The Old Brass Bed

"Miss, would you like to order something?" the girl behind the counted said a bit too loudly. That broke Frankie out of her stupor. She turned and ordered, completely ignoring the man behind her. When she finished she turned back around and he was still standing there.

"Please join me," he said.

"I... OK. I... Yes. Let me get my coffee."

He continued to smile as he turned and walked over to an empty table.

He extended his hand as Frankie sat down. "My name is Ashley, Ashley Wilkes, and before you say anything I know what you're thinking. Let me explain. My mother was a big fan of the movie Gone with the Wind and since our last name was Wilkes, well she thought Ashley was just right. You wouldn't believe the teasing I suffered through growing up with that name. At the time I would have rather been named Bill or George or anything but Ashley. Now I'm used to it."

"I'm Frankie, Francis actually, but my friends call me Frankie."

He smiled his great big smile. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Frankie. I've been looking forward to today. I do appreciate your help in the subway station the other day. I don't know why I got off balance like that. I'm not usually a klutz."

"It was nothing," she mumbled looking down at her coffee.

The conversation stopped as each took a drink. She glanced up at him quickly and averted her eyes downward. He never took his eyes off of her face.

"You look different. What did you do? I think your hair has changed. I like it. What else?"

"New glasses," she said never looking up.

"Ah yes I remember your old ones, looked like something out of the 60's. These look nice on you."

Frankie smiled at the compliment.

There was an awkward momentary silence before he said. "Look, I've got to get back to work. Can I call you sometime? Maybe we can go out to dinner and talk more. I really would like to see you again."

Frankie's cheeks turned beet red again. She reached into her purse and pulled out her little notebook and tore out a page. She scribbled her name and telephone number on it and handed it to Ashley.

"Thank you Frankie. I'll call you sometime this week." He got up and left. All the while Frankie watched him walk away her heart pounded so loudly she was sure the people at the next table could hear it. She sat in the afterglow of his presence not wanting to go back to work, but she had to.

That night Frankie sat on the couch in her pajamas watching another old love story. The phone sat beside her. She thought of Ashley and his great smile. As she drifted off to sleep she saw his smiling face. She slept with a smile on her face. There were no dreams.

The next day she looked for Ashley. She never saw him and went through her day a little downhearted. As she was heating her dinner in the microwave the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello Frankie this is Ashley. Remember, from Starbucks the other day?"

"Of course, I remember."

"Listen, I have this gigantic craving for seafood. Would you like to join me for dinner tonight? I really want to see you again. It would really make my week. How about Pier 6 at eight o'clock? I can pick you up 7:30 if that's OK with you."

The smile on Frankie's face was wider than it has ever been at any time in her life. Her face almost didn't have enough room for it.

"Thank you. I would love to. I can meet you there. I think Pier 6 is only a few blocks from where I live."

"Great. I'll see you there at eight. Bye."

Frankie immediately threw the TV dinner in the trash and ran to take a shower and dress. This was only the second 'date' in her life. The first one was her junior prom and it was an utter disaster. The boy she went with was even shyer than she was, if that were possible. All they did was sit at the table and watch all the 'cool' people dance and talk. Nobody talked to them. The disaster happened near the end of the prom when Leroy, her date, asked her if he could kiss her. She said yes. It was to be her first kiss. Because of their awkwardness when they moved to kiss their faces bumped harder than they wanted and their braces became entangled. As they struggled to get untangled people saw the nerd antics and started pointing at them. When they finally got unhooked the band had stopped playing and everybody was crowded around laughing. Frankie never went on another date.

As she approached the restaurant Frankie became very self conscious about the new dress she was wearing. She thought it might be too fancy for the restaurant or that Ashley would think it was ugly or that she would spill cocktail sauce down the front. The insecurities that Frankie lived with all her life all reared their ugly heads at the same time. She turned to go back home when she heard her name being called. It was Ashley and he was walking down the street from the opposite side of the restaurant.

"Hey Frankie, I'm glad you could make it." He stopped in front of her and smiled. "Wow, you look beautiful. I love that dress. It really makes your eyes light up. Is it new?"

"This old thing? No, I've had it for ages. Just something I found in the closet."

"Well in that case let me get that price tag off the back for you." He reached around and pulled off the little string that held the sticker to the collar. "There now, we can go in."

He took her hand and a shiver went up her spine.

Dinner was absolutely wonderful. The food was great and the conversation was light and friendly. Every time she looked up Ashley was smiling. Frankie did a lot of smiling of her own. They talked about their work (both found it boring), where they were from (both came from different small towns in Connecticut), and what they wanted out of life (dreams of family and friends and success). After dessert they both sat quietly enjoying each other's company sipping their coffee as he reached across the table and took her hand in his.

Ashley insisted on walking Frankie home and he held her hand and wouldn't let go until she led the way. After walking hand-in-hand quietly through the city streets for thirty minutes they stopped at the steps leading up to her apartment.

"This is where I live," Frankie said with a hint of remorse in her voice.

Without speaking a word Ashley turned to Frankie and lightly pressed his lips to hers. Another shiver went up her spine.

"Thank you for a lovely evening, Frankie. I really had a good time. I would like to do it again, soon. Can I call you tomorrow? I think by then I'll have a craving for Italian."

"Yes, I'd love it. Call me tomorrow."

Frankie closed the door to her apartment and leaned against the wall to catch her breath.

********

"Damn it Geneva. I'm not going to be around too much longer and when I'm gone who will bail your ass out of jail. This is the last time I'm going to come to your rescue. You need to grow up. You need to get over that asshole Ashford. He's Lucy Bartlett's problem now. You just stay away from him. Get in the car."

The wealthy Mister Michaels had to leave an important meeting to come down to the station to get his daughter. He didn't care what her excuses were he was just sick and tired of paying off the officials to keep her name off of the police blotter. He swore that this was going to be the last time, but he knew better. As long as he was alive he would always help out his little girl whenever she did something stupid. And lately she's been doing a lot of stupid stuff.

Geneva looked like hell. Her clothes were dirty and torn, her hair looked like it was caked with mud and she reeked of alcohol. Her attire was the result of a knock down drag out fight with some sleazy prostitute she encountered at a bar in town. Geneva was in the bar looking for someone to take back to her apartment for an evening of entertainment. She had run through all of the friends, neighbors, acquaintances, and distant relatives around that part of Connecticut and began picking up strangers. The man she chose for her night of debauchery was a tall handsome fellow sitting alone at a table just inside the door. Geneva sat down and introduced herself and started talking to the man seductively. They exchanged a knowing look and started to leave when a woman walked in and started yelling and screaming in Geneva's face. Since Geneva never took grief from anybody she slapped the woman. That probably wasn't the smartest thing to do because the woman jumped on Geneva and rode her to the floor like a bucking bronco. The two women punched and kicked and spit and bit each other as they rolled around on the dirty bar room floor. Everybody in the bar just watched as the two women went at it. The bartender finally separated them but not without receiving a black eye in the process.

As the police took them away Geneva overheard one of the cops talking to the other woman.

"Patsy, I've warned you not to ply your trade in this part of town any more. You've already spent time upstate for the last prostitution charge and that pickpocket charge is still pending. This isn't going to look too good with the DA. I don't think I can help you anyway because you chose the wrong woman to mess with. That's Geneva Michaels. He father is the richest man in the state and there's no way we're going to charge her with anything. It doesn't matter if she is as free with spreading her legs for men as you are, she's from the Belle Haven elite and we don't dare touch her."

Daddy deposited her at the front door of their summer house with a warning to stay home until he got back. The chauffeur turned the Duesenberg around and left with the elder Michaels sitting in the back shaking his head.

Geneva cleaned the slime off of her body, threw her clothes in the trash, and put on a white bathing suit before depositing herself on a lounge chair by the pool and passing out.

A loud crash woke Geneva with a start.

"Sorry ma'am," the heavily accented voice from behind the bushes replied.

Geneva looked over to see a tall black man setting up the table he knocked over. He looked around sheepishly as he quickly did his job. When he finished he picked up his tools and started to walk away.

"Hey stop there," Geneva yelled over her shoulder. "Who are you?"

"I'm sorry Miss Geneva; I didn't mean to wake you. My name is Leon and I work for Harold, the groundskeeper. I was trying to trim the hedges over here without waking you and I didn't do such a good job. Sorry ma'am."

"Come over here and let me see you," she ordered.

Leon walked over and stood at the edge of the pool area patio with his head down and his hands folded in front of his lap. Geneva eyed him up and down and smiled her foxy little crooked smile.

"Where are you from Leon?"

"New Orleans ma'am."

"You got family here?"

"My uncle ma'am, his name is Benjamin. He works for Mister Harold too. He got me this job. I'm sorry I disturbed your nap."

"I won't tell your uncle or Harold if you help me do something. I need something on the top shelf of the changing room and can't reach it. Can you get it for me?"

"Certainly Miss Geneva."

Geneva got up and walked into the little changing area with Leon in tow. Upon entering she pulled the curtain closed behind them. Leon never did get whatever Geneva wanted down from the shelf. He was too busy watching her bob her head up and down on his massive black cock. She relished the feel of his shaft in her mouth, warm and hard tickling the back of her throat. She used her tongue to circle the tender head and flicked it over the length down to his dark curly hair, her hands gently massaging the sack underneath. It didn't take long before he was moaning and swaying. Geneva sucked Leon dry in just a few minutes. After swallowing everything he had to give she smiled up at him and returned to the lounge chair. Leon snuck out the back way, grabbed his clippers, and ran away as fast as he could.

Geneva was fast asleep in seconds.

********

Frankie was sitting on the edge of the bed feeling the slime in her mouth with her tongue. She ran into the bathroom and brushed her teeth and gargled. She wasn't used to the taste of a man's semen. It was definitely a new experience.

It was Saturday and Frankie did all the usual housecleaning chores she left for the weekend. After everything was in its place and clean she sat down with a book to read. Instead of another one of her graphic romance novels she started in on The Great Gatsby. It was finished and setting on the table when Ashley called.

He made reservations at Luigi's for eight o'clock. He would pick her up at seven. This time he would drive her across town to the restaurant.

Frankie thought about what to wear and realized that she only had one nice dress, the one she wore last night. She sped down to the clothes store a few blocks over and bought herself another nice dress. She also bought herself a nice matching set of underwear, not too sexy but nice looking. On the way back she bought some make up. She didn't know much about make up but the clerk gave her some advice, helped her pick out the right items, and showed her how to apply it all.

Frankie opened the door at seven. Ashley's face froze and he stood there with his chin on his chest.

"What's wrong," Frankie said in a panic.

"Nothing. You are absolutely gorgeous."

Frankie's cheeks turned red again and stayed red until she was sitting beside him in his car.

They ate and talked and even Mama Luigi came out to ask how the food was. Everything was perfect. When they got back to her apartment Ashley parked down the street and hand-in-hand they strolled back to her door. At her door Frankie wanted to kiss him again but didn't know how to go about it. It wasn't a problem because Ashley wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close for a long, tender good night kiss. Frankie knew what it felt like to be in the arms of a man from her dreams but actually feeling the warmth of his lips and the strength of his arms around her body was different from any dream. This was reality. Reality was good.

"Would you like to come in for a few minutes?" she asked timidly hoping he wouldn't say no.

"Absolutely."

Frankie made two cups of coffee and sat on the couch next to him. She was so nervous that the cups clattered on the coffee table as she set them down.

Ashley looked over at her and said, "Can I ask you a personal question? It's very personal so I'll understand if you don't want to answer it."

"OK"

"Have you ever been with a man before?"

Now her cheeks turned all shades of red as she turned to face away from him. After a long pause and in a very quiet and sheepish tone she simply said "No."

When she looked back he was smiling. "That's OK." He said and leaned over and pulled her face to his for another kiss.

"Just follow my lead and tell me if you get nervous about anything." He said after he pulled back from her lips. "I'll stop and we can talk."

All of Frankie's fears and anxieties moved to a far away corner of her mind. At that moment in time she wanted nothing more than to feel Ashley's naked body against hers. She wanted to experience the things she only dreamt about. She wanted to feel loved.

Ashley stood and took her hand to help her stand. He kissed her long and tenderly. He introduced his tongue to hers and showed her how to kiss back. While his arms were hugging her he reached up and found the zipper in back and slowly lowered it to the bottom. With a small step backward he pulled the dress forward off her shoulders and let it fall at her waist. The entire time he looked deeply into her eyes. She looked into his too. Ashley kissed her again and let his lips trail over the skin of her chin and neck down to her shoulder. His lips lingered on her shoulder as he smelled her perfume and felt the heat of her body.

It was Frankie's turn to take control for the first time in her life. While Ashley lingered at her shoulder she reached behind his head and intertwined her fingers in his hair. Her other hand took hold of his hand. In a single smooth motion Frankie stepped away and turned around and pulled him behind her as she walked to her bedroom. When she turned back to face his smile she allowed her dress to fall to the floor. This time he looked down at her. A shiver went up and down her spine as his eyes traced the curves of her body. He felt her shiver move up his spine too. The woman standing in her underwear before him was absolutely beautiful. The frumpy clothes she wore hid a magnificent body. The more clothes she shed the more heavenly she became. Frankie reached over and unbuttoned his shirt. She slid her hands inside the fabric and felt the hair on his chest under her palms. Moving her hands upward she slid the shirt back off his shoulders and let it fall to the floor behind him.

Not wanting to go too fast Ashley leaned in and kissed her as deeply as he had before. His chest hair tickled her skin as he rubbed his chest against hers. Without breaking the kiss he reached behind and unhooked her bra and pulled it forward between them. As they separated it fell to the floor and he got to look down at the two most perfect breasts ever put on a woman. Her breathing sped up as she stood there topless and let the first man ever to gaze upon the luscious mounds she kept hidden all her life. Another chill went through her as a fingertip gently caressed down from her collar bone to one of the mounds. The finger swirled around and around the nipple before the hand gently cupped the entire breast. Frankie let her head fall back as his hand kneaded the soft flesh. Then she felt his lips on her throat. She felt heat and moisture between her own legs. She wanted everything he had to give.

"Are you OK?" He asked in a throaty, whisper.

"Everything's wonderful. I want more."

Stepping to her side, but never losing the hold on her breast, he kissed her on the back of the neck. Now from behind he moved his other arm around her body to grip both breasts at the same time from behind. Her arms were pinned against her sides under his as he kissed from her neck to her ear. A tiny moan escaped from Frankie's mouth when he used his tongue on her ear. After working on her breasts for a time he moved his hands behind her and slid one up and down her spine. With the other he undid his pants and underpants and let them fall to the floor. He stepped out of his shoes at the same time. He slid one finger underneath the elastic band on each side of Frankie's panties. She gave a slight jump as his hands started moving down her hips taking the clothing with him. As he bent down holding her panties at her feet she lifted one and then the other to allow him to discard the garment. As he stood he saw Frankie's shapely bottom and allowed his fingers to trace the skin upward over the two fleshy cheeks. Another shudder traveled down her spine and ended between her legs. With his hands on her hips he gently turned the now naked woman around to face him. He stared at her body and marveled at how beautiful she was. He pulled her to him again and kissed her long and hard.

Frankie sensed that she was falling when she realized that Ashley was pulling her body on top of his on the bed. She felt the hardness of his cock against her pelvis as she leaned into him. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before. After twisting and turning for a moment or two the two lovers were laying beside one another on top of the bed kissing. Frankie felt his hand grip her wrist and pull it lower onto his body. He moved her hand over his cock and placed his palm on the back of her hand and pressed her hand into him. She responded by gripping the shaft and gently squeezing. She felt his hardness and the warmth and knew that she wanted it inside her. Ashley started kissing all over her face and neck and chest as he moved his cock up and down in her hand. Their breathing sped up. Their bodies glistened with a thin wet coat of sweat.