She sits in her SUV, a block away from Jonathan's condo. All of his neighbors are home from work, a few are out in their yards cutting the lawn, some are watering or tending to plants, small groups of two men or women speed walk up and down the side walk. As she replaces her earrings and her necklace, she can feel a knot grow it the pit of her stomach. Eve spends much of her life as a spectacle, but mostly for those who expect it and only small groups that don't. She isn't entirely sure how this suburban neighborhood will react to her, if Jonathon will be embarrassed about her walking down the block and to his front door. Checking her hair in the mirror, she applies a coat of cherry red lipstick before slipping on her vintage framed sunglasses.
Oh well,
she thinks to herself as she opens the door and steps out, her heart racing. She grabs her purse and her briefcase; holding one while dangling the other from her arm, just as she did earlier in the morning, she keeps her chin up and clicks her way down the sidewalk at a moderate pace. The heels make her hips sway, which makes her hair and breasts bounce accordingly. She ignores the gaping open mouths of the women across the street, pretending that it doesn't bother her at all. As a few close lawn mowers cut off, she guesses the men stopped to watch her perfect body walk by, no doubt each wondering if she was a hooker and praying that she would stop at their gate.
When she reaches Jonathan's gate and unlatches it, she can see the dumbfounded expression on his younger neighbor's face, who is sitting on his stoop drinking a beer with a friend. As her heels click up the stairs, the slickness between her thighs reminds her that she forgot to put her panties back on.
Oh well,
she reiterates to herself. After ringing the bell, it is only a few seconds until the door opens, like he was waiting nearby.
"Thank you for coming," he says politely, opening the door wider to allow her access.
She nods, smiling as she removes her sunglasses; he is dressed the same, though his hair seems a bit more wild and he has a faint odor of sweat lingering about him. He leads her back to the living area, but she takes a sharp right and seats herself at the dining table instead. Quickly he follows her, taking the seat at the head of the table, she having snagged the one to the immediate right.
"Here is the contract, the disclosure agreement and the sheet from my doctor," he says, handing her a stack of papers. As she thumbs through them, he adds, "The blood tests won't be in until next week, but I hope that maybe we can at least plan out a schedule until then?"
Her eyes skim the papers, confirming that he had them notarized. Before she glances at the physical sheet, she looks up at him, "Now, Jonathan, please don't take this as an assumption on your intelligence, but could you please explain to me, in your own words, the general nature of the contract? I only ask because I just gave it to you this morning, and I want to be assured that you actually took the time to review it properly, so that there aren't any surprises for you in the future."
Nodding, he quietly explains what he understands, "Basically, your contract is saying that...you will have total control over the aspects of my life that we agree upon. I am to follow your implicit instructions, and any deviation from that could result in severe correction, by whatever means you deem necessary. If the violation is so great, it could result in total cancellation of our agreement," he hesitates, "there was a section that I'm not entirely sure about..."
She raises her eyebrows, waiting for him to continue.
Drawing in a deep breath, he says, "Something about physical contact. From what I understand, I think it said that there was no guarantee of physical contact, either platonically or sexually, however by signing I am giving you permission to do whatever you see fit to...my body?" His face starts to turn red, shifting uncomfortably.
Smiling reassuringly, she thinks to herself,
He's got no fucking clue what he's getting into,
"That is correct. Plan for the worse, hope for the best. Do you have an issue with physical contact between us?"
"Ahh...no...?" he says.
"Even if you might interpret that contact as being sexual?" She never looks away, enjoying him squirm under her gaze.
"Umm...no, I don't think it will be a problem. It is fine," he says, more to reassure himself than her.
"And you understand that many of the requests I make of you will push you beyond your comfort levels, but I expect you to fully comply to them?"
"Yes."
"At anytime that you feel...like you can't handle what I dish out, you are able to tell me to stop. But I want you to keep in mind that if you do thatโthe agreement between us is void and we will no longer have a working relationship. Is that clear?"
"Yes," he nods affirmatively.
Finally, Eve looks away, down at the physical sheet. Scanning it over, she continues to talk to him, "Your doctor has you listed as roughly two hundred sixty pounds, citing the ideal weight for someone your height to be one hundred and ninety. Am I correct in assuming this is something you want to work at?"
"Yes."
"It won't be easy, and I will not be lenient with you," she looks back up at him, seeing his face is red and he has issues making eye contact. "Look at me when I am speaking," she demands of him.
Reluctantly, Jonathan looks up at her.