Page 49 of Madam, May I

He remained quiet.

Desdemona read the directions. “Should I begin, Lo?” she asked.

Tap-tap-tap.

He was staring off into the distance and beating the eraser end of his pencil atop her dining room table. Just as he had the first day they met.

Nervous, huh?

“Lo,” she called over to him.

“Huh?” he said, obviously distracted.

“Should I start?” she asked, feigning innocence.

He looked alarmed.

Desdemona rolled her eyes and held up the worksheets.

Loren visibly relaxed. “Remember to pay attention as you read. Sometimes the questions are tricky,” he advised. “Utilize all of the tips I’ve taught you. If you get completely stuck let me know and we’ll read it together. This is not the test so you can ask for help, so I can demonstrate again how to work through it. Okay?”

“Got it,” she said, rising enough to tuck her bare feet beneath her bottom.

The room became quiet with only the subtle sounds from the lit fire and the sporadic scratching of his drawing pencils against the page of his sketch pad.

Desdemona’s brows furrowed as she reread the passage before moving on to the multiple-choice question.

“What did you mean by we could help each other?”

She held up a finger to cease any further questions from Loren as she took the time to finish answering the next few questions. Finally, she looked up at him as she pressed the eraser of her pencil into her cheek. “I’ve been celibate for the past five years or better, Loren,” she said.

His face was incredulous. “Really?” he asked in disbelief. “By choice,” she said.

“Of course.”

They shared subtle smiles.

“And you want me?” he asked, his disbelief seeming never-ending.

“Iwantto help you,” she explained.

“I don’t want to cheat on my girl,” Loren said.

“Okay,” she said, turning her attention back to her work.

“But—”

“Loren,” she said, almost snapping. She softened her hard tone with a smile.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.

Desdemona sighed as she set aside her work and rose to walk over to where he sat. She took the pencil from his hands and snapped it in half. “Lo,” she began, placing one hand on her hip and bending one knee that opened the split of her dress to expose her smooth brown thigh.

His eyes dipped down and then shot right back up.

“Lo, if you would like me to teach you how to make love to your woman—with no strings attached—then choose right now,” she said, reaching to stroke his cheek.

Loren swallowed over a lump in his throat as he shifted in his seat.

---