Sarah had become even more beautiful over the years I had known her, blossoming into the sort of woman who no man could avoid drooling over. And yet, even though she clearly put effort into her looks, she clearly knew the effect she had on men- and I was pretty sure she wasn't gay- she had never been on a date. Never even drunkenly kissed a guy, since even at 26 she didn't drink.
We had a membership at the same pool, and one day while we hung out there, her receiving her usual adoring, covert panoply of stares, me the occasional jealous or disbelieving glare, I finally asked her.
"How in the world are you still single?"
She turned away from her phone, looking startled. After a second, she laughed, glancing down at herself as she sprawled in the sun.
"How do you know I'm single? Maybe I've got a hot guy I go home with every night, and you've just never met him."
I laughed with her. "Come on, I've been your friend since middle school. Would you keep something like that from me?"
She cocked an artfully crafted eyebrow at me. "There's lots of things I don't tell you, Jim. Maybe I don't want to scare my oldest friend."
I stuck my tongue out at her. "Too late. You're plenty scary."
And that was it for that conversation. She changed the subject back to a more normal topic, and I thought it was over.
Boy was I wrong.
The next night she showed up at my apartment, a duffel bag over her shoulder, wearing a pair of tight white jeans, high heels, and a blouse that emphasized her curves.
I was laying in my bed in a pair of briefs and a ratty t-shirt, watching Netflix, when I heard the door unlock and open, and her voice calling a hello. I responded with a hello of my own, telling her to wait a minute, and hopped out of bed to pull on some sweatpants.
I was leaning over, rummaging through a drawer when she walked through the door of my room, dressed to the nines as she was, tossing her duffel down by the side of my bed.
I straightened abruptly. "What the fuck, Sarah?"
She smiled at me, the sexiest smile I'd ever seen curl a woman's lips, and looked me up and down.
"Nice package, Jim. Better than I expected."
I was struck dumb. She stepped over to me, the heels putting her eyes at a level just above mine.
"You asked why I'm single? Well... here's the answer. I'm not, exactly. But I am into some very kinky things that... maybe it's just me, but I've always been afraid to put out there with a normal guy. So I have my fun, I have my relationships, but I keep them separate from my normal life."