They were still in bed, and Sky had her head on Dev's stomach, blowing soft little whooshes of breath on his skin to make his body hair stir. His fingertips slipped lazily through her hair and across her cheekbone.
She kissed his belly button and rolled off the bed. He watched her stretch, clad only in her peaches and cream birthday suit, arms over head, back arched, breasts lifting as she pushed up on her tiptoes, sighed languorously and came back down.
"Tease," he said accusingly.
"Who, moi?" she said sweetly, her eyes like sparkling. "Never. Besides, it is my understanding, technically speaking, that a tease is a woman—for the purposes of this discussion, me—who entices a man—for the purposes of this discussion, you—into thinking he's gonna get lucky but almost always ends up with him having blue balls and feelings of sorrow, resentment, and bitterness. Dev," she gave him her best nude prosecuting attorney look, "Do you have blue balls and feelings of sorrow, resentment, and bitterness?"
He laughed. "Absolutely not."
Sky did a little naked victory boogie—which immediately became Dev's new all-time favorite dance—and announced, "I need a shower."
"OK," he agreed, "but first answer a question?" He held out his hand, and she took it, sliding back on the bed next to him. "Hmm." Dev cleared his throat. Sky rolled on to her back, and he laid his hand on her belly, which rumbled at him, making her laugh.
"Ask me before I starve to death," she prodded.
"What made you decide to," his hand moved down and caressed her mound, "be completely shaved?"
Sky laughed and rolled onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow. "What is it with guys and a shaved Queen Victoria?"
Now it was his turn to laugh. "Tell me you didn't just refer to your...."
"I did and shall continue to do so," she interrupted imperiously. "It's better than va-jay-jay, and if you want me to answer your question, you'll wipe that grin off your face immediately." They were both laughing by the time she finished talking. "OK," she continued when their laughter subsided. "My cheerleading coach recommended it. She told us this horrific story about a cheerleader who wasn't shaved and had her picture taken doing a split in mid-air. It was in the yearbook and everything. Can you imagine?" Personally, Dev thought it was fucking hilarious but didn't think it would be prudent to share that information with Sky. "Anyway, I was trimmed, of course, but she scared the crap out of me. I tried doing the landing strip thing, but I had trouble getting it even; so I finally said the hell with it and went naked." She sighed and gave him a sassy smile. "Turns out I like it a lot. It feels like a naughty, sexy secret."
He decided not to tell her that she was his first. "I like it, too," he said, pulling her down for a soft, wet kiss, which she returned in full measure.
"Satisfied?" she asked.
"Mm-hmm."
"'K." She rolled off the bed again and grabbed his plush resort robe from a chair, slipping it on and cinching the waist. "I'll return this," she said solemnly. "Promise."
He was surprised to see her gather her things and head for the door. She had her hand on the knob when he stopped her. "Where are you off to?"
"My room," she said with a smile. "Shower, remember?"
"Last time I checked, I have a functioning shower. Two, as a matter of fact."
She laughed. "Yeah, but unless you've also got a change of clothes for me, I'm going to have to go back to my room eventually."
"Well, OK, then," Dev answered, wondering why the idea of Sky walking out the door was so disappointing. She turned the doorknob and looked back at him, her mouth opening to say something, but he cut her off. "Lunch by the pool in an hour or so?" he asked.
She smiled, and her whole face lit up. "Yes, OK," she said. "See you there."
She blew him a kiss and stepped into the hallway, the door clicking shut with a finality he didn't like at all.
Dev lay back on the pillows, crossing his arms under his head as he considered the situation in which he found himself. He'd been with his share of women—his friends would probably say more than his share—and Sky was not the first younger woman he'd taken to his bed. The thing was, he'd thought of the others as girls, probably because of the way they talked, or dressed, or failed to get his jokes or engage in conversation. He enjoyed their young, firm bodies, casual approach to sex, and willingness to do just about anything in bed...or in the kitchen...or on the patio...or in the back of a taxi. He liked introducing them to new things like Kama Sutra positions and fine wine. Sometimes they were around for a night, sometimes for a week or longer; and when it was over, he liked kissing them goodbye knowing he'd treated them well and they left with no hard feelings. And he never missed them when they were gone.
"So what if she's smart. And beautiful. And funny. And sexy as hell," he said to the ceiling. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, and his foot touched something silky. Sky's stocking. He slid it through his fingers, remembering the way she'd gasped as he skimmed it off her leg, kissing his way from thigh to calf and back up to find her warm and wet and willing. Of course he liked her, but the reason he couldn't stop thinking about her was just the sex, he decided. After all, he'd practically been a monk the last couple of months as he wrapped things up at the office and made the final arrangements to get his business started. A weekend of hot, uninhibited sex with a young, enthusiastic woman was just what he needed. He draped her stocking over the back of the chair and headed to the shower.
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As she walked down the hallway to the elevator, Sky wondered if this would be considered a walk of shame. Having witnessed her roommate's early morning return to their apartment wearing wrinkled clothes, shoes in hand, and make-up and hair a wreck more than a few times, she thought it probably didn't.
Her cell phone, which she had left on the nightstand overnight, was singing Katy Perry's "Firework" as she entered her room, but rather than making a mad dash for it, she let it go to voicemail, then checked her missed calls. Ugh; three from her mom, two from her best friend, and one each from her brother and her boss. She redialed her boss and left a message, then tossed her phone onto the bed and stood to pace the room, stopping at the window for a moment, looking at the pool without seeing it, before moving to the mirror, where she studied her reflection.
She searched for traces of the audacious woman she'd been the night before but found only herself staring back, leading her to the conclusion that she really was that brazen, which opened a whole new set of things to think about. She was surprised to find herself standing at a precipice and wasn't sure how she got there. She wanted to step off, to see if she'd fall or fly, but held back. She'd played it too safe for too long to risk everything all at once.
