Hey, Marli’s back! Nice twist there by making the narrator be a ‘James’. Good, steady, story building here. Welcome back. I missed you during those 3 months you were inactive :) I hope your muse is fully regenerated.
I didn’t think the narrator was male, even though he called her James. It is just a figure of speech that I use for everyone, regardless of gender. I like the way the revulsion was mirrored back to her.