I looked at her. I had nothing against her, but I knew she wasn’t going to leave me alone. She was one of those girls who thought she knew exactly what men wanted. She thought she could flirt with me a little and I’d show her what a guy like me was like. She might be right some of the time, but she was wrong about me.
I decided to get rid of her.
“I was doing very bad things,” I said. “Things I’ll never be able to take back.”
“What sort of bad things?”
I didn’t want to play games with her. She was hot, but I wanted her to leave me alone. I’d be seeing Faith soon. This girl could find her own man.
“Hurting people,” I said.
I pictured Faith. It had been so long. I wondered how many tears I’d caused her to shed, how much pain I’d forced her to feel. I wondered if she’d found another man yet. I prayed she hadn’t. I’d been in touch with the Brotherhood but very infrequently. I didn’t want them to get involved in what I was doing. Grant had kept me appraised of the barest details of Faith’s life but I knew very little.
Twelve years was such a long time.
The woman spoke again. “Is that where you got all those scars?” she said.
“Look, you really don’t want to be talking to a guy like me.”
“A guy like you?”
“I’m bad news.”
“You don’t look like bad news to me,” she said.
God, she was pissing me off. She wanted to flirt. I wanted her to fuck off.
I looked into her eyes. “I’m as bad as they come,” I said.
“In what way?”
I thought about it. I thought about all the things I could tell her, the men I’d killed, the ways I’d killed them, the look on their faces when they knew they were going to die, but she wasn’t interested in any of that. All she was interested in was getting a thrill, flirting, having a story to tell her friends when she got home.
I could tell she wasn’t going to leave me alone so I decided to fuck with her.
“You really want to know?” I said.
She nodded.
“Because you seem like a nice girl,” I said. “And we’re on a public bus. I don’t want to say anything that might shock you.”
I could tell she was getting excited.
“Mister, I’m sure I’m not as innocent as you’re imagining.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it is.”
I looked at her for a minute, weighing her up. I should have just gotten up and left, but I guess my dick was doing the thinking for me because I said, “All right, I’ll tell you why I’m bad news.”
“The suspense is killing me.”
“It’s because I’m real good at orgasms,” I said.
She threw her hand in front of her mouth to stifle a laugh. “You’re kidding me.”
I shrugged. “I’m being straight up, sweetheart.”
“You’re good at orgasms?”
“No. I’m real good at orgasms.”
She looked away from me, out the window. She was blushing. I felt my cock pulse. It was time for me to leave. I couldn’t let it go too far. I’d been playing with women for years. I was like a magnet. Dancers, strippers, random chicks in bars, all of them were drawn to me. They’d sidle up to me in bars and practically beg me to take them home. I never once succumbed to the temptation. Twelve years and I’d kept my record clean. I’d been true to Faith. And I would be seeing her so soon I could almost taste her.
I wasn’t going to fuck up now with this slut. One final thing and I’d be on my way.
“You mind if I take a seat?” I said, indicating the spot next to her.
She looked around. There were only two other passengers on the bus and both of them were toward the front. She took a deep breath. “Sure.”
I sat next to her but gave her lots of space. I didn’t want to crowd her. I flexed the muscles in my chest and arms to give her a hint at what was under my shirt, but I gave her room.
“You’re good at giving orgasms or having them?” she said.
She was bold. I’d give her that. “What do you think?”
She looked at me, sizing me up. “Could be either.”
“I’ll tell you what,” I said. “You tell me which you’d rather see, and I’ll show you something you’ll never forget.”
Her cheeks turned pink. She was embarrassed. Her eyes were wet. I was fully aware of the power I had over her. She was fooling around, flirting. She wasn’t doing anything that bad, but she still pissed me off. I might not look it, but I was taken. She should have left me alone when I’d told her to. I’d make sure she remembered this encounter for the rest of her life.
“I don’t know,” she said.
“Come on, don’t be such a chicken.”
“You want to do something right here, on this bus?” she said.
She was playing coy. I knew she was a slut. She’d have done anything I suggested.
“If you want me to leave you alone, I can go back to my seat,” I said. I knew what she’d say, but giving her an out was part of the game.
“You can stay.”
“I’ll tell you why I’m sitting next to you,” I said, my voice low. “I’m going to be honest, because you seem like an innocent girl.”
She was anything but innocent.
“I’m not that innocent,” she said.
“You ever had sex in a public place?”
She hesitated before shaking her head.