Steffi

8:
November 16, 1996
Naomi & Amelie’s Residence, Birmingham MI

“So, how did you get Brendan to come to lunch with us?” Naomi inquired, as she was thoroughly interested in knowing Amelie’s manipulative tactics. “God, sometimes I think Brendan Shanahan hates my guts. He acts like it whenever he comes to the Post. And for some odd reason, I always get stuck waitressing for his group. It must be a punishment; I must have done something to him in my past life. So I find it strange that he was willing to meet Tommie.”

“Well, I told him that he owed me for that incredible night of sex I gave him. And he was all too willing to oblige,” Amelie sniggered. “Actually, he just wanted to come see the ‘poor loser that’s stuck with Naomi.’ By the way, that came straight from his mouth.”

“He’s so self-righteous, it makes me sick. Anyways, let’s stop talking about him or I’ll vomit my lunch. You know what I find weird as well? The way your infatuation with Brendan almost disappeared after that night you spent with him. It just vanished into thin air!” Naomi ragged. Amelie propped her head with the palm of her hand, peacefully pondering to herself. True, Naomi was Amelie’s best friend; but Naomi was too chaste, too innocent to comprehend the inner workings of Amelie’s mind. To Amelie, love did not exist, only sex did. Sex was not about an experience between two lovers, it was a sordid pastime that kept her entertained in the wee hours of the morning. Once she had fulfilled her fantasy with one man, she moved on to the next. And the next. And the next. Brendan Shanahan had her infatuated interest until he slept with her. After that, he was a used man, like a childhood sweater that was out of fashion and did not fit anymore.

Although Brendan had ceased to be physically attractive to her after that night, he was far from forgotten. While he was with her, he had passionately, but inadvertently muttered Naomi’s name. He only did it once; but from the glazed over look in his eyes, Amelie could tell that his attraction to Naomi was serious. Nonetheless, Amelie knew this story well, as if it had been read to her repeatedly as a child; it was the story of her life. Naomi would mean nothing to him after he had conquered her in bed; and Amelie was determined to prevent Brendan from corrupting Naomi.

Perhaps Naomi was naïve and foolish when it came to matters of the heart; or perhaps, Naomi was neither, and simply a scarce breed. Even in the 90s world, a world where divorce, single parent families and one-night-stands had become an accustomed reality, Naomi still believed in everlasting love. Her love story with Tommie began in 1992, when she was nineteen years old. For four years, they slowly, yet progressively wrote their chapters together; they delayed the consummation of their relationship for three years. Even after the first time, it was never “simply sex.” It was the act of making love, and every time they did it, it was special. Amelie realized that she was incapable of having that form of fulfilling, emotional connection with a man, so she was resolute on protecting Naomi’s.

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Steffi