he was 20 years my senior, dark haired and rough. he was the only tolerable conversation at the event, so we left together to keep it going. after the snowy trudge up the stairs to his place, i was amazed at the cozy comfort inside. canvases were propped wherever there was a space on the floor, tons of them. as he went to the bathroom, i knelt before one of the larger paintings. a woman in shackles, head back, mouth open in an harem scene. when he came out, he said "everyone sees a prisoner". i saw flushed cheeks and the look of someone who had been pleasured. her hands looked so tiny in the painting and i put the fingers of my right hand up to hers. he took the fingers of my left hand in his and i became the woman in chains...