The Last Lover of Elfrieda Voltz

Chapter 1

When Elfrieda first saw him, she was standing in the middle of a crowded shopping mall, waiting to buy a cookie. As she ordered it (salted caramel, pecans) she happened to look up from her mobile, and straight into the greenest pair of eyes she'd ever seen. Taking the cookie with one hand, she tucked her phone away and extended the other.

"Hi, I'm Elfrieda," she said, and waited for it.

"I'm Shane," he replied, before adding the inevitable, "Elfrieda's an unusual name."

"So's Shane, actually," she was pleased to reply—for once—before following it up with her standard quip. "But my friends call me Free. Free by name, Free by nature," she added, her teeth flashing white against her Strawberry Shimmer lipstain.

It was his double-take at that point that had her reassessing the situation. It wasn't that he was shocked; more, he was obviously unsure what she meant by that, and she was laying it on just about as thick as she knew how. So. Not her age, then, or even the year or two younger she'd thought-good grief, what if he was actually still a teenager?-but after a split second, his answering smile made up her mind for her. He might be out of his depth, but he was game. She could work with that.

Besides... those eyes. She'd always been a sucker for a pair of gorgeous greens. Without further ado, she made her actual move.

"So, Shane—what time do you get off work? And would you like to get off, when that happens?"

That time, his double-take had her nearly laughing, half in amusement, half in anticipation. She liked that look; it was the look of a not-quite-man who's just realized he's in with a chance, and he wants whatever's on offer, but is still not sure how it happened.

And then, he did startle a laugh out of her-one that came out of her belly, but which she felt vibrating several inches lower.

"Sure thing," he said, almost smoothly, "I finish at 9; and then, I'll see if I can make you finish, shall I?"