The Single Life After Divorce, Part 3
Movie Night
Ding, Dong.
Emmanuelle had been patiently awaiting Vicki's arrival for the past 20 minutes. She checked herself in the mirror and moved to the door of her 10th story apartment. The glass door to her balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean was open, letting in a warm breeze, which blew a little harder when she opened the door.
"Vicki! Nice to see you again," she said, moving aside to let the young reporter in.
Vicki noticed she was far more casually dressed this time. Emmanuelle was wearing a teal-colored bikini, covered by a see-through white cover-up which, while it had buttons down the front, was open. The color beautifully highlighted her bronze skin. While she knew Emmanuelle was in her 60s, she sure didn't look it. She was very trim and good looking, looking 20 years younger than her physical age. She could only wish she looked like that when she grew older.
"Nice to see you, too," the young woman said, extending her hand. "Thank you for seeing me again."
Emmanuelle took the woman's hand in both of hers, shaking it slightly, but holding it far longer than would normally be appropriate.
"Oh, thank you for coming," Emmanuelle said, smiling. "I'm happy to have company like you. You brighten my day."
"That's so sweet of you." Vicki looked around, wondering where the two would meet this time. "Where should I set up?" she asked.
"I was thinking we could sit on the balcony today. It's just too beautiful out to be stuck indoors."
Vicki smiled and nodded. "That sounds perfect."
"I made some iced tea using that Wild Raspberry Hibiscus, too. It seemed like a better choice for sitting outside in the warm air."
"That would be great. I love that flavor. I went and bought some myself, too."
Emmanuelle guided her guest to the open sliding glass door and opened the screen. The deck outside was the width of her apartment with privacy walls on either side. A low railing was across the front gave them a beautiful view of the ocean. The sun was high in the sky and was still casting a shadow on the deck. It would be an hour before the shadow started receding as the sun fell toward the western horizon. Two chairs and two lounges were on the deck, all facing towards the ocean, with each pair having a small table between them. On the table between the lounges was a pitcher and two glasses of iced tea.
"Please, make yourself comfortable," Emmanuelle said, directing Vicki to the lounges.
Vicki took the far one and sat down, putting her purse on the ground beside her, while Emmanuelle took the other lounge. She picked up a glass and handed it to Vicki. The two then sat for a moment, just enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of the salty ocean air.
Vicki reached down into her purse and pulled out the recorder, setting it on her leg. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Emmanuelle's bare, tanned leg, her knee bent, foot on the lounge. At the base of her thigh, she could see the rounding of Emmanuelle's mons, covered with the thin, teal bikini bottoms. Emmanuelle's hand lightly stroked her inner thigh as she drank her iced tea. Vicki didn't know why, but she was feeling more and more attracted to Emmanuelle. Was Emmanuelle coming on to her?
She coughed for a moment, clearing her throat. "Are you ready to get started?"
"Yeah," Emmanuelle said, smiling.
Vicki started the recorder and set it on the table between them. "This is Vicki Valentina from Southern California Scene magazine interviewing Emmanuelle, for our third interview on the dating scene in southern California. Thank you again for speaking with me, Emmanuelle."
"My pleasure, Vicki."
"So... in our last interview, we talked about the strangest date you've had since you divorced. At the end of the interview, you indicated that, quote, my dates seem to find me as much as I go looking for them, unquote. That statement intrigued me, so today I thought I'd ask you to tell me about a date that found you. What was the first unexpected date you've had?"
"When you mentioned that at the end of our last interview one came to mind immediately. I was definitely not looking and it definitely found me."
"That sounds interesting," Vicki said.
"It was," Emmanuelle said, remembering that weekend. "I'd been seeing Jacob, the first man I dated after my divorce, for about a year when we finally went our separate ways. I was around 50 or so at the time and I was still having a little trouble figuring out where to find guys my own age. That was when a college friend of mine, Patricia, brought her husband Timothy and granddaughter Samantha out for a visit. The visit was just for a long weekend, to give Samantha a tour of the University of San Diego, one of the schools she was looking at attending the next fall."
"They had planned this little visit around my birthday, arriving that day as a matter of fact."
*****
"Hi, Emm!" Patricia said from the hallway as I opened the door. "Surprise!"
I had to say, I was very surprised. I wasn't expecting them for several hours yet.
"You're early, Patricia!" I said, giving my best friend a huge hug. I was still wearing my bathing suit.
"Well, I wanted to surprise you for your birthday," Patricia said, moving to let her husband and granddaughter through the door. "Emm, this is Timothy," she said and I shook his hand. "The man I've told you so much about. And this is my granddaughter Samantha." I shook her hand as well. "I can't believe that I'm old enough to be a grandmother of a child who's about to start college. Where the hell has the time gone?"
"I know what you mean," I laughed. We may have turned 51 that year, but we still felt like we were in our early 20s.
Patricia looked at me a little funny. "Girl... you look incredible! Did you find some anti-aging potion or something?"
"Oh," I said, suddenly embarrassed to be wearing my bikini. I was definitely the least dressed of all of us and I bet Timothy was getting an eyeful. My suit was pretty small, meant for tanning, not meant for public consumption. "Let me go get changed."
"No problem," Patricia said, as they moved deeper into the apartment. "I love your place. That is an incredible view!"
"Isn't it?" I yelled from my room. I grabbed a bra and panties, t-shirt, and some shorts and laid them on the bed, then reached back and untied my bikini top. I pulled it up and off my head and heard a catch of breath at the door. When I looked, Samantha was there, looking a little embarrassed to be caught, her phone in one hand and suitcase handle in the other.
"Your grandparents will be in the next bedroom, honey. We'll have to figure out where you're going to be," I said, sliding my bra on. I felt a little self-conscious being seen naked by her, but... what the hell. I'd been naked around girls in the high school locker room... and around women at the gym. What was the big deal?
"Ok," she said, and turned to walk back to the living room.
When I finished tugging on my shorts and looking in the mirror to make sure I looked appropriate, I walked out into the living room. All three of them were out on the deck getting a good look at the view and taking pictures.
I showed them where their room was and let them settle in for a moment, and then talked to them about Samantha. She quickly agreed to sleep out on the sofa saying that it looked comfortable enough. Then we spent an hour or two sitting in the living room just reminiscing. It had been a while since we'd talked.
For dinner, they wanted to take me out for my birthday, so we went to a little restaurant nearby that's a favorite of mine and had plenty of good food, good fun, and... liquor. Samantha, of course, couldn't have the latter, but was very involved with the rest, asking questions of me, and getting to know me better.
I found out that they had an appointment tomorrow to meet with people at the university for a tour and discussion on what it takes to go there. She was looking to get a degree in art history and the university had a pretty good program. Another thing that they mentioned was that since Rachel, Patricia's daughter and Samantha's mother, had died several years ago, they had a bit of money to pay for it, but were hoping to have it go further by not having to deal with on-campus housing.
"I was hoping...," Patricia said slowly, "that you might be open to a little company for a few years. We were hoping Samantha could live with you while she's in school and help out with the rent and stuff. It would be nice for her to have a little adult guidance, too, rather than living with a bunch of partying college coeds."
Samantha and I looked at each other. I was wondering if I wanted a roommate... if I wanted someone there when I might want privacy. If I wanted someone there when I might have company over. Balancing that with having someone help with the rent... someone to help keep it tidy... someone to talk to, to come home to at night. And I figured it was only for a couple years, so why not. It could certainly benefit us both.
"Yeah, I'd love to," I said, smiling.
Patricia grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "Thanks Emm! That'll be a huge help."
"My pleasure," I smiled back.
At the end of dinner, they ordered a little cake to be served and even put on a single candle that Timothy lit. It was a nice birthday and a nice present to have them there for it.
Timothy drove us home afterwards and I sat in the back with Samantha. We'd talked a little at dinner about her degree choice and I found out just how interested she was in art and that she was a pretty good artist herself, with a few awards under her belt.
It was late, at least according to my internal clock, when we finally got home and Patricia and Timothy said their goodnights and moved down the hallway towards their room. I grabbed a couple sheets and pillows for Samantha and set up the couch for her to sleep on. I was just saying goodnight when she bounced up to me and hugged me tightly, telling me both thank-you and happy birthday. I thanked her back and before I knew it, she was kissing me.
It was... completely unexpected... completely raw, my head spinning from the liquor... and I couldn't believe how it felt. I'd never, ever kissed a woman before, especially like that. This was way before my experience with my neighbor Jenn, mind you.
And just like it started, she pulled away and moved to the couch. I stood there for a moment longer, stunned, and just watched her sit on the couch. Then, as if in a daze, I wished her good night and walked back to my room, putting my hand to my lips.
I had to admit, I had a little trouble falling asleep that night, with her kiss on my mind. And... I have to admit... that I masturbated. I'd never been with a woman before, so I tried to fantasize about kissing a man like that. I even tried to fantasize about kissing Jacob like that. But my fantasy always returned to kissing her. And... I have to admit... that even though I didn't really even know how two women had sex, I had a huge orgasm at the thought.
