Frank & Elyse – Chapter 10

xxx stories: Frank & Elyse – Chapter 10

by Burnt Redstone

She made quick work of assembling her bed frame now that she had tools to do it. After she lifted her mattress up onto the frame she sighed with relief as she hoped this would allow her to wake peacefully. This morning had been a repeat of the previous one. She woke disoriented and gasping in fright. Not a happy way to start the day.

She put Frank’s tools back into the plastic bag and sat on the edge of the bed smiling to herself. While she could drive over to the hardware store to get her own tools, not having them gave her an excuse to visit her new neighbor. She caught herself grinning and gave her head a firm shake. It was a little too soon after her divorce to be having romantic thoughts. It was certainly too early for Frank who was going through some rather severe post-divorce trauma.

She frowned as she remembered his almost panicked look when he saw her standing in his driveway this morning. When she walked over to apologize she saw him lifting his bike up on the hooks in the garage and found herself admiring his physique in the skin tight cycling clothes. When he exited the garage he locked up when he saw her. Her guilt for yelling at him the previous night had come pouring back.

He’d been very gracious to accept her apology which surprised her as she’d expected him to be far more gruff and uptight about it. Michael was always resentful after being scolded.

She hadn’t prepared for what to do after she apologized so when he invited her in to see the house she was delighted. She hadn’t expected the house to be mostly empty. In her mind she’d pictured a lot of big and heavy furniture.

Thinking about it she was most surprised by how he kept her off balance with each new insight into his true character. Sure he looked strong and masculine like Michael, a man’s man, but in reality he was a quiet, thoughtful man, comfortable with who he was. There’d been so much bullshit machismo with her ex-husbands she’d just come to expect it. Frank was… refreshingly different.

She stopped to think about that. He certainly wasn’t as tall as her ex-husbands. He was a little shorter than her but she could tell he wasn’t the least bit uptight about that.

He was clearly older than Derrick and Michael. Older than she was though she wasn’t exactly sure of his age and she’d feel odd asking. Was it his age that made him seem… mature? Derrick took offence to every perceived slight and Michael was a sullen pouter when he didn’t get his way.

Frank seemed stable as a rock compared to her two exes.

Then she recalled his reaction to her asking him why he wouldn’t look at her. When he’d explained she felt awful! To travel that far to free himself of reminders only to be confronted with a look-alike living right across the road! And he’d obviously suffered some kind of abuse as his behavior with her indicated. When she’d gone home she didn’t know what to do. The thought of being a source of torment for him was almost too much. She knew she had to be prepared to stay away from him to let him heal.

But he’d come looking for her.

He was facing his demons, so to speak, and getting on with his life the best he could. She was very impressed with his inner strength. She hoped she was dealing with her own as well as he was.

He had excellent taste in wine and the lunch he’d made was very yummy. He was an excellent teacher, when it came to technology at least, and wasn’t afraid to ask for help when he needed it. Best of all the help he’d asked for was to decorate that lovely home. She’d dreamed of what she would do with it when she bought it, cried when she discovered she wouldn’t get to live out that dream, and now he was giving her the opportunity to do it after all.

She was so looking forward to dinner. She leapt to her feet to go look for a nice dress to wear. Not that it was a date!

Hours later she’d finally settled on her off the shoulder knitted, ribbed grey dress which hugged her curves and ended slightly above mid-thigh. To tone down the amount of skin and cleavage she was showing up top she threw on a burgundy lace shawl. To complete the outfit she slipped her feet into some burgundy high heel pumps. Since he didn’t seem to be offended by her height she’d enjoy the benefits it gave her. She quickly touched up her hair and make-up and realized it was almost 6:30PM.

She rushed to the front door and collected her clutch purse with her wallet and car keys. She stepped outside, locked up, pulled her car out of the garage, locked that and pulled out of her driveway and into Frank’s.

She was already finding her garage door to be a nuisance. Adding a motorized opener would be number one on her list of home improvements!

Before she could undo her seatbelt Frank was standing next to the passenger door. She popped the lock and he let himself in, falling the last few inches to the seat with a thump.

“Geez!” he exclaimed. He looked at her in surprise. “This car is really low to the ground!”

“It’s a sports car, silly! Of course it is!” she grinned. “Buckle up!”

He did and they got underway. He sat with his hands folded in his lap and his eyes a little wider than normal as she worked the gears smoothly to navigate their way quickly through the light traffic. Soon they were zipping along on the coastal highway.

“The car handles really well and it has excellent pickup!” he said. “I think I left my stomach back there on that last curve.”

“Are you dissing my driving?” she teased.

He held up his hands in surrender. “No, no! You’re an excellent driver!”

She nodded with a hint of a smile on her lips, mollified by his praise.

They reached the restaurant minutes before their reservation and slipped into a spot someone was just vacating.

Frank heaved himself up to his feet and out of the car. Closing his door he quickly walked around the car to open her door for her.

She smiled up at him and took his offered hand. Long toned legs stepped out onto the parking lot and he helped her rise from the seat. He suddenly found himself looking up into her eyes as her heels placed them a good four inches above his own.

She smiled cautiously at him, waiting for his reaction. He stepped back to take in her ensemble and she saw he was more than a little awestruck. She felt butterflies in her stomach and chided herself for reacting like this for just a dinner between friends. Neighbors.

“You- you look… exceptionally lovely!” he managed to get out at last. Her eyes flashed with happiness at his words and she dipped her head in thanks as she scoped out his outfit.

He was wearing a navy blue sports jacket over a white, long sleeve dress shirt, open at the collar, tight black jeans and black leather shoes. She was thrilled with how powerful his chest, shoulders, and arms looked in the jacket.

“And you look very handsome,” she replied drawing a smile from him.

He turned and offered his elbow and she blinked at him.

His face fell and he looked at her in embarrassment. “Sorry, old habits die hard.”

“No, you just took me by surprise. It’s a really nice habit.” Michael and Derrick never showed any understanding of proper etiquette. Michael would typically rest his hand on her hip or more often, her ass. She slipped her hand around his arm and rested it on his forearm, enjoying the feel of the strength there.

They made their way inside and more than a few eyes turned in their direction as the host led them through the dining area to their reserved table by the window. Elyse could almost hear their thoughts. Who was this powerful looking man with the statuesque blond on his arm? She chuckled to herself but just shook her head at Frank’s curious gaze.

He held her chair out for her and she enjoyed his gentlemanly attentions. He sat across from her and made a visible effort to pull his eyes away from her to look at their view.

“You weren’t kidding about the view this restaurant would have. Sunset should look pretty amazing from here,” he blurted as he kept his eyes on the view.

Suddenly Elyse felt distressed. Maybe she was reminding him of his wife again. Maybe he was hurting because of her!

“Am I causing you anxiety? Am I making it worse, you know, looking like your ex?” she said, worried.

His eyes snapped back to her. “What? Oh! No! No, that’s not it at all! It’s… it’s just that I feel like an awkward eighteen year old again. Trying not to look like or act like an uncultured boob in front of a beautiful woman.”

“What?” she blinked.

“Like I said, your resemblance to Stephanie is superficial. Close enough it seems to trigger… a reaction but it’s just the same hair color and body shape.” He paused to take in her beauty and he shook his head. “When I first met her… so many years ago, I was completely smitten. I thought she was the loveliest creature to ever walk amongst us mortals and being so young myself I was completely tongue tied around her. I almost drove her away with my foot in my mouth all the time. When I finally got that under control I pursued her unmercifully until she agreed to date me.” She saw Frank swallowing and his eyes dropped for a second then he looked back at her once more.

“Stephanie isn’t even in your league. You’re…” She saw he was struggling to put into words what his eyes were so obviously telling her. She felt a thrill zing through her at the effect she had on him.

He pushed back suddenly. “Now it’s my turn to make you feel uncomfortable. I’m sorry!” She saw his face flush with embarrassment.

Elyse reached across the table and seized his hand. He froze.

Pitching her voice so it only reached his ears she leaned forward. “You’re not making me feel uncomfortable! I’m very flattered! It’s been some time since I’ve heard anyone say such nice things about me. A woman likes to hear the words from time to time.” She smiled at him until she drew his smile back.

The waiter appeared and they admitted they hadn’t looked at the menus yet. He informed them of the specials and said he would bring them water as he left.

Elyse realized she was still holding Frank’s hand and his thumb was unconsciously stroking the back of hers. That felt so good but she realized it wasn’t something friends, neighbors, would or should do. Begrudgingly she pulled her hand back.