Contrasts by Charles Arnold

else in the box, just the shear top. She held it up. It ended above her crotch. Her bare hairless pussy would be fully exposed. ‘I’m to greet him wearing this and those obscene shoes, ’ she thought. ‘And I’m to kiss this black stranger. I must open my mouth when I kiss him and he will probably put his tongue in my mouth. ‘She felt as if she might scream or break down crying again, but there were no tears left.
    Paul had heated up some soup and poured two goblets of red wine. He tried to start a conversation, “The video cameras are where he said they’d be. None in the bathroom though.” She stopped eating and stared across the table at him until he looked away. They finished the meal in silence.
    She was taking a shower when she heard the phone ring and Paul answering it. When she had dried and wrapped herself in a towel, she returned to the bedroom. Paul was waiting for her. “That was him,” he said. She took up the musk scented oil and began rubbing her body with it. Paul watched fascinated. Her body was new to him. He’d not realized how perfectly proportioned and how firm it was; flawless skin, smooth pink nipples that jutted out, the full round curve of her ass, the shapely legs, tiny red tipped toes, small waist. He watched the oil bring a sheen to her skin. The thought occurred to him that she was preparing herself for a black stranger. He felt his cock stir.
    He glanced at the plastic bag containing the plugs and quickly looked away. “He sounded young,” he said. Ann ignored him. “He’ll be here in about a half hour.” Ann shot him an angry look and sat down at her makeup table. Paul cleared his throat, “Ah...um...I was wondering, Ann, about contraceptives. I don’t think he will...”
    She reached into the makeup kit and held up a plastic container. “Ninety days worth,” she said without turning around.
    “Did you...”
    “Yes, this morning. Do you think I’m stupid?” In the large makeup kit before her was an array of lipsticks, glosses, rouges, mascaras, and nail polishes. Her hand shook as she picked up a lipstick tube. She put it down and turned to Paul. “What else did he say?”
    “He wanted to know if we had any beer.”
    “Do we?”
    “Yes.” Paul looked at her then looked away. “He also said to tell you to wear what was in the box.” She nodded. “Before hanging up he said for you not to put that...that plug in. He wants to do it.”
    Ann started to stand then sat down again, “Oh my God!”
    “I’m sorry, Ann,” Paul said. “Deeply sorry.”
    She turned away from him. He went back to the kitchen and sat at the table cursing himself. It took Ann ten minutes to compose herself enough to apply the lipstick, gloss, and mascara. She brushed her hair, fastened the string of pearls around her neck, and buttoned the shear lingerie top before putting on the stilettos and fastening their straps around her ankles. She practiced walking in them. She was still unsteady but improving. She looked in the mirror startling herself. The image bore some resemblance to what she was used to seeing, but differed in ways that were so dramatic she began to blush. Her breasts were clearly visible under the transparent top. The hairless slit of her bare pussy looked prepubescent. The four inch heels were, she thought, obscene. Her oiled body seemed to glow in the soft light. The fullness of her lips was exaggerated by the bright red lipstick and the gloss that covered them. She was both astonished by and ashamed of the transformation.
    At nine o’clock Paul heard a car door slam and then the front door chimes. He recalled that his contract required him to defer to the black man and to welcome him to his home. He was to feel proud that a black man had chosen his wife. In his heart he knew he wanted to kill whoever was on the other side of that door. When he opened it he stepped back, speechless. It was a short skinny kid, maybe seventeen. The kid was wearing an oversized gray hooded