I left early that morning, letting Emily sleep in. I didn’t know much about her, and I didn’t want to break the spell of the night we’d spent together by talking about things that we didn’t need to talk about. All too often, I would wake up next to a woman only to hear how she was getting back at her ex-boyfriend, or that she was doing something to bring drama into some relationship she was having.

There were those who were lonely, and those who merely wanted to get a taste of what it would be like to be with a man like me. Sure, they were all intended to be one-night stands on my end, too, and I hadn’t ever formed any real opinion about any one of them. But, at the same time, I didn’t want the woman currently in my bed to wake up and tell me something about herself that would change the way I felt about her.

That thought filled me with confusion.

I liked doing what I did and splitting the next day. It was the ego boost I needed; a modicum of fulfillment in a life that I wasn’t happy with.

I didn’t like to get close to people. I didn’t like to open up or be vulnerable, and I certainly didn’t ever like being put in the weaker position. It was my business to be one step ahead and keep it that way—and that included the women I brought home with me.

I was now on my way to catch a plane. Los Angeles was a place I would visit often, but my job required me to be not only all over the country, but all over the world. I was due to board the next flight to New York City, then after that, I would be on my way to Tokyo.

I could forget about the events of the previous night and focus on my work, then turn my attention to the new women I would meet.

As my driver took me to the airport, I stared out the window watching the traffic and buildings pass by. I didn’t know why, but there was a feeling of sadness in my chest. Surely it didn’t have anything to do with the woman I’d left in my bed. It couldn’t. That’s not how I did things, and I certainly didn’t intend to start now.

A one-night stand was just that—a one-night stand. There would be no way for her to get a hold of me or for me to get a hold of her. If I wanted to check up on how she was doing, I was going to have to look for her on billboards and the covers of magazines.

My phone chimed and I quickly looked at it. I chided myself, reminding myself there was no way for her to contact me. Yet, there was a small voice inside my mind that whispered that she might have made some effort to track me down.

I shook my head. If any other woman had done that, I would have blown her off, telling her I never intended for the night to go beyond what we had already done. But, if Emily were to do that to me, I didn’t know how I would respond.

There would be a happiness, almost an excitement at hearing the sound of her voice. It didn’t matter to me that I had only spent a few hours with her, nor that we had fallen asleep soon after sex and hadn’t taken the time to talk much longer. Again and again, her face would appear in my thoughts, and I would begin thinking about the evening we had spent together.

I shooed the thoughts away. I couldn’t allow myself to lose sight of what was important in my life, and that was my career. I was a man who was always on the road. I was always moving on to the next big thing—whatever was better than the best. I couldn’t tie myself down to a single woman; if I were to do that, it would become commonplace. It would be boring.

I made a habit of never being boring or predictable in anything I did, and that included my love life. I needed to shake myself out of it.

Come on, Kyle. Last night was fun, and you got what you wanted. For all you know, that girl could be out there spending the money you left her and not giving you another thought. Odds are, that is exactly what she’s doing.

You know her line of work is far different from yours, and it really doesn’t matter how much you liked her. She’s probably not one to get tied down to anything—or anyone.

I didn’t feel any better knowing she had likely done to me what I had done to countless women in the past. In fact, I was almost feeling jealous, thinking of some man taking her out again tonight—showing her all the lavish wealth he could bestow upon her, bribing her to be his arm candy for the evening. Sure, it came with the modeling career, but I didn’t like the thought of it one bit.

If I were at a different point in my life—or if I lived a different kind of life altogether, then I would be able to pursue something more serious with someone like Emily. But, as it was, I knew there would be no way I could sleep well at night, knowing that she may be out with someone when I was halfway across the world. She couldn’t possibly be expected to sit at home and do nothing while I was at work—her life was far too public for that.

I sighed and shook my head. We were pulling into the airport, and within a few hours, I was going to be on a flight heading across the country. Part of me wished that I had left some sort of contact information with the note I had left on the counter, but another part of me was also glad that I had not.

Whenever my phone buzzed, I knew that it had to be someone else, and that eased the disappointment of seeing that it wasn’t Emily who wanted to get a hold of me.

I thanked my driver and grabbed my briefcase. LAX was one of the busiest airports in the world, and if I was going to reach my flight on time, I was going to have to hurry. I tucked my briefcase under my arm and hurried through the crowd, flying through security and then looking for my gate.

By the time I took my seat in business class, I was distracting myself with my phone, doing my best to push all thoughts of Emily out of my mind. It was strange enough that I was thinking about her at all, and it was even worse that I was battling feelings for her.

This wasn’t me. I was the one who was always in control. I was the one who chose who I was going to spend the night with, then I was the one who was in charge of ending it. I thought that that was what I had done with Emily, but as I sat on the plane and watched other passengers file in, I couldn’t get her out of my head.

I finally gave up with my phone and put it in my briefcase. I didn’t even want to have it on me. I’d handle any business issues that I needed to address when I landed in New York. Besides that, I didn’t want to have any contact with anyone.

All I could see in my mind was Emily, dressed in that lacy black dress with the boots that came up to her knees, and that sweet, almost nervous smile. That innocence she possessed was more charming than even the sexiest woman I had spent nights with in the past.

If I could just see her one more time—talk to her, even—that would be more than I could ever ask for. I didn’t know what I would say—would tell her that I wanted to continue to see her? Would I tell her that I cared for her more deeply than anyone I had met in the past? Or, would I merely tell her that she’d made a significant impression on me?

Then, the thought crept into my mind that it wouldn’t matter what I told her, as long as I got to tell her something. Just to see that smile or her sparkling eyes, or to hear her bubbly laughter. I shook my head and grabbed the magazine from the back of the seat in front of me. I didn’t care what activities it was recommending; I just wanted something that would get my mind off of L.A. and beautiful Emily.

I told myself that I needed to move on and forget all about her, as it was almost certain she was doing the same thing at that very moment.

The night had been fun, but it was over. I could remember it for the memory that it was, but leave it at that. There were more important things for me to be focusing on, and that’s what I was going to do.