"Nice shoes," she shouted over the music. "Want to fuck?"
Startled, he looked down at his shoes. "Uh, thanks. They're, um, Shimano." He had thrown together a last-minute costume out of the same jersey and bib shorts he'd wear on his morning ride the next day. The shoes were the worst. The protruding plastic cleat under the toe was slippery and its height gave him a pronounced waddle.
They looked nearly orthotic next to her stilettos.
"Nice shoes yourself!"
She leaned in, and he politely averted his eyes before she treated him to a look right down her magnificent cleavage. "You're dodging the question!"
Question? Oh, right. He laughed politely. Then he allowed himself one quick look up and down.
As he suspected, she was dressed to impress. Long legs in smoky nylon. A surprisingly modest A-line skirt nearly touching her knees. A leather corset that lifted and separated her plump ivory breasts. Black gloves nearly to the shoulder, so shiny and skintight they could only be latex.
Oh, and a headband with a little pair of devil horns. She had half-assed her costume too, in a very different way.
Want to fuck?
God, if only.
"No, seriously!" she shouted.
"Seriously, what?"
She huffed and grabbed his wrist. "Quieter outside!"
Out on the porch, she said, "Hey, sorry, I came on a little strong there. I'm Lily."
"Benjamin. And, yeah, first time I've heard anyone say that in real life."
"Sorry, I'm not used to..." she shrugged.
"Making the first move?" He could believe that. She probably had a pretty skewed idea how people approached strangers at parties, if she regularly showed up looking like that.
She shrugged again, glancing away awkwardly. Then she looked back at him and said, "I'm a friend of Carlotta's."
"Oh! How is she?" It'd been an amicable break-up but they hadn't kept in touch as well as they'd promised they would.
"Fine. So, look, this is kind of creepy, and probably I didn't help by---" She motioned back inside. Then she took a deep breath and blurted out, "Carlotta said you were into shoes."
He nodded warily, uncertain where this was going.
She looked up at him, and this time he had no trouble keeping his eyes focused on her suddenly open, vulnerable expression. She said, "I've never been with anyone like that."
Dear Penthouse, there I was...
This was way too vivid for a dream. And Carlotta wasn't the kind to gossip. If she'd told Lily about his shoe fetish, it'd been deliberate. "Do you want to walk down the block with me? Just to that tree there." He nodded at the next yard over.
"Sure." She looked at the stairs, slick with wet leaves.
He offered her his elbow. "Would you like a hand?"
She smiled. "Yes, thank you."
Under the tree, he asked, "I'm sorry to be dense, but this is a bit, um, fast. Could I ask you to spell it out a little for me?"
She literally squirmed in discomfort. Well, he wasn't the one walking up to strangers and talking about their sex lives. Then she said, "You're more assertive than I expected."
He chuckled. "I get that a lot."
"But I get it. You probably don't talk about this stuff with just anybody." She took a deep breath. "Carlotta said you were into shoes," she said again, staring downward. "She said you did stuff with her shoes." She glanced around and lowered her voice. "Like...sexy...stuff." Another deep breath. "She made it sound really, um, hot." The last word was so quiet he could barely hear it.
She glanced up at him through her lashes. Then she flashed him a smile that disappeared as quickly as it appeared, moving onto more familiar territory. "So. What do you say, big boy? My place or yours?" She smirked, this time clearly aware how ridiculous she sounded.
He shook his head, smiling despite himself. "You've heard a lot of pick-up lines, haven't you?"
She rolled her eyes. "You have no idea."
He looked at her, torn. It was a bizarre offer. He wasn't even into one night stands. But Carlotta had good taste in friends. Plus, he remembered how terrified he'd been the first time he'd brought this up with her, even after months together. Lily deserved something for how she'd put herself out there tonight.
Not to mention, he'd wonder
what if?
for the rest of his life.
Mind made up, he said, "I have a room-mate and I don't know when he'll be home."
"I have a room-mate too, but I know she won't be home tonight."
"Do you have a purse or something you want to get before we go?"
She grinned, a moment of unrestrained joy. "Pockets." She stuck her hands into them, spreading her fingers to show how big they were.
"Of course!" He gestured down the street. "Lead on, then."
She pointed the other way.
"Right."
They caught the bus. "I'm in the Loop," she said. Almost apologetically, she added, "It makes my commute easier."
"Nice. Where's work for you?"
"Oh, all over, I guess." She didn't elaborate.
Lily was quiet on the bus, prone to trailing off mid-sentence and staring out the window. He gave up after a few tries and left her to her own thoughts. Maybe he should have invited her to his place? Too late now. Or was it?
He stopped her outside the train station. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to. Or I could text my room-mate and we could go back to my place."
She burst into a startled laugh. "No. That's very thoughtful, but, no. Carlotta doesn't date creeps."
But maybe the offer had reassured her. She took his hand and led him to her building.
There was a doorman. An unflappable professional, he didn't bat an eye to see his lobby graced by a devil scantily clad in latex and leather, and a pudgy Chinese man shrink-wrapped in garish lycra. "How are you tonight, Miss Ouyang?" he asked.
"Fine, Jason, and yourself?"
"Very well. Have a good night!"
In the elevator, Lily explained, "It's nice to have someone who can sign for packages."
"Makes sense." Benjamin had never met anyone doing so well for herself and feeling so bad about it. There was a story here, but even he wasn't oblivious enough to think she wanted to talk about it.
He followed her to her door. She fumbled with the keys for ages before managing to unlock the door. Inside, they looked at each other awkwardly.
Oh, right. He was supposed to be the experienced one. He cleared his throat. "May I have a glass of water?"
She flushed. "Yes, of course. Sorry, where are my manners? Do you want tea? I have black, chamomile, or peppermint. Or coffee?"
"Peppermint tea would be lovely."
"Sure." She kicked her shoes off and started down the hall, then froze. "Oh."
"Shoes off?" He slipped his own off.
"I didn't think this through," she said apologetically.
"Why don't we sit and have some tea and talk first?" he suggested.
"Okay."
"May I use your bathroom?"
"Over there."
She was waiting on the couch with a pot of tea by the time he came out. "It needs a few more minutes."
She was too nervous for small talk and he was no good at that stuff anyway. He cut straight to the chase. "I have to say, Lily, that was a brave thing you did tonight. It took me months to open up to Carlotta about this, and that was after I had a pretty good idea she'd be a good sport about it."
She relaxed visibly. "I wasn't going into it entirely cold either. But, yes, I was nervous."
