I was doing some charity work in Haiti after one of their endless disasters, setting concrete blocks for a community center. When the rest of the white savior work crew went back to the states, I stuck around for a while, wanting to get a feel of the local culture and people. One of the native guys I met on the job, the cement guy, invited me for a beer the first evening, and I gladly came along.
We had a few drinks and I started running my mouth. I always considered myself a ladies' man, so I was boasting about some of my more exotic encounters. My new friend just smiled and nodded and laughed along at all the right places. When I eventually realized I was the one doing all the talking, I encouraged him to take a turn.
"Why are you just sitting back smiling? I bet you've had some real adventures. What was your wildest night?"
"Nothing you would believe, my friend."
"Oh yeah? Well now you have to tell me!"
He sat there a moment, trying to make up his mind about me. Finally, he said, "You would just have to experience it for yourself. I'm not sure you are ready for it."
That got me very interested. "What the hell, man! I'm up for anything!"
He leaned in, "You ever give up control? Submit?"
I couldn't say that I had. The only time I had played around with ropes and gags, I wasn't the one tied to the bed. But the idea got me stirred up.
"Like I said, I'm up for anything!" But I had no idea what I was saying.
He just shook his head. But at that point, I was insistent, to the point of becoming annoying. A couple more beers, and I don't know if I finally convinced him, or if he just wanted to put me in my place. Either way, he said, "Give me your phone."
I did. He punched in a number, called it, and his phone buzzed. "That's for when you want me to come and pick you up. Let's go."
I didn't have a car, so I climbed in the jeep with him. It was dark, and we headed out of the city, onto a dirt road. I trusted my new friend, for no reason, but I was sobering up on the drive, just from the excitement of the unknown, and from thinking about his question, 'You ever give up control?'
We eventually drove through a dirt village and stopped at a house just beyond it. The yard was overgrown with tropical plants with big leaves, and fragrant flowers. The house was block but painted brightly. It was probably quite attractive in the daytime.
My friend led me up the one step to the wooden porch. There was a dim light on inside, visible through the lace window curtains. He knocked and, in a few moments, she opened the heavy wooden door. There was still a screen door between us. She saw my friend and smiled.
She was nothing more than a silhouette from the lamp light behind her. The whitest of eyes and teeth within an ebony shape, almost as tall as me, shaved head, large hoop earrings, her figure hidden within a flowing gown.
They had a conversation in their language, much of which involved looking sideways at me. The laughed the laugh of old friends, which almost put me at ease. She opened the screen door and stood aside. I stepped into the house. She shut the screen door and then the wooden one. My friend was gone.
That's when I discovered she spoke no English. She did speak, in her own language, more to herself than to me. And her voice was low and soothing. I just let the sounds wash over me and I relaxed more than I had any reason to.
I got a better look at her now that she wasn't backlit. Her skin was so impossibly dark. Her features were graceful. Her lips thick, her nostrils broad, her eyebrows high and arched, her skin unblemished. I had no way to guess her age.
Her gown was colorful, in reds and yellows. It could have been a housedress, something she slept in, or something she threw on when we knocked on her door. Her feet were bare, and she gestured for me to take my shoes off too and place them near the door, so I did.
The house was all one room. The lamp was on a breakfast table with two chairs. There was a stove, a small bed, a couch, and what looked like a massage table. At that point, I made a bad assumption that my friend had just dropped me off for the best massage of my life, with what I assumed would be a spectacular happy ending.
She came to me and undressed me, like I was a child. She lifted my t-shirt over my head and tossed it on the floor. She unbuckled my belt and gently slid it out of the loops. She unsnapped and unzipped my jeans, and I helped her by stepping out of them. At that point, I was a little self-conscious, but I was still assuming it was for a massage, so I let her slip down my briefs. She gathered my clothes and put them in a basket by the bed, then came back to me. I watched her walk away and back, still very unsure of the shape beneath the dress, though I could see there were plenty of curves in the front and the back.