Page 10 of My Irish Roommate

I slap my hand against the door frame, and she nearly leaps out of her skin.

“You don’t know where she is. Is that clear?”

“Yes, fine. I was just trying to be helpful,” she shakes her head at me.

“Great. You two have a good night,” I saw and they scurry away.

Ricki is seated on the sofa when I return, and I’m disappointed to see she’s still dressed and ready for a night on the town. She sees my expression and asks, “Is everything okay?”

I shake off my selfishness, realizing that she deserves a nice, romantic dinner, and say, “It’s fine. By the time I shower and dress, our parents will be long gone, and I can have you all to myself.”

* * *

We arriveat the Library Street Restaurant as a light rain begins to fall from the night sky. I take Ricki under my arm and cover her head with my jacket as we rush inside. I chose this place because it tends to be slow on weeknights, and we’re seated right away.

“This is beautiful,” Ricki says, impressed by the old-world ambiance.

“I’m glad you like it. I find it very relaxing,” I reply.

“That’s exactly what I need right now,” she replies.

“Are you still jet-lagged?” I ask her.

“Yes, that’s it,” she replies but the look on her face leads me to believe there might be something more on her mind.

“Is that it? It seems like you’re holding something back.”

She sighs but opens up to me, “It’s probably nothing but I’ve gotten three weird phone calls today. They’re from an unknown number, and when I answer, the caller hangs up.”

“You said you changed your number, right?” I ask.

“Yes, but this is the third time. Somehow, that man I told you about seems to keep getting my new numbers.” Her body language is closed and she looks at the floor.

“If you have a new number, it’s very possible it’s just a wrong number. I wouldn’t be too concerned about it,” I try to play it off for her sake, but it seems suspicious that she’d start receiving these calls immediately after the call I got at the gym.

I know first-hand how enchanting Ricki can be. I’ve been obsessing over her for the past two days, but I have to wonder why this man is so drawn to her that even an ocean hasn’t prevented him from pursuing her, so I come right out and ask, “I know you said that you only went on three dates with this man and that you didn’t sleep with him, but something must have happened to cause his crazy obsession with you. Do you have any idea what it is that set him off this way?”

“I’ve thought about that a lot. I even tried to blame myself for a while thinking that I did something to cause this, but I know that I didn’t. He was a real type A kind of aggressive from the first time we met, and he was obsessed with wanting to have sex with me. I could tell after our first date that he was disappointed I wouldn’t invite him inside.

“Then, after our second date, he was more pushy about it. He insisted we were both adults and we needed to find out if we were sexually compatible before we wasted any more time dating. That was enough for me to know that I didn’t want to see him anymore.”

She purses her lips and adds, “I agreed to the third date just so I could break up with him face to face. That didn’t go over well at all. He accused me of just using him for some free meals and basically threw me out of his car. I didn’t hear from him again for two days, and I thought it was over, but when I told him to leave me alone, the stalking began.”

With each word, the anger builds inside me until it’s full-on rage. I wish this man was standing in front of me right now so I could beat this crazy obsession out of him. No woman deserves to be harassed and intimidated this way but especially not Ricki.

“I don’t think you have to worry about him coming all the way to Ireland but,” I grab her hand and pull it to me, “if he does, he’ll have me to answer to. I promise you once he meets me, all of your problems will be over.”

“Why are you so protective of me? We just met two days ago?” she asks.

I know I have to be careful with my answer. She’s just told me a story about her obsessive stalker, and the last thing that I want to do is come off as an equally obsessive stalker. Still, we’ve been playing and teasing for two days now, and it’s time to let her in on my intentions.

“Ricki, when I see something I want, I don’t waste time weighing the options or worrying about the outcome. I just go after it. That’s what I did with my career, and that’s what I’m doing with you. When I was on the road, women would practically throw themselves at me. Even now, there are young girls in skimpy outfits prancing around the gym like strippers, but none of them has ever captured my attention. I ignored all of them.

“I keep my focus on running a successful business and staying physically fit. That’s how I know that what I feel for you is different. You caught my attention, and it hasn’t faltered for a second. I want to be with you and my duty as a man is to protect the woman that I’m with, period,” I explain.

She blushes and looks away, so I put my hand on her chin and turn her face back to me.

“How does that make you feel?” I ask her.

---