Eighteenth Street Intimacy

To my surprise, I realized I couldn't recall our first outing as a group. Was it after Arlene had brought Rachel by the house for the first time? Were Mattieu and Lenka already going at it? I felt safe in assuming Leo had already hooked Arlene by then, but I couldn't even swear to that. Maybe I just didn't want to remember. But that was fine with me.

Before heading home, I had the bright idea of asking if the pizzeria had any spare boxes. An hour or so later I was back in my room, packing my books in an old tomato sauce box, when there came a knock at the door.

I dusted my hands off and opened the door to find Hope in her bathrobe. "Are you free for a proper goodbye?" she asked.

"Of course!" I stood back and let her in. "All done packing?"

"I've been done for hours." She untied the sash of her robe and pulled it off. "No tears, no regrets, Pete," she said, hands on her naked hips.

"Can't promise there won't be tears," I admitted as I eyed her beautiful body for what seemed likely to be the last time.

"Then let's make it worthwhile!" She stepped up and helped herself to unbuttoning my jeans, while I tore my t-shirt off. "To think of all the studybreaks I could've had with this," she said as she wrapped my hard cock tight in her fist.

"Didn't you just say no regrets?"

"Mm, maybe neither of us should say anything then!" With that she kissed me, and I returned the favor with a gentle hand in her bush. "Oooh, that tickles!" she said between kisses. "But don't stop!"

I didn't. It wasn't but a few more kisses before I chanced a finger inside her, drawing a lusty moan from her. "Two, please!"

Arlene would never have been that forward. How could I have failed to see who the right one was all those months?

But remembering her admonition, I said nothing and did as she told. Rubbing her back with my other hand, I rubbed out a come-hither motion in her pussy that had her squirming and screeching in delight. "Oh, Pete!" She threw her head back and came loud and hard, standing right there in the middle of my room. "Thank you!" We kissed passionately, and then I scooped her up in my arms and carried her to my bed, where I tossed the few remaining books back on the bookcase.

I hadn't planned on being on top, but she seemed perfectly happy to have me there as she guided me inside her with both hands. I went straight to flailing away, but she said, "Nice and slow, nice and slow!" and I more than willingly slowed down. The melancholy of our impending farewell couldn't quite be forgotten. But in the steamy aura of the hot night, it was easy enough to ignore in favor of her arms around me and her lithe body under me and her hot wet pussy enveloping me.

I humped her slowly and rhythmically for who knew how long, ever more amazed at how the blushing flower of the slow-dance gang had changed in my eyes, and she egged me on every step of the way. She never asked for it faster but she didn't complain as I slowly but surely did speed up. It was probably after her third orgasm that she started slapping me playfully on the hip. "Come for me!" she grunted.

I flailed away harder than ever, barely able to catch my breath as I did. "Go!" she squealed, slapping my hip again. "Do it!"

"I ammmmmmmm....onhhhhh." Triumphantly I plopped my head down on her breasts, and she stroked my hair.

"Going out with a bang!" she said with a defiant laugh against the goodbye that was only hours away.

"So glad you came," I said.

"I guess I should get back to my room."

"Stay!" I didn't move, and then realized I was still inside her anyway and she seemed to want to keep it that way for the moment.

"You sure, Pete?"

"It hardly matters now if Arlene finds out."

"It could, though, Pete. There's...there's something you don't know about her."

Only then did I know for sure that Hope didn't know what I'd heard last night. It wouldn't do to change that, I was sure. "I'm sure there's plenty I don't know," I said, treading lightly as I could. "But she and Leo...I mean, she's devoted to him, no matter what he is. For now anyway."

"That's true, but...Oh, Pete, just trust me, it's best for all of us if she never suspects anything."

"Is it so much better that you'd rather go without sleeping in my arms this one last time?" I propped my head up on her chest and gazed hopefully into her eyes.

She sighed and smiled. "Just set your alarm early so I can go back and shower before she notices anything?"

"It's a deal." I set it for 6:30, reminding myself that I literally had nothing to do but sleep tomorrow if I wanted to.

There were no tears, as we'd promised. There were no tears in the morning when I joined them both for our final breakfast together, Hope having evaded notice again. Leo was there too, but as usual he said nothing as we ate our eggs and toast and drank our coffee and talked of Santa Fe and San Francisco. There were no tears as Leo and I helped them both with their suitcases, or when we gathered around the front desk and asked Suzanne the day secretary to call a taxi to the airport. We spent a long minute or two making small talk while she was on the phone.

"Five minutes," Suzanne said, hanging up the phone.

Then the tears did start. Arlene clung like a baby to Leo, while Hope and I looked stoically at each other. "Honey, Christmas will be here before you know it!" the bastard said, stroking her hair. "And you don't need me around while you're busy with your kids!"

Arlene managed to laugh but that didn't turn off the waterworks. "I know, Leo, it's just...we were almost like a family, you know?"

I thought of my family and that made me feel like crying. But I didn't. I hugged Hope, figuring that wouldn't raise any suspicions, and apparently it didn't.

When the taxi appeared at the door, Leo and I picked up the suitcases and Hope and Arlene led the way to the car. Hope gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek as I handed the suitcase to the driver, but Arlene gave me a long, tight hug. "Sorry we missed our chance!" she whispered in my ear after a quick look to see Leo wouldn't hear.

I smiled but said nothing, and stood back to let her and Leo enjoy a last moment together. I felt just a touch of comfort knowing it really was almost certainly their last, even if she didn't know. While they were embracing, I waved to Hope in the car and stepped back up to the door.

When Leo finally let go, Arlene got in the back seat and the taxi was off. We stood and waved until it had pulled out of sight.

"I guess now the slow-dance gang is over," I said to Leo without looking at him.

"Yeah," Leo said. For a terrible moment, I thought he might invite me to go get a drink anywhere we might be able to get one at nine in the morning. If he had, though, I probably would have. It beat being alone with my thoughts in the room where Hope and I had made love just hours before. The sheets probably still smelled like her.

In any event, he said something about having to pack and went inside. I was more than happy to leave him to it, and decided to take a long walk and maybe buy a book or two for the trip.

The last two weeks in town were a wonderful blur, beginning with emails from Arlene and Hope saying they'd gotten home safely, marked by half a dozen trips to the post office to get all my worldly possessions sent off halfway around the world, dotted with thoughts that I ought to at least say goodbye to Rachel and Ricardo but not doing it, ending with me opting to splurge on business class for the big trip. It was money I didn't have, but I'd heard the cost of living in China was ridiculously cheap, and either way, I'd earned it.

Each day of that two-week limbo had me waiting for some sort of resolution to the drama of the slow-dance gang. But none was forthcoming, only good-natured quick updates from Hope and Arlene (who evidently still didn't know the truth about Leo), and the usual nonsense from Lenka, who did at least have some news about Rachel. I got an email from her saying he's going to come visit her for Thanksgiving in Seattle, and she's hoping he'll propose then. You know, this makes me wonder how serious she is about a relationship.

On the gloriously bright morning I finally joined the exodus, I must have re-read that line a dozen times on my phone as I sipped my pre-flight champagne. Lenka was wondering? What was there to wonder about anymore?

Well, I admitted, there was plenty to wonder about. Would Rachel and Ricardo even make it to Thanksgiving? Had Arlene learned the truth about why Leo had gone home already? I couldn't blame her if she just didn't want to talk about it. Would Jacob turn up again with any of us? Would Hope go back to her quiet self and vanish from everyone's radar? Would any of us see one another again?

Somewhat to my surprise, I would eventually learn the answers to all those questions. But that morning on the tarmac, I could only speculate. And be glad to be making my escape. And be even more glad the slow-dance gang had happened. Heartbreak or not, I'd never had a more awfully wonderful, wonderfully awful bunch of friends. As the flight attendants came around to collect the glasses, I downed the last of my champagne and smiled at the already rose-colored memories.