Laura felt sad as she carried her bags down the stairs. There she was, leaving for another last-minute trip.

“Don’t be like that, darling. I promise this is going to be my last trip and I will try to be back as soon as I can.” She assured her boyfriend, Rob.

“I know, dear, but that doesn’t make it any easier to stay away from you. We also have a Halloween party tomorrow, and I’ll miss you.” Rob replied dryly.

This was not the first time she had to leave at a moment’s notice. Laura felt guilty at the mention of an upcoming party. They had planned to go together, but he would be all alone now.

“I promise this will be the last holiday you will be spending alone,” she assured him. “Once this project is over...”

Before she could finish her sentence, her phone rang. Her cab had arrived.

“Okay, take care of yourself. I’ll call you once I reach the hotel.” She kissed him before leaving.

“Take care and have a safe journey,” he wished her goodbye.

Rob had a smile on his face. It was easy to make Laura guilty. He was sure that she would bring something expensive as a gift for him.

Rob was a serial cheater, and Laura was a perfect girlfriend for him. She was ignorant, a workaholic, and most importantly filthy rich. She was easy to please, did not ask for a lot of time and attention, did not ask to spend money on her, and the sex was mind-blowing when she felt guilty. Her frequent business trips were icing on the cake. He was practically living a bachelor’s life with a sugar momma willing to spend money on him.

Rob wanted to do something different this time. Rather than visiting his usual spots, he decided to go to the singles Halloween party with optional speed dating. He had met Laura in similar settings and wanted to see if he could get another sugar momma.

Rob entered the hotel ballroom decorated with a spooky Halloween theme. There were lots of balloons of various colors with scary faces. There were some skeletons, but they looked out of place. Surprisingly, he missed the carved pumpkins and Jack-o’-lantern. There was a live band, but they were playing upbeat music that did not go with the theme.

Rob had not bothered to get a Halloween costume. He was dressed in a crisp white shirt, sleek black blazer, and tailored dark pants with polished formal shoes. He had shaved clean and applied generous cologne.

Looking around the room, he had a specific target in mind. He was looking for someone sophisticated, independent, and someone busy or important, just like Laura.

There were many women of all ages, dressed in various costumes. There was a busty nurse, a vampire, an angel with devil horns, several sexy witches, and even one dressed as a pirate with an eye patch. He looked at the surrounding men, and most of them were dressed in costumes. While he could understand superhero costumes, he could only sigh at someone dressed as a bear can. But the worst of the night was yet to come. There was someone who had tried to dress like a Charlie Chaplin but ended up looking like a Hitler.

He grabbed a drink and focused on his main objective to be here. While there were many desirable women, most of them did not match his criteria. He soon found a sexy mature woman dressed as Catwoman with a black latex suit. The costume looked super sexy on her voluptuous figure. Her curves were highlighted properly, and it felt like she was on the prowl.

He tried to reach her, but it seemed like she was trying to avoid him. Not giving up, he followed her closely. He finally found the opportunity when she lingered in a corner after speaking with someone dressed as ‘Fred Flintstone’.

“Hi there, I’m Rob.” He extended his hand as he greeted her.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Anna,” she smiled as she shook his hand.

They chatted for a while, but Anna did not talk much about herself. She expressed her interest in the speed dating part of the evening, though.

“I was looking for someone like you here,” Rob said confidently.

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? And why is that?”

“Well, the last time when I was here, I met someone so much like you,” he explained. “And let’s just say she was very generous towards me.”

Laura smiled at him knowingly. “I am not interested in short-term flings or being your sugar momma. Meet me after the speed dating is over if you are interested in some long-term commitment.”

With that, she left to mingle in the crowd.

The speed dating part was utterly boring. He usually mingled in singles bars where people mostly looked for one-night stands. There was no reason for him to be interested in listening to the life story of the person sitting opposite him. He wanted to focus on finding someone similar to Laura, but his eyes still lingered on Anna. There was something about her that he found difficult to ignore.

They were almost at the end of the event when Anna waved him over to her table.

“Did you meet anyone interesting yet?” she asked.

“Not really,” Rob shrugged.

“Are you sure you know what you need?” she asked him coyly.

He smirked as he looked around. “I know what I need, but I don’t think I will find it here.”

He paused and looked her in the eye. “Maybe we could continue our conversation somewhere more private?”

She returned his gaze with a challenge of her own. “And my question still stands. Would you consider something long-term?”

He paused before responding confidently. “I won’t mind spending eternity with you.”

Her eyes sparkled at his response. “That’s all I wanted to hear.”

They quickly finished up their drinks before heading out to the parking lot. Getting into Anna’s car, they drove off to her residence.

On the way, Anna asked him about who he had met previously. Rob usually played safe with such questions and had many sob stories ready for such occasions. But this time he answered all her questions honestly. He told her about Laura, how they were in love, and how Luara wanted to get married as soon as she could complete her current project.

“So, help me understand, Rob, when you have such a wonderful woman as a girlfriend, why do you cheat?” She asked seriously.

“I think I am obsessed with falling in love. I mean, I love the chase but not the catch itself. You know what I mean?” he tried a brief response.