Eighteenth Street Intimacy

"Wow," I said. "Well, hey, our friend needs us."

"She really does, Pete. But...she doesn't need to know about us, okay?"

"I don't see why not. But okay."

Hope and I were careful to arrive separately in the lobby. I was first. "There you are!" Arlene said, jumping up from the bench in front of the front desk and letting go of Leo's hand. He sat stoically as ever beside her, and didn't move. "We were hoping to treat you to a drink at Kelly's, you know, for being there for us, but you disappeared! Hope, too. Do you know where she is?"

"I think she just wanted a nap," I said. "Too much champagne, maybe."

"That's what I should've done, too," Arlene said. "We made the mistake of taking Rachel and Ricardo to Kelly's, and those two were..."

"All over each other?" I grinned.

"That too, but I meant they wouldn't shut up about what an outstanding job Rachel had done at the whole program. Not a word about all the help we gave her all year." She sighed. "I can't believe I tried to set you up with her."

"Forgiven and forgotten," I said. "Rachel herself said it best, this place creates so much false intimacy."

"False intimacy?" Arlene turned around and gave Leo a doting look that broke my heart. "I don't think there's anything false about it, Pete. Don't listen to her. I might not even keep in touch with her."

"So I take it she's not joining us tonight?"

"Nooooooo! Just you and Hope. Speaking of which, you know, Pete, the two of you were the only single ones among us all this time. Did you ever think of..." She gave me a coy grin that I hardly ever saw from her.

"Oh, I was too heartbroken for you!" I couldn't resist.

Arlene laughed, and I chose to believe that meant she had no idea.

Dinner was pleasant enough, with Hope in a slightly less-dressy dress than before and both of us admiring each other silently while Arlene did most of the talking. Then it was off to a movie, where Hope and I held hands and didn't even really have to try to hide it from Arlene, as she was as wrapped up with Leo as ever. We did keep our hands to ourselves on the walk home, as Hope had requested.

I anticipated some awkwardness when we got back to the student house, but Arlene spared us all with a yawn as soon as we were in the lobby. "Sorry, guys, but I think I'm just headed straight to bed," she said. "I was hoping we might have a nice long talk out there, but...long day, you know?"

"See you bright and early for the beach?" I said.

"God, I don't know what to think of that!" Arlene said. "But yes, you will. Don't think of changing your mind on this one, Pete! I don't want to face the weekend alone with those two!"

"I wouldn't do that to you," I said. "Hope, I have your book upstairs if you want to come get it?"

"Sure," Hope said. She kissed Arlene good night, and there was nothing suspicious about her heading down the hallway towards my stairway instead of taking hers up to Arlene's floor. "That was really clever," she said as soon as we were alone in the hall.

"Thanks," I said. "Think she has any idea how she and Leo used to annoy us just as much as Rachel and Ricardo are bugging her?"

"But they didn't," Hope said. "At least they didn't bug me. Then again, Rachel and Ricardo don't bug me much either. I mean, it's pathetic the way she throws herself into every relationship, but I'm used to that."

"Me too," I said. "I probably dodged a bullet with her when she said no."

"I think you did too!" she patted me on the back as we reached the stairwell.

"Sorry!" I said. "Yeah, I ended up with the right one of you gals, didn't I?"

"I certainly think so!" She laughed and I guessed it was okay, though I still felt dumb about what I'd said. "It's just..." she sighed and didn't continue.

"Too bad it's so late in the day?" I suggested.

"Exactly. Then again, I think of how busy we all were for so long, there was no way..."

"So we go out with a bang," I said as optimistically as I could.

"Yes please!"

But as soon as we got to my room and I turned the desk lamp on for mood lighting, Hope gave me a much more serious look. "Pete...I know. About you and Arlene."

"Nothing's ever happened between us," I said.

"That's my point. I'm not just your consolation prize, am I?"

"No! I told you, that night at the club...wow. And I already knew Arlene was lost to me before then."

"But I see the way you still look at her even now, Pete."

"I'd be just as happy not to have to look at her again," I said. "We're the best of friends and she falls in love with a human robot? That's what you see. Regret. Not love. I mean, I do love her as a friend, but..."

"But if she knocked on that door right now and said she'd been a fool and it's you she loves and not Leo?"

"I wouldn't do that to you, Hope! Not even with just three days left! Besides, we both know she loves Leo."

"God, it is only three days, isn't it?" Hope plopped down on the vacant roommate's bed on the other side of the room.

"You're not a consolation prize," I said, sitting down and clutching her hand. "Yeah, I had a crush on Arlene, but you know how crushes are -- it's not real. It's imagining this perfect partner that's nothing like who the person really is."

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?"

"If the real Arlene were right for me...well, look, I think I've got you to thank for making me realize she isn't."

"How so?"

"Because you are, and you're nothing like her."

Hope smiled for the first time since we'd come in the room. "Thank you, Pete. I guess it's silly to wonder if this is love when it's so short..."

"But didn't we all love each other all along? Even Rachel?"

"It did feel like one big happy family," Hope allowed. I stood up and took her hand, and she let me help her to her feet. I clicked on my "unabashedly mushy" playlist on my computer and took her in my arms as Ella Fitzgerald crooned away about a paper moon in the corner. "All those slow dances!"

"And standing our ground against everyone else!" I added. "What's wrong with a slow song now and then?"

"I'm so glad we did," Hope said. "We'll always have those memories."

"And this one." I pulled her close, and we kissed through most of the rest of the song. Once again she started unbuttoning my shirt, and this time I let her do it without responding in kind right away.

She had my shirt off halfway into the next song, and rubbed my chest playfully as we continued swaying to the music. "Aren't you going to help me off with my dress?" she cooed as she reached down to loosen my belt buckle.

"Just giving you a head start," I said.

"What a tease!" But she lost no time in pushing my pants down, and my boxers along with them. Soon I was nude but for my socks and she was rubbing my hard cock with both hands. "Didn't nearly get my fill of this before," she whispered.

"It's yours now!" I reached back and unzipped her dress, which wasn't easy with her hands driving me to distraction, but it was worth the effort to watch it float ever so gracefully to the floor.

As if sensing I might take my sweet time with her bra, she undid it herself. "No more shyness after this afternoon, am I right?"

"Can't imagine why," I agreed, and I made no complaint as she also pushed her panties down.

Once they were off, she hugged me. "Always heard naked hugs felt amazing," she said.

"And they do."

"And they do," she agreed.

We danced through another song, me rubbing her back and her wiggling her body playfully against mine, occasionally closing her legs around my dick when it found its way between them. When the music stopped again, I drew us to a stop and slid my right hand down her side and around front. "God, I wanted you to do that this afternoon!" she whispered as I teased her vulva lightly and then slipped one finger inside. "Ooh!"

"Second time's always better, isn't it?" I kissed her as I stroked her warm, wet inner flesh. It felt magical, and her gasps and moans left no doubt it was ten times as good for her.

"Oh, Pete!" She rubbed my shoulder and gazed into my eyes, and yelped with joy as I fingered her to orgasm. "Ohmygod!" She squeezed my shoulder and threw her head back, and closed her eyes. "Thank you!" Then she opened her eyes and gave me a playful look. "Now get on the bed!"

The desk lamp was still on, but turned away from us and casting a pale glow on the far wall. All the better to see Hope's breasts bouncing joyfully as she humped away at me. "Gonna come!" She closed her eyes all three times she said it, and she seemed a little more uninhibited every time she did. I rubbed her hips and buttocks through the first two, but on the third time I reached my thumb into her bush to help her along.

"Oh, yes, Pete! More of that!" I gladly complied.

After her third and loudest orgasm, she opened her eyes wide and ordered, "Come with me now!" She stopped the rocking that had gotten her off and began thrusting back and forth instead. "Like that?" she gushed.

"Love it!" Now it was my turn to make some noise, and I did. Seeing she had my number, she went at it faster and harder, and I let loose with yelps and grunts of pure pleasure as I felt the big moment coming. Sure enough, it did, and I closed my eyes and roared. I was aware of her bearing down on me and coming to a stop, and I opened my eyes to catch the tail end of her coming as well.

She laughed as she relaxed in my embrace. "I hope you didn't wake up the neighbors there!"

"Me too," I said. "Thanks, I haven't come that hard since I don't know when."

She laughed again as she looked in my eyes, then it turned to something almost like a cry. "Oh, Pete."

"What's wrong?" I asked. "I'll miss you too, but..."

"Not that," she said. "I mean, yes, that too, but...look, just please make sure Arlene doesn't find out about us."

"I will," I said. "But what's the harm if she does?"

"It's just...I want us all to part on good terms at least. That's all." She slid off me. "Snuggle?"

"Yes please!"

We were up with the bright August sun, and Hope rushed off to shower on her floor before Arlene would have a chance to see her coming home in last night's dress. I showered as well, and hurriedly threw together my suitcase for the beach. It didn't take long, but I couldn't help but think about all the packing I'd have to do when we got back, or that I would be the only one of the slow dance gang left in the house. Only for a couple of weeks, but still. It would be a lonely two weeks, all the more so after last night, and who knew what awaited me in China?

China would be halfway around the world from Arlene and Leo and Rachel. I felt just a bit better as I zipped up my suitcase and headed downstairs.

Leo had rented a minivan for the trip, and of course Arlene rode up front with him although she looked like she didn't really want to. Naturally Rachel and Ricardo staked out the back seat to play around in all through the trip, so Hope and I got the middle seat. This at least allowed for easy conversation with Arlene, who was dressed as casually as I'd ever seen her in a t-shirt and shorts and sunglasses. She and Hope took up most of the time commiserating about Mrs. Duford, but that was fine with me as the only thing I had on my mind was the one thing Hope had told me to keep my mouth shut about. I did enjoy her company, even if our intimacies were limited to the occasional stolen glance.

We stopped for lunch at a roadside diner, which got a lot of condescending commentary from Ricardo and even a little from Leo about how utterly American the place was, and the predictably heavy traffic near the beach slowed our approach. But there was still most of the afternoon to kill when we finally pulled up to the modern-looking split-level house. I insisted on helping Hope with her luggage, while Rachel insisted that Ricardo carry hers (he did, with a modicum of whining) and Arlene carried her own. "Welcome home!" Leo declared as he unlocked the door and flung it open for us.

I stepped into a spacious, bright living room with a sliding door in back that looked out upon the beach just beyond the back deck. The stairs off to the left led to three bedrooms upstairs, and a finished basement downstairs where I guessed I would be sleeping. It was all I could do not to ask Leo just how much the place had cost him.

Ricardo had no such qualms. "Geez, Leo, you must be loaded!"

"Ricardo!" Rachel punched him on the arm.

"Hey, we're all friends, aren't we?" Ricardo grinned as usual.

Arlene diffused the situation. "Guys! No fighting! We're here to enjoy each other's company, remember? Now who wants to hit the beach now with me?"

I didn't even want to think about what Arlene looked like in a swimsuit. But it beat sitting around inside all afternoon. "I'm with you, Arlene," I said, and I set off down the stairs.

"Taking the whole basement for yourself, are you?" Ricardo asked.

"You want to sleep in my bed instead of Rachel's?" I asked without looking back at him. That at least drew a round of laughs, and it sounded to me like the others all headed upstairs to change.

The basement was wide open, with an old double bed in one corner. I dropped my suitcase on it and got my trunks out. In the bathroom I slathered sunblock all over myself and put my t-shirt back on, not caring to put my body on display for Arlene any more than I wanted to see hers, and then I headed back upstairs.

I was the first to arrive, and I cracked open the sliding door to smell the salty air. It was delightful as always, and only then did it occur to me that I couldn't even remember the last time I'd been to the beach. That just made me welcome the crowded view before me all the more. One more American pastime to indulge in one last time. Just how long was I going to stay overseas? I wasn't surprised to find I really didn't care.

I had just enough time to wonder what sort of swimsuit Arlene would wear, and to conclude it was probably a very conservative one-piece model, before she stepped downstairs and proved me wrong in a pink bikini. "Sorry to keep you waiting," she said, showing no sign of embarrassment. Maybe I had her all wrong all along.

"No problem, I just got here," I said.

"Heavens, I can't wait to get in that water!" she said. "I hope the water isn't too crowded."

Hope and Leo appeared just then, both having put t-shirts on over their swimming garb. Arlene took note right away. "Gee, am I the only one who isn't shy here?" she demanded. "I feel naked next to you guys!"

"You know I don't like the sun," Leo said.

I had just enough time to wonder why he'd sprung for this trip if he felt that way, before Rachel and Ricardo came downstairs, both in their swimsuits only. "Thank heavens!" Arlene said. "I was just telling the others I feel naked here!"

"We were thinking," Rachel said, "If you guys are game, we could do that later..."

"No, Rachel!" Arlene was already out on the deck, but she turned around to give her old friend a stern look. This only made Rachel and Ricardo laugh, which didn't surprise me a bit.

The sand and the water were both pretty crowded, but we found a space not far above the waterline to set our blanket down, and Arlene and I were late for the surf. "I'm coming too!" Hope said, and she and I got to admire one another in our swimsuits surreptitiously. We smiled at our little secret as we set off for the surf.

"Can you believe Rachel?" Arlene asked us as soon as we were in the water.

"Of course I can," I said. "I know her."

"Didn't you expect her to suggest something like that?" Hope added. "You've heard about those hot-tub parties she had in college, haven't you?"

"No" Arlene said. "Was it what I think it was?"

"Yes," Hope said. "She mentioned it one night toward the end of one of our parties. I'm pretty sure she was trying to see if we'd want to do a thing like that. But even Jacob didn't say anything."

"I wonder why not?" I couldn't help myself.

Hope laughed. Arlene didn't. But we did spend the next hour or more splashing around and chatting and forgetting how close the end was. It was just as I'd always wished things had been with us all along, friends without any silly romantic intrigue to complicate things or break any hearts. I was so content I don't think I'd have minded if Leo had turned up. But he stayed away. Though I was longing to hold Hope, I didn't begrudge Arlene's presence -- wasn't this just what I'd been eating my heart out for all those months?

When we did finally make our way back up to the blanket, we found Rachel and Ricardo putting on a wonderfully shameless display of affection. "Rachel!" Arlene snapped. "This isn't high school!"

"Oh, lighten up," Rachel said, but she did pull back from Ricardo, who grinned up at the three of us without a word. "How's the water?"

"Wonderful," I said.

"Where's Leo?" Arlene asked.

"He went off to buy some beer for tonight," Rachel said.

"Oh, wonderful," Arlene said. "Pete, I should've asked you if you could keep him away from the booze."

"What makes you think I could do that any better than you could?" I asked.

"He might listen to a guy about it."

"I doubt it."

"Me too," Hope added. "You know, you don't have to drink any, Arlene."

"But I have to watch him get sloshed, and on our last weekend together." She plopped down on the blanket, looking exhausted all of a sudden. "I really admire him for being there for his sister, but why couldn't she have the baby two weeks later?"

"It gets harder to keep my mouth shut every time she says a thing like that!" I said to Hope a bit later when she and I were back in the water, alone now. Rachel and Ricardo had gone off for a walk, while Arlene had opted to sulk on her own on the blanket.

"Love is blind," Hope said. "What good would it do us to tell her?"

"It'd make me feel like I'm not lying to a dear friend," I said. "And the sooner she learns the truth, the sooner she'll get over it. I just hate to think of her on her own in Santa Fe when she does find out, you know? And what if she figures out that we all knew?"

"We don't know for certain, do we?"

"True."

"If it is, there's no good time to find out," Hope said, taking my hand under the water. "But I'll tell you one thing, Pete. Better in Santa Fe than here, before she finished her degree. I can't even imagine trying to work through heartbreak like that!"

I nodded, and turned and put my arms around Hope. We were up to our shoulders in the waves and hardly anyone else was out as far as we were. "It's almost private, huh?" I joked.

"Close enough," she agreed with a grin, and rubbed her hand playfully over the front of my trunks. "I'm afraid this might be all we can do unless I can sneak downstairs tonight, Pete, so if you want to..."

"How bloody romantic," I said, and then realized in a way it really was. "We'll always have the North Atlantic!"

"Well, it beats worrying ourselves sick over Arlene, doesn't it? And you are welcome to come visit me in San Francisco." She'd gotten me pretty hard by then, and slipped her hand inside my trunks and wrapped me tightly in her fist. "Just imagine us in my tiny but beautiful apartment, a nice moon outside and us safe in bed...Ooooh, Pete!" I'd followed her lead and had my finger on her clit. "You snuck up on me!"

"And you look wonderfully happy about it," I said, and I gave her a slow stroke.

"Oooh!" she squealed and wiggled enough for it to be noticeable above the waterline, and we both looked around to see if anyone might be close enough to guess what we were up to. Our nearest neighbors were an older couple twenty feet away, swimming leisurely by.

"I'm imagining you riding me like you did last night," I said, stroking harder now. "The moonlight on your breasts, and my hands all over you as you grind into me..."