"That went well," Ro says as she closes the door to my childhood bedroom.
We've just come upstairs after the Chanukkah party my parents hosted. This is the first time Ro has met my family. I was very impressed -- she was completely at ease with them. She didn't bat an eye when my middle sister Rebecca insisted on sitting in the back seat with her on the drive up to interrogate her (the question period was short -- a few minutes into the conversation, Rebecca called from the backseat, "Nathan, I like her! Put a ring on it!").
When we arrived at my parents' place, Ro insisted on helping in the kitchen. And she spent a lot of time with my two year-old niece.
"My family really likes you," I say from my spot on my bed. "Abby and Sam really appreciated you playing with Naomi."
"She was so cute!" Ro smiles as she sits down on my desk chair. She unzips her boots. "It was adorable how she kept calling me 'Wo.' And she kept saying, 'Pway wif me, Wo!'"
I smile back as Ro slides her socks off. "After this evening, you've got yourself a babysitting gig here in White Plains. You'll be in very high demand after Naomi's sibling is born."
"You think I can work on my PhD remotely?" Ro grins as she wiggles her bare feet. We chuckle. As a PhD student in neurobiology, she's practically glued to a microscope.
"Want to join me on the bed?" I ask, rolling from my back onto my side.
Ro joins me, lying on her side so she can face me. I put my hand on her narrow hip. She slides it up so it's resting above her waistband, under the edge of her sweater. My heart beats a bit faster.
"This is a nice big bed," she purrs.
"My parents got it when I was 16," I explain. "I outgrew my old mattress, and this one was on sale. You're the first girl who's ever gotten anywhere near it. If teenage Nathan could see me now, he'd have to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming."
"You don't need to pinch yourself -- I'm very real," Ro says as she runs her finger across my clavicle.
"You know what else I fantasized about when I was a teenager?" I ask, my breath slightly ragged.
"What?" Ro's face is a picture of innocence. "Was it getting an A+ in Math? Was it winning first place at your swim meet?"