Our Turn

Me. Nicci. Not exactly the dress type.

But the way he said it, the look in his eye when he leaned down and kissed me softly, made me want to comply. I want to please him in a way I find exhilarating and confusing. I only own a couple of dresses, and the one I chose is a light green floral wrap dress which I’ve paired with a pair of white Keds because the only other two pairs of shoes I have are black and look like they belong on a construction worker.

I put on nice panties too. Don’t judge me; I can’t help the little ball of hope deep down that says maybe he will see them.

They were the only pair in my drawer that weren’t simply practical and functional. I need to buy some more because I want to look nice—and feel nice—for Geo. I did have a few pairs of more lacy deals, but I swear they slip between the floorboards or something because they just seem to go missing.

Beth’s voice echoes on the phone speaker in my near bare studio apartment. The only other sound is the bubbling, flowing water in my aquarium.

My mom never allowed us to have pets, so when I moved, I had this idea, I’d like some sort of creature to keep me company. When a co-worker at the center was getting rid of their old aquarium and everything needed to set it up, I decided that was it. I guess I was happy to start small. I started with two guppies and have added about ten fish since and I can’t believe how much I love all of them.

“Are you shitting me?” Beth’s question is followed by a chuckle. “Life is fucking stranger than fiction, that’s for damn sure. So, the guy you thought was your father, who you’ve been wet for since you met him—”

I cut her off. “Is not my father at all. I know.” I run my hands down the front of the dress, trying to smooth out the wrinkles. It still had the tag on it, nearly two hundred dollars. It’s the nicest thing I’ve ever owned. Beth gave it to me because it was too small on her.

It was great timing because Easter is coming and there is a big event at the senior center. The staff will be paired up with a senior that needs help with their mobility during the Easter egg hunt.

Instead of wearing our usual uniforms, Mr. Wesley told us we should plan on wearing our ‘Sunday Best’ which of course I had none. So, enter lady luck and Beth again. Little did I know I’d have such an occasion to wear it before the work event. And truth is, I think I look sorta cute.

“Well…shit.” Beth’s voice comes through the phone. “Life works out, huh? You know I’m your safe call, right? Or, should I call you in like an hour to see if you’re okay?”

I think for a second and before I can answer there’s a knock at the door and Geo’s voice comes through.

“Precious, it’s me.”

“Shoot,” I mumble, spinning around and grabbing my flip phone. “No, if I need you, I’ll call. I gotta go.”

“Okay. Good luck!” Beth clicks off, and Geo’s voice comes through the door again.

“Baby, you okay? I know I’m early, but I couldn’t wait.”

I check myself in the mirror one more time and resolve that this is as good as it’s going to get. I don’t own any makeup so to speak, except a Burt’s Bee’s lip gloss, which is my one indulgence at eight dollars a tube, and some mascara. So, I pinch my cheeks like in the movies and step to the door.

With a bit of effort, I work the deadbolt, then the chain, and finally, take a deep breath as I fight off the already growing tension between my legs.

I have to throw my hip into the door with a grunt to get it to open, old building with crooked doorframes. When I swing it open and see him standing there in a black suit and crimson tie, I nearly faint. He looks even bigger dressed like this, and the air of confidence that surrounds him has me on the verge of another orgasm.

The impeccable fit and look of the suit in contrast to the rugged face, off-center nose and the beard that says I-don’t-give-a-shit-what-you-think…all of it has me dizzy.

He looks down at me, takes a long breath in through his nose, and closes his eyes for a moment before opening them and tracing his tongue along his bottom lip. His eyes look like shimmering onyx as I step back and he moves inside, closing the door behind him.

“God, you take my breath away.”

I’ve waited for this moment for almost six months, but now that it’s here I’m a basket case. Isn’t this what I wanted? I wouldn’t know it from the way my brain is screaming at me to run, hide, disappear.