Renting Ginny

“Just make yourself comfortable,” Barbara told me as we entered her home. The house had a different feel at night than it had during the daytime. I wasn’t wearing any jacket or coat of any kind, so I simply took a seat on her couch in the living room. “Would you like something to drink?” Barbara asked me. “No, thank you.” She placed her purse on a small table by the door. “How do you say that in German?” “Nein, danke.” I repeated what she said. She smiled and took a seat next to me. We sat there a moment or two, gazing at each other. We seemed to sense the attraction that flowed between us, and while I couldn’t tell for sure what Barbara was thinking, there was no denying that there was something about the woman. I did not care that she was German, and I did not care that she was older. Love may have been blind, but so was lust. She was every bit as tall, dark, and gorgeous as a straight woman’s ideal image of a tall, dark, and handsome man. She gently brushed a lock of hair from my face. “So, tell me about yourself, Ginny.” “I’m afraid there’s not much to tell in any language.” She chuckled. “No? Hmm… that’s hard to believe.” “Well, as you know, I haven’t had the best of luck lately and I’m kind of in the midst of a serious transition in life.” “Ja?” “Ja. Did I say that right?” Barbara nodded, flashing her lovely white smile. “I have a wonderful family, but obviously not the wonderful job I thought I had.” “Sounds like it’s had its scary moments.” “It sure has. The idea of it excited me at first, getting to live with different people in different places, and well, the money was quite an enticement.” “I’ll bet it was.” “But once you have to deal with a psycho like Anina or whatever her name really is, you start realizing you’re no object and no human being should ever be for rent or for sale or anything like that.” Barbara nodded in agreement. “The job also sucked up all my free time. I couldn’t spend time with friends or family because I was always at someone’s house, and dating was pretty much out of the question, of course.” “So, where do you go from here, Ginny?” “I have no idea. I only know that I’m glad I lived long enough to soon be able to find out.” “I’m glad you did, too,” Barbara said with an affectionate smile as she patted my head. I wanted to kiss her, and I wanted her to kiss me. But it was too soon, wasn’t it? Shouldn’t I get my life back on track first? “I still live in fear, though.” “Oh,” Barbara said with empathy. “This lunatic’s still out there, and no one seems to know who she really is.” Barbara took both my hands in hers. “Well, why don’t I help you get your mind off of her if only for a while?” I nodded. “I’d like that.” To hell with logic, reason, or waiting for my new life to begin, I thought as I let Barbara kiss my troubles away over the next few hours. I knew they might be back to haunt me later on, but I didn’t care. I was too determined to let myself get lost in Barbara’s touch and basically lost in the entire moment altogether. And I did. Barbara and I had more fun than I’d ever had with any other client or anything that had even slightly resembled a date or a lover in the past. We nibbled on snacks, watched movies, and mixed in more fun along the way. I learned a handful of German words and phrases and a little about Barbara’s hometown in Germany. At 10:00, I called home to let my folks know I’d be spending the night with Barbara. “I just didn’t want you to think anything bad had happened to me,” I told them. “Nothing else interesting seems to be on tonight,” Barbara said, turning off the TV with the remote after I closed her cell phone and placed it back on the table by the couch. “Any suggestions?” “Yeah,” I said, having lost any lingering traces of shyness and hesitation hours ago. “What’s that?” she asked suggestively. “Your bedroom. I’ve had enough floors and couches.” I took hold of her arms and began to pull her up off the couch. The tall woman had to help, of course, and she did, giggling along the way. A half-hour later, we lay entwined in the darkness. I had to really wonder just where in the world I’d come up with the energy for the last few hours after having to run for my life twice that day. I didn’t ponder the issue for long, though, for soon I drifted off into a deep sleep. So deep that I was surprised to find the room flooded in sunlight the next time I opened my eyes, seemingly just moments later. I glanced at the clock. It was almost lunchtime! My head snapped toward the other side of the bed. It was empty. I threw the covers off, jumped out of bed, and went to reach for my clothes. Where were my clothes anyway? I crept over to the partially open bedroom door and slowly pulled it open, but then I stopped and gazed down at my nakedness. What if Barbara had company? Deciding she might not appreciate a woman in her birthday suit greeting that company, I reached for the maroon silk robe that hung from the back of the bedroom door. I had to walk carefully as the full-length robe was a few inches past my feet. I strode down the hallway and became aware of the smell of cooked food and the sound of the TV. Barbara was sitting on her couch in just her bra and panties. She turned to me as soon as I appeared and smiled. “Well, guten Morgen, sexy,” she said. “More like good afternoon,” I said with an almost guilty laugh. “Sorry I slept so late.” “You had a very busy day yesterday.” “Yes, I did. You could say it was quite physical between all the running I did and then the fun we had. I’m surprised I’m not sore.” “Would you like something to eat or drink, sweetie?” “Actually, I would. Especially some coffee if you’ve got any.” Barbara rose to her feet. “Fresh coffee, coming right up.” I followed her into the kitchen. “Hope you don’t mind that I borrowed your robe. I wasn’t sure if you had company or anything.” “That’s quite all right. You look cute in it. Now, how about some of my famous chocolate chip pancakes to go with that coffee? You haven’t eaten in quite a while, have you?” “No, I haven’t,” I admitted, realizing just how hungry I was. Together we made the pancakes. It was fun working together in her spacious yet cozy kitchen, and even more fun enjoying the delicious breakfast, as unhealthy and as fattening as it may have been. Barbara was as skinny as a rail, though, so she didn’t need to watch those extra calories. I, on the other hand, could end up piling on some serious inches if I didn’t follow somewhat of a controlled menu most days of the week. That morning, however, I ate ravenously. “Any plans today?” she asked, gazing fondly at me with warm brown eyes that reminded one of hot chocolate on a cold, wintry day. I shook my head. “It’s Sunday, so no.” She swallowed the last of her coffee and placed the mug down on the table, and then we both stood up. “Got something in mind?” I asked. “M-hm,” she said with a nod. Then she yanked my robe off and led me to the shower. We showered together, played around a while, and then cleaned up the kitchen. We were in the middle of laughing at one of my poor attempts to pronounce some of the more difficult German words, which contained sounds not found within the English language, when we thought we heard something in back. “What was that?” I asked. “Ich weiß nicht,” she said with a shrug. “Honey, does the crazy lady you were with know about me and where I live?” “I don’t see how she could. She was working when the guys broke me out and didn’t seem to follow us last night. I’m pretty sure I really hurt her badly.” “Wait a minute,” she said with confusion. “When the guys broke you out? What guys?” Oops. “Meaning, when they gave me a ride from the guitar shop and then ended up over here. This was after I’d managed to get away.” She gazed at me in silence, obviously still confused as she probed my eyes in search of answers. “But why would you escape from a crazy lady just to run out and apply for a job?” Me and my big mouth! I thought as I looked away guiltily, knowing I had slipped and had no real way to cover it up unless I wanted to lie to her some more, and I didn’t. “Ginny,” she began, “I know we’re not officially together or anything like that. But I like you and I think you like me.” I blushed and she smiled. “But,” she continued, “I cannot have a relationship of any kind based on lies. I’m not saying you’re lying—” “No, no, it’s okay. I am lying, I’m afraid.” She gazed at me as she waited for an explanation. “You’ve got to promise me you’ll never ever tell anyone, okay?” She nodded. “M-hm.” “I promised I’d never say anything. Your nephew and his friend, after all, did end up saving my life.” “How?” “By breaking into the bitch’s house.” Barbara’s eyes bulged. “The bitch had me tied up down in her cellar. I was chained to a pole when I heard sounds above me. I thought Anina had come home from work, wherever that was, and I started crying out for help.” Barbara studied me intently. Her face was sexy even with a serious expression on it. “Well, the sounds turned out to be Christian and Antonio breaking in. They were pretty surprised, alright. I don’t think it’s every day that burglars find prisoners within the homes they break into. Anyway, Christian ran back to his house to get his father’s metal cutters to cut off the padlock from the chain, and then they got me the hell out of there. As we were getting into Christian’s car, his Dad called and said to go over to your place to fix your drain—” Another sound cut my words off. This time, we knew without a doubt that we’d heard something, and it wasn’t just the wind.