Thirty One: No Valentine For Tom

He was looking at a picture of Charlie that he kept amongst his belongings. It started to warn out after awhile, it was folded, tucked in places, sometimes crumpled, but he kept it. Jeremy often teased him because he caught him so many times while he was looking at it. It's been over five months since he kissed her goodbye, he hadn't been with her longer than he was with her. He spent Valentine's day tucked in his bed in Jeremy's flat, hiding away from the lustful city, pretending to be sick.

Everyone was out and about celebrating with friends and lovers. He was high on demand on Valentine's night, the women were lusting over him like little kids wanting their candies. He had to pass on Valentine's day bonus, tips and side money that he could've easily make just by showing up.

Maxine Roberts had been on his tail constantly. He managed to avoid her proposal the first time. His contract with Bradley had saved him from a sexual transaction he didn't want to get himself into. But he didn't know how much longer his body can match his will to stay celibate in that city.

From his brief encounter, he found out at least two things about Maxine Roberts. One, she was an avid sexplorer. Sex was her number one passion in life, movies only come in second. She explored sex with all sorts of people, men, women, boys, girls, whoever she wanted to get her hands on. She enjoyed watching other people doing it, sometimes she joined in. Sometimes she just want to have a traditional one on one privately, whatever soothed her mood at the time. She even showed Tommy a preview of what her nights looked like in the limo, when she asked the girls to make out with each other while Tommy sat between them.

Two, Maxine Roberts, in one way or another, always gets what she wants. And that worries him. She gives equitable compensations to all her business partners, that was her term, the more extravagant her request, the bigger the trade. She said, she hadn't quite figure out what Tom can provide for her, but then again, she still has a couple of months to figure that out. His contract will expire in April, and she has a new movie project that she thought would be perfect for Tom. It would be an offer he probably couldn't refuse.

That night in the limo was hard for him. He managed to keep his cool, but those two girls had woken him up as any man would, and he would've done something about it if they had been in that car a little longer. He felt guilty, he wasn't immune to seductions even though he fought hard to resist it. So he avoided it completely on Valentine's night.

"Don't you think a girl like that would've moved on by now?" Jeremy interrupted his daydream. "I mean ... she's gorgeous, man, and you've been gone for how long?"

Tom rubbed his face with his hands, "Five months," he knew Jeremy had a good point.

"I think you should move on, Tom, I mean ... I've never seen you without a girl in your bed for more than three days," he laughed at how sexual Tom really was.

"It's different with her," Tom said seriously.

Jeremy sat next to him and pat him on the back, "I think you might have found her, Tom ... you're lucky, but ..." he paused to sought out the right words to say, "Living in this city, making a living with what we do here ... it's gonna be tough for the both of you, especially when you live apart from each other."

"Yeah," Tom took a deep breath, "Don't I know it." He suddenly remembered what her mom had said to him the first time they met, 'She never had a bad day in her life,' he couldn't help but think that she have had those by now because of him.

"So, what's the plan, Tom? You're going back home to her, or are you staying here? It doesn't seem like you can do both," Jeremy was curious.

Tom shook his head, "I have to see her again ... even if it's for the last time ... I have to explain to her," he threw himself back on the sofa. "God ... she has this grip on me that I can't explain, ... I don't think I can be able to forgive myself if I screw this one up, Jer."

Jeremy put his hand on Tom's shoulder, "I hope she feels the same way about you man, otherwise you're screwed," he said lightly.

Jeremy left him sulking in his flat that Valentine's day and came back with a girl that night. Tom locked himself in his room, pretended he didn't hear them having sex all night. It's going to be two more months until he can go back to Bluebridge, he had saved enough money to make a down payment on a new car and finally dumped his old pick up truck. With all the rackety and moaning noise right next door, he figured he can afford to rent his own flat too.

**********

Landon kept his calls regularly on the weekends. He was swamped on weekdays with classes, papers and reports. Sometimes he even had to spend the whole weekend at the library, but he always spared a good 15 minutes to half an hour to talk to Charlene.

He approached her differently now. He called her 'sweetie' which sounded like something her mom would call her. He told her that he missed her a lot, in which she didn't reply as often as he would want her to. Sometimes he told her how much he wanted to re-do Valentine's day all over again, she did not prefer that at all. He left her unsatisfied, it was confusing to her. Tommy never did that to her, and he was the only guy she can compare him to.

All that love talk was cute, she can easily get used to it. He made her feel like she had someone, and that she was fine. She's not that little girl who's heart was broken, brooding over a guy who had fun with her and left. That was what Tommy felt like to her by then. She should've listened to them when they told her to stay away from him, but if she could turn back time, she would've probably done the same thing.

"I have a hearing in April, it's for my final paper ... it's gonna be a lot of work, a lot of research and trials, all study and no play for me," Landon said.

"I wish I could help ... but I won't be much help, though," she said jokingly.

"I want to be there on your graduation day, and prom ... but I don't think I can make it, sweetie."

Charlene paused for a moment, she hadn't realized that her big day was so close, and that she will be dateless. "Oh, that's okay ... I can go with Mandy and Kayla ... or just be a third wheel between them."

"Are you sure? Or maybe you just don't go at all, I mean, it would be a bummer to go alone," Landon tried to persuade her.

She thought for a moment, "I don't know ... we'll see, it's my last time with my friends, I kinda want to go."

"You're right, of course you should go ... I wish I can go with you, though," he said. Landon had been there for her through almost every holiday and event there was. She wasn't upset that he couldn't be her date at the senior prom, she was actually very supportive of his study. After all, they were going to the same school soon.