Frank and Elyse

Frank had an epiphany. These were likely the 'neighborhood wives' Beverly's husband Rick had been talking about. Beverly had found a way to get back into their good graces. By introducing them to the new arrivals. He'd play along for now as he was interested in getting to know the neighbors too. Funny how none of the men were making the same effort. Maybe they were at work and he'd see them later.

"Hello." He gestured behind himself for Elyse to join him at the door.

"Good day! I'm Holly Marshall and this is Heather Cumberland. We live in the houses across the street." She gestured to the houses on either side of Elyse's who had reached his side by this point. Holly's eyes narrowed ever so slightly in reaction to the beauty standing next him.

"Hi, Frank Dunn and this is Elyse... Williams." He recalled what Elyse said at the failed dinner party.

They shook hands and Janice and Kelly stepped forward to shake Elyse's hand and make introductions.

"Beverly tells us you are painting and I know it's short notice but we thought you might like to escape the paint fumes and come over to lunch at my place. Just some sandwiches and drinks. A 'get to know you' lunch," Holly said with a smile.

"That's very nice of you," he said and glanced at Elyse as he knew she had other things in mind for their time.

"That would be lovely," she agreed.

"I, uh, should probably get changed," Frank said looking down at himself.

"If you are going to be doing more painting later don't bother changing. It's just a casual lunch." Holly said with a smile and her eyes did a quick appreciative pass over his body.

"Maybe I'd-"

"Let's go!" Elyse said before Frank could protest further. The women all smiled at Elyse.

He glanced at her then slipped his runners on his feet as Elyse pulled her shoes on. They stepped outside and Frank locked up then followed the group to Holly's place. He saw Beverly was smiling, happy to be included.

Holly's home was lovely and probably twice the square footage of his. Tastefully furnished, he saw some serious money had been spent here. Based on some of the artwork, very serious money.

She led them to the large solarium at the back of the house behind the kitchen where there were a number of comfortable chairs arranged around low tables. A perfect spot for conversations. Holly gestured for them to take a seat while she and Heather went back to the kitchen to get the food and drinks.

Frank noticed there were no two seaters and the chairs were positioned to be equally distant from each other. He looked at Elyse but she seemed to be comfortable with finding a seat. He took the chair next to hers. The others took their chairs but they left the two chairs to Frank's left open for their hosts.

Holly returned with a large tray of small delicious looking wraps. She pointed out the ones with chicken, the ones with tuna, and the veggie wraps.

Heather set a tray down with a large jug of sangria, seven glasses, and paper plates. She handed the plates to Holly then poured for everyone, handing out the glasses.

Frank put a couple of the wraps on his plate and waited for the others to get theirs. Holly was playing the gracious host role and she seemed to have had a lot of practice.

She was 5' 8" and had generous curves that were likely gifted to her surgically. She had a symmetry that seemed just a little too precise to be natural, breasts a little too high and perfectly round to be natural, and an ass... well, it couldn't be natural either. Her sun yellow blond hair cascaded down to midback. She was probably a few years older than him.

Her friend Heather was far too slim. Maybe she starved herself. Her modest implants were made all the more obvious by the lack of fat anywhere else. Her raven black hair was currently braided into a thick bundle hanging down to almost her ass.

Holly raised her glass once everyone was seated again. "Here's to welcoming our new arrivals to the neighborhood."

Everyone joined in the toast and they sipped at the sangria. Frank thought it was very good if a little strong. He'd have to be careful with his consumption of this beverage. It was easy to forget its bite.

He took a bite of a chicken wrap and it was really good! "Delicious!" he said with a nod to Holly.

"There's a lovely catering place in town. We use them when Daryl entertains here at the house. My husband's company in Silicon Valley designs military satellites so he spends most of his time flying between San Francisco and Washington," she said in an offhand manner but there was no mistaking the boast. Frank nodded with a suitably impressed look earning him a satisfied smile from Holly.

"Heather's husband is a movie producer in LA. You may spot him in the area on weekends. Janice's husband is the financial controller of a major pharmaceuticals manufacturer in San Jose and commutes. Kelly's husband is an investment banker right here in Carmel."

"Though you'll only ever see him on the golf course," Kelly pouted.

It was obvious that aside from Beverly whose husband seemed to be retired and comfortable staying home, none of the husbands in this group spent much time with their spouses. Frank felt a little worried about that as they were currently looking at him like cats watching a mouse.

"Beverly tells us you're retired! You seem so young to be able to retire! How did you manage that? What did you do before?" Holly exclaimed leaning towards him with a bright smile on her face.

Frank was a little unnerved by her but nodded. "Yes, I'm retired now. I worked at a company I set up over twenty years ago. We specialized in making deals happen between larger companies. We were facilitators, identifying obstacles and finding ways to work around them or eliminate them. Sometimes that meant finding and bringing the right people together. Sometimes it meant buying or backing companies to help them grow quickly and efficiently to be able to partner with larger companies. I brought in partners about eight years in and we grew very rapidly ourselves. I ended up handling most of the acquisitions which meant lots of traveling, sometimes nice places but most often not so nice places. Some aspects of the work were unpleasant and I was forced into dangerous situations more than once. Luckily none of them proved fatal. I'm glad it's over. When I retired I sold my majority shares to the other partners."

Frank noticed that all eyes were on him including Elyse's. He realized this was the first time she'd heard what he'd done as well. He smiled at her and she returned it with a twinkle in her eye.

"Now I'm just going to try my hand at writing. Elyse is an editor for a publishing house in LA so I've asked her to let me know if I have anything worth publishing." Frank grinned at her.

"Stories of your travels to these dark and dangerous places?" Heather asked, her eyes just a little intense.

"I- I don't think anyone would be interested in reading about that and I'm not sure I'd want to revisit those memories myself. I'm certainly never going back to those places," Frank said quietly as he struggled not to let his mind dredge up the past. He forced a smile on his face. "No, I'm alive, safe, and healthy so I'm going to enjoy my retirement!"

Frank took another drink of his Sangria and popped the rest of the wrap he was eating into his mouth. It really was very good. "I'd love to get the recipe for these wraps!" he said looking closely at the wrap on his plate. They added something to the chicken he just couldn't put his finger on.

"Oh, do you cook?" Holly asked.

"Frank is an excellent chef! He made an exquisite chicken and chorizo paella for us last night! It was so good! Even his grilled cheese sandwiches are delicious!" Elyse gushed and Frank smiled and tipped his head.

"I do like to cook. I find it very relaxing," he admitted.

"I look forward to our next potluck dinner party! It's become an annual tradition to throw a party for the neighborhood. Everyone brings their specialty. Daryl fires up the barbeque and broils a bunch of steaks. Heather mixes up gallons of her amazing sangria, everyone gets involved and there is a lot of food! You could make your paella?" Holly asked with a small smile on her lips.

"I've never cooked for more than two people." Frank said. "Always smaller dishes for intimate dinners." When he heard his words a blush crept up his cheeks. He glanced at Elyse but she was innocently sipping her sangria. "I- I'll have to see what I can make for a bigger group."

"I'm sure anything you make will be lovely," Holly smiled.

"Are you a fan of sports? Football? Baseball?" Heather glanced over at Kelly with a smirk. "Golf?"

Frank was wondering why he was the only one being asked questions. Elyse seemed content to sit quietly but he felt like he was running a gauntlet.

"No, I've never really had time to dedicate to sports. I was always working and when I wasn't I was trying to escape from the bustle by hiking in whatever woods were nearby or cycling," he answered.

"Yes, Janice mentioned they bumped into you at the drugstore this morning while you were out cycling. Is riding a hobby of yours?" Holly asked with a coy smile.

"Yes, I really enjoy it. It gets the heart pumping and builds endurance," he said enthusiastically.

Janice and Kelly began giggling while Holly and Heather wore identical looks of delighted amusement.

Frank looked at them in confusion. "Did I miss something?"

"I'm sorry, we just heard what you were shopping for at the drug store and we got a little carried away in our imaginations. It was rude of us and we apologize." Heads nodded but they were still looking at him like he was a delectable chocolate bonbon. "We obviously have a little too much time on our hands and seeing a new, and handsome, face in the neighborhood has lightened our spirits. I hope you can forgive us," the ringleader said with a pouty smile.

Frank's face flushed red as his mind connected the dots between the condoms and 'riding' double entendre. "I see I'm going to have to choose my words very carefully around you ladies."

"Where would the fun be in that?" Holly grinned.

"I hate to disappoint but I'm just not that exciting." Frank admitted and the women looked to Elyse. Their smiles grew and Frank looked quickly to Elyse but she was just looking back at him with an innocent smile. "Et tu, Brutus?"

Elyse laughed and patted his arm. "I said nothing Frank but I can't agree with your statement."

Frank wasn't sure how to react to that. He was aghast that she was even hinting at their personal business but he was also secretly delighted at her opinion of him. His conflict must have come through his expression as the ladies chuckled.

"Frank you are already proving to be a delightful addition to our neighborhood!" Heather said and the rest nodded.

"Aside from teasing the neighbors what do people do for fun around here?" Frank asked.

"Yoga, going to the gym, visiting spas, book clubs, walking clubs, movie nights and we do volunteer work on several charities." Holly explained.

"Sounds like a busy schedule," Frank suggested.

"Actually it's not busy at all." Heather lamented. "We get so bored!"

"Have you ever done any cycling or hiking? Exercising while getting a change of scenery does wonders for the soul."

It looked like they were actually contemplating the idea though a few of them got mischievous smiles on their faces as they let their imaginations wander.

Frank glanced at Elyse. "Lunch was lovely but I think we'd better get back to it. Elyse is working and I have to finish up that painting."

Elyse nodded. "Lunch was delicious! Thank you so much!"

"I look forward to our next get together. Once I get the house all fixed up and have some actual furniture I'll invite everyone over for dinner," Frank offered and received wide smiles for that.

Holly walked them out to the front door. She gave Elyse a double cheek kiss and Frank received the same with the addition of having her breasts firmly pressed against his chest. Flustered, Frank said his goodbyes and caught her satisfied smile as the door closed.

They walked back to his place in silence. Once they were inside Elyse started to laugh and Frank looked at her in surprise.

"Oh Frank! You are in so much trouble!" she giggled.

"What? What did I do?" he asked.

"It's not what you did, it's who you are! A virile male lamb amongst the man-hungry she-wolves of Carmel!" she said theatrically with wide eyes.

"Oh come on! I have no intention of 'entertaining' a bunch of bored housewives!"

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. "Good! Because I don't intend on sharing you."

He smiled happily. "Good, because I'm a one woman man."

She kissed him and he felt his body floating away. When she pulled back he wobbled a little on his feet.

They heard a warbling coming from the kitchen. "Damn, that's my two o'clock conference call." She pulled away and he gave her butt a fond little spank. She looked over her shoulder at him with lust in her eyes then she was out of sight.

Frank dragged his mind back to his painting task and powered through the rest of the job.

Hours later Frank was dressing after taking a quick shower. He'd finished the painting, removed the tape and drop cloths, and cleaned his tools. Then he'd taken a shower to get the paint off of him. He pulled on a pair of dark grey slacks, a dark blue dress shirt, socks and he felt presentable once more.

He walked out into the kitchen to see Elyse busy typing away on her laptop. She looked at him and smiled widely.

"Mmm! You look delicious! Are we going someplace?" she asked.

"Yes, I thought I'd take you to a nice restaurant in town for dinner. I made a reservation earlier. Then I thought we could take a little walk, window shop, get familiar with the town. Outside of cycling through town I haven't really spent much time looking at the place. We could use that time to talk, get to know each other."

She smiled at him and nodded. "I'll need to get changed. When is our reservation?"

"In an hour."

Elyse looked at the clock and nodded as it was 5:45PM. She saved her work, disconnected from her office, and shut down her laptop. She stood up and followed him to the front door. She complimented him on how impressed she was with how professional his painting job was. She promised to be back in thirty minutes.

Frank kissed her amazing lips then drank in her beautiful smile as she turned and left. He was still amazed this beauty wanted to spend time with him.

He went back inside to tidy up.

Chapter 14

Elyse quickly got freshened up. As it was getting cool outside she put on a black yoga top, black leggings, then her cream color oversize turtleneck sweater which reached mid-thigh and dark brown, low heeled knee high boots as they'd be comfortable for their walk. She looked in the mirror and smiled. Getting dressed up felt so much better when you knew someone else was going to appreciate the effort too.

She locked up and crossed the road as Frank pulled his Jeep out of the garage. He got out to close the garage as she walked up. He slowed to a stop as he took in how beautiful she looked in the cream sweater. She saw he was a little dazzled and that felt so good! She saw him get his mind back and pull the garage door closed. As he was locking it she saw it was the same door that she had.

"Are you going to get an automatic opener for your garage door?" she asked as he made his way back to the Jeep.

He looked back at the door and shrugged. "I hadn't really thought of it."

"I want to get one for mine," she commented.

"That's probably pretty easy to install. Would you like me to install one for you?" he asked as they got into the vehicle. Elyse flashed back to her fantasy of Frank installing one wearing only some tight shorts. She grinned and nodded as he looked at her curiously. He got them on their way.

It only took a few minutes to drive to the restaurant and find a spot to park. She held his arm as they made their way to the front door. "The restaurant got excellent reviews. I hope you like Mediterranean or Middle Eastern cuisine," Frank said with a hopeful smile. She nodded to him and he seemed relieved.

They were seated at a lovely table and handed menus. Frank suggested the hummus and pita appetizer and she agreed.

She decided to stick with something light for her entre as she was already getting butterflies in her stomach thinking about what the night promised.

They ordered and once they were alone they smiled at each other across the table.

Elyse took a sip of her water. "You mentioned we should get to know each other. While it's only been a few days, it feels like I've known you for much longer. I don't know why I feel like this. I'm not impetuous. Especially about... being intimate. It usually takes me much longer to let down my guard."

Frank nodded and sipped at his water as well.

She continued. "I've told you about the men I've allowed into my life and what happened. You are so different from them. Maybe that's it."

"I'm old... older." Frank said, suddenly appearing uncomfortable about their age difference for once.

She dipped her eyes then looked at him with a smile. "You're not old. It's true you're a little older than me but the men I married were younger than me both physically and mentally. They were boys in men's bodies. I see that now, Frank. You, you're a man. What a man should be."

He snorted and smiled.

"I mean it! You're masculine without being offensively macho. I can't believe I was taken in by Derrick and Michael's showy bravado. I thought that was what it meant to be a man."

Frank was beginning to look uncomfortable. "Elyse, please don't paint me as some ideal. I'm far from perfect. If that was the case... if that was the case we never would have met."

Elyse blinked at him and thought of that.

"I'm flattered but I screw up as much as the next man. Perhaps more." He wore a frown as he said this.

Elyse reached across the table and took his hand in hers. "I didn't mean to imply you were perfect. No one is. We're just human and we make mistakes. I was just letting you know that in comparison to my ex-husbands you are a far better example of what a man should be. You've opened my eyes to what I should have been looking for. While I would never wish for you to go through what you did, for purely selfish reasons I'm glad you're not perfect and life brought you to me."

Frank looked a little overwhelmed by her confession and was only able to smile and nod to her.

The waiter arrived and took their orders.

Elyse noticed that Frank was watching her nervously when he thought she wasn't looking. She caught him doing it and he blushed. "What are you doing?" she asked.

He fidgeted then looked into her eyes. "I- I'm having this... surreal feeling that all of this is a hallucination brought on by the trauma. The idea that I'm sitting across from an amazing and stunning woman who actually wants to spend time with me, who wants me in her life, it- it doesn't feel real! I keep waiting for the bubble to burst. To find myself back in the law office wiping her spit from my cheek again."

Elyse gasped. That bitch spat on him!?! She hated that Stephanie had hurt Frank so badly. She reached across the table once more, grabbed his hand and held it tight. "Frank, this is real!"

She saw his eyes focus on her and a shudder went through his body. He clung to her hand and took some deep breaths. When he finally opened them again he looked embarrassed once more.

"Here you are saying I'm such a shining example of what a man should be yet I'm just broken," he said apologetically.

"Frank, you're not broken. You're hurt. There's a huge difference. You'll heal. Give yourself time. I believe you are worth it," she gave him a smile and he lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed it. When his soft lips caressed her fingers a spark shot from them through her body. She bit her lip as a warm buzz spread through her sensitive bits.