Taking my travel bag with me, I exited the condo and headed to the café down the street. She would never know I’d even come home in the first place.

Once at the café and seated at a table with my laptop, I decided to create a new email address under the guise of Gentleman Nine. Without overthinking it, I sent her a message.Dear Amber,Thank you for reaching out to me. I felt that your message warranted emailing you from this address so that you don’t have to log into the site to contact me moving forward. It’s easier to correspond back and forth this way. I can completely understand your wanting to get to know me first, and I think that’s wise. I’m here for you if you want to talk or anything else. Just let me know what questions you have.—Gentleman NineWhat the fuck had I gotten myself into? I should have just had him tell her he couldn’t help her out, that he was too busy, but then what if she moved on, seeking the services of someone else? I couldn’t monitor the situation unless I controlled every step. It needed to be handled like this. Also, to be honest, a part of me really wanted to know what she was thinking. Jesus. I was going to hell.

Not ready to go home and face her, I ordered a hot tea and decided to sit for a while before venturing back home.

A notification chimed, signaling that I’d received a new email. It was a response from Amber. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised that she’d responded to my message so quickly.Hi Gentleman Nine,Thank you for answering so fast and for providing me with this email address. You’re right. It’s much easier to communicate with you outside of the portal.

I’m sorry if I sounded like a rambling mess in my first message. As you can see, I am new at this. My biggest concern is to ensure that you don’t have any kind of sexually transmitted disease. How do you protect yourself if you’re with so many women? Do you have anything current from a doctor that you can show me verifying that you’re clean? (I know you probably can’t divulge personal information.) Beyond those issues, I guess I just want to know who you are. How old are you? Do you really look like Matt Bomer? LOL. How did you end up doing this? And what would a night (or half-day) with you be like? Sorry for all the questions.—AmberShit. Deeper down the rabbit hole.

Bouncing my legs frantically, I raked my fingers through my hair while I pondered my response. Determined to lie as little as possible, I tried my best to address her questions in a way that the answers could technically be applied to the real me. That made me feel a little less guilty. I began to type.Hi Amber,Don’t worry about asking too many questions. There is no such thing. I can provide you with whatever verification you need that I’m clean. I can assure you that I’m STD-free, but as a precaution, I always use condoms with no exceptions. Your safety is my number one priority.

How did I end up doing this? Well, how much time do you have? LOL. That’s a long story I should probably tell you in person, but the bottom line is, I fell into this situation, and it’s hard to leave now.

In answer to your age question, I’m twenty-seven. I don’t exactly look like Matt Bomer, but you might like me even better.

A night with me consists of whatever you’re comfortable with and whatever you desire. We could talk for a while or not talk at all. Basically, your wish would be my command. I can guarantee that for at least the time we are together, you won’t be thinking about that fool who left you.

What brought you to me tonight of all nights?—G9That was really what I wanted to know.

This was so unlike Amber or at least the Amber I thought I knew. What prompted her to do this tonight? Something must have happened while I was away.

I took a long sip of my tea, nearly burning my mouth and waited. I knew if she hadn’t gone to bed, she wouldn’t take long to respond. I’d give it twenty minutes before giving up and going home.

Five minutes later, a new message popped up in my fake inbox.G9,Is that what your friends call you? I like that. Thanks for the answers.

That’s an interesting question—why tonight of all nights? Well, I saw my ex tagged on Facebook with another woman, and that put me over the edge. But it’s more than that. Lately, I’ve developed a strong attraction to a good friend of mine, and that’s sort of screwing with me a bit. He’s actually temporarily living in my condo, but he’s someone I’ve known for years. I’ve always thought he was extremely handsome, but it’s complicated. He and I would not be a good match romantically. He’s not the monogamous type, or at least, he never used to be. We’re better off as friends. He was also the best friend of my ex years back, so there’s that. Having him around, though, has made me more sensitized to my sexual desires. Little things like the waft of his scent, the way he touches the small of my back when he passes by me in the kitchen…it’s like my body is on this constant state of alert. So, I was thinking if I could just—for lack of a better word—get laid, maybe I could get this feeling out of my system.