It had been a couple months since Dawn had ended it with Aaron. The problem for Dawn was that Aaron was so passive that he was boring. That was it in a nutshell.
Through the course of their relationship Dawn had always set up their dates, she'd pick their restaurants, she'd decide where they'd go for weekends away, and she was always the one to initiate sex. She even had to buy the condoms. And then the sex always lacked for something. The word 'perfunctory' sometimes crossed her mind as Aaron would indifferently hump her.
One day she realized that Aaron wasn't just boring but that he was seemingly uninterested in any kind of substantial relationship. Aaron wasn't upset when she ended things and neither was she. It needed to end because it felt like a waste of time.
Dawn had never had a lot of success with romance and Aaron was just proof of it. The trim redhead wasn't unattractive and she knew this. But she was also no raving beauty and she knew that too. Most of the time people would look at her lithe body and her pixie-cut auburn hair and they'd call her 'cute'. Especially when she smiled. But she was a little odd and because of that people just didn't gravitate to her.
It had then been a while since she'd had anything to really smile about.
Her cramped one-room studio apartment in Boston's North End was lonely. She wasn't allowed to have any pets, not even a goldfish. The neighborhood was nice enough for her but it wasn't quite her speed. The only reason she took the apartment to begin with was the fact that it was walking distance from her job and she didn't have a car.
It was the Friday before the three-day Memorial Day weekend when Dawn was chatting with her coworker Lindsay about dating.
"Oh yeah, " said Lindsay, "I get it about trying to find a date! It's crazy, right? Like sometimes I just want to hang out with someone and I get on Date-n-Go and find someone. It beats the heck out of being alone."
"I don't know, "replied Dawn, "a dating app? I know everyone is doing it but is that the best way to find a decent relationship?"
Lindsay laughed, "Fuck no it isn't! But if you just want to hook up with someone and get fucked it's great!"
Dawn shook her head.
Lindsay took on a playful expression, "You could try it and just go get yourself laid!"
Dawn looked at her, "That's not really me, though. I mean it's okay but just going out for sex?"
Lindsay grabbed Dawn's phone and started to work. "Try it once. Just get yourself back in the game, right? At least see what you might find out there!"
In a few minutes Lindsay had installed the Date-n-Go app on Dawn's phone, created a loosely truthful profile for Dawn, and the two young women were soon scrolling through possible matches.
"Should I?" asked Dawn when she found one particular guy. He was just a little older than she was, he lived in Cambridge, and he was damned cute! And he was in the one-night hookup category!
Lindsay took the phone from Dawn and looked at the guy. "Oh, he's yummy! You should do it! Go for it! You deserve a fun time!"
"Fuck." said Dawn as she considered it.
Lindsay saw Dawn vacillating. "C'mon, be bold! Have a nice time and maybe reset your head!"
"Fine." said Dawn as she swiped right.
She had expected that even swiping right she'd get rejected or ignored so both women were surprised when the Date-n-Go jingle played just seconds later to announce a successful match!
Lindsay was frankly a lot more excited about this than Dawn was and she excitedly jabbered about what Dawn should do while Dawn wrote a text to 'Frank'. The text was sent and soon enough Dawn had Frank's address where she would meet him in a couple hours.
Lindsay and Dawn left work early to get to Lindsay's apartment which was also in Cambridge close to Frank's place. The first thing Lindsay did when they got to her place was to put a few condoms in Dawn's purse. This made the plan seem a bit more real to Dawn as she considered having sex with a total stranger before the night was over.
Dawn didn't have much in the way of Friday night clothing and it fell to Lindsay to find a slinky dress for Dawn to wear. The flowery off-the-shoulder dress went well with Dawn's deck shoes and soon enough Dawn was on her way to meet Frank.
The Boston weather was cool for this time of year and it made for a nice walk. Dawn had to admit to herself a growing excitement at the possibility of meeting someone new and maybe getting intimate for the first time since she'd last been with Aaron.
As she walked Dawn admitted to herself that the prospect of a good fuck had her a little aroused. Maybe Lindsay was right and this would reset things for her?
Dawn also contemplated her somewhat darker desires as she walked. The idea of something dangerous as a fantasy appealed to her but what about in real life? What if this was a stupid idea? She brushed the notion from her mind and kept walking.
Turning from Cambridge Street onto Hancock Street Dawn eyed the beautiful homes somewhat enviously. Frank was doing well for himself living in the tony and upscale neighborhood.
Finding the address she was looking for Dawn took a deep breath and then rang the bell at the front door. She could hear footsteps and then she saw an image through the frosted glass of the front door.
The door opened.
"Hi, you must be Dawn! Come on in!" said an older version of Frank as he reached out and took her hand. She immediately understood the picture wasn't all that accurate. The door solidly closed behind her and she heard him lock it.
"Uh, hey...you're Frank?" she asked.
"Yep, I'm Frank. Nice to meet you, Dawn!" he said with a warm smile.
Dawn examined the man. He looked just like the picture but older. The black hair was now tinged with a little salt and pepper. He was a little heavier but still in good shape. He could even be called athletic. There were some lines on his face but they worked well for him. He had classic Italian-American features and he wasn't hard to look at.
"You posted a fake picture." she said. Not like she was mad at him, it was just a matter-of-fact statement.
"No, not a fake, but that was me from ten years ago. It's just my best picture is all."
"I need to go." said Dawn. The lie having unsettled her along with an acute awareness of the locked door.
"What's the problem? I'm not exactly what you were expecting? You're not exactly how you presented yourself either. You said you were taller and older and you're obviously not. My point is that almost no one lives up to their profile and it's part of the game or didn't you know that?"
Dawn sheepishly looked at him. "This was more my friend Lindsay's idea than mine. She wrote the profile for me."
"You've never done this before?" he asked.
"No. Have you?"
He nodded. "I tried it once before and the woman who showed up wasn't even close to the woman in the picture. That was a bust. Then I logged on today figuring to give it one more try and I got lucky and here you are!"
He looked her up and down and Dawn could tell he liked what he was seeing.
"Well, at least stay and have a little dinner with me okay? I just had a few things delivered from Pammy's and I'm sure there's something in there you'd like."
He looked at her. "C'mon, just stay for a bit and then go. It'd be a shame if all the good food went to waste."
Pammy's was an upscale Italian-esque eatery in Cambridge and Dawn had heard of the place. The prices were out of reach for Dawn and the opportunity to try it out won her over. She sent a quick text to Lindsay to let her know things were okay. Dawn figured she explain the rest of it the next time she saw Lindsay.
"Okay, I can stay for dinner."
"Good." he said with a smile as he led her out to his kitchen.
The smell of good food wafted through the air as Frank unpacked the various dishes and then arranged them on the counter. Dawn was a little taken aback as she realized the food on the counter represented a week's pay for her.
"Here, take a plate and help yourself." he offered to Dawn.
Dawn helped herself to a few different things while noticing Frank as he opened a small bottle of Chianti. He poured a couple glasses and set them down on a small table that looked out onto a small garden.
Despite how things had started Dawn allowed herself to relax a bit as the two of them shared dinner. Frank talked about his work in the insurance business and Dawn shared stories from her graphics design work.
A second bottle of Chianti was opened as the conversation moved to the topic of relationships. Dawn's personality started to effervesce as the effects of the alcohol started to take effect on her. She decided that Frank wasn't so bad after all.
After the dinner was done she sat at the table while Frank put away the leftover food and then loaded the dishes into a dishwasher.
The clock on the kitchen wall said it was after eight. Dawn was a little surprised not just how the time had gone by but with how much she'd enjoyed herself. Lindsay had been right that the dating app was a good thing to try.
Dawn reached for her phone, "I'll call a rideshare to get me home, okay? This was really nice."
Frank gently took the phone from her, stood up, and then put it on the kitchen counter by her purse. "You don't need a ride right now. Maybe tomorrow. We still have something else to do tonight, don't we?"
Dawn felt a chill run down her spine. It was the certainty in his voice that was unnerving to her.
"Hey, um, I thought we were okay not doing that?"
He smiled. "No, I just talked you into staying and I want to get back on track for that hookup we both wanted."
Dawn went to stand up and Frank cornered her. She couldn't get past him.
"What are you going to do? Run? Why? You came here to get laid and I wouldn't want to disappoint you." He said this as his hands were on her bare shoulders.
"I'll tell the police." she whispered.
He laughed, "Tell them what? That you clicked on a hookup to get laid, that you came to my place on your own, and that you got laid?"
"Please." she begged, knowing that it was futile. He was right. Lindsay had talked her into this and she'd gone along with it and now here she was.
He firmly took her hand and she unwillingly complied as he led her through the house. He led her up the stairs as she uttered a few more protests, all of which he ignored.
Leading her into his bedroom he flicked on a dim light before he turned and closed the heavy door. There was a key in the old fashioned lock and he gave it a twist before putting it into his pocket. The door was locked.
"Don't want you wandering away during the night." he said.
It occurred to Dawn that there were now two locked doors between herself and the street. She took in a deep breath.
Frank made some small talk while he undressed. She turned around not so much for his privacy but for her own peace of mind. Fleeting as it might be.
Dawn heard him speaking but the words didn't register as her mind tried to take in the situation. This wasn't what she had been expecting from the evening but then what had she been expecting? For all of her complaints about Aaron being so passive now she was experiencing the polar opposite in male behavior.
This was what she had wanted from a man, right? To take charge of her and to make some decisions. Dawn was aware that a small voice inside of her mind was wanting this. At the same time she felt trapped and if she could have escaped she would have tried.
"Shoes." he said to her and she absently stepped out of her deck shoes. As she looked down she saw her bare feet and his bare feet behind them.
