Introduction
"I've only ever seen you in jeans and loose sweaters," I observed, "so this is way over the top for me."
Nikkole posed provocatively at the doorway to my home office, one hand on her hip, the other behind her lustrous hair, and rhetorically asked, "Like it?"
Like it? Hell, I loved it. She was a brand new person -- in every way. Up until now, Nikkole had just been an attractive young woman who came in once a week to clean up my administrative stuff. I just stared, dumbstruck by the metamorphosis from young grunge to sensual femininity enhanced by her meticulously applied make-up and styled hair.
Nikkole was wearing a white silk blouse and a beige business suit with a skirt that was tight and hemmed higher than one might expect. On her feet she'd chosen to wear open-toed high heels that went at least three inches in height. And her legs were clad in nylon that appeared at the upper end of the quality scale.
"Wow," I enthused, "You ARE stunning! What's the occasion?"
With more assertion than I expected, she said, "Not so much an occasion, Allan, as it is the broadening of peripheries. You need to know that I'm a multi-faceted woman whose interests run deep."
I admitted that personal appearances tend to categorize what we think of people; that a theme develops and takes root.
"Exactly," she said. "And up until now, you've thought of me as the cute kid who organizes your paper work. So, what does my appearance tell you now?"
"Well, adjectives include sexy, refined, stunning, feminine, aggressive, sensual. In short, Nikkole, you're a knock-out."
"I'm glad you feel that way, Allan, but I knew you would. Don't think I haven't seen you practically drooling over women who come even close to looking like this. You've got a thing for it, haven't you?"
She was right. I do have a "thing" for it. It drives me nuts. All I can ever think of is being collared and at the end of a leash controlled by a woman who looks like she did now. But I wasn't going to admit that to her.
Instead, I said, "Of course I do. I love that look. It makes me remember that I've got a sex drive."
Nikkole gave a pensive look before saying, "I don't think it's so much your sex drive as it is what actually drives you. You've just admitted this is the look that turns you on -- the look that captures your imagination. In other words, Allan, you've got a thing for it and it goes far beyond how you just tried to trivialize it."
"Of course you're right, Nikkole," I responded, "but, frankly, just how far it goes really isn't something I want to get into with you."
"Afraid?" she asked.
"Maybe, but the reason is closer to it's none of your business."
Rather than take that blunt response as criticism, Nikkole instead brightly said, "Okay. What needs doing today? Point me to the mess."