Page 37 of The Seducer
“Did you have your own room?”
“No, not until I was an adult and by then I had gotten used to sleeping in a dorm and having others around me. It was almost too quiet to fall asleep without someone snoring or farting in the room.”
That last comment made the children laugh and for the next ten minutes I joked with them and had them in stitches when I told them about my shenanigans as a child.
“You should have seen my mentor’s face when he realized I’d swapped his shampoo for glue.”
The kids thought it was hilarious when I made funny faces and imitated Johnson’s hands stuck to his scalp. Luckily, we ran out of time before any of them could ask me how he’d punished me. There was no need to spoil the fun by telling them that I’d spent almost two weeks in the infirmary after that incident.
CHAPTER 11
The Psychopath
Finn
When I was twelve, showering was my daily nightmare. Being one of the smallest boys at my age and not yet close to going into puberty, the other boys teased me that I was feminine because of my large expressive eyes and long lashes. I hated it; not least when they came up with the nickname Finny.
I wanted to beat them up but I wasn’t the best fighter either, and got beaten badly the few times I tried standing up for myself.
Doomed to be the underdog, I honed my two assets into a shield and learned to use my quick brain and my humor to distract their attacks.
It worked with the boys, but it didn’t work with our mentor Johnson. The man was a sadistic son of a bitch who took pleasure in hurting us.
Somehow I was unfortunate enough to make it to his list of preferred targets and that’s when the nightmare really began.
“Why are you being so quiet?” Athena’s question brought me back from my trip down memory lane and I came up with a lie on the spot.
“Ah, you know, I was just thinking about all the birthday gifts I’ve missed out on over the years.”
Athena studied me and put down the book she’d been reading. We sat on opposite ends of the sofa while Hans was outside doing something he called t’ai chi. He had invited me to do it with him but after five minutes I ran out of patience. The man moved in slow motion like a human turtle. It was so ridiculous that I gave up and went to poke at Athena to get her to work faster on lifting the curse. She told me she was reading about it and asked me to be quiet, which was when the memories got the better of me.
“When is your birthday?” she asked.
“September seventeenth,” I answered. “Which makes me thirty-four years, one month, and one day old.”
“Congratulations.” Athena smiled. “And if you were to wish something for your birthday, what would it be?”
“A cake with my name on it sounds good. And if you’re open to fulfilling wishes, I wouldn’t mind an hour with you naked in bed.” I flashed my teeth in a hopeful smile.
“A cake it is,” Athena said and stood up. “Do you like chocolate?”
“Who doesn’t?” I watched her rummage around the small kitchen. “Are you really going to bake me a cake?”
“I am.”
“I would have settled for a kiss, you know,” I joked.
“A cake was the first thing you mentioned and I’m happy to give you what was on the top of your list,” Athena said with her back to me.
“In that case, can I change it to sex at the top and cake as number two?”
“No.”
“Ahh, so if I’d said sex first and cake second, you’d still be baking me a cake?” I asked with a flirtatious grin.
“What is your obsession with sex, Finn?” Athena asked while mixing ingredients. “Is it really all you think about?”
“Pretty much,” I lied. “Don’t you?”
