Tears of relief and joy still streaming down her face, I carried Zoe from the hot tub back into the house. She draped her arms around my neck, watching my face the entire way.
Her eyes—the way she looked at me as I carried her—told me everything. First, she was incandescently happy. Second, she loved me.
No, I thought, glancing again. Maybe not love. Love suggests equality.
Her eyes took me in with a kind of awe.
She idolized me.
Strange, I thought. She had just given her first blowjob. It hadn't been the disaster I expected. It had been great. Not just great. It had been incredibly beautiful. Anyways, she just did this amazing thing for me, so shouldn't I have been the one fawning over her?
Zoe let me wrap her in her new bathrobe and then set her down on one of the chairs around the kitchen table.
She watched while I took out chocolate chip ice cream and big chocolate chip cookies. I made her an ice cream cookie sandwich.
In a way, I realized, I was fawning over her.
She ate with gusto, and we sat at the table and talked about music. She grew so excited that she ran to get her phone, yelling from the stairs that I "had to hear this." When she raced back down, she made me show her how to play it through the family room speakers.
When it began, I hesitated.
Zoe watched me closely.
I turned to her, confused.
She unfurled a big, beautiful smile.
This was a song from sometime in the 1940s or 50s. It was a slow love song, sung by a woman, accompanied by a big brass band, and it was called "You Belong to Me."
I gave her nodding approval.
Zoe swayed in her chair.
Her eyes opened suddenly when I took her hand and raised her from the chair. Escorting her into the family room, we danced.
She smiled as we swayed; it was slow and sexy—more like lovemaking than dancing.
When the singer and the band ushered the music to its conclusion, Zoe drew me into a tight hug, squeezing her body into mine until the song ended.
I didn't expect it when I took her to dance, but I had started a little game. We took turns choosing a song on her phone. Sometimes we just listened; sometimes we danced.
Most of her favorites were more contemporary pop numbers, but there were a few from my generation and several oldies. I was surprised to admit that I liked her taste in music.
I had not expected to.
After the last song, I suggested we watch a movie.
She agreed and asked if we could watch in bed together.
"Yeah, but it's your turn to pick the movie," I told her.
Half an hour later, we were both ready for bed and under the covers. She held the remote control in her hand and began asking me about movies I liked. After narrowing choices down, she began uncovering which ones she knew that I had already seen.
She settled on "True Grit"—the newer remake.
A western! I could not have been more surprised by her choice. I hadn't seen either of the versions, and Zoe explained it was one of her favorites.
It was damn good. Great, in certain parts. Better even than the movie was that Zoe was a perfect movie partner. She only spoke at appropriate moments, and what she said was always an interesting perspective.
She peppered me with questions during the credits and seemed pleased by my responses. Raising the remote, she shut off the television, and the room was suddenly and almost shockingly dark and quiet.
I was in bed with her, finally. The prospect excited me.
"When did you know you liked me?" she whispered.
After a moment's thought, I said, "I was attracted to you the first time you came over to the house, but that's different. Like you? I suppose it was when we talked about Great Gatsby on the phone."
She smiled, "I liked that, too."
"You?"
She laughed and said, "I knew I liked you when you carried me up here and took care of my foot. I remember laying on this bed, watching you and hoping that you would lean down and kiss me."
I touched her bare shoulder.
She went on. "You rubbed my leg, and your touch was strong but gentle, and I never wanted you to stop."
"I loved seeing you on my bed in just your swimsuit."
It was too dark to see her face, but I sensed her smiling when she asked, "What part of my body are you most attracted to?"
"Everything. What's not to like?"
"No, come on, pick one thing."
"Your face—your eyes, your cheeks and lips...."
"No. My body. Part of my body."
"Wait," I said. Rolling away from her, I turned on my reading lamp. "I need to see you." When I found a comfortable spot beside her, I answered, "Different parts of you at different times. Your breasts are amazing, and there are times when they just paralyze me with lust."
She laughed. "Paralyze with lust—I like that."