"I don't have any friends", I mumbled to him as he asked me what I do with my free time.

"I didn't really see around here in this town much before tonight", he asked while he saw me wipe myself with my towel.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "I've known a lot of people here in Beardlsey, including your parents" he said, "but I they never mentioned you much."

I was looking for my panties. I really hoped they would show themselves to me because I didn't want to stay naked for so long before him in this way.

"I guess there isn't much to mention there" I replied, "I am just a librarian, nothing much special about me."

While I was trying to avert his gaze, I heard him gently clear his throat. I looked up kind of reflexively, and saw him holding up my pink lace panties with that grin and a sideways glance that made my insides melt.

I felt my cheeks burn as I reached out for them from the other side of the bed. He handed them to me while looking at my face. I was too shy to make eye contact but while I was moving my gaze around I saw this amused expression on his face like he was witnessing something interesting. Maybe he sensed my discomfort.

"So you've never had any friends, ever?" he asked while I sat on the edge of my bed with my back towards him. "I do have friends, just not many close ones", I replied.

"What does that mean?" he said with a chuckle. "I have Charlotte, she works with me at the library", I caught myself saying these as I found my bra exactly where I remembered my panties were. "But she is not fun when she is drunk". I decided to wear my tshirt instead. I hoped that we would be making love once more in a while.

I turned towards him to see that he was intently staring at his phone screen. Did he even listen to what I was saying? I wanted to ask him that out loud. I decided to stay quiet to see if he'll notice that I've stopped talking.

"So this why you were at the bar alone?" he asked rather sternly without shifting his gaze.

"Not really. She also has a life, unlike me." I peeped into his phone trying to see what he was really doing.

He turned his phone away and looked at me. This time I could not resist looking away. He had a gentle smile while his eyes looked into mine. I felt coyness in them, as if he noticed me trying to peek into his phone but he was mildly amused by that.

I didn't say anything for a few seconds. "What do you do with your time if you don't have any friends? Who do you go shopping with?" he murmured in a low husky voice, looking at my mouth.

"Oh I don't enjoy shopping really" I replied, kind of apologetically. "I think you can tell that from my clothes" I said smiling while gesturing towards what I was wearing. He chuckled again and sat up a bit, bending a bit forward while looking at me intently. I thought I have caught his attention now.

"I was in the town after a very long time" he started. "My mother really liked the library"

I remembered what my mother said about his mother, Mrs. Catherine Darcy, the day she died. "She was the last kind person of the Darcy family" I remember her saying with certain sadness.

"I'm sorry about your mother, I heard she was good", I replied awkwardly, even though I have never heard anything about her in my life. He fixed his gaze on my feet.

"I am sure my mother misses her." I desperately tried to bridge the awkward silence.

"How long have you been working in the library?" he asked.

"Almost two years now" I said eagerly. "and when did you graduated from college?" he asked abruptly. He switched between topics a lot. As if he doesn't want me to steer the conversations.

"last year" I replied. "What was your major?" he asked.

"English lit" I replied. He gave a smirk that seemed a bit mirthful to me. "What?" I asked smiling a bit. "I always forget the charms of this…" he paused for a few seconds as he furrowed his brows, probably filtering his thoughts, "town" he said with the mirth intensified while he reached for his phone. "What would you like to eat?" he asked with an instant change in his tone.

"What do you mean?" I asked again, retaining my smile but starting to get a bit frustrated as well.

"Don't get me wrong, Liz. I was expecting you to be more like your parents. You are kind of basic." He said.

"Is it a bad thing?" I asked.

He looked at me for a couple of seconds and then burst into a gentle laugh. I didn't know what else to say, I felt a bit stupid.

"No, little Liz, it is not a bad thing" he said to me like a grown-up, "maybe you're too young to be anything else right now."

I felt a huge weight dropping down my stomach. Was he making fun of me? For a few seconds I felt a bit ashamed.

"Elizabeth? Would you like some pizza?" he asked peering into my face, as if he just didn't say all those things he did.

"How old are you, Frank?" I blurted out, almost shouted at him.

He started to laugh. "I'll be 36 in December" he replied.

"36? Are you serious? Aren't you said to be the youngest Darcy?" I said to his face. "Really? They call me that?" he replied with the same grin and amused expression, "so you have heard about me?"

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"I'm just a bit surprised that is all" he said getting a bit defensive, "I thought that I knew everyone in the town."

"You kinda do" I said looking away, "at least the important ones anyways."

"But how young did you think I was?" he asked.

"I don't know, I didn't know you were that old. You definitely don't look old" I said slightly embarrassed of myself, "I mean like, not in late-30s or something… you know…."

"I'd take that as a compliment Elizabeth" he said in this low, calming, melty voice while he moved his eyes to my mouth again. He stroked my thigh and ran his hand to my knee and calf. His hand paused at my calf, where he stroked my stretch marks. I tried to pull away my leg. He gently held it.

He pulled himself closer to me. I tried to make eye contact but I felt smaller and smaller every second. Finally I looked away towards his big hand that was still on my leg.

"You are exactly what I need right now, Elizabeth." He murmured seductively as he nuzzled my hair. "And what is that you need?" I whispered nervously.

"Someone who doesn't talk much, just like you" he said as he gently pulled my face towards him.

"So what are we? Dating?" I asked. "No" he replied, "I hope you don't mind".

"No I really don't" I said as he kissed me. It was like I was biting into sweet soft butter. I felt like was slipping into his embrace.

"Are we friends?" I asked as he paused to let me breathe. He pulled me onto his lap as I felt something that made my head fuzzy.

"You want to be friends with me?" he asked as he slipped his hands into my tshirt and moved them along my tiny paunch in a way I never thought any man would.

"No" I replied frantically as I gave myself in completely and he picked me up and laid me down on the bed.

This time I made sure I remember where he was putting my panties after taking them off.