Rollback

She laughed. "It’s scuzbum. But it’s cheap." She paused, and her face grew concerned. "Look at you! You must be parched in this heat, and it’s a long walk back to the subway. Come on in. I’ll give you a Diet Coke to take with you."

They walked around to the side of the house, and some animal — a raccoon, maybe — quickly moved out of their way. Lenore opened the side door and led them down the stairs.

He braced himself for the place to be a mess — he remembered his own student days — but her apartment was tidy, although the furniture was a mismatched array, presumably of garage-sale acquisitions.

"Very pleasant," said Don. "It—"

Her mouth was on his. He felt her tongue pressing against his lips. His mouth opened, and his penis grew instantly hard. Suddenly her hand was on his zipper, and — Oh, my! — she was on her knees, taking him into her mouth… but only for a few spectacular seconds. She rose to her feet, took his hands, and, walking backward, facing him, a lascivious smile on her face, she started pulling him toward the bedroom.

He followed her in.

Don was terrified that he’d come too soon. This was, after all, more excitement and stimulation than he’d had in years. But the old boy kept himself in check as he and Lenore rolled around — now him on top, now her on top — until finally he did come.

He immediately went back to work until, at last, she had a shuddering orgasm, too.

"Thank you," she said, smiling at him, as they now lay side by side, each facing the other.

He lightly traced the line of her check with his index finger. "For what?"

"For, um, making sure that I…"

His eyebrows went up. "Of course."

"Not every guy, you know, cares…"

She was totally naked, and the room’s lights were on. He was delighted to see that the freckles were everywhere, and that her pubic hair was the same coppery shade as the hair on her head. She seemed totally at ease with her nudity. Now that they were done, he wanted to scoot under the sheet. But her body was pinning the sheet in such a way that he couldn’t get under without making a big deal out of it. But as her finger played with the hair in the middle of his chest, he was uncomfortably conscious of her scrutiny.

"No scars," she said, absently.

The dermal regeneration had gotten rid of all Don’s old ones. "Just lucky, I guess."

"Well," said Lenore, whapping him playfully on the arm, "you certainly got lucky tonight." And she made a big O with her mouth.

He smiled at her. It had been amazing. Tender yet spirited, gentle and vigorous all at once. It wasn’t quite sleeping with a supermodel — but it would do! Oh, yes, it would do!

His hand found her nipple, and he tweaked it lightly between thumb and forefinger.

"The pallid bust of Pallas," he said softly, smiling at her.

Her eyes went wide. "You’re the first guy I’ve met who knows more of that poem than just the ‘nevermore’ part. You don’t know how sick I got of people intoning ‘nevermore, nevermore’ at me."

He stroked her breast gently, and said:

And the raven, never flitting still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted — nevermore!

"Wow," said Lenore, softly. "I’ve never had a guy recite poetry to me."

"I’ve never had a girl challenge me to Scrabble before."

"And I want a rematch!" she said.

He raised his eyebrows. "Now?"

"No, not now, silly." She pulled herself closer to him. "In the morning."

"I— I can’t," he said. He felt her stiffen against him. "I, um, I’ve got a dog."

She relaxed. "Oh. Oh, okay."

"Sorry," he said. He meant "for lying," but let her take it to mean "for not being able to stay." He scanned around the room for a clock, saw one, and his heart jumped.

"Look," he said, "I, um, I really do have to get going."

"Oh, all right," said Lenore, sounding not at all happy about it. "But call me! I’ll give you my number…"

Chapter 24

Don fondly remembered the trip he and Sarah had taken to New Zealand in 1992.