‘What then?’
‘Darlene, there was definitely something hanging out that looked to me very much like a nipple tassel.’
She could have gotten away with the fiendish truth then, had she simply shrugged and said something like ‘That’s just a joke birthday present from a friend’. But Darlene did not do that. Instead she put her hand up to her mouth in a desperate attempt to cover something up (even though the rest of her body had nothing on).
What followed would lead to Darlene blushing again. Not because she was naked or had just made love properly for the first time. Supposedly that’s when it becomes difficult to blush even more, but she knew that Kurt was on to her and was simply not as good as him at fibbing.
The first certainty that Kurt got out of her was that the tassel was there for a purpose. It was not a joke present or something accidentally acquired, though getting her to elaborate and assuage his curiosity proved challenging. She clammed up, not from trying to deceive him but through being embarrassed by the truth.
In the end, it was only through revealing a few fetishes of his own that he was able to coax it out of her.
‘I’m a leg man, with a thing for Sharon Stone,’ he admitted. ‘Plus, I don’t know why, but I’ve always had a desire to make love in a hot air balloon.’
After laughing at the idea of that one, Darlene gave in and told him. So, was she secretly a fast lady who had deceived him about her virtue and attended lots of orgies? Not at all; it was actually all just a matter of taste – though he did find it delightfully fiendish and especially for someone of her background.
‘I’ve always had some kind of fascination for… well, erotic things, of a certain taste,’ she explained, reluctantly, then asking him ‘You know that word “burlesque”?’
‘Burlesque? Yeah, sure!’
‘Well, that kind of thing.’
‘No kidding!’
‘I’ve never actually done any of it but, occasionally, I like to go online and look at some of the quirky gear they wear. I don’t look at porn; I’m not into that.’
‘Me neither,’ Kurt lied.
‘And nothing masochistic or sick, you know. I’ve just always liked what that kind of clothing looks like and had fun imagining myself wearing some.’
‘Darlene, you’re getting more interesting by the minute.’
‘I guess it’s silly.’
‘Not at all,’ he said, dismissively. ‘All the sex secrets that people keep and you’re worried about good old-fashioned burlesque. What have you got to worry about?’
‘But it’s not exactly something I’m ever going to be involved with.’
‘Why not?’
‘Now you’re teasing me.’
‘I’d love to see you with your tassels on.’
‘That’s just something I dared to order online one day, then didn’t want to lose track of where it was so I stupidly kept it in my handbag.’
‘So if I asked you nicely you wouldn’t dress in something burlesque for me?’
Darlene looked about to slap him down and refuse but then wavered at the idea. He could tell that, with him there, she was starting to feel brave and he was determined to take full advantage of that.
Kurt got Darlene home around midnight but his yearning for her was quite a long way from being satisfied. He wanted a lot more of her and learning that this sheltered little church goer had a repressed kinky side was going to occupy his imagination for some time.
Being at sea so much, he had often dreamed of finding his mermaid and what it would be like. That girl that drew his fascination more exceedingly than anyone else could, to the point that could be described as irresistible. He had located her in the most unlikely of places, 50 kilometres inland at the Furse residence, but that was exactly how he loved life to be: unpredictable.
As far as he could make out, Darlene was besotted with having a man at last and not at all reticent about meeting up again and carrying on where they had left off. Plus, on the way back he had talked her into trying something with those secret yearnings of hers.
Of course, she thought it impossible at first, but he convinced her to start looking online for some naughty clothing she would like to model for him. The deal was that she would then email a link to him, he would order the items and they could be delivered to his place. Kurt didn’t mind the risk of having that kind of attire hanging around the place if it meant having more sexual adventures with Darlene. In addition, she had promised to bring her nipple tassels to complete the set.
Pulling up around the corner from her parents’ house, it then took a bit longer than it should have for Darlene to get inside. The two of them started snogging each other again and came very close to getting very carried away. Indeed, Kurt was about to suggest they move into the backseat when what they knew to be the light from the Furse front porch came on and they decided against doing so. Reluctantly they stopped groping each other but Darlene agreed that, even though she was not sure how and when, they would organize to see each other again very soon.