Night Walking

That night, I knew that I was ahead of a major project. The backup key was in the tire well of a plumber van parked next to Gramercy Park. I was wearing the black high heels. I had the medical mask on my face. I had managed to get three wraps of electric cord around my wrist behind my back. My hands were clenching the opposite elbow behind the back when I relaxed, but I was trying to get a loop of cord over my shoulder. I wanted to tie my arms behind my back in such a way that I had to strut out my chest and bare my boobs high and proud. It was really tricky being so confined to get the cord to go anywhere and to pull it tight.

Between the high heels and the arms tied, I was really constraint. Each stair step was a careful balancing act. I got second thoughts on my sanity, but I kept pushing them away by telling myself that the only way to get out of this situation was to make it to the plumber van and back. And so, as much as each step was a fight, I fought on.

I walked the street proud. A woman walking her dog passed me. A delivery messenger on a bicycle whizzed past me. He turned around a couple times. I was daring and cross Astor Place instead of staying to the shadow of the sides. Two young men with their skateboards stopped their loud clattering stunts to point at me and to make appreciative faces. I walked past another couple. One of the things NYC is that people don't really give a shit about what you do as long as you don't slow them down. It was almost a moment of embracing that it's okay to be naked in a healthy body relationship kind of way. Their peaceful reactions made me feel more peaceful as well. It's okay to be naked.

As I arrived at Gramercy Park, I looked around for the plumber van. That's when I saw him. He was sitting on a park bench in the middle of the park basking in the moon light. He was tall, dark, and handsome. He saw me. I must have paused to stare at him. He walked towards me. He locked the park behind himself because Gramercy Park is a public park but only open to local residents.

He smiled at me. I felt disarmed. There was something carefree about the way that his dark curls rested on his head. His skin was ivory and smooth, but the structure of his jaw and cheeks spoke that he also had experience. He offered me his elbow as for a stroll invitation, as if it were the most natural thing to offer when encountering a naked woman in the street. He noticed the restraint arms behind my back, he made an "oh" noise to indicate that he now realized, but he wasn't the least perturbed by it. It was like asking someone to climb out of the car, but then realizing that the seatbelt restraint had to be loosened first.

He motioned me to walk with him for a stroll. I don't know what it was about his face. There was spring. There was happiness. There was the promise of I'm going to lead you to a good place. He also had an innocence about him like the world hadn't had any worry, like there was no job in the morning, there was no heat fighting the sleep, there was simply this beautiful park that he had just discovered in the moment and was enjoying.

I motioned him to come with me to the plumber van. I squatted down in front of it with my back to it. I searched the tire well blindly with my hand behind my back. He watched me intently like I was teaching him something in school. When I got the key, his face lit up like I had gotten what I needed. I almost wanted to scream: "Why are you so blissful."

We started walking together side by side. There was something about the strength and calmness that he carried. All the emotions, panic, and neurosis inside of me felt like it hadn't encountered anything like that. All I could do was marvel at what it felt to walk next to him. As we passed the Dutch bakery, he waved me to pause. He apologized for being insensitive.

Then he pulled his pants down, unbuttoned his shirt, and took those white Calvin Klein's off his butt. He was circumcised, shaved down, there and well endowed -- not too long, but nice and of good girth. He was all soft. His pecs were strong. He definitely lifted five times a week. His belly muscles painted a faint six pack without him even flexing. We walked down the streets naked side by side like it was the most normal thing in the world.

We passed a few people. When we reached my apartment building, he took a knee to gallantly wish me a good night and walked off naked. I saw those two butt cheeks twitching alternatingly as he walked away. They were firm, juicy things to bite teeth in. I felt like a lamb, too timid to call out and ask for his number. And he seemed to have such abundance in life that he didn't feel a need to hold onto me. It was like he lived so much in the moment that he probably already found the next marvel to get lost in. A naked woman in the dark of the night was simply one of many marvels.

I wasn't horny that night. I had found peace. I breathed the memory of him in and out. I reconnected with that calm feeling of strength that I had next to me. It made me feel stronger and stronger. I simply faded away into sleep at some point.