Jasmine
She was out on a date, a blind date set up for her by her friend at work, although for how long they would be friends was now in doubt. She was sitting opposite the man in a restaurant and hated it.
It wasn't the man's looks, they were okay, it was his narcissism, crudity and hubris she found intolerable. Behind where she sat was a mirror and she could see the man constantly admiring himself in it as he told her in considerable detail what he would do to her once they got back to his flat.
"Baby, it'll be the greatest fuck you've ever had," he assured her.
"Not with you it won't," Jasmine said to herself. For a start she hated being called "baby," and another thing she detested was being taken for granted. It was true she had come on the date expecting and wanting to be fucked, in fact she had been geared up for it until she met her date, but she liked to be wooed.
The man made her feel like a slut, and she inwardly admitted that this was probably what she had become and was hating herself for it, but it had taken this date to drive that home to her, and she was close to tears.
She stood saying, "I'll be back in a moment," and headed for the toilets, but out of sight of the man she veered and made her way to the exit. Passing through the lobby the floor manager accosted her and in a phoney French accent asked, "Is Madame leaving?"
"Yes."
"The gentleman said that you would be settling the bill."
Jasmine gasped. Did his arrogance stretch that far that he thought he was worth buying? Desperate to get away Jasmine snatched the bill from the manager, glanced at it, and fumbling in her handbag paid the bill.
Outside she hailed a taxi and made her way home.
Adrian
Adrian sat in an armchair, despondently thinking about his mother. He knew what she had suffered when his father had gone off with another woman, it had devastated her, and he understood her dilemma.