"She was pushing their lifestyle again. She said I really turn Eli on -- as if I hadn't noticed -- and it wouldn't bother her if I was to hook up with him because we're all friends. She also said that you really turn her on, and she suspects the feeling is mutual, which was no surprise either. I've seen the way you two survey one another." She looked pointedly at me. Before I could say anything, she went on. "Anyway, she got me thinking about what almost happened in California and that maybe I'm more susceptible to things like this than I like to admit. Eli does turn me on a little. Maybe I'm a slut at heart." She looked pensive.
We reached the house and pulled into our driveway. I shut the motor off and put my arms around her. "Honey, you couldn't be a slut if you tried. You're just catching up with another stage of growing up. Most people experience these temptations in their late teens, early 20s, but your folks down south had you still singing hymns at that age." She laughed. I decided to make my speech a little self-serving, in case she had got wind of more than she was letting on.
"Really, as we've discussed before, it's not unusual to be attracted to more than one person at a time, and it doesn't mean you're a slut or love me any the less. Even if you had gone to bed with that guy in California, I,... well, wouldn't be happy, but I would still love you and understand that it must have been a real strong need you had at the time. Same goes for Eli. If you were to hook up with him, I'd understand. In fact I'd feel a lot better about that than I would if you did it with the California pusher or some other stranger since Eli's my friend, really likes you and wouldn't do anything to hurt you or me."
Of course, I was making an excuse for my own involvement with Rachel, the names changed to protect the guilty. I was sort of priming Lila to hear my own confession. It did not occur to me then that I might also be advancing the fulfillment of Eli and Rachel's fantasy, my speech acting as a catalyst for Lila's evolving world view. Yet in thinking about it, then and now, I realized that I did believe what I said.
She looked softly at me. "Thank you for being so understanding, Danny," she said. "How about making love to this slut right now?"
Who could resist an invitation like that from a beautiful babe like my Lila. We were in the house and out of our clothes in less time than it takes to tell about it.
Afterward, listening to the heavy breathing of my love sleeping soundly, I lay awake reflecting on our early time together.
* * *
I was virtually entranced the time I first saw her, at an open mic performance in a student night spot near Eli's university. She was playing guitar, singing folk tunes from the middle to late "19s." I could not take my eyes off her, and remarked so to my friend.
"I know what you mean," Eli said. "Her name is Lila D'Ambrosia. She's an undergraduate music major, transferred in from some podunk born-again college in the south, and evidently has a lot of talent they were unable to stifle."
"So you know her?"
"I heard her here a couple of times. I suggested she enroll in one of my courses since advanced mathematical concepts are an unrecognized but fundamental underlying component of good music that might enhance her depth of understanding in her chosen art form."
I questioned if he had an underlying motive for trying to advance her "understanding."
"I'm never short on motives around a beautiful woman, but it is true," he shrugged. "The ancient Greeks investigated the expression of musical scales in terms of numerical ratios. Their central doctrine was that all nature consists of harmony arising out of numbers."
"Two is a great number and I could make some natural harmony with her," was my response.
The object of this discourse soon finished her performance and left the stage, to a vigorous round of applause, which she modestly acknowledged. She took a seat at a larger table with some other co-eds, all of them chatting and laughing. She stood out from the rest of her friends, looking as beautiful and radiant as she had on stage, as if still bathed in the footlights.
I had to make an attempt. Reconnoitering her table on my way to the men's room I saw that the girls were sipping margaritas and ordered a couple pitchers for their table, giving the waitress an ample tip and asking her to point me out as a fan who wished to express gratitude for the lady's fine performance. The waitress flashed a knowing smile, and soon brought the pitcher, motioning toward our table, apparently taking care to differentiate me from Eli. The girls showed their appreciation, smiling in our direction and hoisting their glasses in a toast, which we returned.
Over the next few minutes, I noticed some of them, including the center of my attention, renewing short glances in our direction. It had been a respectable enough interval, so I told Eli, "If you don't swing, you don't hit," and walked over to the table. The girls vocalized greetings. Lila pointed out an empty chair next to her, and asked me to sit down. Introductions were made, and she thanked me for the "liquid encouragement." I told her that the patrons of the place should be thanking her for providing such great entertainment, and that I really enjoyed her singing and choice of material from a previous generation's folk music. A polite but skeptical smile indicated she had heard such prattle before from bewitched fans trying to make an impression.
"I feel many of the songs from the 1960s to the millennium capture the range of human emotions and aspirations better than those before or since," she said. "Many of them are classics that will never become dated. I'm happy you think I did justice to them, Dan." She was so beautiful, with poise beyond her years, I thought. Then, probably to screen a serious music lover from a guy just out to score, Lila asked, "What are some of your personal favorites from that era?"
Fortunately, I was not just bullshitting about my taste for late 20
th
Century folk music, although I was so distracted by her close presence that memory almost failed. But I came through, naming several songs and artists, some lesser known even in their own time, and probably beneath her radar, I thought. Her eyebrows rose and the skeptical smile was replaced by one of genuine warmth. She knew them all, and added a couple that were new to me. She also seemed to regard me with new interest, surprised as she later told me that she had actually met a predatory male who could talk knowledgeably on a subject near and dear to her.
Eli sauntered over to the table about then, perhaps to renew his math course offer at a suitable opportunity, but he succeeded only in diverting the attention of Lila's friends, at least one of whom, Brittany, evidently had already met "the prof," and seemed to know him quite well. The other students also seemed flattered to be receiving the attentions of an esteemed faculty member, one who was still youthful and handsome, and plied him with conversation designed to demonstrate their learning while respectfully asking his opinions. Before long, Eli's ego was stoked, and he was expounding not only on musical mathematical theory but delivering witty discourses on a number of topical issues, to the acclaim of his audience. I was glad for this, as it allowed me to concentrate on improving my own good start with Lila.
As Eli enthralled his audience with the wisdom of Isaac Newton and Archimedes, Lila and I discussed the work of Collins, Baez, Ian and Sylvia, Lightfoot, Denver, the Kingston Trio, The Eagles, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. I mentioned Kate Wolf, an obscure California song writer/folk singer as one of my favorites, and when it was time for Lila's next set of songs, she included a couple of the singer's ballads. I was impressed that Lila even knew of her by reputation, let alone could interpret her works so well. I was becoming as enraptured by Lila as her friends were by Eli.
"Dan, we should take her to The Enigma," Eli suggested after Lila had returned to the table.
It was a good idea. The Enigma is an open mic night club in the city frequented by musicians, actors, comedians and those aspiring to the big time, who take the stage to strut their stuff before a melange of agents, producers and others involved in the arts, as well as ordinary fans. Lila seemed a little timid at the suggestion, but Brittany and the other girls also encouraged her, and she agreed to let Eli and I escort her there the following weekend. Brittany also came along.
