2023/08/13 - Sunnie LaMatina 01

If you refer to my "Introduction" you'll note that I promised to keep you in the loop as to the development of the relationship with my life partner Sunnie LaMatina. I'll start with a recap of the important points raised in the "Introduction", then I will carry on with the narrative.

My name is Jacques D'orméveux, and I am senior partner at North America Sex Therapy (NAST), a private practice specializing in sexual counselling.

NAST originally began as a small counselling practice, and did not originally focus on sexual matters. My master's and doctoral degrees provided the springboard that allowed my practice to assume its original form.

The change in focus (and the change in name which followed) resulted from a fortuitous meeting between myself and a young lady who appeared at my office to answer an advertisement seeking a research assistant.

The day that Victoria Paola "Sunnie" LaMatina walked into my office changed not only the direction of my practice, but also changed my whole life. She became not only an indispensable component of NAST, but the love of my life. When this tiny woman breezed into the room, I knew something was different.

She was the fourth candidate I'd interviewed for the opening. The feeling in the air suddenly changed. I watched her walk toward me as we introduced ourselves, and I felt time stand still. She struck me as bashful and lacking in confidence. So, to put Miss LaMatina at ease, I began the interview by telling her to stop me anytime she had a question. Well! Once that door was opened, she charged through and took control.

In short order, she was interviewing me. She wanted to know about this and that, you know, ordinary stuff. And suddenly she hit me between the eyes and asked "What about sex?" I said "What about it?" She had done her homework and was appalled by my practice's lack of focus on sexual matters.

She fixed me with a gaze and said "Jack," (she dispensed with "Doctor" and never could call me "Jacques") "sex is everything. We don't only fuck to live, but we live to fuck."

OK, now to fully fathom the depths of my shock, you would have to see this woman. She is a mere slip of a girl. Maybe 4 foot 11 tall. If she weighed 90 pounds it was because she'd just finished a Christmas dinner. Frail and delicate everywhere. A modest bosom that only looked voluptuous on a frame as scant as hers. Mousy and studious. A sweet face and a shy demeanour. She would look down nervously at her shoes, then gaze up at me hopefully.

She was a study in every contrast imaginable. Just as she seemed as if nervousness might cause her to bolt from the room, she would slide forward in her chair tentatively until our knees were nearly touching. She had a sweetness and vulnerability that made you want to take her in your arms and reassure her that everything would be all right. She mixed a hesitant approach with a slow buildup that culminated in a gentle touch on my knee that shot lightning through me, and then she fixed me with a gentle gaze that soothed me to my core.

There was something so non-sexual about her that when I asked her why she seemed to know so much about "living to fuck", her answer caused me to stop breathing:

"Because, Jack...... I'm the biggest slut you will ever meet."

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I wrapped up the meeting and started to thank her for her interest, intending to tell her that I would be contacting her with my decision after I'd finished conducting interviews with the remaining candidates: "Well, Miss LaMatina... er... Missus? Miz?...." I felt the stuttering down to my toes. "It's Miss, but before long you'll be calling me by my first name." "OK, OK," I began, "Victoria, or do you go by Vickie?"

She smiled warmly, put her hand on my forearm and told me "Jack, my friends call me Sunnie. You and I are going to be friends. I'd bet my life on it."

"Well, Sunnie, I'll confess that you've got a positive attitude and it's refreshingly infectious, but I'm not really interviewing for friends as much as for a research assistant. And, oh, when I'm not being addressed as Doctor D'orméveux by employees and colleagues, I am called Jacques."

She chuckled and drew it out to ludicrous proportions just to try it out: "Zhaaack", she almost seems to say it to herself, looking away at the wall in a sideway glance. Then she chuckled again, fixed me with a look for which I simply have no adjective, and half whispered "Jack, we will meet again. Call me anytime you're ready." And then she floated out the door.

I stood behind my desk with weakened knees and fell into my chair. I was sweating so I gave the button on the air conditioner a quick jab. I intercommed my secretary Gail Friday, and let it be known that the interviewing process was at an end. Gail smirked knowingly, "She's the one, isn't she, Doctor D?"

"Um... not sure what you mean, Gail..."

"Doc, I saw the way you looked at her, and I saw the way she looked at you. She's special. I mean, tell me you didn't feel it!" I gave a shrug of resignation, and left for the day.

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Home for the evening, I opened a bottle of wine, and opened my briefcase. I pulled out the interview files of all the candidates. I spent about five minutes skimming the details of all the candidates but one. I saved one for last.

The other three had rung my chimes in a superficial and purely professional way. There were two males and one female. They all seemed to have impeccable credentials. Masters degrees, one and all. I wasn't looking for doctorates at this point. Didn't need a partner for the practice. In fact, a bachelors, combined with the right experience would be all I'd have expected for a research assistant. But we were in a down market and people with masters degrees were looking for work.

I saved the best for last. Victoria P. LaMatina. Just handling the file got me buzzing. Unlike the cold, clinical vibe I got from the others, reading her résumé took me on a trip that I found enthralling. I read about her educational background (bachelors), followed her from job to job, experience to experience. I tried to read between the lines, such was my hunger to get to know her better. I googled her. Checked out her social media. It was a revelation.

She was 4 years my senior. I'd never have guessed. She was well-travelled. She still had family in the old country. One set of grandparents and a boatload of cousins still lived in Tuscany. Her mother had come to Boston to study as a foreign exchange student, and ended up marrying an American whose parents had migrated from Rome to Providence as newlyweds.

She spent some time in Europe, was fluent in Italian and French, and could fake her way through German and Spanish. She was photogenic in the extreme, and posted pictures of herself in beautiful settings as she travelled. And almost always with a man by her side.

When I say "a man", I don't mean the same man. No, there was a different man in almost every photo of her. She was unmarried, and had no kids. It made me wonder about her lifestyle. Her words rang in my ears, the more I thought about it: "Jack...... I'm the biggest slut you will ever meet."

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My heart was pounding in my chest and I felt a stirring in my loins as I looked at the beautiful photos of her. A light sundress in Rome, jeans and a hoodie in Stockholm and a bikini in Mallorca. I scrutinized her detail for detail. She didn't have the prettiest nose or mouth I'd ever seen, her complexion wasn't rough but it wasn't peaches and cream either. She was too tiny to be voluptuous. What was it that, taken in its totality, just seemed to work for her? Those eyes! That smile! It had to be the contrast that I found so alluring. The eyes were soft and gentle but the smile seemed wicked and playful.

Unable to sleep, I made a decision. With a trembling hand, I reached for my iPhone. Checking the contact info on her résumé, I programmed her phone number into mine. Then I composed a text:

"Good evening Miss LaMatina. Just reread your file. Wanted to know as much as I could about you. You are an interesting lady. I've been doing my homework. Thanks for coming by the office today, it was really nice to meet you. Forgive the late hour. I'm sitting up in bed reading and not sleeping well. Are you busy or have you gone to bed?"

I hesitated. Too much familiarity! What would she think? I held my breath and hit Send.

Minutes later my phone pinged. There was her reply: "Both"

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I smiled at the implication. I can't say she hadn't warned me. But now it was time for a little fun.

I texted her back: "Please forgive me if I caught you when you were busy"

She replied: "Jack, I'm a very busy girl. If you tried to wait for downtime, we'd never text"

I was shocked but intrigued: "Miss LaMatina, you have company so I'll let you go. Good night"

Then there was radio silence for 10 minutes. I turned off the light to sleep when I heard the ping.

"OK I sent him home. Not busy anymore. And by the way I told you my friends call me Sunnie"

"Sunnie... how did you get Sunnie out of Victoria"

"Always liked yellow sundresses, and my college friends came up with it. To the family I'm still Victoria"

"Well Sunnie let me apologize for getting in the way of your evening. Hope you and your guest weren't too upset"

"Jack, he wasn't thrilled. He thought he was in for the night LOL. But the evening's fun was one and done, so no biggie. I'd rather talk to you anyway. You're special"

Wow, special. Not sure what that meant but it sure made me feel good. Hell, Gail told me at the office that Sunnie was special, and now Sunnie was telling me that I was special. Hmm, I'll admit that I did have a special feeling. I must have dwelt on the buzz a bit too long because I heard another ping.

"Jack, you still there or did I put you to sleep already. I'll bet you were doing your homework. Did you see pix of me on line. I'll bet you saw Mallorca. I'll bet that's why you just had to text me. That's OK Mehmet liked the bikini too"

Oh My God. How the hell does she know what I was doing. She must think I'm the biggest pervert on the planet. Checking out her on-line cheesecake. Drooling over her little rack. Oops I'm running afoul of texting etiquette and letting my mind run when my fingers should be texting.

"OK Jack, I clearly sent Justin home prematurely. You don't want to talk to me. I'll call him, maybe he didn't get too far"

"Sorry Sunnie. I'm just kind of shellshocked that you knew I was perving over your bikini shots. Who's Mehmet, your boyfriend?"

"He was the boy-du-jour in Mallorca. He's in the photo with me. I like to remember the scenery when I travel, and remember my companions. I think he was with a tour group from France. I culled him from the herd for a day or two"

"Gotcha so Justin is your steady boyfriend then?"

"Nope. Justin was a bedwarmer. My only steady has batteries and sits in my nightstand"

"Ha Ha Sunnie when do you ever find time to use an appliance, what with a steady supply of Mehmets and Justins"

"Jack, you cut me to the quick. You make it sound like I'm a depraved slut. Where did you ever get that idea. Oh yeah that's right I told you LOL"

"Well I guess I cut into your evening's depravity, but it must be OK. You said I was special. I hope you mean special in a good way"

"Baby, you are special in the best way. I knew it the moment I met you. No amount of depravity is worth missing out on such specialness... is that even a word?"

"Um, Sunnie, you just called me baby", I replied without the benefit of a tongue-in-cheek emoji.

"Ooh look at me taking liberties.. I usually wait till I'm hired before I call the boss Baby. Don't report me to Human Resources LOL"

"I kind of liked it. But I am going to have to put it in your employment record, young lady"

"Oh now you've gone and done it, Jack. Calling me young. I did my homework too you know. I know you're only 28 and I wish I still was. Flattery will get you to the moon and back....Baby"

"Sunnie, I googled around and noticed that you're 32. But looking at you I find it hard to believe that you're older than 22"

"Marry me! Ha ha I'm not the marrying type but you're definitely on track for that moon and back deal. So now that demerit in my personnel file you were talking about... when does my personnel file become active?"

"Sunnie, how soon can you start?"