Sex is awkward at the best of times, but that's what makes it great. Imperfection perfection.
SCENE 1: THE CUPBOARD
Bleach stink. Metal shelves digging into her back. One pathetic bulb flickering overhead. The chemical reek of industrial cleaners mixing with her Hermès Cavaliers du Caucase perfume. Their first encounter began with her scarf - that same silk Hermès with the gold threading that he'd returned to her that morning.
ETHAN has CLĂMENCE backed against the storage rack, hands shaking while he shoves her skirt up. Her silk underwear feels expensive beneath his fingers. Nothing like the cotton crap college girls wear back in Chicago.
ETHAN
'You sure about this?'
CLĂMENCE
'Yes. Now.'
He fumbles with his zipper.
Fuck
, it's stuck. When he finally yanks it down, he's already hard, precum staining his boxers.
ETHAN
'I don't have a-'
CLĂMENCE
'It's fine. Just do it.'
She reaches down, guides him. He pushes too eagerly, misses completely, slides against her thigh.
CLĂMENCE
'Wait. Let me.'
Hand between them, positioning him right. This time he slides in. Christ, she feels amazing.
ETHAN
'Holy shit.'
He starts moving. No rhythm whatsoever. Knocks a bottle of cleaner off the shelf with his elbow. Loud clatter. They freeze.
CLĂMENCE
'Quiet, idiot.'
She wraps her stockinged legs around his waist, those Italian hand-stitched stockings with the perfect seam up the back. One heel digs into his ass. The metal shelving creaks with each thrust. Sounds like it'll collapse any second.
ETHAN
'Am I... is this-'
CLĂMENCE
'Deeper. There.'
Sweat running down his back. Even with all the Olympic tourists clogging the museum, he never expected this. Her perfume mixing with cleaning chemicals. Watching her face change as she gets closer.
[Breaking fourth wall]
Look, I know you're not gonna believe me. I wouldn't believe me. This French curator's wife with her fancy clothes and her perfect accent, letting some random art student screw her against the janitor's supplies. But I swear to god it happened exactly like this. All because I returned her Hermès scarf this morning, and now I'm studying the goddamn negative space between us.
Her breathing gets faster. Her body squeezes around him.
CLĂMENCE
'Je vais... I'm going to-'
He slaps his hand over her mouth as she comes. Feels her moan against his palm. That's all it takes. He buries his face in her neck, trying not to make noise as he empties inside her.
They stand there, still joined, breathing hard. Lipstick smeared all over her face. All over him too, probably. His cum already leaking down her thigh.
The speakers crackle: 'Le musĂŠe fermera dans cinq minutes.'
CLĂMENCE
'Merde. We need to go.'
She untangles herself from him, grabs tissues from her purse. Wipes between her legs fast, adjusts her clothes like she's done this before. Button missing from her blouse. She tucks it to hide the gap.
ETHAN
'When can I see you again?'
The question hangs there. Stupid. She studies him. A married woman who just let some kid fuck her against the Pine-Sol. She should feel bad. She clearly doesn't.
CLĂMENCE
'Tuesday. Three o'clock.'
Writes an address on a business card. Hands it to him. Their fingers touch.
CLĂMENCE
'Wait five minutes after I leave. Exit by the gift shop.'
Checks herself in a compact mirror. Fixes her lipstick. Smooths her hair. Gone.
Alone now. His heart still pounding like crazy. The card in his hand feels unreal. Like winning the lottery and finding a unicorn, all at once. He flips it over - an address in the 6th arrondissement, written in elegant script with her fountain pen.
---
SCENE 2: THE APARTMENT
Tiny street in the 6th arrondissement. Wedged between a bakery and some dusty bookshop. ETHAN checks the address again. Wipes his sweaty palms on his jeans. Knocks three times on the heavy wooden door.
Waits forever. Maybe she changed her mind. Maybe this whole thing was-
Lock turns. Door opens.
CLĂMENCE looks nothing like the museum. Hair down. Simple black dress. Those stockings with the seams up the back. No wedding ring today. The Olympic rings pin she was wearing at the museum is gone too.
ETHAN
'You're here. I mean, hi.'
CLĂMENCE
'It's my apartment. Where else would I be?'
He steps inside. Holy shit. High ceilings. Wood floors in that classic herringbone pattern. Windows letting in streaks of afternoon sun. A desk covered in papers. Bookshelves everywhere. Smells like old books and expensive candles.
CLĂMENCE
'This is my pied-Ă -terre. For writing, Philippe believes.'
ETHAN
'Is it? For writing?'
CLĂMENCE
'Sometimes.'
[Breaking fourth wall]
So my thesis was about negative space in Impressionist paintings, right? Standing in that apartment, I finally got it. Negative space isn't empty - it's where the real story happens. This whole secret life she built in the gaps when no one was looking. The person she really was when her husband wasn't around. Like Degas understood with his ballet dancers - the tension between what's shown and what's hidden.
She moves through the place like she owns it. Well, she does. Sets down her bag. Takes off her jacket. Completely different from the frantic mess in the cleaning cupboard.
ETHAN
'This place is insane. Like a movie set.'
CLĂMENCE
'The building dates from the 1870s. All the Olympic renovation has only improved the neighborhood. Degas might have walked these halls.'
She uncorks a wine bottle. Pours two glasses. The light hits her just right. Shows off her neck, her waist, the curve of her hip through the dress.
ETHAN
'Won't your husband wonder where you are?'
CLĂMENCE
'Tuesdays I have my writing group. For my never-finished novel.'
ETHAN
'Is there really a group?'
CLĂMENCE
'There was. Not anymore.'
She sips her wine. Watches him over the glass. All that happened between them Sunday sits in the air.
CLĂMENCE
'We should talk about what this is.'
ETHAN
'Do we have to?'
Steps closer. Touches her face. Not rushed like before. Thumb traces along her jaw. Stops at the corner of her mouth.
CLĂMENCE
'You're very young.'
ETHAN
'That bother you more than being married?'
CLĂMENCE
'My marriage is... complicated. Your youth isn't. I have a son nearly your age.'
He finds her scarf. The same Hermès silk from the museum. Slowly unwraps it from her throat.
ETHAN
'You wore this on purpose.'
CLĂMENCE
'Perhaps. A reminder of how things begin.'
They kiss. Not desperate like Sunday. Slower. His hands find the buttons on her dress. Fumble.
ETHAN
'Sorry, I'm not usually-'
CLĂMENCE
'We have time.'
First button shows the hollow of her throat. Second reveals her collarbone. Third exposes black lace against skin.
CLĂMENCE
'La chambre. Ă droite.'
ETHAN
'Huh?'
CLĂMENCE
'Bedroom. Right there.'
Takes his hand. Leads him down a hall. Opens a door.