Perfection

"Yes sir!" she replied, excited that I'd watched her progress over the past year and was rewarding her for it. "When do you need it?"

We pulled up our schedules on the projection screen and agreed on a timeframe before I asked if she had any more questions. She bit her lower lip for a second before smiling and giving me a nod.

"Yes, sir, I do have one."

She hesitated so I prompted, "Well?"

Lisa looked right in my eyes and said, "That woman in the lobby before we came in here. She was here to see you and didn't have an appointment, but you stopped and spoke with her for a minute or two before one of our most important meetings in months. Was...was that Leigh, your ex?"

That wasn't the question I was expecting at all and I let out an involuntary laugh. "No, not at all, Lisa, not Leigh and not my ex by any means. But I must admit, I hope for the opportunity to get to know her better."

She grinned. "She was a really pretty woman. I hope so for you."

***

I called Elena that night after a light dinner. She answered on the second ring.

"Hi, Dan," she answered before I said anything. "How are you?"

"I wasn't sure what to expect when I got up this morning but it's turned out to be a really good day...so far."

"Your meeting must have been a success," she prompted.

"Seemingly, but it's the result of the next one that will determine how successful that was. Elena, there was a lot more to it than just that meeting. My mouth practically fell open when I saw you in the lobby this afternoon. Then I found out you're actually single and interested enough to reach out to me. Yeah, that's a really good day in my book."

She laughed lightly over the phone. "So you'd have called me sooner...if I hadn't been wearing that damn ring?"

"Well, you were wearing gloves on Valentine's Day when we met, but I thought you were married based on what you'd posted on your website."

She sighed. "Ah, the elephant in the room. Before we go any further with this conversation, Dan, I've got to ask, is what I used to do for a living going to be a problem for you to accept if we were to say, see each other?"

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

"Because it's a potential sticking point that can ruin a date or even destroy a relationship. I thought Derrick was good with it—and I even gave up that life and my income to be with him—but his jealousy grew and festered over time and it got to be too much for him...and eventually for us."

There was pain in her voice as she said it. I wanted to know more, but felt like that would be exhibiting the very jealousy she was describing, so I whispered, "I'm sorry, Elena."

Maybe she wanted to say more too, to get it off her chest, so she continued. "Thanks. When Derrick's accusations and his verbal abuse became too much and I feared it was going to get worse, I filed for divorce and didn't look back."

My breath caught. "I'm sorry he went as far as he did and that you had to suffer through it."

"Thanks." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Dan, you seem like a nice guy so please don't take this the wrong way, but I need to say it. I know, it would be way too soon in most potential relationships to be having this conversation, but I think my situation is a little different so I want to get this out there now, in case it actually is a problem."

"Go for it."

"I've dated some and tried three relationships since the divorce, but guys seem to think that I'm some special notch on their bedpost or that I'm loose because of what I used to do. Or both. Relationships don't tend to last long when I'm treated like that so I've become more open about my past and much more selective in choosing who I see over the last year or so."

"That sounds like a good plan, Elena, but it sounds like you're caught in the famous Catch 22. Guys who want to use you in, let's say your Options A, B, or C, will do anything they can to convince you that they're 'interested in you as a person,' and that they're specifically NOT interested in A, B, or C. And you still get burned."

There was a little huff over the line and then silence before she spoke. "Dan, you got it. Now I'm scared."

"Elena, don't be. I've always been a relationship-type of person, not a love 'em-and-leave 'em-type guy, but you'll need to get to know me to be able to believe that. Let's go somewhere for, say, coffee? We'll just meet somewhere—you pick the spot so you can be comfortable with it. We'll meet, we'll talk and get to know each other a little, and we'll part. We can do it once, twice, even fifty times if you want. We can take it as slow as you like and we can walk away if there's ever a time when we don't feel comfortable. What do you think?"

***

We met for coffee the next evening. Whereas we'd had a heavy conversation over the phone, this was light and cheerful. She told me a little about her background, some of her interests, and some of her dislikes as I focused on the most perfect woman in the world and tried to avoid any major gaffes. I told her a little bit, too, and then time was up.

"I have to get home to put my son to bed. A neighbor's keeping him for a little while."

"May I see you again? Something like this, just getting to know each other some more?"

"When would you like to do it?"

"Soon? Maybe...tomorrow?"

"Let me check with Mrs. Kubichek and I'll let you know in a little while, okay?"

Elena took my arm as I walked her to her car, leaning into me a bit and watching me while I scanned the walk in front of us.

"Uhmm...I'm not sure which is your car," I said, leading her to laugh.

"The white one, right over there. The one that needs to be washed."

"After the other day, I suspect most need that," I agreed, "mine included."

She keyed her fob and turned to me when we reached it. "Dan, you're serious about tomorrow? Having a couple of minutes to think about it hasn't caused you to change your mind?"

I smiled and shook my head. "Not at all. I'm looking forward to seeing you again." I leaned in, kissed her cheek with my lips, and added, "Good night, Elena. Drive safely."

It was as if a shadow passed over her face for a split second before she smiled and thanked me with a brief brush of her lips, so soft and tender, on my cheek. She got in her car when I opened her door and a moment later, she was on her way.

As I watched her go, I was already looking forward to the next evening.

***

She confirmed by text a little while later after checking with her babysitting friend. I resisted the urge to call her, sending a brief note that I enjoyed the time with her and looked forward to seeing her again.

Then there was a seemingly interminable wait until we met at the same little coffee shop at the same time the next evening.

We shared more about ourselves, with Elena focusing on me and asking questions about my background. She asked about what had happened with Leigh so I gave her the short version and how I tried to maintain my focus on Danny and Lizzie after the divorce rather than trying to find someone new. I recalled how stressful it was.

It was an almost teasing look that she gave me. "So was that how you, ah, found my pictures? Relieving stress?"

My face turned red, embarrassed in hindsight over what I'd done but she placed her hand on one of mine and gave me a squeeze. "Dan, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you. I was in the business long enough to know exactly what my photos were used for, by thousands and possibly even millions of guys, over time. Some girls, too, I think, based on the membership at my website and some of the fan notes I received. I'm glad I was able to help you, at least a little, when you needed it."

She pulled my hand up and used it to caress her own cheek before giving the backs of my fingers one, two, three little kisses.

"Thanks, Elena. I appreciate your help, however distant it was. I hate to say it but you became my idol during that time. You were so perfect, in my eyes, that I probably would have worshiped the ground you walked on. It took a while—including you leaving the modeling business—before I was able to put you out of my mind and move on."

"Dan, that was over eight and a half years ago. You haven't remarried and here we sit, the worshiper and his so-called idol, as if time hasn't passed at all. Are you sure you got over it, your idolizing me?"

"Yes, definitely. But, well...I had a pretty bad relapse after we met in person last year. My New Year's resolution was actually to get over you again and put you out of my mind for good. Then you showed up in my office and that resolution went the way of most such resolutions."

Her face went from smiling to deadly serious in a second. "I can leave if you'd like."

"No! I, ah, I'm glad to break that one."

She was grinning then. "Good. Just wanted to be sure. And Dan, I just want you to be sure you know that I'm not perfect. You'll learn that over time if we keep seeing each other, but I'm warning you now so you're not too disappointed when you realize it."

"I know that, Elena, and I hope you'll forgive me my little—and my big—faults as we go along too."

***

It was our third date, dinner at a nice restaurant on Friday night, before she felt comfortable enough to tell me how she got into modeling and then nude modeling.

"During my freshman year of college, my grades sank a lot lower than I expected. It probably had more than a little to do with all that freedom to party that I'd never had before. I exercised it, believe me. However, I was undeclared, not having a clue where I was going with my life, so my parents threatened to cut me off if I didn't make improvements."

"Sounds like a lot of freshmen. What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, I buckled down and improved but the hole I'd dug for myself was way too deep and what I could do in the time that was left that year wasn't enough. Therefore, I was scrambling for money to keep going for my sophomore year. I got a job with a flexible schedule at a call center not too far from campus, a second job on weekends as a yoga instructor, and a modeling gig for the art department when I could work it into my schedule."

"Modeling? As in nude photography?"

She laughed. "Not quite. This was for drawing class. You know, someone stands in front of the class while the students draw them for an hour? The professor will tell the model to change the pose occasionally, but it's mostly standing perfectly still. It's as boring as hell for the model but a whole lot more exciting than drawing a basket of fruit for most students. Anyway, this was all clothed but it was pretty sexy and I received lots of offers for dates."

"Take any of them?"

"I'll never tell!" she laughed. "One day, a guy came up to me after class and told me, just loud enough that his friends egging him on could hear, that he'd "pay damn good money" to see the rest of me. I was so embarrassed I slapped the hell out of him. The professor didn't hear what was said, but he saw me clock the dickwad and wouldn't listen to my excuse, and that was the last time I got to model for the art department. However, I thought about what the jackass had said and ended up going through with it. A college friend helped me get and set up my website, an art student took my first photo sessions, and it grew from there."

"How'd you get it to grow?"

"The slow and painful way, with one new customer at a time. I shared some of my pictures to free sites that drove traffic my way and I added to my portfolio every week. I barely made enough to keep the website operating over the first few years and had to drop out of school after finishing my sophomore year since my day job was what I lived on. My grades were back up enough, but my bank account wasn't."

"Ouch. That must have been tough."

"Very. I was getting a lot of pressure to go hardcore, too, with lots of offers for some decent money, but I resisted. My motto has always been that if I make love to a man, it's only because I want to. It's never been, and never will be, because I need the money."

There was a resolve, a firmness to her voice and I could tell she was telling the truth. I also knew that I'd remember that for as long as we were together.

Elena continued. "I considered selling out to one of the big sites—the number of offers grew, as did the amount each year—but I was building up my gallery and was getting more subscribers every month so I eventually started turning a small profit and made a respectable profit in the fifth or sixth year. The last few years after that, I was adding at least one and sometimes two galleries a week and I killed it, putting almost all of the profit in the bank and investments. Then I met Derrick, retired from the business, and became a wife and mother. He was well off and didn't want me to work except with him. I learned a lot with his firm and contributed a lot more than he expected, which the judge took into account during the divorce."

"Did you consider, well, going back into the modeling business after your divorce?"

"No. Most paying customers these days insist on more than I was ever willing to do when I was modeling. Dan, I meant what I said a minute ago and I'm not about to change my mind on that now. Fortunately, I'm not hurting for money. Derrick's business grew a lot during our marriage and I did well in the settlement; he didn't like it but it was fair. Now, I have a yoga studio that helps keep me fit, offers a lot of schedule flexibility with respect to Finley's needs, and allows me to keep my hand in business."

Our meal stretched out as we talked and laughed. It was only later that I realized how much of the time, both before and after dinner, that we'd been holding hands on the table. Below the table, Elena's foot grazed mine once; a moment later, it was back but her shoe was missing. The front of her foot hooked around behind my ankle and rubbed up and down a bit over time. She switched to the front a little later, sliding the sole of her foot and down my shin with almost sobering slowness. I wanted to catch her foot so badly, to hold and massage it, but she never raised it high enough for me to reach it without my action being obvious.

After I paid for our dinner, we walked to her car; on reaching it, we faced each other, my arms around her, hers around me.

"Dan, thank you for a lovely evening. I'm really enjoying getting to know you."

"Thank you, too, Elena. I had a wonderful time. Now..."

I pulled a bit closer, leading her to meld against me as if we were two pieces machined to fit each other perfectly.

Her lips tipped up, mine reached down, and fireworks seemed to fly when they met. My eyes closed as her sweet mouth played over me, the two of us tasting each other for the first time, her tongue probing me just as I was doing the same with her. Around they went, exploring each other for a few moments until Elena moaned into my mouth.

"Oh, Dan," she breathed when we parted. "I...I better be going. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Elena. I look forward to seeing you again."

Still holding her against me and her probably feeling the reaction she was causing in my pants, I gave her another short kiss and then opened her door. I waited until she drove out of the parking lot before I made a needed adjustment downstairs and headed home.

***

If my kids hadn't both had overnight events on Friday night, I wouldn't have made that date with Elena. On Saturday morning as I made the rounds picking them up, I was thankful for the date and that I'd still get to see them.

Lizzie, recently turned 14, was looking at me strangely when I picked her up first.

"Hi, sweetie, what's up?"

"Daddy, who's the lady?"

"Huh?" The best strategy with an inquisitive daughter is often to play dumb, but this time I wasn't playing.

"Our photos are still linked from our trip to grandma and grandpa's a few weeks ago, remember? So...the lady with the dark, reddish-brown hair that was with you last night? Spill."

In a moment of silly fun, we'd taken a couple of selfies while waiting for our meal. One of the waiters had volunteered to take a good shot of the two of us and Elena shared it to my phone.

I hadn't planned to mention her to the kids so soon but so much for that plan. Plan B was honesty. "Her name's Elena and we started seeing each other recently."

"Are you serious, the two of you, I mean?"

I smiled as I turned on the street to where we'd pick up her big brother. "I hope so."

"Is she nice?"

"She's been very nice so far."

She smiled and gave a strong nod. "Good. She's really pretty."

***

Similar to how I'd been, Elena was concerned about her son, not wanting Finley to meet me or know much about me until we knew whether our budding relationship was going anywhere. His father was fairly involved in the boy's life and she didn't want to confuse him by having another male figure in a parental-type role.

"Your kids are older and they understand divorce and family dynamics better than Finley. He's had some hard times and, well, I told you a little about my attempted relationships since his father. If things work out between us someday, we'll be able to figure something out," she told me.

Therefore, trying to stay with that plan, it was late Sunday evening before we had a video chat after the boy was in bed.

We talked for a while before realizing that it was actually getting close to midnight. There was an agreement for coffee at our favorite coffeehouse the next evening before we hung up.

I arrived a few minutes early, flowers in hand, on Monday evening, and Elena swept into my arms when she arrived. She kissed me at once, exciting me and making me want far more.

"Naughty girl," I whispered when we separated. She grinned but turned a little red when she saw how many of our fellow guests were taking a good look at our little show.

Holding up a hand, she said, "Sorry, I haven't seen him in way too long."

Several of the guests, older and mostly female at that time of night, nodded and smiled; a couple even gave a light clap. I pulled Elena to the side and took a seat so we would no longer be the center of attention.

We shared about our weekend, our day, and our plans for the next few. I told her a little about the presentation that Lisa Draper and I would be giving Trent Nassar the next day.

"That sounds like a good project," she said. "Are you sure this Lisa is ready for so much responsibility? You're not afraid you'll have to step in and take over to get it done?"

"Afraid, no, but I guess there's always that chance. I try to hire good people, let them prove their dependability and their worth, and then give them both the freedom and the support they need to run projects. I'm always there as backup and I have my other people who we can bring in to help if needed, but I count on Lisa and my other project managers to get things done. Make sense?"

She smiled. "Perfectly. I think you'd be a good boss to work with. Comparing your style to Derrick's, my ex's, he generally got things done and was pretty successful, but he was a tyrant with respect to his staff and such a micromanager that he was always stressed. After we'd been married for a while and I knew more about his business, I questioned whether he might be one little corporate disaster away from a heart attack...or maybe, the poor house. I did what I could to help and the judge recognized that during the divorce despite Derrick's objections."

Elena leaned in and kissed me then, the taste of our coffee on our lips. We both stayed leaning in after that, close together, each wearing a smile on our face and happiness in our heart. When I walked her to her car, I wasn't sure if we would ever part, with our arms entwined and our kisses as if endless. Unfortunately, the kissing did end and I missed her madly as she drove away.