    ***
    What Andrew thought of the situation was another kettle of fish entirely. He had tried over the years to divorce himself from the momentous first meeting with Renee. He knew without being told that to do otherwise was to court disaster. Epic, cataclysmic disaster was all that could come of thinking about the sight of Renee’s beautiful, strong body completely devoid of clothing. To think of that day was to think of how utterly desirable and beautiful she was and that was something Andrew tried never to do, ever. Giving in to those thoughts would be akin to bungee jumping into an active volcano. Assuming that it could be done, the chances of escaping without permanent bodily harm were extremely slim. The same could be said of a relationship with Renee.
    For one thing, she couldn’t stand him. And for another thing, he knew too well the effect that she had on men. He had seen too many of them over the years reduced to slack-jawed, drooling incompetents after what he referred to as The Curse of the Spider Woman treatment. Renee liked to have a man under her heel. Well, if not under her stilettos, then certainly at her beck and call. She definitely liked having them leap to satisfy her every whim and her army of admirers seemed to enjoy that kind of behavior. And that was an utter impossibility for Andrew.
    When he was involved with a woman it had to be 50-50 or there was no point to the relationship. Andrew had a great respect for and admiration of women; he would never try to dominate or otherwise mistreat one. He just wanted to get as good as he gave, that was all. He knew from years of observation that wouldn’t be the case with Renee. What he didn’t know was why his thoughts kept turning to these matters anyway. He hadn’t been able to get Renee out of his mind for a moment since the day that she saw him naked. May have seen him , he corrected himself. Maybe he was exaggerating the whole thing. The memory if the incident still made him hot all over. It wasn’t that he was unduly embarrassed by the situation; on the contrary he got a perverse satisfaction out of the idea that Renee had beheld him in all his glory. He had nothing to be ashamed of as far as his physique went. In a peculiar way, the idea that she had seen him as nature made him was sexy, kind of erotic. But it was confusing nonetheless. Why in the world was he having these thoughts about Renee, of all women? These were dangerous thoughts, very dangerous. No good could come of them at all. Which is why Andrew was rather surprised to find himself pulling into the parking lot of Urban Oasis. There were other places to get his hair cut; Bennie would do it for him gladly. Yet, here he was, about to walk into the lair of the beast.
    Andrew had to laugh at the irony of the situation. He’d been avoiding Renee like the plague for days and without thinking he rolled right up on her turf. “Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup,” he muttered to himself as he parked his Bentley. It was with great relief that he noted the absence of Renee’s Mercedes. Good, she’s not here. I get to live. His relief vanished