Roomies

The Scare Michelle and Angela taught Jamie and me to be extra careful when out and about in public by ourselves, and especially when heading home. Due to the nature of Michelle and Angela’s work, they made some enemies. Therefore, it was always important to make sure no one was following us home. One day, I was out on foot because my bike had a flat, and Michelle didn’t have time to fix it for me until the weekend. It was somewhere in the middle of the week and lunchtime. As crowded as San Francisco is, sometimes that saying about getting lost in a crowd is pretty meaningless when you consider the fact that some people are faster than you. I don’t know exactly how long I’d been walking before I realized I was being followed. I had an hour for lunch and was headed to a place I liked to eat at. Sometimes I went with coworkers and sometimes by myself. Unfortunately, I was by myself that day. This was before cell phones became a regular thing. I was in a crowded area when I first noticed that the same guy remained a consistent number of steps behind me and had turned in my direction three different times. Michelle had warned me that they usually try to keep the same distance and often wear sunglasses and something on their heads, be it some type of hat or hoodie. This guy had both shades and a baseball cap. He was tall and skinny and was dressed in dark clothing—dark jeans, a navy sweatshirt, and black sneakers of some kind. Once I suspected he was tailing me, I decided to give the guy a little test just to be sure. I broke into a jog. Sure enough, he began to make wider strides to match my pace. At first, I wasn’t alarmed. I was even going to consider confronting him. But all of a sudden, it seemed like the sidewalks were almost empty. He could easily do something to me, and there would only be a few witnesses, and the fewer witnesses there were, the less intervention of any kind was likely. Especially when one of the people I could see in the area seemed to be not a day under ninety based on the way they were hunched over and hobbling about with a walking stick. The only other two people I saw were questionable because one of them was a small child, and I doubted that anyone would just tell her kid to wait by themselves while they defended someone they didn’t even know. But maybe I could take him. I had just as much will to survive as anyone else did. I looked behind me to find he was now closing the distance fast. Instead of taking a chance confronting the guy, I dove into the closest business. It was so dark in the place, and it took my eyes a moment to adjust. A gay bar. Sure. This was San Francisco, after all. There were a couple of women sitting at the bar and a few playing pool. They all stopped to gaze at me as if they’d never seen another human being before in their lives. Trying to play it cool and act like nothing was up, I began walking further into the place. I turned and looked out the glass door I had just entered and didn’t see anybody, but I wasn’t about to take any chances. I had to get to a phone somewhere and call the department and have someone pick me up. Michelle was out in the field on an investigation at the moment, and Angela was out of the country, but someone else could pick me up. I turned back toward the other patrons in the bar. A gray-eyed blonde eyed me curiously. I thought she was rather plain-looking. Seated next to her was a green-eyed redhead who was eyeing me with a little more than just curiosity. Nope. Definitely not my type. A black girl checked me out as she headed for the restroom. She looked ruthless. Her natural expression seemed to be that of one who was always angry. No thanks. Further into the establishment and holding a pool cue in front of her as she stood next to a pool table was an Asian woman. Bingo! I smiled, and she smiled back. If I were single, she would definitely be someone I might be interested in getting to know, even if those who frequented bars and clubs weren’t usually my type. For a nanosecond, the reality hit me that we might be able to get in a quickie somewhere and Michelle would be none the wiser. But I wasn’t that into her or horny at the moment, and I certainly loved Michelle enough not to have any desire to cheat on her, not that I could live with the guilt if I did, whether she knew it or not. Either way, my job at the moment was to get the hell out of there. Not judge who looked fuckable. The bartender allowed me to call the department, and someone came and fetched me. I was safe! Even so, no one ever knew who was following me or why.