The day dawned wet and rainy. Their mingled moans still echoed in the room, the smell of their bodies together permeating the stale air. They had spent the day in each other's arms, forsaking spouses, carefully crafted identities, even the jobs they told people they loved.
It started innocently, she was outside a bar, having a smoke, relaxing a bit before she jumped on the train and headed home. He asked her for a cigarette, maybe wishing for relaxation, to rekindle a lost memory, he couldn't be sure. Neither could remember their conversation; there was an introduction, perhaps a shared joke.
"You got another cig?"
"Yeah." She digs through her purse, finally finding the pack and handing it to him with a shaky grin. He takes it, fingers warming against hers for a moment, before shaking one out and putting it in his mouth.
"Thanks. My wife keeps telling me I need to quit."
"Yeah, mine too. Oh, notβI mean, my husband." She laughed nervously, shaking her head at the mistake, moving closer to light his cigarette. Her hands cup the flame protectively for a moment before the tip catches.
He smiled and shrugged, blowing a puff of smoky air toward the grey sky.
"You from around here?"
"Yeah. Born and raised in the East Bay. You?"
"East coast, Long Island, actually."
"Oh I see. Why'd you come here? Running away from the weather?"
She pushed damp curls back from her face and smiled, trying to remember the last time she cared what anyone thought of her looks. He glanced down tapping a finger against his cigarette and laughed.
"Sure. I mean, not really. The wife, she hates it over there. Says it gets too cold in the winter. I proposed, and she says yes, but only if we're gonna be in California." His eyes meet hers for a moment, and she feels her cheeks grow warm as she thinks of him staring at her face, mocha complexion, light red lips, cheeks a bit pink in the cold, the expanse of her neck, bared to the elements.
His eyes travel, stop at her ample breasts, and she feels her nipples growing hard. He fidgets, as if suddenly afraid or surprised, she's not sure which. She laughs, reaches out a careless hand and smoothes the shoulder of his jacket, dusting small raindrops into formless blobs of water.
"Blackmail. Effective technique." He nods, alluding to their conversation, it seems like they began talking ages ago.
"Would you likeβto get a drink?" He is hesitant, but she is sure.
"Yeah." She lets him lead the way back to the bar, where their hesitant conversation merges into one loud, long laugh. It has been so long since she let go, when he invites her to a room in a hotel, she can hardly say no, is not afraid of seeming immodest, simply nods her head, and slips her hand into his.