Bounce Down: 1st Quarter: Start of Play (7 page)

I also
mentioned one point I had been worried about. When looking up the
list words, I noticed an antonym for control was free.
‘
So would that mean I would not be
free
,
or have any
freewill in your presence?
’

After sending the message, I
checked my Facebook account for any news on my best friend,
Jeanette Wilkins, who was on an overseas holiday with her family.
We had known each other since we were 19 and over the last six
years we had shared everything. So it felt strange she was in the
dark about my blind date and subsequent visit to his house. In
hindsight, it was probably a good thing, considering the privacy
agreement. I knew I would find it difficult to keep Jeanette out of
the loop.

I had just posted a message to
her when I saw an email flash up on the bottom of the screen.
Initially I was shocked Brendon had replied so quickly, before
realising he would have an iPhone and be able to see my message
instantly.

The subject
of his email was, ‘
Thank
You.
’ ‘Thank you’ because he believed he
had scared me off, especially as I was calling from an untraceable
number. I had not known my work number was untraceable, as I never
got any direct outside calls. They were all put through via the
Call Centre and then I would transfer them to the squad members, as
required.

I was amazed he also
acknowledged that I did have a personal life and should be able to
keep in contact with family and friends. So yes, I could have my
mobile turned on in future.

He even
addressed my concerns regarding my freedom.
‘Your current life is governed by rules and regulations, so
already you’re not totally free. I’m only adding a few rules to
your list. And as far as having freewill in my presence, I’m not a
monster. You are free to use any of the safe words, at any time.
You can say yellow for any reason, from wanting a drink or needing
the bathroom, to having an itch on your nose or wanting a break or
a change.’

I suppose he
was right. I guess I would have to test out how much freedom he did
allow me. So basically, I did want to see him again to gauge what
kind of relationship we would have and how it would affect my
personal life.
Was our relationship going
to be exclusive?
It was one query I would
like satisfied sooner rather than later, so I knew where I
stood.

Finally, he
asked when I would know if I had to work overtime the next day. He
finished with,
‘Ps I watched the news – I
hope they find her safe and well.’

I heard Diane
come in downstairs, as I hit reply and changed the subject to,
‘
5.30 pm Frida
y’
I typed that I usually finished at 5.00, so by 5.30 I would know
one way or the other. I added, ‘
My car and
I would be happy staying overnight, both locked behind your
security gate.’

As expected,
his reply came within a minute. It was brief and to the
point.
‘Will call at 5.30 – looking
forward to renewing our acquaintance, Mac.’

Mac, short
for his surname MacIver, was his well-known nickname, especially
amongst his team mates. I had discovered that, as well as a wealth
of other personal details and facts, photographs and even videos of
him on the internet. His date of birth confirmed he would be 28 on
the 15
^th
of August. My initial description of Brendon being a panther
had not been far from his star sign of Leo the Lion. Both were
dominate animals who stalked and then devoured their
prey.

Later downstairs, Diane and I
had our usual catch-up over a cup of tea. Luckily she was less
obtrusive than Mandy. Because we didn’t pry into each other’s
lives, we made great flatmates.

By 10.00 a m the news came
through that the teenager had been located. Apparently the 16
year-old had met an older guy online and had arranged to go away
with him. Unfortunately she neglected to tell her family and
friends, who all suspected the worst. She was spotted at a motel
out of town by the cleaning staff, who called Crime Stoppers.

The rest of the day sped past
as I typed more statements and reports. It was almost five and I
had already locked the counter security grill, as Peter approached
me.

“
So, what are
you doing on the weekend?”

He was still fishing. I
answered with a half-truth. “I’m not sure yet.”

Not satisfied, he continued to
probe. “Are you seeing what’s-his-name? By the way, I don’t believe
you told me his name.”

Frustrated, I used my favourite
word, “Maybe.”

He raised his eyebrows and
cocked his head to one side, waiting for more information.

“
It’s Bob,
okay? His name is Bob. Have a good weekend and say hi to Jill for
me.”

I gathered up my bag as I spoke
and headed out the self-locking exit door. As I waited at the
elevators, I saw he had followed me.

“
I don’t know
why you’re not confiding in me, but the fact you’re keeping me in
the dark, says there’s something not quite right with this
guy.”

I put my hand up to halt him in
his too-close-for-comfort assumption.

Thankfully, the middle lift
opened and as I stepped into it, he promised, “I will find out you
know,” and the door closed before he could say more.

It was not until that moment,
that I acknowledged how much I had trusted him in the past. He had
been there for me during my breakups and had correctly steered me
away from the unsavoury types; the kind of guy only another guy
could spot as trouble. No wonder he was sceptical this time. I
would have to be extra cautious and definitely no more calls at
work.

I pressed the call button and,
within 30 seconds, the security gate slid open, allowing me to
drive through and park near the front door.

By the time I got out, he was
there. Leaning against the open doorway, he looked good enough to
eat; from his bare feet to the tight black denim jeans and
soft-grey hoody.

“
Hey.”

“
Hey
yourself, welcome back.”

As I approached, I saw he was
once again assessing me. He had not specified what I should wear.
That was one point for freewill. I chose a black mid-length skirt
and a green silk blouse. I also wore stockings and black strappy
high heels, one because of our obvious height difference and two
because I suspected he liked me wearing them.

As I reached him, he
complimented me. “I like your blouse; it matches your eyes.”

My eyes were my best feature.
Many people had commented on their dark jade colour. In fact, my
eyes were the only part of me to ever receive compliments.

“
Did you
bring an overnight bag?”

I smiled demurely and held up
my small clutch purse. “I have my toothbrush and my nightie.”

His eyes widened and I could
not help laughing at his stunned expression.

Once inside, the distinctive
aroma of Chinese food attacked my senses. As we moved towards the
dining area, I saw the glass sliding door was open. The night was
warm, even for November. I noticed the furniture matched that of
the kitchen, white table and red chairs.

During his earlier call, he had
asked what my favourite dish was. In addition to Honey Chicken,
there were several vegetable meals, as well as fried and steamed
rice.

“
What would
you like to drink?” He had seated me at the table and was heading
towards the fridge.

“
My favourite
is scotch and coke, but anything is fine, except red
wine.”

“
You know,
red wine is like anything else. It’s an acquired taste and if you
start off with something light, then you can work your way up to
the hard stuff.”

Somehow I didn’t think he was
referring to wine and this gave me something to think about. It was
probably his way of getting into my head, the endless possibilities
of our relationship.

I sipped my white wine; it was
slightly drier than last week’s. I studied his profile as he piled
his plate with the various dishes.

He glanced up and saw I hadn’t
touched my Honey Chicken and fried rice he had passed to me
earlier. “Eat up, it will get cold.”

I managed a few bites, before
returning to stare at him.

“
Okay, what’s
on your mind?”

I answered truthfully. “Red
wine, and other things....”

His fork was halfway to his
mouth as I spoke. He returned the utensil to his plate. “I have a
large collection of red wine, but I assume you’re not talking about
wine?”

I nodded.

“
You need to
let me know what you’re thinking. We have to be open with each
other if this is going to work.”

I took a large gulp of wine as
I considered this. Well, it looked like I would have to ask my
questions. I started with a relatively trivial one. “Why didn’t you
take your clothes off?”

He laughed
and almost choked on his drink. “
This
is what’s uppermost in your
mind?”

I blushed. “No, but I am
curious. Do you never?”

“
Of course I
do, last time was about control, pure and simple. I promise next
time you can undress me, okay?”

I quickly asked another
question. “My shoes, why didn’t you want me to take them off?”

He shrugged his shoulders as he
swallowed his food. “Would you believe I was in a hurry?” He gave a
wink. “Granted, it was probably not a good idea; those things can
be a safety hazard.”

Before I could form another
question, he leaned forward on his elbows and gave me one of those
penetrating stares. “Let’s get to what’s really bothering you.”

I steeled myself, before I
spoke. “What kind of relationship would we have, I mean like, how
would it work?”

He ran his fingers through his
hair and took another mouthful of wine. “Look, this is new to me as
well. As I said before, we can take it one step at a time and
reassess things as we go. But for starters, we’ll only see each
other on the weekends and....”

“
What about
during the football season?”

“
You’re
interrupting; that’s a trait I plan to rid you of.”

“
I’m sorry,
it won’t happen again.” I was amazed at how quickly his demeanour
could change from cordial to firm.

He shook his head, as though he
didn’t believe me. “You will come here, as I don’t have a flatmate
to contend with.”

“
How do you
know about Diane? Oh never mind, your Fone Corp buddy,
right?”

“
The
account
is
in
both your names.”

Soon dinner was over, signalled
by Brendon as he stood and gathered up the plates. I assisted him
by stacking the dishwasher, while he put the leftover food
away.

He then turned to me and held
out his hand. “Before we go any further, let me give you a proper
tour.”

After I collected my purse he
showed me the laundry and downstairs toilet, which I briefly saw
last time, before heading upstairs.

The first room on the right was
a large games room complete with pool table, corner bar and a
balcony overlooking the front courtyard. Opposite the games room
there were an additional two rooms. When we reached the first one
the door had been slightly ajar, but he pulled it shut before I
could peer inside.

Turning to face me, his
pleasant outlook changed to one of grave seriousness. “You are not,
under any circumstances, to enter this room!”

What was so
special about that particular room? Why was he being so
secretive?
I realised there was a lot I
didn’t know about this well-known athlete and began to question my
decision to put myself in so vulnerable a position.

“
Do you
understand?” He was eying me sceptically, waiting for my assurance
before we continued any further.

“
Of
course.”

He nodded, before continuing to
the second door, which was the bedroom I had previously been
in.

Brendon confirmed what I had
expected. “This will be your room, where you can leave your things.
Feel free to use the laptop; there is also a TV and stereo in the
centre cupboard.” He pointed to the wall cupboards I had tried to
sneak a peek into.

He saw my guilty look and gave
me a lopsided grin. “Yes, you can look in them anytime you
wish.”

I meant to deal with my
questions as they arose. “Does this mean we won’t sleep
together?”

“
No it
doesn’t. When you are here we will either be sleeping in this room,
my room or another room. I’ll show you that one
shortly.”

It was one thing I was really
looking forward to, waking up next to him.

He gave me a
wink when we arrived at his room. “Now, as you know this is the
master bedroom and here is the en-suite,
my
en-suite.” He paused for his
words to take effect. “The bathroom you went in last time is for
your use and again, you can leave any of your things in
there.”

I noticed his bathroom was
predominately white, with a smattering of red and black tiles
throughout. My eyes were drawn to the deep circular bath, which had
mirror splash-backs at either end. Very nice. I could picture him
in it. Another pertinent question came to mind, along with a
possible answer. “Um, is having separate bathrooms about
control?”