Chapter 15
When she awoke, Amanda discovered the two men had gone. She would never see them again. They would try this same stunt in the future with some other woman they knew, be discovered by her husband, and shot.
Sore inside, Amanda got to her feet, staggered to her tiny bathroom, and spent the next hour soaking in a tub she constantly re-filled with hot water, striving to ease all the aches and pains from her.
She had undergone a fantastic "trial by fire." Just why she had been chosen by fate to suffer through all this was something she was unable to figure out, but as always, some good comes out of some evil. She had discovered what sex was all about. She had found out about sex mingled with love, and she had found about raw sex with no emotional attachment. Apparently there was a place for both in the world. The latter was a substitute for the former, at least until the former came along.
For obvious reasons, Amanda decided to avoid the beach. Among other things, she had done a lot of growing up these past days. She had seen the meaning of immaturity by seeing it displayed in others older than she, and she was determined that she would continue to mature.
Sex, she understood, was something enjoyed by the mature and the immature, a-like. The more mature an individual was, the more that individual enjoyed sex. It countered the theory that sex was an animalistic instinct. Initially it might be animalistic, but for one to enjoy the full benefits of it, one had to grow up, mentally.
Determined to make the most of what she had learned, Amanda decided that in the future she would do the selecting, herself. It was apparent men found her more attractive than she had realized. Knowing this, she also knew she would be able to be selective.
But before she had a chance to formulate any positive plans, her door buzzer sounded. Wrapped in a fluffy pink robe, with a towel around her head, she answered the door and found herself face-to-face with Ambrose Wallace.
"May I come in?" he asked.
"That's an improvement," she nodded. "This time you're asking."
"If you want, I'll promise not to get fresh," he told her.
"Don't make promises you know you can't keep." she said, walking away from the door, letting him know he was free to follow her into the studio apartment.
He shut the door behind him, and he said, "Amanda, I may be slow to catch on to a lot of things, but I'm not completely stupid. When I brought you into that gloomy house, it was like cutting a hole in the roof and letting the sun in. like a fool, I shuttled you out as quickly as I brought you in because what you said was the truth. I did fall in love with you. In fact, in spite of all that happened between us, I think you know I was the captive and you were the captor. I may know more about sex than you, but when it comes to love, I'm the one who's innocent. You showed me what it means to love."
"Mmmmm hmmmm," she nodded, folding her arms.
"You told me if I wanted you, I'd have to come out after you." he went on. "Well, I'm coming."
"Suppose I told you I've slept with some other men since you dropped me off here at the house," she said.
"If that were true, then I'd have only myself to blame, for letting go of you the way I did," he replied
"Well," Amanda smiled, "it looks like I'm not the only one who's learning to grow up."
"I don't know what that means," he said, "but I'll take it as a compliment. Look, I know you don't know much about me, and I don't know that much about you. But I do know I need you, I need you very much. I'll admit that I love you, in fact. I can't promise, at this moment, that I'll be forever faithful and true, but I can sure as hell give it one good try. What I'm saying is, please, come back, come back on any terms you want. If you want marriage, I'll be more than happy to comply because I want to be with you. I can't stand being away from you. Please, Amanda, please, come home."
"Home?" she asked, "Your home?"
"Our home," he emphasized.
Yes, she had felt at home there, too. It was as much her home as it was his, basically because he lived in it. She would go back, she would live with him, and she would bind him to her for life. Poor innocent captive that he was about to become.
"Help me pack?" she asked.
"Leave it all," he murmured, his arms surrounding her. "I'll have someone come pick up everything in the morning. Right now, the most important thing is you, getting you home. I promise I'll never abuse you again-never."
"Too bad," she smiled. "You see, I fully intend abusing you."