Frank and Elyse

He blinked and started breathing and moving forward again. He hadn't realized he'd come to a standstill as he gazed at her. Her eyes were twinkling with joy as she smiled at his appreciation.

"Good morning Frank!"

"Good morning Elyse! Sleep well?"

"So much better now that the mattress is off the floor! Thank you!" she responded and stepped back to let him enter.

He kicked off his cycling shoes and made his way back to the kitchen, aware that she was taking a good look at his ass in the tight pants. He began to swell in the front so he moved up to the counter to hide his now obvious reaction to her. He spotted the bag of tools he'd loaned her on the counter as well.

"How are you finding working remotely?" he asked.

"It's a little too quiet. I'm used to a group of ladies sitting around me gossiping all day. I tuned them out mostly but I guess I miss the sound of other people nearby. I hadn't thought of that."

Frank was putting away the groceries and nodded as he recalled his own work experiences. "I used to travel a lot for my job and spent way too many hours in hotels in cities all over the world connected to the office with my laptop. I did all of that alone. It is lonely."

Elyse went still and her eyes locked on his. "So you were on the road a lot? Lonely? While you were away from home you never sought... companionship?" she asked carefully. There was a tightness in her voice.

He looked deeply into her eyes and saw pain there. Ah.

"No. I couldn't and wouldn't. That's not who I am," Frank said quietly. "Your exes?"

Elyse nodded and dropped her eyes.

"Fools," he growled and quickly left the kitchen to put the panniers in the closet by the front door. He was trembling in anger at the thought of these two men hurting Elyse. It was nuts as he didn't know them at all and barely knew Elyse. He had to get control of himself. He took some deep breaths and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Are you ok?"

He turned to see her concerned eyes gazing into his. His heart leapt into his throat. He cleared it.

"Yes, sorry. It just threw me a little to know they hurt you like that. I guess I'm just a little sensitive to the issue," he shrugged not looking at her.

"Did Stephanie-"

"If you don't mind, I'm going to go take my shower now," he said with a weak smile and eased past her to make his way to his bedroom. He closed the door and stripped his sweaty bike clothes off. He stepped into the shower and stood under the hot water, feeling it loosen the tight muscles. He knew he was still running from the truth of what Stephanie had done. He knew he was partially responsible. He just truly hadn't faced it head on. She had beaten him verbally with it again and again but he was trying desperately to keep it from touching him. From touching the last and best memories of their marriage. Why he was fighting so hard to keep that he didn't know.

He washed his hair and body on autopilot as his mind was miles away. Finally, he stepped out and dried himself off.

He pulled on some underwear, socks, khakis and a comfortable short sleeve button down shirt. He picked up his laptop and left the bedroom, walking back to the kitchen to see Elyse typing away on her own laptop. She stopped when he arrived and faced him.

"I'm so sorry for asking such personal questions," she said contritely.

"No, it's fine. My apologies for being overly sensitive. I'll have to ask for your patience," he said quietly.

She nodded and gave him a small smile.

"Would you mind if I shared the table to do a little work of my own?" he asked.

"Please! I'd welcome the company," she said with a smile.

Frank got himself set up and checked up on some banking details his lawyer had contacted him about. He confirmed the latest deposits were going into his accounts and worked on a note back to the lawyer.

Occasionally he would catch Elyse smiling at him but she'd quickly look away when he'd look over at her.

His curiosity buzzing he had to ask. "Ok, what is it?"

"Your laptop suits you," she said with a grin and he looked at the device in question. He didn't get what she was trying to point out.

Due to the amount of traveling he'd done to some pretty rough places, he'd purchased a machine with an armored case. Military spec protection for the delicate electronics inside. Over those years the machine had taken a beating but continued to work dependably. He'd upgraded the guts several times but the outer shell showed its years of service in places. When he left his company the machine came with him.

He shook his head as he looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Its wide screen is like your shoulders, the black rubber is dark like your hair, and the screen has two silver patches at the tips like your temples," she grinned.

He pulled the screen towards himself and sure enough there were two silver metal caps protecting the top corners of the screen under the rubber shell. He smiled at Elyse and shook his head as she grinned back at him. He finished off his message and shut down the laptop.

Looking at the clock he saw it was approaching the lunch hour.

"Would you like some lunch? I was going to make a grilled cheese sandwich," he asked.

Her smile turned into a grin. "I haven't had a grilled cheese sandwich since I was a little kid! I'd love one!"

He smiled back and nodded. He'd picked up sour dough bread and several bricks of good cheese at the grocers. He pulled a bottle of olive oil from the cupboard and a brick of unsalted butter from the fridge. Elyse got up from the card table and walked over to watch what he was doing.

He cut four generous slices of the sour dough from the loaf. He took a grater from a drawer and made three piles of grated cheese on a cutting board; Parmesan, Old Cheddar (orange) and Swiss Gruyere. Then he got a large frying pan from under the counter. The pan went on the stove on high heat. He buttered one side of each slice of bread while he waited for the pan to heat. He added a little olive oil to the pan and turned the heat down to medium after swirling the oil around. He added two slices of bread and sprinkled on the cheeses in thick layers, topping it with the other slices of bread, butter side up.

The smell of the butter melting and the cheese oozing out filled the room. He flipped the sandwiches over after four minutes to let the other side become golden and crispy as well. After another four minutes he scooped the sandwiches out of the pan onto the cutting board. He moved the pan to a back burner and shut off the stove. Frank then sliced the sandwiches diagonally to make two triangles and lifted them onto the plates.

"Would you like a glass of milk with your sandwich?" he asked and she clapped with joy.

He poured two glasses and they moved to the card table.

"Oh my god this smells delicious! I was expecting sandwich bread, margarine and processed cheese slices!" she gasped.

"That can taste good too but this..." he took a bite and sighed with happiness, "This is divine."

Elyse took her first bite and the cheese melted across her taste buds. When she finally allowed the food to be swallowed she looked at Frank with bliss. "This is amazing!"

"Comfort food," he agreed with a content smile.

She nodded as she had a mouthful of the wonderful sandwich. They didn't speak again until they'd both finished their lunch and washed it down with the cold, fresh milk.

"Frank, you're spoiling me."

"What?"

"First the delicious chicken caesar salad now this! I would have just popped a slice of bread in a toaster and slathered peanut butter on it."

"That sounds tasty too," he replied.

"Please! It's not in the same league as the meals you've made! You're a genius in the kitchen!" she said as she rubbed her happy tummy.

He smiled bashfully. "Thank you but it's really been pretty simple stuff." He paused and looked at her. "I have to go out this afternoon to pick up all the paint and supplies. I was thinking if you don't have plans for dinner I could make us a chicken and chorizo paella. If you don't have dinner plans already... that is," he finished, stumbling over his tongue.

"Paella? I don't think I've ever had that. I'd love to try it though. How about you bring it over to my place and we'll have dinner there," she suggested.

He allowed himself to relax a little. "That would be perfect! Are you ok with dinner at 7:30PM? That would give me some time to get some painting done too. Eating at your place also means no smell of paint."

"Sounds like a plan!" she grinned.

"Great!" He stood up and collected her plate and glass. He proceeded to clean up the kitchen while she went back to work.

When he was done he went out to his Jeep and drove over to the local hardware store. He picked up the supplies and waited for them to mix the paint for him, linen white. He also picked up white ceiling paint and white paint for the baseboards and the crown mouldings.

When he got back he immediately began masking all of the baseboards and crown moulding so he could paint the ceilings and the walls in the areas he intended to do. Then he taped down the drop cloth in those areas as well.

Occasionally Elyse would wander out of the kitchen to watch him work. When he'd catch her she'd grin and disappear back into the kitchen to do her own work.

When he was done preparing the area he wandered back into the kitchen to get a glass of water and she looked up from her laptop. "Sorry for being such a distraction from your work," he said.

"It's not your fault. I'd much rather be helping you than doing this," she sighed.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm an editor. I'm editing a book for one of my company's authors. Unfortunately I find him incredibly dull. He has a following so he continues to get published. I'm the third editor to be assigned his work. Apparently you can only work with him for so long before a homicidal urge to throw him onto a bonfire made from his own books becomes overwhelming."

"Huh."

"What's that mean?"

"You're an editor. That's great! I may need to pick your brain in a little while," he answered.

"Oh?"

"One of my goals now that I'm retired is to finally sit down and write the novel I've been carrying around in my head for the last few decades. Maybe once I've written a few chapters I could ask you to take a look at them and tell me if I'm just wasting my time." He saw she was looking a little worried. "You won't hurt my feelings if you tell me it stinks. I've never written a book before and I have no idea if I have the talent to do so. I'm not hinging any future life goals on my ability to get the book published. It's just something I thought I'd try."

"What kind of book is it?" she asked.

"What would you call a story about a detective solving a case?" he asked.

"Detective Fiction," she replied.

"Oh. Ok, it's one of those," he smiled sheepishly.

"Sure, I could take a look. Several authors I've worked with specialize in that genre so I have a pretty good idea of what sells and what doesn't," she agreed.

"Thank you in advance then. Listen, I'm going to start painting now. I'll do the ceilings first and I'll try to be careful and not drip any paint but be careful when you walk through," he said and she nodded.

He nodded in return and headed down to his bedroom. He needed to change out of his clothes and put on the painter's coverall he got at the hardware store. He stripped down to just his underwear as the coverall didn't breathe and would be hot. Once he got it on he realized it was a flimsy thing but at least it would keep the paint off of him. It was a little tight around his chest and arms.

He went back out to the front hall and began there. He had a step ladder to help him reach the ceiling with a paint brush to get the edges all the way around. He wouldn't have to get so close with the roller now. The ceiling paint was thick and didn't drip... much. He made quick work of the foyer ceiling with the roller.

He moved into the living room and once more made his way around the circumference of the room with a paint brush. Next came the roller work and he was making excellent progress when he suddenly spotted Elyse standing in the kitchen entrance watching him with a distracted but sexy smile on her face. He stopped and looked at her. She jumped and turned to go back into the kitchen but stumbled and bonked her forehead against the doorjamb.

"Owww!" she winced with her eyes closed, rubbing the sore spot.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, more embarrassed than hurt," she moaned.

"See what being distracted gets you?" he grinned.

She pouted and disappeared back into the kitchen.

He focused on finishing the ceiling and got back into his groove.

The painter's coverall was so bloody hot he was sweating to death in it. Finally he couldn't take it any longer so he undid the buttons to the waist and pulled his arms out of the sleeves. He pushed it off his shoulders and used the sleeves to tie it around his waist. Now his sweaty torso was bare but at least the coverall wouldn't fall down.

Feeling better he made his way back and forth across the ceiling slowly making his way closer to the kitchen. He began to hear the oddest sound as he pushed the roller back and forth in slow sweeps. He thought maybe the roller was beginning to jam as the sound seemed to get louder when he was stretched out or pulling back. He watched the roller carefully but it didn't seem to be binding at all.

Then he stopped moving and the sound kept going. He turned his head because the sound was coming from the doorw-

Elyse was there, watching him with wide eyes. She was the source of the noises!

"What are you doing?" he asked quietly.

Her face flushed as she seemed to realize she was the one making the moaning noises. She grimaced and looked back at him in embarrassment. "Sorry about that!"

"No really, what were you doing?"

"I- I think I was moaning,"

"Yes, it sounded like a moan. The question is, why were you moaning while I was painting?" he pressed.

Elyse ducked back into the kitchen. When she returned she had her laptop in her arms, clutched to her chest. "My workday is over so I'm just going to head home. I'll expect you over for dinner a little after 7:30PM?"

He nodded in confusion.

"Great! See you then! Looking forward to it!" she said quickly, pausing to pass her eyes over his glistening chest muscles once more before she darted across the room and out the front door.

Frank stared after her in puzzlement. What the hell happened?

Chapter 12

Leaning back against the inside of her front door she thumped her forehead with her fist in frustration.

She'd been moaning! Out loud! God, how embarrassing!

It was bad enough that she kept finding herself standing in the kitchen doorway watching him work. Then he caught her and she banged her forehead on the doorway. Worse yet, when he was working topless she was unconsciously moaning as she watched him bunch and flex his sweaty muscles. She couldn't help it! It was so fucking sexy!

She closed her eyes and rested her head back against the door. She had to get moving or she'd dwell on this and end up curled into a little ball on the floor.

It was only 4:20PM and she had until 7:30PM. She should run some errands. She should pick up some dessert for after the paella. Maybe ice cream. Everyone likes ice cream, right?

And wine! While she'd been distracted today she looked up a suitable wine companion for Frank's paella and read about a nice fruity rosé from France. She wanted to find it in town.

She also wanted a garage door opener. Maybe she could find someone to install one for her.

Her mind suddenly filled with an image of Frank wearing only a small pair of tight shorts up on a ladder installing the opener. His hard muscles were glistening with sweat and his eyes burned with his desire for her.

SWAT!

She slapped her forehead to evict these devilish thoughts.

"Ooo!" she moaned as her stinging face had taken too much self-abuse today.

She pushed off the door and moved to put her laptop away. She grabbed her hoodie and headed back out. She had errands to run.

She spent a few hours searching for the items in town and was back home by 6PM to get ready. The wine went in the fridge to chill, the ice cream went into the freezer to harden and she rushed down the hall to get freshened up herself.

Elyse showered, washed her hair, and shaved her legs. Then she shaved her intimate areas as well because... you never know.

Next came the lotion to soften her skin. She used an unscented cream as perfumes gave her headaches. She was delighted that Frank wasn't a cologne user and seemed to use unscented personal hygiene products as well.

Her hair was straight so she just used a brush and her hair dryer to dry and give it some body. She didn't like adding gels or sticky sprays on her hair as she preferred it to be silky smooth.

A careful application of some eyeliner and eye shadow finished off with a lip gloss to moisturize and accentuate them. She got the impression from Frank that he appreciated a more natural look. She glanced at the time and saw she had to hurry. Lingerie and another off the shoulder knit dress, red this time and without the wrap. Red high heel pumps finished the outfit.

The doorbell rang and she jumped. With a final glance in her mirror she rushed down the hall to the front door and opened it to see Frank standing there with oven mitts on, holding a large cast iron frying pan with a lid on it. She watched his eyes widen and his lips curve into a smile as he gazed at her in appreciation. A tingle shot from her head to her toes.

"Frank! Please come in." She stepped back as he manoeuvred the pan in the door. He slipped off his loafers by the door and followed her into her kitchen to set the pan down on the stovetop.

"Do you want the element on?" she asked.

"No, it's done. Ready to serve," he replied. He stopped to admire her outfit. "You look breathtaking!"

She was busy drinking in his masculinity with her eyes. He had on a black dress shirt, open at the collar under a grey, herringbone tweed jacket and dark slacks. His hair was still a little wet from the shower but that just accentuated the silver patches at his temples. She felt an almost tangible pull towards him.

"Right, so... do you have plates and a serving spoon?" he asked as she stood there silently admiring him.

"Sorry, I was just- you look... dreamy," she sighed and he chuckled.

"I don't think I've ever been called that before. Thank you!" he said more than a little self-consciously.

She finally got moving and put two plates on the counter and handed him a serving spoon. While he scooped out their portions she quickly set the table. Tablecloth, napkins, cutlery, wine glasses (empty) and water glasses (full). She glanced back at him and decided to add some candles. Once they were lit she moved back as he set the plates down. She collected the wine from the fridge and the wine cooler from the cabinet above the fridge.

"I picked up a bottle of wine. I read it goes well with paella. I hope you like it!" she said.

"I hope you like the paella!" he returned with a hopeful smile.

He held her chair again and she felt a secret thrill run through her. He sat across from her as she opened the wine and poured some into their glasses.

"Oh my god Frank, this smells and looks delicious!" she gushed.

"It's one of my favourite recipes. I don't make it very often... actually I haven't made it in... some time, but I thought I'd like to share some with you."

She lifted her glass and chuckled. "We seem to be toasting quite frequently."

Frank looked at her in mock dismay. "We forgot to make a toast with our glasses of milk at lunch!"

She giggled at his silly look and raised her wine glass. "To amazing food with amazing people!"