Page 27 of The Player's Obsession

“I’m taking notes. In the future, there will be disqualifications.”

“Oh, so there will be another date?”

“Maybe.” I stare at the purse in my lap and fidget with it. Why am I nervous around him?

He turns into my apartment complex. I notice another streetlight is out and wonder why they never fix it.

“I’ll walk you in.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I’m walking you to the door. It’s a date, remember?” he states, parking the car.

I’m suddenly nervous. He opens the door for me, and my stomach has butterflies when I smell his cologne. It reminds me of summer with a citrus smell to it. I see his eyes and notice they change to different shades of blue and I wonder why.

He slides his arm through mine as he walks to my door. I pull out my key, fumbling it like a clown.

“Allow me,” he states as he takes the keys and unlocks my door for me.

“Thank you for a nice evening.”

“It was my pleasure. I’m sorry for startling you yesterday.” His fingers brush mine sending warmth to areas of me that I’d buried. I’m afraid to trust any decision I make with a man. Since college, I’ve been on a roller coaster with my family, and there’s never been an opportune time to date.

Oliver takes my hand and places the keys in my palm. I wrap my fingers around them.

“I enjoyed tonight.” His breath is warm against my ear.

His lips cover mine and move gently over them. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me into him. I welcome it. I move my lips with his, lost in the moment as warmth spreads between my legs. I reach up and put my arms around his neck. I go with the moment because I deserve to feel something other than panic and duress.

Oliver is the calm in the storm. I find refuge in his arms. His kiss deepens, and our tongues dance. My mind races as my large boobs press against his chest, and my nipples harden without him even touching them.

It would be so easy to let him in and partake in a night of lust and desire, but I can’t have sex with him on a first date. We don’t know each other well enough, and if he saw my life, I’m sure he’d run. I pull away.

His eyes beseech me.

“Have a nice night, Penelope.”

“Get home safely,” I say as I slip inside my apartment. I lock the door and lean against it, my back to the peephole. My knees are so weak I have to make an effort not to slide to the floor. Damn, if he’s not as sexy as he thinks he is and more.

I place my keys and purse on the table and slide my coat off. Between the food, the wine, and the handsome man gazing at me, tonight was surreal. I’m floating on cloud nine. Maybe the universe doesn’t hate me, after all. If I can get out of debt and be normal, I wouldn’t be embarrassed to tell him the sordid details of my life.

I notice the dining room light is on, and I usually only leave the tiny light under the microwave on. That’s strange. I must have forgotten to turn off the overhead light. I make my way to my bedroom and flip on the overhead light. I slip my heels off, take my earrings out, and pull out the drawer of my jewelry box to put them away and discover that the other items in my drawer are gone. My grandmother's diamond earrings and her engagement ring from my grandfather are gone. They weren’t large diamonds, but they were hers. I loved her more than anyone. Other than pictures and memories, her jewelry is the only physical thing that reminds me of her.

I’m heartbroken. I pull out other drawers and look for my necklaces. Anything I owned with gold or silver is gone. Was I robbed? The door was locked. This isn’t making sense.

I turn, and my eyes dart around the room, looking for evidence of someone being here while I was gone. I open my closet door and am relieved when I find no one in it. I rush to my purse that I left on the bed and pull out my wallet.

My weekly cash is gone, and to my horror, so is the debit card to my bank account.

The account that has my bonus and was going to bail me out.

I scramble to the kitchen and pull out my phone. With shaking hands, I manage to get into my banking app on the second try.

I stare at my account, and the red flag tells me my account is in the negative. I sink to my knees. How could Carlo do this to me? I’m his sister. This is a betrayal of my goodwill. He took something that was mine. I had a plan, and now he’s taken my freedom away from me. I cannot pay my credit cards, and Lucinda’s money will have to cover the amount my bank account is overdrawn. I’ve never known Carlo to be a thief. I sink to the floor, wondering if I missed something. He never stole as a teenager, and I wonder if my parents covered for him. Of course, they did. They were more like absentee parents. Our home environment wasn’t one filled with structure or consequences. I’m goal-oriented, so I fared better with the lack of our parents following up with our schoolwork. Our home environment was chaotic. I think Mom had her hands full with Dad. He changed jobs like I changed TV channels.

It’s no use calling my brother. I’m sure he’s high on something. I’ve been there for him, and this is how he thanks me. How could I have been so stupid? Of course, he knew my PIN number. It’s the year I graduated from high school. It’s always been my number. I’m sure he had to hit numerous money machines to get the money out. Tears well in my eyes as I stare at my phone screen. He used my debit card to buy gift cards as well.

My upper lip buckles. The money in savings was my golden ticket out of here. Now, it’s gone. I’m crushed that he’s so far gone, and he’s taking me down with him.

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