“I’ve never done anything like this before. In fact, I’ve never even fantasized about doing anything like this. So, I’m trusting Carmen, and you, and if something comes up that I don’t understand or don’t like, I’ll speak up.”
“Good! Carmen’s First Theorem of Love and Sex is ‘ask for what you need.’ And actually, that’s going to be the focus of our time together.”
Tessa wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. She’d never been comfortable asking Mark, especially if she thought it was something he didn’t enjoy. And the only other sex she’d had was rape, and though she’d pleaded with Kent to stop, it had fallen on completely deaf ears. So her ‘asking’ track record was pretty dismal. Add to that the fact that she’d known Jason all of sixty seconds, and…wow. Could she do this?
“Shall we go, then?” Jason said.
Tessa nodded, grabbed her purse, and allowed Jason to open the door for her.
“Are all Aussies such gentlemen?” she asked, smiling.
“We’re a pretty nice bunch down here, if I say so myself. And most of the time, you’ll find me to be very gentlemanly.”
“Most?”
Jason hit the call button for the elevator. “There will be times when being a gentleman will be far from my mind. But,” he said to Tessa’s quickly darkening eyes, “I will always be a gentle man with you, unless you ask me to be otherwise.”
“I can’t imagine wanting anything other than a gentle man,” Tessa said, when she saw there was no one else in the elevator.
“That’s what you’re here for, Tessa, to imagine the unimaginable. I know this metaphor needs some work, but think of it this way: you’re about to dine at a fine buffet, where you’ll be asked to try the escargot even if you’d always thought you would hate it.”
Tessa couldn’t help herself. She laughed, full-out.
“I told you it was a terrible metaphor,” Jason said, smiling. He leaned so close to Tessa, she could smell the fragrance of his shampoo. “Today will be about me gently pushing you to that buffet table. I’m going to put things on your plate and urge you to try them, even if you think you’ll hate them. But the final decision will always be yours. You’ll look at everything I put on your plate, and learn to ask for what you need.”
Good thing Tessa was leaning against the elevator wall. She might have passed out otherwise.
They spent the first hour sightseeing. Jason drove, pointing out highlights as he negotiated traffic. “Our first stop,” he said, squeezing his Mazda into a parking space.
“This?”
Jason took Tessa’s hand and led her into a small café. He nodded to the waitress behind the front counter and she gave him a smile. “Hi Jason! What do you want today?”
“The usual.”
“Coming up.”
Jason led Tessa to a small table in the corner of the back room. The café was quiet and the light from the front windows did not reach them. It was dim, but not dark. Jason held Tessa’s hand lightly. It felt like the warmth of a friend, not the passion of a lover. It put Tessa at ease instantly.