In Chapter 1 (in Exhibitionist and Voyeur) we met Nancy, the Slut of Brown County. She had become an infamous slut due to some experimental meds she took for depression. She left Indiana to move to New York, became a registered nurse, and went to Washington, DC for the women's march where she has met a seemingly nice man named Mike.
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I had deliberately stranded myself in DC (I live and work in New York), and I had met this nice, somewhat older man Mike. We hit it off right away, and this man had definite boyfriend potential. I wanted to play my cards right with him.
The doctors back home in Indiana had given me different meds that were not experimental. My depression lessened and eventually disappeared. The memory however of all that sexual activity remains, and as a consequence, I know a lot more than your typical Indiana small town women do about men, and about sex with men.
I know what men like, what they want, and how perverted some of them can be. And I know how to please them. You could say I had an intensive, crash course in the subject. It's why I moved out of Indiana. Bizarrely, New York was a saner place for me just then than was Brown County, in Southern Indiana.
The point is I could easily see in Mike's eyes that he was interested in me. That is to say, he was interested in me sexually. The occasional remark, the occasional glance at my boobs and how they pushed out my tight sweater, the positive reactions to my smiles, with knowing looks. Well, I guess this is a good thing, right? One wants to be desired.
Thus, when Mike suggested we go for coffee, I accepted happily. He took me to a local coffee house. He explained it is usually quiet on a Sunday, but today it was bustling due to the 600,000 or so women (and around 100,000 men) who had come to town for the women's march. We had to wait for a table but eventually we got to sit, drink coffee, and talk.
I had not intended to do so, but I ended up telling him about the love of my life Bill, and how I had lost him to someone's gun in a bar, and how I had sunk into a deep depression when he was gone.
I carefully omitted the part where I had become known as "Nancy, the Slut of Brown County," during my drug induced promiscuous period. It was due to this reputation, and the consequent near constant attempts of men to get into my pants, that I fled, and ended up moving to New York.
However, when Mike learned I was from Brown County, Indiana, he told me he grew up in the romantically named Tippecanoe County, in northern Indiana. (Brown County is in the south, which has rolling hills, while the north of Indiana is as flat as a pancake. Tippecanoe County has the Wabash River, and the river valley has a few hills. The hills by the river can be beautiful, especially when the leaves change in the fall. But otherwise northern Indiana is flat, flat, flat.)
After those revelations, we had a great time discussing how we both missed Indiana. We also talked about what aspects of it we did not miss. I figured the men from northern Indiana would like busty women. They had enough flatness from the landscape. I was busty, so my inference was a bit self-serving. But a girl does what she needs to do to feel attractive.
I began to feel close to him. After we had talked for a good two hours, and I was lost in his eyes, he asked if I had plans for dinner.
"I have no plans. None at all," I said, and then I told him about the bus, and my impetuous decision to remain in DC. I also explained I had this friend I had tried to contact, but so far, she had not answered me, which made me a tad nervous.
Mike thought it would be nice if I could join him for dinner. I had been planning to eat a sandwich I had packed for the return bus trip, but since I was invited out, well, that sounded better. "I have no nice clothes to change into, Mike," I said. Mike was wearing a suit and tie, and that was on a weekend afternoon. So I knew how he dressed!
"Not a problem, Nancy. You're so pretty I would be proud to take you anywhere," he said.
"Thank you. Still, I'd be more comfortable in a skirt," I said, "and also nice shoes."
We agreed to meet at his hotel at 7pm, and I quickly went hunting for some clothing stores in DC that were open on Sunday afternoon. Happily, I found what I needed, and my luck continued because some of the stuff was on sale! I wore the clothes right out of the store. Next I shopped for shoes. My old clothes were in the store's shopping bag.
I had bought and now wore a rather short skirt, but not too short, that showed off my legs. I have nice legs. For my top, the choices were limited, but I chose a sheer sweater with a zip up the front. My royal blue lacy bra shone through the sweater, although you could not see any details. With the zip, I had the option of unzipping it as much as I dared. That would give Mike something to look at as he sat across from me at dinner. Perfect.
I was hoping he would be fantasizing that he was ripping down the zipper and ravishing my boobs, even if I would be horrified were that to happen. Fantasy and reality sometimes diverge wildly with me. I am not sure why, but I wanted Mike to lust for me, to want me. The jury was out on whether or not I actually wanted him: It was much too early to tell. But that did not stop me from wanting him to ache to have me, to ravish me.
I hope you understand: I was just a girl wanting to be desired. I was not a girl wanting to have sex. I just wanted to go out with a good-looking guy and have him captivated. I wanted to get lost in his eyes, and especially for him to get lost in mine.
I got some makeup and a new lipstick. I bought a new perfume. I did not want a scent that might get a man aroused, like Opium by YSL, so I opted for one of the new scents by Givenchy. It's delicious more than it is sexy.
I got some gorgeous new shoes. The shoes had a slightly less than two-inch heel and were a beautiful shade of red leather. The red of my new lipstick was chosen to match the shoes. Modesty aside, I looked good.
The final touch was to find one of those hair salons that give your hair a wash and blow dry. This was not New York, so I did not know if one would be open late on Sunday, but happily one was! They did a nice job, and I no longer needed a ponytail.
My hair cascaded down my shoulders, falling lightly with subtle curves and waves. My hair framed my face, and my makeup accented my blue eyes. My eyes are not just blue: they are sort of a glistening light blue, in the words of my dear departed husband.
My deceased husband had loved my eyes. I miss him so. But life goes on, I told myself. Going to dinner with a man is no big deal. I like to think Bill would have approved. He would not have; I know that. I just like to think that he would have.
The big time came. We were to meet in the lobby of his hotel, The Kimpton Carlyle, near Dupont Circle. Being new to DC, I went to Google Maps and discovered I was not even close to it. I found a taxi and grabbed it; otherwise I would have been late.
I am not sure what Mike expected, but he did not recognize me, all dolled up and no longer sporting a ponytail. Men are like that: A woman changes her hair and it is like entering a witness protection program, as far as men are concerned. Mike looked around the lobby, did not realize who I was, and sat in an armchair. He grabbed an old newspaper that had been discarded and pretended to read.