Pen Pal

Kayla wakes up on top of Aidan, and she thinks about what Michael would think if he could see her now. Michael would probably judge Aidan for not having a college degree, just as he judged her for not getting an MFA after her art degree. Aidan asks if Kayla is awake and says he wants to have sex again. Kayla agrees and says she wants to have more rough sex. Aidan calls her a bunny rabbit, and she calls him “fight club,” referencing her first impression of him. Playing into the bunny rabbit nickname, Kayla says Aidan will have to catch her first, and she runs around his apartment. He catches her and spanks her, but she claims she needs to go to the bathroom to trick him. Once he lets her up, she runs again, thinking how much fun she is having with Aidan despite disliking and distrusting most people. Aidan catches her again, and they have sex.

Aidan washes Kayla in the shower, and she begins to panic, feeling unsure of her situation with Aidan and guilty about having sex with another man after Michael’s death. Aidan comments on how tense Kayla is, and she explains that she is not used to being in casual sexual situations. Aidan says he is also not accustomed to this kind of relationship, and they confess that they are both interested in each other. Aidan says he needs to confess something, and Kayla assumes it is about a sexually transmitted disease or something similar. However, in discussing safe words, Aidan reveals that he hurt someone in his life, and he implies that he killed his father for physically abusing his mother. Kayla assures Aidan that she will not judge him for anything he did before they met, but she demands that Aidan is always honest with her. She jokes that having so much sex has made her hungry, calling him “fight club” and “bad lion” and herself “little bunny.”

Aidan brings Kayla back to her house, and he goes to investigate first. Kayla watches him go inside and remembers that not long ago it would have been Michael opening the door. Kayla thinks about how different Michael and Aidan are, noting how Michael did not have any tattoos or a beard because of his discomfort with them. Aidan comes back out to get Kayla, and they go inside. Aidan says the home is clear, and there are no signs of a break-in. He also compliments Kayla’s art, which he found while looking around. Kayla is flattered, and they kiss. However, Kayla pushes Aidan away, saying she is uncomfortable kissing another man in her home, and she fears Michael could walk in at any time. Aidan says he understands, and he says he is sending his friend, Jake, to install a security system. Later, Aidan will come back to put up a tarp on the roof. Kayla says she can still pay Aidan, who threatens to perform violent sex acts on her if she mentions money again.

Jake comes by and explains that he wants to install a series of cameras and networking for a security system. Kayla does not understand and asks for a simpler system, but Jake says he has specific orders from Aidan. Kayla says she does not have much money, and Jake references Aidan’s threat earlier, making Kayla blush. Jake seems suspicious, and he explains that Aidan does not get close to people. Jake is worried that Kayla will hurt Aidan, but she assures him that she likes Aidan, too. They agree to install a slightly simpler system that will satisfy Aidan without confusing Kayla. While Jake is talking, Kayla sees a man outside her window, whose facial features are obscured except for his bare teeth. The man is wearing a hat and a trench coat, which look familiar to Kayla. When Jake walks outside, Kayla looks back and sees that the man has disappeared.

Kayla decides to investigate the area where she saw the man, commenting that Bainbridge Island is a 35-minute ferry ride from Seattle and covered in trees and nature. She avoids looking at her and Michael’s boat, the Eurydice, named after the nymph Orpheus tries to save from the underworld. Kayla sees the name of the boat as an omen about their doomed relationship, and she reflects on how naïve she was when she and Michael first moved here for his position at the University of Washington. There is no evidence of anyone having stood by the tree, but Kayla sees how this vantage point shows her office. She thinks someone might have stalked her. She finds a buffalo nickel, a coin worth over $2,000, on the ground and recognizes it as Michael’s.

Jake finishes installing the security system, which has cameras covering most of Kayla’s property. Kayla asks about notifications for movement on the cameras, but Jake’s explanation quickly gets too complicated. The cameras are set to record for a week before starting to record over old footage. If the alarm triggers, Kayla can turn it off in 30 seconds, or she will need to use a password when an operator calls her. Jake implies that Aidan often spends time with Jake and Jake’s wife, so he hopes Kayla can join them and save Aidan from feeling left out.

Aidan arrives that night and plans to put a tarp on the roof. Kayla worries about Aidan working in the dark, but Aidan says he never falls. Aidan forces Kayla to explain how she feels when Kayla implies that Aidan could fall and die, and Kayla says she does not usually like or trust people. Aidan says he does not want to pursue a relationship unless Kayla is serious about it. She is attracted to and comfortable around Aidan. Even Michael did not have an immediate effect on Kayla like Aidan does. She also enjoys having sex with Aidan. If Aidan died, it would be devastating for Kayla. Aidan accepts and goes to work on the roof, and Kayla jokingly says she did not mean anything she said.

Kayla writes Dante a letter explaining how she thinks he might be lonely. She thanks him for the poem and reiterates her desire to know why he is in prison. She jokes that prison pen pal scenarios often end poorly, and she hopes the police do not find their letters with her body if Dante murders her.

Adian places the tarp, removes wet insulation, and leaves, leaving Kayla wondering why he did not come back inside. Kayla leaves her letter to Dante in a drawer and sits downstairs, enjoying the safety the alarm system brings her. She hears footsteps above her, though, and she restrains her fear enough to investigate. There is no one upstairs, but, when she comes downstairs, she finds all the drawers open. She feels like she is being watched, and she tries to rationalize how the drawers opened. A jar smashes to the ground, and Kayla runs to hide behind her sofa.

The next morning, the open drawers seem less menacing, and Kayla cleans up the house. She works until the afternoon on her illustrations, completing one story about a boy and a rabbit. She draws the scene she saw the day prior, with a man standing behind a tree in her yard, and she cannot place why the man seems familiar. The doorbell rings, startling Kayla, and she gets a text from Aidan saying to call him. He says she is mad at him, and she tells him to think about how he annoyed her. Aidan tells her to come to his place to have sex, and she agrees. As she gets ready to go, she sees her wedding photo with Michael, remembering how she was so nervous she threw up on her wedding day. She notices a thumbprint bruise on her arm in the photo, and she feels like she is on the brink of understanding something important.

Kayla shows up at Aidan’s house, and he immediately pulls her inside and kisses her. She says she was expecting an explanation for him leaving her house without saying goodbye, but he dodges the question. He asks Kayla to make a list of the 10 things she likes most about him, and he says he has talked more to Kayla in days than he usually talks to anyone in months. They have sex, and Aidan denies Kayla’s orgasm as long as possible. Aidan forces Kayla to come up with a safe word, something she can say to stop their sex acts if they become too violent, and she chooses “cheesy.” When they finally orgasm, Kayla marvels at how Aidan is exactly what she needs, but she implies that they already know “how this is going to end” (146).