The Girl With the Monkey Tattoo

TW: Mature and misogynistic content

I met Larissa on the evening of her thirty-first birthday. I was on a date with her friend Karen who I met on Match.com, and even though I was slightly apprehensive about going to this girl’s apartment that I didn’t know, on the phone Larissa had convinced Karen to come by and say hi and have a few drinks with her other guests. She had just gotten back from the tattoo shop with her friends Ben and Steve and wanted Karen to see the tattoo of the monkey she got on her back. Cute.

Karen and I were at the Fox and Hound Pub in Lewisville and both she and Larissa lived in Plano, so all in all we were going to be heading back to Karen’s apartment anyway, so why not stop by? I obliged because I knew I was going to get laid no matter what I said. Never would I have imagined what would happen the moment I walked into Larissa’s apartment.

As I walked in with Karen, I met this woman’s gaze and there was a spark- something I’d never felt with a woman before. I was still recovering from my divorce with Mindy who cheated on me, and I wasn’t really looking for anything but a casual situation, and Karen was the same way. But when I saw Larissa, something in me ignited like a flame. My heart was on fire. Her perfectly pale skin and her shoulder length black hair were a combination of pure beauty, and her eyes…Blue and green like the ocean. Her two chihuahuas welcomed me into the apartment and I noticed there were quite a few people there.

“Hi! So nice to meet you!” She said, shaking my hand, a jolt of electricity passing from her skin to mine.

“Can I get you a drink?” I couldn’t stop staring at her, and I am pretty sure she could feel it too, because her smile seemed to grow like that of the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. I could feel Karen’s eyes on me and tried to stay focused on the beautiful girl who stood before me.

“No, thanks. I’m good. Nice to meet you.” I then looked over at Karen who had a look on her face that I couldn’t decipher. Karen was cute. She was a skinny blonde with a great personality, and as I thought about it, I guess I kept hanging out with her because of the sex. I mean come on-she made it pretty damn easy for me.

Larissa showed Karen her tattoo and the two of them stepped out onto the patio to have a cigarette, which I despised, but I let them have their moment because I knew I was going to be the topic of conversation. After about ten minutes of trying to get to know the other guests I was starting to get antsy, so I stepped out on the patio to join them. Both of them turned to look at me, smiling.

 At that moment I felt overwhelmingly perplexed, because I found Larissa to be absolutely beautiful, and next to Karen, yeah, she was definitely more my type. Shit.

Toward the end of the evening, Karen was literally trying to yank me out of there because I am pretty sure she saw the spark that I felt, and I knew Larissa felt it too. I found myself wanting to stay, but I couldn’t do that. Larissa asked for my number, and I gave it to her. On the way back to Karen’s apartment, she was eerily quiet. I looked over at her and tried to make small talk, but she turned away from me and just looked out the window.

“You like her, don’t you?” She asked, but it was more of a statement with hurt behind it. I felt bad because it was true, but I really wanted to sleep with Karen that night so I lied to her.

“Karen, I don’t know her. She’s your friend, right?”

“Then why did you give her your number Shawn? That was so uncool. You’re my date.” She looked right at me and I could see that I hurt her, and it circled her entire body like the glow of a halo.

“I don’t know why I did that. I guess I just wanted to. Don’t worry, she seemed like she had a lot to drink, so I doubt she’ll remember I gave it to her anyway.”

“Right.”

            We pulled into Karen’s apartment complex and as I turned off the engine, Karen opened the door quickly and slammed the door shut behind her, walking quickly towards her stairs.

“Did you want me to come up?” I asked.

“You know Shawn, if you really want to come up, fine. It’s fine.”

“You’re upset.”

“Of course I’m upset! You gave my friend your number while you were on a date with me!”

“So why don’t you let her know that you’re mad at her? That was uncool of her to do that.”

“Yes it was, but I don’t want to start anything with her right now. And you could have said no, you know?”

“You’re right. You’re right…So, do you want me to come up?” We both exchanged looks of defeat, but she permitted me to come inside, and we went straight to her bedroom. While I was having sex with her though, all I could think about was Larissa, and when I was done, Karen went into the bathroom, and I could hear her crying.

Dammit.

                I didn’t stay at Karen’s that night. She asked me to leave from inside the bathroom and I apologized through the door and told her I’d call her the next day. On my drive home that night, all I could think about was the girl with the monkey tattoo. I laid awake in bed that night wondering if she would call, tossing and turning because a lot in my life was about to change. I’d been offered a job at another studio for game design in Plano and would be commuting there until I found a place.

A couple of days later as I was packing up my cubicle, I got a ping on my cellphone. Picking it up, I saw a number I didn’t recognize but the message was clearly from the person I hoped it would be.

Larissa.

“Hope your day is awesome! It was so nice to meet you!” I read. What do I say in response to that? Maybe I’ll just be honest. Mmm. I don’t want to get in between her and Karen. But Karen knows I kinda like this girl. Shit.

It’s a bit of an emotional day. Packing up my office, I replied.

“Oh ok. Are you looking forward to your new job?” She typed back. I found myself eagerly anticipating everything she was going to say with the three little active dots as she was typing. I honestly couldn’t remember what I told her at her party, but I appreciated the sentiment.

“I am.”

             After that I didn’t hear from her for a little while, so I decided I’d invite her to come out to Lewisville to meet the guys at a bar that we went to often. It would be friendly and social and a way for them to get a read on her and let me know what they thought. And they liked her. How could you not like Larissa? Not only was she absolutely beautiful, but she was a kind and funny girl and kind of strange, but definitely one of the most real people I’d ever met.

            Before I knew it, we were hanging out every other day, so I asked her to come look at apartments with me because I had about a month to move to Plano. Commuting from Lewisville was going to take a toll on me, especially during 5 PM traffic. She met my real estate agent Bruce, and we had a really fun time looking at places. It felt familiar to be with her in the car, and she was just really fun and easy to talk to.

          After apartment hunting we went and grabbed an early dinner. I was curious about whether or not she had spoken to Karen at all, because she hadn’t said a word.

“So, are you and Karen like a thing? How long have you known each other?” she asked me as she dipped a French fry into the ketchup she’d squirted onto her plate.

“I mean, we’re not officially dating really. At least I don’t think so. I don’t know.” I said, smiling at her.

“Karen’s a nice girl. I’m surprised you aren’t like, together.” She emphasized.

And she had a point. If I really wanted to be with Karen, I would be. Even though we had agreed to keep things casual, maybe I was looking for something more- and Karen wasn’t really relationship material, if I was being honest with myself. She was great for a lay here and there, and she was fun to hang out with, but there really wasn’t much depth to her. Larissa and I had only spent a small amount of time together, and she definitely possessed a great deal of depth. She was also an artist like me, and pursuing her master’s degree in counseling with the goal of being an art therapist. Karen was a receptionist, so I felt I had to weigh those pros and cons with these girls and what they had going for them. I’ve always been an ambitious guy, so clearly, Larissa was starting to win me over.

“Do you want to come back to my place?” I asked her. She dropped her sandwich on her plate and looked around the restaurant.

“What about Karen though?” she asked, staring at me. I started to feel guilty in that moment but, I knew what I wanted.

“I’ll just call her and tell her that I want to pursue things with you. I think she already got the impression I’m into you.” I replied. I wasn’t going to call Karen though, because I didn’t want to rub it in her face. If these two girls were really friends, and if there was another get together and both of us were there, she’d get it. Karen wasn’t stupid, but neither was Larissa.

                 I slept with Larissa that night, and the night after, and the next night. Sex with her was sweet as well as rough and adventurous. A couple of weeks later I was at my new job and was pretty sure I had found a place I wanted to move to in Plano, right down the street from Larissa’s place.

              There was a pool party at Larissa’s and surely enough, Karen was there, as was her friend Molly. Molly and Karen and I had had a threesome, but there was no way I was going to tell Larissa that. She was obviously a very clean girl, and I didn’t want her to think less of me if she found out about my exploits. We were all sitting on the patio and Karen had had a few drinks.

“I can’t believe you’re dating my sideline guy!” She said to Larissa, whose jaw was down to the ground at that moment. I felt a pang of disgust that Karen would even think to

 A) call me her sideline guy and

 B) make it known to everyone there.

“Karen, come on. You guys weren’t official or anything, and that’s not a nice thing to say.” Larissa said. Molly glared at Larissa and then at me, and I could feel myself getting sweaty.

“Yeah, sideline guy, Karen?” I asked.

“Yes Shawn! You were my sideline guy!” she yelled. I couldn’t take this drama. She was clearly affected by this more than I gave her credit for, but to put me down in front of everyone only validated my decision in not pursuing her more seriously.

 It just was not a classy thing to do, and Larissa was the definition of classy. I don’t think she would ever do anything like that to me, at least from what I knew about her, she would never insult me like that, especially in front of a group of people. I had to step off the patio and go cool off away from the group. I was pissed that Karen would do that to me. I know I jumped into being with Larissa, but it felt right. I was pacing downstairs and Larissa came to check on me.

“That wasn’t cool at all.” She said, touching my shoulder and rubbing it gently.

“I’m not happy with her right now.” I looked into her eyes and then down at the ground.

“Well, I don’t think she’s happy with either one of us. Look, it is what it is, right? We both felt something that night that you came over. What were we supposed to do, completely forget we’re human and deny the attraction between us?” She said, smiling.

“Nope!” and with that, I planted my mouth on hers, kissing her passionately.

                    A few months went by and I found myself spending a lot of time with Larissa. She came to my new apartment after I got settled and we started to develop a bit of a routine. I would go to the gym while she was in class, and she would come over to watch a movie and have dinner with me after she walked her dogs.

                  She wouldn’t stay over unless her neighbor was available to watch the dogs for her, and when she did stay for a little while, we would make love and cuddle, having small talk. I loved it when she nuzzled into my neck in bed. She told me that the get togethers with the girls were dwindling because Karen had really taken a dive at her, and I felt bad but at the same time, I kept hearing “sideline guy” in my head every time Karen’s name came up. I just wanted to forget it all and leave Karen behind.

                I was sitting on the couch when Larissa was over one night, sitting next to her and scrolling through my phone, looking at photographs I had on my camera roll. A racy picture of Karen in lingerie came up on my screen and she saw it immediately, and when her eyes met mine, they were filling up with tears quickly.

“Why do you still have a picture of her on your phone? Especially wearing that! Was this recent?”

“No! No, this was a while ago. I forgot I had it.” I lied to her. I lied to her face and I don’t know why.

“Shawn! Why do you still have this picture of Karen?”

“Look, I’ll delete it. See? It’s gone.” I rubbed her arm. “Just don’t worry yourself about it. I promise nothing is going on. I’m with you. Only with you.” I tried to convince her because I hadn’t any reason to keep that picture. I didn’t want to upset her at all.

“Ok. Look, I’m going to get going. I need to check on the dogs and study.” She kissed me on the cheek and gathered her things.

“Are we good? I’m really sorry about the photo Larissa.”

“We’re good. I’ll talk to you soon.” She walked toward the door and opened it, looking back at me with a smile before walking through it and closing the door behind her. I called Karen and told her that anything we had between us could no longer continue. I was with Larissa now, and she had to accept it. I met her for a reason, and I was going to see where things would go. I smiled as I got ready for bed, looking forward to the next time I would see Larissa. I didn’t hear from her for a couple of days so I decided to stop by her apartment when I knew she’d be home from class. Knocking on the door, I could hear her television blaring. She opened it and smiled at me, allowing me to come inside. I knew she had forgiven me, and I was looking toward the future with the girl with the monkey tattoo. Who knew I would meet someone this real?

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