I got a call a few days later from Claire. She thanked me for giving Michael a good time, and told me that I was welcome at their place any time. That was when I first learned that they were living together, and my heart sank as I realized how deep their commitment was becoming. Oh, well, I thought, at least I had him for one glorious night.
As it turned out, I had a wedding to go to in three weeks. The wedding was in Elizabeth, only a few miles from Newark. I texted this information to Michael, but was surprised to receive a call back...from Claire. "Would you care to visit us while you're there?" she asked. "We could have dinner, and you could stay overnight. No need to rush back to Wilmington, I hope!"
"I'd love to! I'm looking forward to meeting you, after all Mike has said about you!" (And what woman can't resist checking out the competition?)
"It's a date, then! We'll pick you up wherever you are, and we'll go straight to the restaurant. The best French food in Newark, I'm told."
And that was how I found myself after the reception, waiting for my ride. A Prius drove up, and it was Michael.
"Hop in, Jessie! Claire got a little hung up at work. She'll meet us at the restaurant." It was a short drive into Newark, and we parked the car around the corner from the restaurant.
And there she was, sitting at the table, waving to us. She had a dazzling smile, the kind that lights up a room. As she stood and kissed us, I saw that she was slender, without much of a bosom, and a hair taller than me, even though she was wearing flats. Long straight blond hair, going down to the top of her shoulders, sea-green eyes, thin hands. I'd expected somebody more voluptuous and earthy-looking, the stereotype of the experienced "woman of the world," but if she was that sort of seductress, she certainly didn't look it. She was dressed like the successful banking executive she was, in a silver-gray jacket and matching knee-length skirt, black pullover blouse, and black stockings. No jewelry or makeup that I could see, except for some diamond ear studs and a trace of lipstick. She could have stepped off the cover of Vogue, or even Fortune.
But she had an easy laugh, and I felt at home with her immediately. Her voice was even more sensual than she'd sounded over the phone, and I heard that purr again. After an hour, it seemed like I'd known her all my life. She had that way of putting you at ease, being interested in everything you were saying and doing, really listening to you instead of just nodding. So we were laughing as we walked back to the car, and a few minutes later we were in their apartment.
They gave me a tour of the place. The rooms were large and well-appointed, and their bedroom had the biggest bed I'd ever seen, with at least a half a dozen pillows stacked on it. And yes, they really had a bath-tub the size of a four-person hot tub. The kitchen was small but superbly designed for efficiency. But I didn't see a guest bedroom.
"So where am I going to sleep?" I asked. Claire looked at Michael, who nodded. And then she dropped the bomb.
"That couch turns into a bed, and you're welcome to sleep there. But we were hoping you'd be sleeping with us, dear."
I remembered what Michael had said about there being room enough for three in the tub, and suddenly realized that they had sex in mind. Sex with me.
"Um, I don't think I'm up to it," I said softly. "This is so sudden."
Michael spoke up. "Jessie, remember what I said about Claire always pushing me out of my comfort zone? And how glad I was that she did that? Why not push your own comfort zone a little? Sleep with us? We won't bite!"
"I've never had sex with a lady, Claire. I'm pretty straight."
"We won't be just having sex," she said. "We'll be making love."
"What's the difference?"
"Let me show you," she said. And then she drew me close to her. And then she kissed me on the mouth.
That's when the second bomb dropped.
I'd always thought I was heterosexual to the core. But then, I'd only been deep-kissed by men, and I'd always thought that I'd been kissed as well as anybody could be kissed. But when she kissed me, it was with the tenderest of kisses, so light, so un-rushed, so focused on me, that my mind went blank. It was as though she and I were the only people in the world, and nothing was as important to her as I was. I felt that I was drawing sexual energy from her, tapping some fountain of lust, drinking from it. She put her arms around me, drew me closer to her. When our breasts touched, even through our clothes, the energy swelled. Our kiss became fiercer, our tongues sliding against each other. She hugged. I hugged back.
And suddenly, I wanted this woman. I wanted to make love to her, even though I had never made love to a woman before. Somehow it would be all right. She would never steer me wrong.
A song came to mind, that song about Suzanne who lived by the river. "You want to travel with her, and you want to travel blind," Leonard Cohen sang. "And you know you can trust her, 'cause she's touched your perfect body with her mind." Suddenly I understood that song. Claire was that Suzanne, that mystical woman in whom you put all your trust, all your hopes, and all your soul. I wanted that feeling to last forever. I wanted the kiss to last forever.