I was basically trying to tell her that the night was over with for me, but it was the wrong comment. She paused and asked, “Do you want any company?”

I chuckled at it. She was unbelievable. I said, “Company? Okay, let me get this right. First you curse me out and call me a coward and a faggot, now you want to give me company for the night.”

“Oh, I didn’t say nothing about the whole night. Maybe for a couple of hours or so, depending on how you rock it,” she told me.

I just shook my head. This woman was determined, I’ll give her that.

I joked and said, “I don’t think I can handle you, actually.”

“You don’t have to handle me. Like I told you before, all you have to do is lean back,” she reminded me.

I already had my lean back action that night, but Rachel didn’t know that.

I shook off her desperate temptations and said, “Nah, I’m a little tired tonight.”

“Would you be tired if that lil white girl had come over?” she questioned.

She was right on it. I was wide awake for Victoria, but I was lying about being tired to her.

I finally asked, “What exactly do you want from me?”

“I already told you what I want. I wanna put something on you.”

Talk about determination. The next thing I knew, I said, “You can’t even get in the building at this time of night.”

It was nearing midnight, but that didn’t mean anything. It was the weekend at a popular Chicago hotel. Of course she could get in.

She said, “The Swissôtel. Please. I know how to get where I want to go.”

Okay, so what next? I asked myself. I couldn’t believe I was even thinking about it.

“So, you want me to come over there or what?” she pressed me.

I figured it would beat getting into trouble with Paula’s niece. But who said I had to call TaShay back either.

“Look, man, what are you afraid of ?” Rachel asked me. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

I’m afraid of you expecting more out of this than a one-night stand, I thought to myself.

She had me searching for the right words to respond. Then she ran out of patience with me. “Well, when you make up your mind, you call me back and let me know. Okay?”

“All right,” I mumbled to her.

“Don’t just be saying that to say it.”

She was hounding me like I was the girl.

“Let me have a few minutes to think about it,” I commented.

“Okay, that’s fair, and you just call me back then.”

The night kept getting longer and longer. I didn’t want to call Rachel back, but I was still horny. Sex was a lot more stable for me when I kept a woman. So, better times with Andrea popped into my mind again. Guys think of security, too, sometimes. Andrea was my security. Imagine having a fine mate to accompany you for travel, dinner, movies, plays, walks in the park, showers, and lazy days and nights in bed. Fresh memories of her were never far away, I had simply blocked them out through my time with other women. Nevertheless, Andrea couldn’t force me to commit to her for the long haul, and now she was gone.