Rusty Lovers

by Lilah Nichols

  She was a little bit jealous at all the free time Frank had. Sure, it wouldn’t last, and he would be working more once the summer semester started. She had a feeling he would be busy in the fall just when her workload usually dropped off, entering a bit of a lull between the summer wedding season and the holiday party rush.

  As usual, June was an abnormally busy month for High End Design, and to top it off Jenny was texting, wanting to know more about the mystery man from the Meet and Greet. “Don’t make me bribe my way into their sign up list, Mom,” she had joked. “To see what his name might be!”

  Eliza gave up trying to put her off and suggested dinner on Friday, with maybe a little shopping thrown in afterward. “I could use a little help finding something casual and yet cool to wear to Aunt Lucinda’s barbecue. I look in my closet and all I see is work clothes.”

  Jenny usually jumped at the chance for some shopping. Eliza had a feeling she would toss out half her mom’s wardrobe, as well as shred her current supply of catalogs if she could. “All right, mom. You can tell me about him on Friday. And don’t think for a minute I can’t hack into the Merriott Hotel’s guest list for their single’s night. Don’t you make me do it!”

  Eliza knew the hotel staff would probably read the sign-in sheet over the phone for Jenny if she just called up and asked. Jenny had a sunny disposition that was hard to resist. She’d know all about Frank before Eliza had a chance to explain. She really wanted her daughter to like Frank. In a few months, there would be absolutely no reason for her to object.

  There were times when Eliza envied her daughter, with her open smile and take charge attitude. Life seemed so easy for her, dressing stylishly without stress, balancing her work and social life effortlessly. Jenny had been the one to suggest trying online dating as a way for Eliza to get back in the game, and for months Eliza had resisted until Jenny had teased her into it.

  “You have been alone for years, mom! You can at least take a look at what’s out there before you decide you’re not ready.”

  So Jenny had made time and scooted her chair up beside her mom at the computer to explain the inner workings of online dating sites. She made it look easy, snapping a few photos and putting in the minimal information. Before she knew it Eliza had an active account and Jenny declared her ready to peruse some profiles.

  “You will have to add more about yourself later, Mom, but for now, we can start swiping.” The notion of swiping was familiar, part of the lingo from all the major sites, and Eliza was excited to see for herself.

  The first picture appeared on the screen, a man standing on the back deck of a boat. He held a fishing pole in one hand and a string of large fish dangled from the other. His face was obscured by a fishing hat and dark glasses, and all she could see of his profile was his first name, Howard, and his hometown.

  “So what do you think, mom? Yes, or no?”

  Eliza grabbed the mouse and clicked the x in the top corner of the window. Howard disappeared, replaced by Bill, posing all in leather on his motorcycle. Eliza closed that box too.

  “Wait, mom, no! You have to swipe them, yes or, no, or the program won’t ever be able to match you with anyone.”

  “How can I judge anything from one picture and a hometown? It’s too much. Are they going to get some kind of notice that I like them?” Eliza couldn’t keep the anxiety out of her voice. “It feels like I am making some kind of commitment, to like some man I saw for ten seconds on the internet.”

  “But that’s how it’s done,” Jenny said. “It’s not so much that you are signaling that you like them, just that you find them acceptable.”

  “Doesn’t everybody lie, on the internet?

  Jenny laughed. “They all expect at some point to meet in person, Mom, so I doubt they are posting pictures of someone else. And there is a way to read more of their profiles, we just have to search differently.” She clicked a few times and demonstrated how to search and read, and then went back to the system’s choices for her mom. “See? It’s not so hard.”

  “I will check it out, and view some more pictures, but for now, can we just close it, and come back later?”

  That was when Jenny had closed it all down, and found the old-fashioned meet and greet at the downtown hotel. She had been right, too, Eliza thought. She was looking forward to sharing her news about meeting someone to her daughter. Jenny really had found her the most comfortable way to meet men.

  Wading through a week full of work was making Eliza feel as if the upcoming weekend hidden away with Frank was being overtaken by family and chores. She decided that maybe it would be better to plan something different, something casual, so when Jenny asked she wouldn’t immediately know her mom had moved on to spending the night over at her new boyfriend’s house. Perfect. This way, when Jenny asked what her plans were for this man, she could honestly say, “He’s taking me to the museum tomorrow.”

  Eliza decided to call Frank just so she could hear the warm tones of his voice, and after exchanging pleasantries she asked him to arrange a visit to the art museum for Saturday afternoon. “We could meet for lunch first, or have something in their cafe, if they have one.”

  “Well, which art museum were you thinking, Eliza?” Frank sounded pleased with the idea. He was comfortable with art, and an afternoon spent wandering the long, yet thankfully air-conditioned halls sounded blissful.

  “There’s more than one? Whichever one’s the best, or has the best cafe.”

  He chuckled. “Finally, something I can introduce you to, Eliza. We can do the Academy of Fine Arts. Let’s say around 1 o’clock? I can text you the address.”

  “Don’t get too cocky, mister. There will still be plenty of time left after the museum to get you home and out of your clothes.” Eliza sounded fierce as she said it, but her insides were feeling steamy at the thought of getting her man alone.

  “Oh, yes, Eliza. Yes, please! But maybe we better take the train into the city and meet at the station. Easier than trying to deal with parking.”

  The walk was only two blocks from the train to the museum, but heat still radiated off the pavement and Eliza felt baked as they entered the building. She brushed her hair back and stowed her sunglasses in her purse. It had to be ten degrees hotter in the city than at home. Cropped jeans had seemed appropriate given the nice day, but Frank had to be sweltering even though he looked put together as well as unbothered by the heat. Maybe he was just plain in better shape. The walk hadn’t tired him.

  The Academy was not at all what she expected. Even the exterior had a playful air to it, not carrying the weight of an edifice encapsulating an art gallery. The interior colors were warm and inviting, and the variety of the displays made Eliza forget the long hike and instead hurry around every corner to discover whatever was next.

  There was nothing stodgy, instead she found color and art made from materials she would never have anticipated. It was welcoming, and drew the viewers closer, almost asking themselves, “What is that made of?”

  The crowd grew as the day wore on, and Frank was comfortable beside her, talking about exhibits he had seen before that seemed fresh again as he watched her. Each gallery presented a jumble of various art forms, and crowds of people of all ages meandered through. Frank walked beside her and waited as she took it all in.

  Eliza took her time in the gallery, examining the paintings, but finding herself drawn more and more to the mosaics. Her creative side respected the sheer amount of work and talent it must take to create such breathtaking designs, and she made a mental note to incorporate some of the colors and motifs into her invitations.

  She snapped a few pictures with her phone, thinking some of her brides might be inspired by the art. It was stunning. Someone had devoted hours meticulously shaping tiles and matching colors.

  “I had no idea this was here,” she finally said. It was beautiful and totally unexpected. “I love it. Thank you for bringing me here, Frank.”

  They had reached the end of one corridor and
were partially hidden by a colorful sculpture that looked as if it had been woven out of reeds. The strands had each been dyed vibrant shades of blues and oranges.

  “Look at this! From one angle it looks like a giant pitcher, and from another it resembles a tree.” Eliza stood back and considered the sculpture. “What do you think, Frank?”

  “I think the artist wants you to feel that way,” he said. “To make you stand back and ask yourself if it is art imitating life, or nature expressing art.”

  She glanced behind before taking hold of his hands. His presence beside her had been reminiscent of her old married days with Jim. He hadn’t crowded though, merely accompanied, not even holding her hand or laying his palm on the small of her back. Come to think of it, he had been a little apart.

  “Are you worried we might run into people you know here, Frank?”

  His eyes flickered up and scanned the empty hall before relaxing. “Well, it might be a possibility, so I thought playing it safe might be prudent.” He gave a sad little smile and pulled Eliza, unresisting, into his arms and dropped his nose into her dark curls. “A few weeks more, milady. However, this close to home, and work, just prefer not to make waves.”

  Clasped close to his chest, the subtle aroma of his aftershave teased her nostrils. She sucked in a deep breath and leaned back, smacking a quick kiss on his surprised lips. “Got it. No public displays within city limits.” He laughed and so she kissed him again. “So,” she teased. “Where’s the cafe in this joint? Do you suppose they do afternoon tea here?”

  Following signs back towards the entrance, back on the ground floor, they found the cheerful cafe. It was full of afternoon sunshine and less crowded than she’d expected. Three-quarters of the room was floor to ceiling tinted glass, offering a view of the busy street outside, while also giving the uncomfortable feeling that the patrons inside the cafe were also on display to the public at large.

  Within minutes they had each collected a cup of tea and a pastry from the friendly staff and retreated to one of the many polished wooden tables with high stools. Most of the lunch crowd had long since moved back out to the galleries. Eliza waited while a busboy wiped down the table beside them and then turned to Frank.

  “How old were you when you first started to recognize you had fantasies that were different from everybody else?”

  For once Frank wasn’t caught off guard by her direct question. He chewed his scone and thought before answering. It wasn’t the kind of thing he ever thought he’d share with anyone, but with Eliza, as usual, “Never ever” became “Well, as it happens…”

  He gave a wry smile and stopped trying to keep his secrets hidden from her. “As it happens, when I was young, like early teens, I used to have this crazy fantasy of being in the jungle and ending up captured by Amazons. They always brought me back to their village and had their way with me…”

  Eliza leaned in conspiratorially. “Had their way with you? You mean they fucked you?” She liked the light flush in his cheeks.

  “Well, it wasn’t always the same, Eliza. Sometimes they’d strip me in the center of the village and the matriarch would declare I was hers, and take me off to her shelter. When we got there she always made it clear what kind of fucking we’d be doing. And it never involved my dick getting anywhere near her pussy. She always had a couple of her most trusted women get me down on the furs and make me assume the position.”

  Eliza laughed at his candidness and his youthful recognition of his submissive tendencies. “So the alternative was being lost in the depths of the Amazon, so you really had no choice but to comply.”

  Now it was his turn to laugh. “Oh, I might have only thought about protesting for a moment. The fact is, I wanted them to control me, tease me, penetrate me.”

  “And your friends were mooning over Playboy centerfolds,” Eliza interjected. “And dreaming of running away to find Christie Brinkley or Farrah Faucett.”

  “Maybe a few of them. I just knew I couldn’t tell them what was on my mind. And really, it didn’t seem realistic to expect to find a woman like that anywhere but in the Amazon.” Now that he had confessed he felt more exposed. He gathered up their napkins and plates, making a long distance throw into the trash receptacle. He stared at the tabletop while Eliza gathered up her purse and stood.

  “You never know, Frank. A woman like that could be right beside you. Are you ready to head home, my little captive?”

  A long sigh escaped him, and he pinched the bridge of his nose, almost like his eyes hurt. “Are you going to make fun of me all the way home? I don’t need that kind of stress.” Maybe confessing something so intimate had been a bad idea. There was a reason he had never shared anything so deeply personal, not wanting to open himself up for ridicule. But somehow he suspected she already knew what kind of answer he would give before he gave it.

  They kept the pace slow on the return to the station, as the heat had increased as the afternoon waned. The height of the buildings cast shade on the street, and Eliza would have laced her fingers through his or held onto his arm if he hadn’t felt so distant. She had meant to dig into the origins of his sexual submissiveness as a means to tighten their bond and bring him closer, and instead she had stressed him out and caused him to pull back.

  “I always knew I liked to be dominant long before I had a word for it,” she confessed. “I just knew I liked to be in control.” Frank was still walking stiffly at her side, but she knew he was listening. “Don’t get me wrong, both sides of the dominant/submissive sexual relationship can be incredibly hot. I get aroused quickly imagining either kind, but when it comes to which I’d like to actually act out in real life, I prefer control. It matches some of my earliest fantasies, just like yours.”

  A harsh laugh escaped Frank’s lips. “You mean you dreamed of being an Amazon with a fresh young captive you found wandering in the forest?”

  “Noooo!” Now she was outright laughing. “I was always the tutor who demanded complete control to help my student prepare for an essential exam or the spoiled daughter of the factory owner who blackmailed the young male employee into doing what I wanted. God, I hadn’t really thought about any of this for ages. It’s really quite extraordinary, to look back and see just how early I was already finding my way to a position of dominance. But it was really only after I had gotten some experience that I really understood it all. Probably by the time I was out of college.”

  They descended down into the coolness of the station and boarded the train still comparing notes on sexual history, but the tension had fled, and their conversation was more like two accomplices. They sat in the first pair of seats they found together and settled in for the ride home.

  “Have you got time to get dinner when we get home?” Frank inquired. “Or we could pick up some take out? Not that I’m plotting to get you back to my place, but Eliza, I’m not ready for our time together to end.” Great, now he really was sounding like a Freshman offering to show a co-ed his etchings. He knew she probably had things to do, since she’d been very specific about wanting to get together in the afternoon.

  He watched as she pulled out her phone and checked for messages and emails before smiling at him. “No messages. Not even my turn in Words with Friends.”

  “Oooh!” In seconds Frank had his phone in his hands and was peering over her shoulder. “I play that too. Let me see if I can start a match with you. I usually just play the computer, so I doubt I am much of a challenge.”

  Eliza smiled as his name appeared on her screen, and she decided their day together didn’t need to end early. “I don’t see any reason to head home alone and cook something for myself after a day spent in the heat,” she said. “I might be free to grab something, on one condition. I miiiight have time to get dinner someplace close by,” she teased, “IF you promise to tell me more about your Amazon adventures.” Eliza loved watching the different reactions cross over his features. Surprise, dismay, and finally arousal. “You mentioned that clan of Amazon warriors
didn’t always hand you off to the chieftain. Maybe sometimes you got handed off to the chieftain’s daughter… wait, daughters?”

  Frank got a reprieve from her gentle teasing when they split up briefly to drive separately to the steak restaurant down the street from the station. Frank tried to compose himself, yet the images of his youthful fantasies came back strong in his mind and he shifted in his seat, once again admiring how easily Eliza kept yanking on his balls with a figurative string.

  They paired up down the block and entered the establishment side by side. There was an early Saturday night crowd, and they opted for seats at the bar.

  After helping her up onto the bar stool, Frank tried to steer the conversation back to her evening plans. “I was under the impression you had some family reason for wanting to hit the museum this afternoon, some dinner to rush off to?”

  “Oh that,” she waved off its importance. “I had dinner with Jenny last night, and just wanted to be able to mention we had some intellectual pursuits on our agenda.

  “As opposed to sexual pursuits?”

  “Hahaha oh, my God, yes. I don’t know, I wasn’t really thinking. We have done plenty of the typical dating things: dinner and movies. Maybe it’s just that when I started talking about you it was hard not to giggle and smile and mention how sexy and perfect it is.”

  “But she knows about us, about me? That we’re serious. I don’t even know how to put it anymore. Going Steady?”

  Just then the bartender stepped in front of them to get their orders, and as soon as he turned away Eliza explained. “It’s called being exclusive. Right now, even though you might have a technical commitment to Abby, you are exclusive to me. You are still in the early stages of proving to me it’s worthwhile to be exclusive with you.”