She’d thought that side of her completely gone. Except in those early, enthusiastic days when everything was funny, and it was easy to bounce right into the day after a night of sleeping on a hardwood floor, sex had gradually ceased to be important. It wasn’t practical after long days tramping through the rainforest, just to sleep on mats that had to be inspected for bugs, or after arduous climbs up mountains, with fingers and toes numb.
But here she was, longing to be rid of the restriction of clothing so they could—
“Jen? Where’s she off to? Jen? It’s time to bail!” Godiva called from inside.
Jen and Nikos broke apart, she b
reathless with laughter.
“I . . . forgot myself there, I think,” he said huskily. “I probably shouldn’t have—”
“I was right there with you,” she said, still fizzing. “Wrong place and time maybe, but the right move.”
“So very right.” He smiled at her in the shadows.
She sighed, reality reasserting itself. “I guess it’s time to go. But I don’t think I’m ready to face the others yet . . .” Her emotions roiled, happiness foremost but it was new, tender. Like a sunburn on my heart, Doris had told the Gang of Four after she got together with Joey. Jen had thought that a weird thing to say, but now she understood the sensitivity that seemed to make every sensation so intense. She needed some time, even knowing how much her friends would like seeing her happy.
“I can go in first,” he offered.
“Please. I’m going to take a few deep breaths. Let the raindrops cool me off a bit. Then I’ll be ready. Though I like most of the writers in our group, and love what we’re doing, attending group sessions takes . . . energy.”
He took a step toward the house, then turned back. “And after?”
“After, we could go out, as you suggested,” she said. “Or . . .” Her heart thumped against her ribs. “There’s my place?” She had spent the entire morning scrubbing her house, and changing the bedding to fresh, sun dried sheets, just in case.
“Yes.” A quick, promissory kiss, and Nikos walked swiftly toward the golden light spilling out the door.
Jen waited where she was, doing her slow breathing. She was still giddy, intensely aware of tingling lips, of that thrill of nerve and muscle that she suspected she would be aware of secretly all through the meeting. Her emotions swooped between hilarity and anticipation. And wonder. This feeling, so strange, was something she could have every day.
Except that he did not live here.
He had a life elsewhere, and a job, and . . .
Don’t borrow trouble, she told herself. You’ve come this far. You’re both adults. Talk it out. And if it turns out he sees this as a temporary fling, enjoy it while you can.
Determined to leave worry behind, she moved toward the door, just as she heard Doris saying, “Nikos, did you see Jen anywhere? It’s time to go.”
Jen walked inside, and was glad to hear her voice coming out natural as she said, “I took a little walk in the rain. So lovely.”
Bird and Doris chorused, “We don’t get enough,” and laughed.
Everyone began putting on jackets and finding belongings. As Jen buttoned up her suede jacket, she could feel where Nikos was in the room, though he wasn’t speaking. She hugged to herself her secret joy, a bubble of laughter fizzing up. She still didn’t know exactly what he did—but that was okay, because first, they had talked and laughed so much that it seemed they would never run out of subjects, and secondly . . . ha ha (she gloated to herself), they had all night to look forward to. Alone. With no interruptions.
“There you are,” Godiva said. “Doris has the car warmed up.”
Jen glanced up, startled. She would have liked to ride with Nikos, and laughed inwardly at how very much she was reminding herself of her teen crushes. Only now, unlike the misery of high school, the guy she liked actually liked her back.
She buckled herself in, wondering how Bird and those two tall men were going to fit into Joey’s small sports car. Did it even have a back seat?
“Everyone got your manuscript pages?” Doris asked.
“I do,” Godiva said. “Ho, I’m like a kid in a candy store. I think this is the best one yet . . .”
It only took a few minutes to get to the bakery. As soon as they walked in, Jen sensed something off. She wasn’t the only one—Godiva paused in her usual spry sprint. The three turned to Linette, who had plastic gloves on as she put the last of the day’s pastries onto a tray for the writing group’s refreshments.
One look at her scowl made it clear something was up. “Hi, Linette,” Jen said. “We brought a visitor. This is Nikos.”
Linette cast Nikos a distracted glance—then did a doubletake that almost made Jen laugh. She blinked up at him, and Jen reveled in her open appreciation. “Hi,” she said. “Welcome!”