After another plate of pot pie and a glass of wine, Gale felt as if he'd won the lottery. This had all been such a risk. What if she would have been a nut case? What if he'd been wrong about the feelings he'd had when he read her works? He set the plate in the sink and took his glass into the living room, joining her on the couch. It made his heart flutter when she crawled over to him, putting her arms around him and giving him a hug.
"What are we watching?"
"Oddly enough,
Particles of Truth
."
"Oh, no! Please turn it. I don't want to watch myself."
She flipped through the movie channels and settled on
I Heart Huckabees
, smiling when he laid his head on her lap. She set the remote down, picked up her glass and ran her fingers through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes. "I'm glad you came."
"I'm hoping to cum some more." He gave her thigh a playful squeeze and she gave him an answering shove. A goofy grin on his face, he nestled back against her legs, sighing in happiness. "I'm glad, too."
When the movie ended, neither party knew it because they were deep in an embrace, kissing each other like love-starved teenagers. Gale had missed being with a woman like this, passionate, spontaneous, all-consuming. There was something about Velvet that was protective like a mother hen and sexy like a cute girl who lived next door all wrapped up into one package. She was Martha Stewart one minute, then Pam Anderson the next. She was perfection. And she was married.
He made love to her in the living room and in the den in front of the fire before taking a shower with her and heading back to the big bed. She was so vibrant, so alive, so loving, so giving that he convinced himself not to think about what would happen a few hours from now when he had to leave. She was perfect for him, flawed but unapologetic, intelligent but childlike, beautiful but unknowing. A conundrum that he would be more than happy to spend a lifetime trying to solve.
He slept but he awoke early, checking the clock as she lay spooned in his arms. Eight o'clock. Chauncey would arrive in an hour and a half and he would be out of her life. Might not be forever but it would feel like it.
"You're supposed to be sleeping." Her drowsy voice brought his eyes down to meet with hers. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." He tucked his chin into the side of her neck, inhaling her scent of sweat and shampoo. "Just thinking about leaving."
She reached back and ruffled his hair. "I know. I've been thinking about it, too."
"Gonna miss me?"
He regretted asking the question when he heard the tears in her voice. "That's a stupid question."
