Sunday Sample - The Long Game

Nothing sent me running faster than a woman trying to tie me down in a relationship before we'd been out a half-dozen times. Corinne wasn't demanding, and I liked that.

My thoughts fizzled when the doors opened. I raised one hand to allow what's-her-name to get off ahead of me.

She smiled again and walked alongside me to the front door of the building.

"Catch you tomorrow," I said, as a prelude to parting ways with her.

"Um, my car isn't working and I was wondering … "

I didn't hear anything else, but worked my brain to come up with a way to get out of giving her a ride. "I have to make a stop and I have someone waiting for me."

"I don't live far from here, so I won't take you out of your way."

"Where d'you live?"

She told me her address, which would take me out of my way since the supermarket where I liked to shop lay in the opposite direction. I should have given her an excuse, but I'd feel terrible about leaving her stranded. In any event, she must have planned to go to the bus stop before she ran into me. At times like these, I cursed my father for his insistence on teaching me things that always got me trapped in situations like these.

Be a gentleman, no matter what.

Never leave a lady, or anyone who needs your help, stranded.

The good you do always comes back to you.

Going against what I wanted, I told her to wait in front of the building and brought my van around.

She climbed in and being who I was, my gaze went to her legs, where her skirt was hiked up to mid-thigh. Her legs reminded me of rich, dark chocolate and before I could blink, I'd come up with a compliment that was sure to soften her up.

But I never said a word.

Since I wasn't looking for any trouble, I stuck my eyeballs back inside my head and focused on the cars ahead of me.

"So is it true you have more women than you know what to do with?"

Frowning, I took my eyes off the road which was bumper-to-bumper with traffic. "What did you say?"

"You have a reputation. I was checking to see if everything I hear is true."

"Why would you believe any of that?"

"You're a good-looking guy and the rumor is that you're never out with the same woman more than a couple of times."

Laughing, I glanced at her. "That's far from accurate."

"So you're saying there is at least a grain of truth in there somewhere?"

"I'm not saying anything. I might incriminate myself."

"And here I was, beginning to think you were salvageable."

I didn’t say anything, but I was disgusted. Why did people form opinions based on hearsay and little else? Yes, I stayed busy with women, but I did the best I could to keep my private life out of the office.

My annoyance had more to do with her words sounding like something Ayisha would say than anything else. The woman at my side had pushed me back into the weekend without trying and now I was teed off and couldn't wait to get rid of her.

Read more of Vance and Ayisha's story at lrd.to/long-game