“You don’t know me and you don’t even care, oh yeah, well you said, you don’t know me and you don’t wear my chains…”


Marie scrunched her eyes shut, peeking past one eyelid to look across the room. In the bed across from her, Jess was piled beneath the blankets, breathing evenly in a deep sleep. Marie swallowed, cringing as her throat was dry, and then she pushed herself upright, swaying side to side as her equilibrium was off. She swung her legs out of bed, having to take a break as the world began to spin again. And slowly she crawled her way to the ice bucket, where she snatched an ice cube and put it in her mouth, letting it melt and soothe her scratchy throat.

She looked down at herself. Only wearing a pushup bra, and g-string, she felt like this was a new low; this had to be a rock bottom of some sort. She willed herself up off the floor and staggered into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her so the sound of the shower wouldn’t disturb Jess. The water had to be cold because the warm water made Marie feel like she was going to vomit, and so she shivered her way through the shower, moving even slower than usual as the coldness propelled her into a state of mild paralysis.

Out of the shower, Marie cocooned herself in a towel, and perched her hair in a floppy bun on top of her head. She needed coffee. Desperately. Her head was pounding and she wondered how Jess could sleep through the pain. By the time she got dressed, a half hour had passed, and with the headache still going strong, she decided against applying makeup. What was the point? It’s not like she knew anyone in Montreal anyway.

From faint memory, she could recall a little coffeehouse down the block that always seemed to be buzzing with locals. And if it was good enough for the locals, it was good enough for her. Getting down to the lobby, the concierge stared at her awkwardly, but why, Marie didn’t know. In fact, she didn’t know much of anything when it came to last night.

Outside, the mid-morning air nipped at her cheeks. For being summer in Montreal, it didn’t get very hot, and Marie found comfort in the fact that she had thrown on an off the shoulder sweater to keep her warm. Like she thought, the coffeehouse was crowded and after waiting in line to order her coffee, she began the process of waiting again for her coffee to be made.

From the corner of her eye, she saw him. And she knew he saw her, yet he opted to ignore her. Despite not remembering much, she knew that she had met Marco last night, and she knew he had been in her hotel room, but other than that, things were blurry. By their lack of interaction, it must’ve ended poorly, but with a moment to spare, she approached him.

He didn’t turn his head away from the newspaper he was reading from his chair, yet said, “bonjour. Feeling any better?”

Marie brought her hand up to her dark brown hair and scratched her head gently, “not really.”

Marco reached for the empty seat beside him and pulled it out, “please, sit.”

“No, I’m okay, I’m gonna…”

“Please. Everyone is staring,” he finally turned to look back at her.

She did as he asked, and when her name was called for her drink shortly after, Marco was the one to get up and retrieve it for her. When she was handed her drink, she noticed it was in a ceramic mug, and not a heat-resistant paper cup like she was expecting.

“It’s not Starbucks. You must sit and drink,” he lifted his own mug up to his lips, and took a small sip, then folded up the newspaper he had been reading.

Marie brought the mug to her mouth and burned her lips in the process, setting it back on the counter. “I don’t remember… did we have…” her voice trailed off into nothingness.

Marco took another sip and shook his head.

“Did I… um…” it was as though she didn’t want to continue. But because Marco didn’t quite know where she was going with that, she was forced to continue, “give you…”

“You offered,” he interrupted, allowing her to not say anything more. “And just about whipped it out, but I uh… I left,” he turned his head to look at her. She had already been staring at him, but when their eyes met, she diverted them elsewhere.

“God, I’m such an idiot. I don’t remember,”

“That’s why I don’t get with teenagers.”

“You say that like my age defines me. It doesn’t.” Marie brought her coffee up to her lips and took a small sip, actually getting some down this time.

“You’re letting it. I get it, you’re in college and you want to have fun, but you got into a cab with a man you didn’t even know last night. And you almost let him take you somewhere you’ve never been, in a city that’s foreign to you. And when I finally got you to your room, you asked me to assault you… to abuse you. And when I didn’t give you what you wanted, you became angry. That’s childish, and that’s your age.”

Marie looked around to make sure no one was listening in on their conversation, “sex is not childish. It’s womanly, mature…”

Marco looked at her and grinned as though he really didn’t believe what he was hearing. “Sex is not mature unless it making love. Sex for sex is fun; don’t get me wrong. But it’s not necessarily mature.” He stood from his seat and smiled at the barista behind the counter. Gathering his coat and pulling it over his shoulders, he nodded his head once to Marie and walked out of the coffeehouse.

She looked around, confused. No guy had ever walked out on her before. He was the first, and it was the first time she went running after a guy. She pushed open the glass door and stopped short as she saw Marco standing in front of two young girls, who were giggling wildly as he took their phones and signed the cases.

The girls thanked him and ran off, and that’s when Marie took the moment as she saw it. “So I make mistakes. And I like having sex just to have sex…” As an elderly couple passed by, they stared at her awkwardly, cringing at the words that came out of her mouth. She got closer to Marco and looked up at him, “but you don’t get to judge me. Especially not when you oh so conveniently leave out your last name as to hide who you are.” He stared at her and she folded her arms across her chest. “I go to BU, I know about Charlie and the team he plays for now, and I know you’re on the team too.”

Marco ran his fingers across his lips sheepishly. He couldn’t exactly pull a quick one over on her.

“I know you think I’m childish and crazy for acting the way I have. But out of all the things that define me, nineteen says the least. You don’t know me, Marco Scandella. And I don’t really know you. So how about we don’t judge each other until we do.”

He licked his lips quickly and looked down at his shoes, kicking at a pebble on the sidewalk. When he looked back up into her eyes, he nodded, and Marie felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest.

She took a deep breath and nodded slowly. “Well I’m going to go finish my coffee, so…”

Marco watched her as she turned on her heels and reentered the coffee shop. A few moments after she had taken her seat again, she turned around to look out the window, secretly hoping Marco would still be standing there watching her. But all she saw was his back as he strode off down the street.

---

She felt like such an idiot. Replaying the scenario over and over again in her head was driving her insane, and when she had gotten back to the hotel, she explained the situation to Jess, who just stared at her in a hungover haze. Who did she think she was, yelling at a professional athlete about anything? Even if he was in the wrong?

As the morning turned into afternoon, and afternoon into evening, Marie fell into a routine for the day, which involved snacking, drinking water, and napping. All of which helped her hangover subside, and even though she had taken a shower earlier in the day, she slipped into it again, washing off everything from the day.

Both girls agreed that tonight needed to be low key in order to give their bodies the chance to recuperate. They planned on a simple dinner in the room, binge-watching movies on TV. After Marie wrapped herself in a towel, Jess took her turn in the shower, wasting no time in belting out a Beyonce tune.

Whilst in the middle of braiding her wet hair, Marie heard a knock at the door and she ran to it, peeking through the peephole in the door. She felt her breath catch in her throat, but without a second thought, she pulled the door open. Only then did she remember she was only clothed in a white towel.

“I apologize for the timing,” Marco turned his head to the side quickly. When he looked back at Marie, his cheeks were flushed. “I was wondering if you’d take a walk with me?”

“Is that code for something?” Marie asked, bringing one hand to her chest, holding the top of the towel to her body tightly.

“A walk? No.” He scratched the stubble on his cheek, “Dorchester Square’s just a block away. I was hoping for some company.”

Marie paused and chewed on her lower lip, “um… sure. Here, come in. I’ll be ready in ten minutes,” she ushered Marco into the suite, blushing as Jess still hadn’t finished performing in the shower. Noting that he was wearing jeans and a pea coat, Marie grabbed a long sleeve v-neck shirt, and tight jeans that hugged her hips in all the right places. She smiled at Marco and then disappeared into the bathroom. “Jess,” she hissed. “Jess!”

“What,” Jess yelled over the water.

“Rain check on our dinner. Marco’s here and he wants me to go on a walk with him,” she spoke just loud enough so that Marco wouldn’t hear her from the other room. She was already stripped down and assembling her new outfit.

“Bring condoms!”

Marie rolled her eyes, but also made a mental note to check her purse for condoms when she got back into the suite. She looked at herself in the mirror, making the quick decision to put on some light lipstick and mascara before heading back to retrieve Marco. She’d have to go out with wet hair, but she’d deal with those consequences later. For now, she just wanted to be out by the time Jess got out of the shower.

She sat beside Marco on the edge of the bed and leaned over to slip on a pair of boots. “All ready for that walk,” she murmured, grabbing her purse. Quickly she sifted through it, finding two condoms stowed away in the smaller pocket.

Marco led her out of the hotel, which undoubtedly earned the glares of everyone they passed. But Marie hardly noticed it as the man next to her walked confidently, one hand on her mid-back leading her out to the street. Outside, she looked up at the sky. It seemed clear but it was much more chilly than she preferred for a summer’s night. And then all at once as they began to walk towards the square, Marie noted how Marco walked on the outer part of the sidewalk, closer to the street. And when they crossed the street, he made a subconscious decision to be on the outer part again when they reached the other side. It was something little that to most people, wouldn’t have meant a thing, but to Marie, it meant everything.

“So did you just wait around the hotel all day, waiting for it to be the right time for this little walk?” Marie joked, nudging into Marco’s side.

He rolled his eyes playfully and nudged her back. “No, I have an apartment a few blocks up… by the university. It’s like a fifteen minute walk,”

She nodded, pretending not to believe him. “And what prompted this little rendezvous?”

“Tu parle français?” He glanced down at her excitedly. Despite it being dark outside, his eyes seemed to capture all the night around them.

“Un peu,” she wavered her hand back and forth.

“Then we’ll stick to English,” he grinned. “I walk in the evenings. It’s… relaxing. And like I said, I wanted some company.”

Marie shrugged her shoulders and looked down at her feet. She was a little embarrassed to be around him. The guys in college didn’t act the way Marco was acting. He held himself with a certain air of professionalism, which couldn’t be said for the other boys she had been with. But that’s what they were; boys.

When she looked up, her eyes laid upon the prettiest scene she could’ve ever imagined. The trees that lined the pathways had little lights in them, twinkling and shining. With the setting sun, they shone brighter now than ever. Marie glanced up at Marco; he was already staring at her, a small grin across his face. Like the twinkling lights, his light brown eyes were shining too.

“So Minnesota…” she murmured, trying to break the silence. She wasn’t really sure of what to say in order to make things less awkward than they already were.

Marco chuckled and nodded, looking skyward as the wind began to blow. “St. Paul’s not too different from this, so I’m used to it.”

“Do you have a girlfriend back in St. Paul, Mister ‘I’m twenty-four and don’t get with teenagers’?”

He shook his head again and smirked down at her. She sure was a ball buster. “My job keeps me pretty busy most the year. And in spare time I’m usually with the boys.” He paused to gaze at her, “what about you? Boyfriend back in Boston?”

“If I did would I have propositioned you for sex?”

“I don’t know. Would you have?”

She pursed her lips and took a half step closer to Marco mid-stride. Now as they walked, her shoulder brushed against his arm. “I may have some questionable morals, but I’m not a cheater. Well at least I don’t think I would be…” She followed his lead as he walked to a clear and open part of the park. “I’ve actually never been in a serious relationship. It’s all been hookups and pointless flings.”

She took it upon herself to sit down at an empty bench, tucking her hands in between her legs. The chill of the night was starting to get to her, and with her hair still wet, it was just a matter of time until she fell ill. Seeing her shiver, Marco sat beside her and pulled open his pea coat, pulling her into him so he could wrap it around her as well. He was like a stone wall that had spent the day in the sun, radiating heat, and with him enveloping her to keep her warm, all she wanted to do was melt into him.

The smell of his cologne clung to him like glue, giving him a fresh, sophisticated smell; something that exemplified how much of a man he actually was. Marie turned her head and nuzzled her nose into the base of his neck, relishing in the way he smelled. Although he giggled at her, she couldn’t bring herself to stop; she never wanted to have to. When Marie felt him set his cheek down on top of her head, she placed her hands in his lap. She caught a hint of the outline of his cock beneath his dark jeans, and she curled her fingers over it, moving her hand in slow and deliberate strokes.

To the people walking by, it must’ve just looked like a young couple entwined in each other’s arms to stay warm. And that made it that much more arousing. She could feel him getting harder with each swipe of her hand, and she reveled in the fact that he wasn’t telling her to stop, but rather encouraging her to continue with small gasps and groans in her ear.

Notes

"Boston" by Augustana.

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