Page 45 of His to Have
“Whatever you want to see. The city offers endless possibilities.” I grabbed her hand, leading her back toward the door. “This is your city now too. We’ll do it however you want. See whatever you want to explore. Eat wherever you wanna eat. It’s your world. I’m just living in it.” I winked, pulling her closer as we stepped out onto the busy sidewalk giving my driver a head nod.
I’d given them strict instructions to stay close but to keep out of sight.
The minute we strolled past our ride she said, “Wait, so we’re walking?”
I smirked.”Yes, Amore. Gotta give you the full New York experience. Come on.”
We walked... and kept walking. Down Fifth Avenue, past block after block. Past the street hustlers with their clipboards and fake charities. They took one look at me and moved on to easiertargets. We passed the Empire State Building rising up on our left, and the public library with all of its beautiful architecture.
I pointed out noteworthy spots along the way. The coffee shop on the corner that made espresso better than anything she’d find back home, the building where my grandfather used to have an office before he retired, and last but not least my actual office building for my legitimate logistic company.
She was taking it all in, asking questions, laughing at my jokes. Just being the woman I’d always known her to be. This was the side of her I’d been waiting to see. Relaxed, present, and not weighed down by our circumstances.
“Damn, so y’all really do walk everywhere.” She casually said as we crossed another intersection passing by a multitude of people — mostly locals, with a few tourists sprinkled in. “It looks like it does on TV.”
I chuckled. “It’s nothing like TV. Nothing ever is. But we do walk quite a bit. Sometimes it’s faster than sitting in traffic. Obviously, we still own cars and drive through the city. But today is about the experience if nothing else.”
We were halfway down the block when I noticed her stride slow down. “You good? You wanna take a break?” I asked, genuinely concerned.
“Umm, no. I’m straight.”
Her head tilted slightly, eyes fixed on something in the distance. I followed her line of sight, only to see her staring down inside a museum dedicated to all things sex. She didn’t say anything. Just stood there for a second too long, lips parted like she might. Even from across the street, the museum’s provocative nature was obvious. Her curiosity was clearly visible.
“Want to check it out?” I asked, unable to hide my amusement at catching her staring. Her head whipped over to me so fast. “What? No. I was just—it’s right there, I wasn’t—”
“You were staring.”
“I was reading the sign,” she all but screeched, but her face flushed. “I mean, the letters are huge. Hard not to notice,” she added, trying to brush it off with a nonchalant shrug and I laughed.
“It’s okay to be curious, Amore.” I grabbed her hand, already heading toward the crosswalk. “Come on.”
“Teo, we are not—”
“Why not? You’re curious. I’m curious. Let’s go.”
“It’s a sex museum.”
“I know what it is.” I laughed. “It’s been here for over twenty years. It’s a staple.”
She looked at me like I’d lost my mind, but I was already tugging her toward the entrance. “Come on. When’s the last time you did something super random?”
“Besides marrying you? This is—”
“Educational,” I offered with a grin as I pulled open the door. “And marrying me wasn’t random at all. That was a foregone conclusion.” I pulled her into a passionate kiss, that was sure to make her dizzy. When I let her go she stared at me with exasperation, lust, and amusement. All three emotions were fighting for dominance.
“You are impossible. You know that,” she asked, rolling her eyes but still following me inside.
I saw the exact moment she realized it wasn’t at all what she’d imagined.
The space was more sophisticated than she probably expected. It was clean, modern, and well-lit. Not seedy or uncomfortable like she likely expected. The exhibits were in fact educational, and were mixed with art installations, historical pieces exploring sexuality across cultures and time periods.
“Okay,” she admitted quietly, looking around. “This is actually kind of interesting.”
“Told you.” I kept her hand in mine as we moved through the first section filled with ancient artifacts, historical practices, the evolution of intimacy. She asked questions, her inquisitiveness raised by each new exhibit. She’d laughed at some of the absurd Victorian beliefs, but was also completely baffled by others.
“They really thought cornflakes would prevent people from wanting to have sex.” She giggled. “I’d eat a bowl of cereal and still be begging my man to bend me over. That shit would stop nothing.”
My steps slowed and my grip on her hand tightened involuntarily. She kept walking like she hadn’t just said some shit that made my dick jump. Long forgotten was the exhibit explaining how Victorians believed bland foods like cornflakes and graham crackers were specifically invented to suppress sexual desire. How they believed flavorful foods led to stimulating thoughts, and boring meals kept people, especially women, from thinking about sex at all.
