Edward stepped out of the shower cubicle dripping water all over the shaggy white bathroom carpet. The water had been cold enough to jolt him out of the confusion of the heated exchange with Gladys. What had started as an erotic interlude had ended in tears and hurled accusations on both sides. Just thinking about it again got his thoughts in a spin.

He hung up the wet towel on its rack and padded into the dark toned bedroom. The unpacked luggage from his last trip almost tripped him up and he stared at it with baleful eyes. That was the reason Gladys had come back with him, but they‘d become distracted and hadn‘t made it to the bedroom. Edward sighed again, betrayed by the train of his thoughts. He swore as he began to fold clothes into the tall wardrobe; the rest would have to be hung up in the closet.

He was still jet-lagged from his last trip and now he was worried about his relationship with Gladys. They‘d been dating for over six months, so what exactly was her problem? He‘d brought up marriage in their discussion but she wasn‘t impressed. In fact that had back-fired big time. She thought he was out to take advantage of her. He appreciated that she was a virgin, but maybe that wasn‘t such a good thing. He was really very frustrated. It was two weeks to Christmas and almost a year since he had last had sex. He picked up his phone.