Cluttered by audio gear, Ethan’s apartment boasts thousands of vinyl records, on shelves or leaning against the walls, minus one burned-out overhead light.
Milly uses a pull-up bar mounted above the doorway, then switches grips and, gritting her teeth, does a second pull-up.
“Look at you!” Ethan smiles. “I put that in. Another reason my landlord hates me.”
“It’s a rental?” She points at an abstract sculpture built into a nearby wall.
“Yeah, I made that. I’d already lost my deposit.” He opens the fridge. “Beer?”
“No, thanks.” Inspecting his countertop, she taps a broken corner. “Is that damage or modern art?”
Ethan chuckles. “Both.” He puts the unopened beer away.
Milly gives him a little smile. They kneel next to each other on the floor. As she pores over his stacks of vinyl records, he tells stories about each one.
“How many albums do you have?”
“I lost count.” Ethan presents three: Macklemore, Sir Mix-a-Lot, and Nirvana.
Before he can ask, she answers: “Seattle.”
Ethan nods, impressed. “Let me play you something.” He stands and steps to the phonograph. “The laser has total fidelity, never a scratch! From Japan.”
She giggles. “Nerd.”
He pivots. “The top shelf — reserved for the best.” Ethan holds up a seven-inch vinyl single: Eternal Flame by The Bangles.
Milly’s face droops, eyes losing focus.
In their home in Utah, years ago, Damien caressed his shaggy hair, then took the vinyl off the turntable. He spun and held up the Bangles record. “What was the best lyric?”
Milly raised her eyebrows. “When she’s lonely, he’s taking away her pain.”
“Nope!” Damien sang the lyric incorrectly: “And you belong to me!” He kissed her. “My wife!”
“Hello?” Ethan waves. “Is that a no, then?”
Milly blinks. “I’ve heard that one already.” Her lips settle into a tiny frown.
He selects a different record.
🎵 “All Through the Night” – Cyndi Lauper 🎵
“OK, you tell me what you want next.” Ethan returns to kneel with her on the floor.
Milly places his hands on her waist. Kissing him, she begins unbuttoning her blouse.
He caresses her belly. “That’s fabric — a skin pad. Did you just get a tattoo?”
She nuzzles him with her hair. “I don’t have any.” She straddles his lap.
Ethan brushes the hemline of her skirt. “Fur?”
“Rabbit.” Milly moves her hips in a slow half-circle, then freezes, hand gripping her side. She emits a tiny whimper.
“You OK?”
Nodding, she exhales.
“You sure?”
“Absolutely.” She pulls away. “I just need to spend some time on my back.”
Ethan tilts his head like a confused puppy.
Standing slowly in front of him, Milly unfastens the last button of her blouse. It falls open. She unzips her skirt, letting it slide down her long legs to the floor.
Ethan looks up; his jaw drops.
Milly pushes the fingertips of both her hands together, then reaches out. “Take me to bed.”
What happens next is brief, unremarkable, and not worth the energy to mention.
Ethan’s eyes blink open in the wee hours. Streetlights slice bands of light through the windows of his otherwise dark apartment. The bare skin of Milly’s back curves towards him as she kneels in front of his records. Ethan rubs his eyes. “Hey.” The air filter is loud. “Hey!”
She turns, holding the album H20 by Hall and Oates. “I’m smelling your records.”
Ethan tilts his head. “What?”
“As a teenager, I found records. I read them before hearing them.” She opens the cardboard and breathes deeply. “But I smelled them first.”
His lip curls with amusement. “You know you give off kind of a homeschool vibe, right?”
“You have no idea.” Milly rises, slinks over, and slides into bed facing Ethan. Caressing his arm, she says, “This time, stay close to me at first and pace yourself.” She inches nearer, easing her hand down his side. “But when the moment comes”—she yanks his hip towards her with a firm and instructive thrust—“like I’m your rental, and you’ve already lost your deposit.”
His mouth opens, flabbergasted.
She kisses it, slowly.
When her lips finally leave his, Milly nods. “Ready?”
He gulps. “Definitely.”
Milly wraps her leg over Ethan’s waist, rolling him on top of her. He starts slowly; she moves with him. Later, Milly whispers something in his ear. As he goes to town, the whirr of his air filter set to “MAX” cannot muffle their commotion. She grips Ethan, her silvery bracelet pressed into his back. Milly smiles, eyes crossing, quivering as the bed shakes. As he rolls off her, grinning and panting, she exhales in satisfaction. Milly immediately falls asleep. Ethan stares at her twitching lips, then drifts off.
The first sex scene is SO well written! So reminds me of a story my late brother-in-law once told me.