Lessons From the Professor

That’s an understatement. Sidney felt his cock harden at the thought of her golden skin, large dark eyes, and full pouty lips. She had an almost exotic look, with her heart-shaped face, delicate bone structure, and thick black hair. The angular bob stopped just below her chin, making the shiny tresses short enough to be low maintenance, yet long enough for him to grasp in his hand. She was smaller than he at about 5’5, and he couldn’t help but wonder if beneath her clothes, there would be an ample amount of curves to hold on to.

“And nothing else?” James asked.

“Why don’t you ask me what you really want to know, so I can provide you with the proper answer?”

“Come on, Sid, it’s been over a year since things went sour with Christine, and other than a few play dates you’ve been a monk.”

Sidney sighed as he sat down his bottle of water and met his friend’s concerned gaze. A part of him knew he was being irrational. When you fell off the horse, you got back on and rode again before the fear crippled you. The problem in this case was a part of him thought Christine might have been right.

He was over fifty with no prospects of marriage, and he’d never had a relationship that had lasted longer than three years. Maybe he was destined to walk alone.

His family name meant to end with him. As the only son out of three siblings, he felt the pressure to reproduce and keep up the family name keenly. It wasn’t a notion that he was opposed to per se. It just needed to be with the right woman. Maybe he was naïve to think he could have it all, a submissive partner for life, marriage and kids. Jesus, I sound like a woman with her biological clock ticking in her ears.

“I’m not ready to place all my trust in another female again.”

“No one’s asking you to give the girl the keys to your house and your bank account access. Just get to know her, and go from there. I know the way Christine left threw you for a loop, but in the long run, you never would’ve been happy. It’s better she left before you married her. Imagine the cluster-fuck that would’ve been.”

“I know you’re right, old friend. I suppose my pride is wounded.”

“That’s understandable. You had time to lick your wounds, but now you need to move forward. Now be honest. What do you really think about Sutton?”

“I’d be interested in getting to know her better.” His voice dropped an octave as he made the admission. “Does she know anything about our lifestyle?”

“She knows about Leigh and I, so she must be familiar with some things. I mean woman do talk.”

“Does she practice any of it herself?”

“I doubt it. From what Leigh’s s told me her love life has been pretty much D.O.A. Still, she never seemed bothered by anything she’s seen over at our house.”

“D.O.A.? Are you saying she’s a virgin?” For most men, the taking of someone’s virginity was an inconvenience, especially this late in life, but Sidney relished the idea. To be someone’s first lover was akin to getting a tattoo on your skin. For the rest of their lives your mark would be left on them. Your memory etched on to their heart. If his interest hadn’t already been piqued, this would be the clincher.

Unbeknownst to his friend he’d all ready laid the ground work with the woman in question. Her response to his dominate behavior had been text-book perfect. He’d just choked when it came time to make future plans. The age difference and newness to the BDSM lifestyle had just raised too many red flags. He knew better than most that no two people were the same. However he’d needed more information before he put himself out into what appeared to be a near identical situation to the relationship that had crashed and burned, putting him out of commission for a whi

le.

“I’m not sure. She is a southern girl from a small town. I know she was engaged at one point. I’ll give Leigh the go-ahead to see if she can test the waters a bit if you’d like.”

“As if she’d wait for an all clear to go in guns blazing,” Sidney said. “She’s probably been hounding the woman since we had dinner.” He rolled his eyes at the cheek his friend’s wife had. The girl had waltzed into James’s life ten years prior as a student. She’d teased and tormented the poor bloke until he’d given in and agreed to date her. It’d been amusing to watch, to say the least.

“Hey, that’d work in your favor, if she’s taking you two on as a project; victory is just a matter of time.”

“I’m not a battle to be won.”

“You want to tell her that?”

Sidney cast a scowl and shook his head. Truth be told, he could use a little excitement about now. If he had a taste of what James went through with Leigh he wouldn’t complain too much.

Every road to healing started with a single step forward towards recovery. He supposed this could be his.

“Sutton seems like she’d be a challenge.”

“Aaah, we both know how much you love those. People are like puzzles to you.”

“Hence my profession.” They shared a laugh as they both began to clean up what was left of their lunch in preparation for their return to classes.

****

The sound of a key turning in a lock made Sutton frown as she laid down her e-reader. She wasn’t expecting company, especially not at eleven at night. She stood and padded to the front in her black flannel pants and a white tank top. The door swung open, and she bit back a moan when the moon light spilled in and revealed the all too familiar pixie hair cut that belonged to her youngest sibling, Carissa.