Kathryn had just taste tested a spaghetti noodle when the doorbell rang. Not bothering to remove her cooking apron, she walked to the front door. She opened the door to find Paul Trowbridge with a small bottle of wine and a gaudily wrapped box.
Now, look, Paul, I've told you, you don't need to give me gifts every time you visit. Only every other time." She chuckled as she took him in her arms. "Now, what are you trying to bribe me with here?"
"That's for later hon. For now, just let me look at you." Paul gave her a quick once-over, and gave her another hug, pulling her as close as he could. "Mmmm, I smell something nice."
"Oh, you silly man," Kathryn replied, "you've smelled my spaghetti before."
"Dinner smells good as well. But I was smelling you. Do you have a new perfume on?"
"Oh, uh... that. I was at the bath shop the other day and saw a bath oil that sounded nice, so I decided to try it. I hope you like it."
"I do, Lavender is a nice scent."
"You're not upset I didn't use the jasmine oil you gave me?"
"Maybe just a tad, but the lavender is nice. Besides, it's not like you replaced the jasmine with skunk oil." Paul gave Kathryn a light peck on the cheek. "Now, let me put this wine in the fridge, and help you finish dinner." Twenty minutes later, the two were sitting at a small table talking about various goings on between bites of spaghetti with Italian sausage meatballs.
"Kathryn, once again you've outdone yourself. I may have to stop eating your cooking if I want to keep trim. It is delicious... and so are you."
"Flattery will get you almost anywhere, Paul. And you are soooo good at it. Now, how's that new house you've been working on coming along?"
"Oh, you name it, one problem after another. Wiring codes, plumbing codes, finding people with the right certifications to do the work. Granted, I can do a lot of it myself, but for some things the county inspectors don't trust the guy refurbishing his own place. But once it's finished, I KNOW you are going to love it. And no, I'm not telling you where it is; I'm not about to ruin the surprise when you see it. Trust me, you'll love it. A nice place in the country, great for relaxing. Cindy will simply adore it when she comes home from school. Speaking of her, how is she handling college life?"
"Still adjusting. The big thing is going from being the big fish in her high school pond to being a guppy in an ocean-sized university. She's taking a lot of basic courses, trying to figure out what she wants to do. She loves her math and chem classes, but English 101 simply stymies her."
"I thought she loved literature?"
"Oh, literature is great. Once she gets to an upper-level class, I know she'll have a ball. But for now, she's just not appreciating so-called classic works. I think she's also learning the evil secret of college."
"Which evil secret, Kathryn? There are some really nasty ones out there."
"That you can't write what you think about a story, but that you have to write what the instructor wants to read."
"Oh yeah. Collegiate writing for an audience. I hated that. But she's smart, she'll figure it out. Probably very soon. Is she getting along with her roommate?"
"It's like they were sisters, Paul!!! Including the fights and sibling rivalries. No boyfriend up there yet, and I'm glad. She's too young."
"And how young were you when you had your first college boyfriend? Hmm? Come on, now, Kathryn, be honest."
"My first college boyfriend? I was 23. My first experience... well, let's just say I was a little younger." Kathryn blushed at the memory of her first trip to bed with a man, the night she and her erstwhile partner mutually lost their virginity. Then she shuddered. "God, Paul, it was so different then. You didn't worry about AIDS or STDs, and pregnancy was barely given a second thought."
Paul reached across the dining table and gently held Kathryn's hand. "I know you worry about her, Kathryn. But remember, you and Bill did a good job in raising her. You did your best to prepare her for life. And from what I've seen of her, you two did a good job. So have some faith in her... and in yourself... that she'll make the right decisions."
"Thanks, Paul. And thanks for remembering Bill. He's been gone for eight years, and I have moved on. It's just good to hear someone else mention him, even though you never met him. He was good to me when we were together, and was a good father." A small tear came to her eye. "I'm sorry, that's the first time I've gotten sentimental about Bill in some time."
"Kathryn, let's clear the dishes and enjoy the fireplace." After several minutes of plate-scraping and dishwasher loading, the couple retired to the family room and its small fireplace. They each had a sip of wine, then Paul handed her the gift box. "Maybe tonight isn't the best time for this, with our earlier chat. However, you keep commenting about how you feel you don't have anything romantic or sensual to wear. So I took the liberty of getting you something. I hope you don't mind. Go ahead, open it."
Kathryn hesitantly opened the box. Inside, she found a low-cut, short-hemmed beige nightgown. The body of the gown was satin, with lace bra cups that struck fine balance between revelation and concealment. "My god, Paul.... you really want to turn me into a harlot, don't you? How did you know that was my dream?" Kathryn giggled like a school girl. "Thank you, hon. Thank you."
"Well, what are you waiting for Kathryn? Go try it on!!" Kathryn fairly ran to her room. There, she let her clothes fall to the floor without care. Within minutes, she was wearing her new gown. Looking in the mirror, she began to feel the vixen in her rise. Her cleavage was easily visible in the low-cut gap between the lace breast cups. If she looked carefully, Kathryn could even see a slightly darker shading to the lace where it contained her nipples. Kathryn was enjoying the combination of kitten and vixen the gown conjured inside of her. She ran her hands over her breasts... then stopped smiling. It felt... wrong. Her breasts weren't supposed to be covered when she touched them. Bound in the harness, yes, but not covered. Without realizing it, she started crying. Her crying increased when she remembered that she was not allowed to touch herself like this. She sat down on the floor, trying to compose herself.
"I can't let Paul see me like this... oh, God, what am I going to do?" What she did was cry herself out, wipe away her tears, and get herself composed. She again looked in the mirror... loved what she saw... and knew she could not spend the night with Paul. After several minutes of thinking of a reason to demur, she walked downstairs.
"Oh... myyyyy..." Paul breathed. He had expected Kathryn to be an apparition in this gown. What he got was a vision of a near-goddess. "Kathryn... you are so beautiful. I was going to ask what took so long. Now, I don't care." When she came closer, Paul noticed her eyes. "Honey, have you been crying? What's wrong?"
"Um... I was... hell, Paul. The last time I wore something like this... was with Bill. I guess I was just caught up in memories."
"Oh, Kathryn, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you--"
"I know, Paul. And memories don't hurt, I think it was just the adjustment." The two lovers sat down. "You know, Paul, this gown doesn't leave too much to the imagination."
