weeks were like a dream. Alessa couldn’t believe how much she had missed by dating no one seriously before. If Alessa and Remo weren’t together—which they were at least five nights a week—they were talking to each other on the phone for hours. They discussed her past more than anything else. Remo asked a lot of questions. Not because he was looking to unearth more secrets she might have kept from him, but because her life had been so bizarre and strewn with difficulties, it made him curious about how she had made it through. He couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the details yet. Although two whole years older than her, he thought of her as far more mature than he and others his age could ever be.
One Saturday night, Remo took her to the Irish pub in the city to meet his friends. Alessa was nervous about the impression she would create. The two entered the bar and, following Remo’s gesture, they made their way to the table where his friends sat waiting with their girlfriends. As the two approached the table, her posture stiffened. For there, among Remo’s friends, was a man she recognized as a client from the go-go club in the city. She knew little about him, except that he had been a frequent visitor, and she recalled performing several lap dances for him. She could see from the knowing look he gave her he had recognized her immediately.
Sensing her sudden withdrawal, Remo looked at Alessa. He knew his friend frequented the go-go clubs and quickly assumed he might have been a customer at the one where Alessa had worked.
Remo excused himself and Alessa for a moment and led her to the bar. He ordered a soda for her and a beer for himself.
“What’s going on?” Remo asked. “You know my friend from the go-go club, right?”
Alessa was mortified. It had not occurred to her that she could run into former clients when she was with Remo. “Yeah, I do,” she confessed. “This is super awkward. He used to pay me to perform a lot of lap dances for him.”
“Okay. Did you ever have sex with him?”
That she was being asked this question by her boyfriend made Alessa’s stomach twist. “No, never,” she answered quietly. “It was lap dances. But he has seen me practically naked. The last club I worked at had very low standards for the dancers.”
Remo’s response surprised her. “Well, good,” he said matter-of-factly. “Then he knows how lucky I am to have a woman as hot as you. I hope he’s jealous. Relax, okay? Honestly, I don’t care what anyone thinks, and neither should you.”
Alessa rose on tiptoes and planted a wet kiss on his cheek. “It amazes me how all of this doesn’t get to you. Aren’t you ashamed of me?”
Remo jerked his head back, and his eyes grew large. “Ashamed?” he asked. “Ashamed that you were a stripper? Why would I be ashamed of that? Listen, until other people walk in your shoes and live your life, they can’t know or understand anything about you. So relax.”
When they went back to the group, they quickly joined in the conversation. The girlfriends noticed that Alessa was different. She was quiet and didn’t wear stylish clothes. She was attractive in a unique way, but it was the way she connected with all the men that annoyed them the most. It was as if she fit right into their world effortlessly. Remo seemed extremely pleased with his catch and set the girls wondering why he had picked Alessa over all the others he had dated.
After catching up with his friends, the two eventually left the bar and went back to Remo’s apartment to hang out. They had been dating seriously for a month. Remo kissed her on the sofa. Before they knew it, they had moved into his bedroom. It was clear they both understood what they wanted from each other.
Yet, Remo asked, “Are you okay with this? I don’t want to move too quickly for you.”
She merely smiled and kissed him back passionately.
Remo took it slow, aware that Alessa had never made love with a man that involved passion or who gave her pleasure. He was sensitive to her needs. He touched Alessa as though she was made of glass, and she let out a silky soft purr. Remo took it as confirmation he should go ahead.
Remo looked at Alessa and asked, “You okay?”
She looked up at him as if in a haze. “Yeah, it’s never been this good before . . . with anyone else. Don’t stop. Please.”
As Alessa and Remo made love for the first time, she experienced sensations and emotions coursing through her body that she didn’t know existed. It was as wonderful as it was exciting. When they were finished, they lay back on the bed, tangled into one.
“I’ve never had an orgasm with a man before,” Alessa confessed.
Remo propped himself up on his elbow. “Are you serious? You’ve never had an orgasm?”
Alessa smiled. “No, I said I never had one with a man before.”
Of all the things she’d shared, this information concerned him. He was looking for a long-term relationship and didn’t want to share her with anyone. “Are you telling me you’re gay or bi?”
Alessa laughed out loud. “No, I’m not gay, but I’ve only had one orgasm in my life. My best friend in high school gave it to me. I told her I’d never had one and she, you know, did whatever until I did. It was purely educational and nothing like what I experienced with you.”
Remo smiled. “I guess that’s not a bad friend to have. When will I meet her?”
Alessa’s eyes clouded. “Rhonda died when we were teenagers. Remember, I told you how her mother, Zoe, helped me? Rhonda was shot by the wife of one of her mother’s boyfriends.”
Remo scooped Alessa into his arms. “I do remember. I know that Rhonda meant a lot to you.”
They held each other tight, and an hour later, they slept peacefully in each other’s arms.
The next morning, Remo drove Alessa to Ebby’s house to pick up Lucy, who had stayed there the previous night. The little girl came running out into the kitchen to give them both suffocating hugs.
“How come you guys didn’t take me with you last night?” she inquired crossly. “I had fun here with Ebby, but she could have come, too. Ryan probably wouldn’t have come because he likes to stay home and watch television.”
“We went somewhere kids aren’t allowed to go,” Alessa explained, “but I think it’s time for Remo to cook for us again. What do you think, Lucy?”
Remo grabbed hold of the child and tickled her. She giggled uncontrollably, but when he stopped, she shrieked, “Tickle me again, Remo!”
Ebby looked on, hoping these three perfect humans would, one day, become a single-family unit.
