Road Trip 03: Revival

As the waitress left, Will turned to me.

"So, Dan, welcome to Chicago - Zahra said you were doing a road trip?"

I filled him in a bit, then added "I met Zahra at the hotel and asked her for a bar recommendation, and she invited me along - hope I'm not crashing."

"No, not at all, any guest of Zahra's is okay by us," he said, in maybe a perfunctory tone. Amaya looked at me and smiled, though Molly seemed to be more skeptical of me. I got the sense there was some backstory here I didn't know yet. There was a kind of awkward silence as Zahra looked down at her friends.

We talked a bit more. Will and Amaya were postdocs in organic chemistry at Northwestern. Mike was a biochemist in a lab north of the city, while Molly worked in college admissions. They were all older than I was - 28 or 29, across the board, to my 23.

We were saved from the moment by the trivia MC starting up across the bar, welcoming everyone and giving the rules: four rounds of five questions each, with special questions between each round, and a final where you could wager what you had. It was pretty standard, I'd played versions of this with Todd and Sarah and a couple of Todd's friends in Philly. Molly, sitting in the middle closest to the MC, offered to keep score, which was fine by everyone else. I thought about the table: seemed like science and math were going to be well covered, at least. Music, sports, and geography were my fortes, and I could hold my own with history. We'd been a Jeopardy family, so I had little shreds of random knowledge floating around in my head. I hoped Molly or Zahra were literature fiends who followed pop culture - those were my weakest areas.

Will knew the first question instantly, a question about the World Cup, which Molly took up front for him. The next one was about the layout of a keyboard, and Zahra piped up pretty quick with the answer, then brought it up front herself before returning. But it was on question 3 that I got my chance to prove myself: 'Elvis Presley had a hit with Blue Suede Shoes in 1956, but who originally wrote and performed it?'

I called for the pad and scrawled 'Carl Perkins' on the line quickly.

"You sure?" Will asked, unsure of me.

"I own this guy's Greatest Hits album, and I was at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame yesterday."

"Okay, sounds like you're sure!" he laughed. I did the honors of bringing that one up.

"So Dan, where you from, what do you do?" That was Will again. I got the sense he was protective of Zahra, and there was a big brother vibe to the question - sort of a "are you a sketch who will hurt her" kind of inquiry.

"I'm from Philly, though I'm in the middle of moving out west - don't know about what I do, really. Tech. Until a week ago I worked IT at a local library. Going to look for work when I get out to Seattle."

"Who's in Seattle?"

"I don't know anyone there - just looking for a fresh start." There was a glimmer of suspicion in his eyes there, and Zahra watched us. I was about to dive into more detail when we the fourth question of the round was read off. It was a stumper, and we spent all of the time in between questions trying to come up with it. Molly took a stab at something, but whiffed it. The fifth was a gimme, both for the chemists (most of them), and the baseball fans (me and Mike): 'what letter is the symbol for both a strikeout and potassium?' Mike took that one up, and as he brought back the bonus round - sections of movie posters, which we had to identify and find a theme for. Zahra, Molly, and Amaya all took the opportunity to excuse themselves then, leaving Will, Mike, and me to work on it. As I started to pore over it, though, Will got my attention.

"Look, sorry if we're all a bit awkward about you being here. Zahra... she's like a little sister to us, and she's getting over some stuff. So when she told us she was bringing some random guy she met at the hotel..."

"I get that. And I get what you're not saying, too. I'm not here to be an asshole, just got a nice invitation from a girl and figured I'd see a bit more of the city, meet some people. I can't tell you I don't think she's hot, but I can tell you I'm not aiming to treat her badly." He looked at Mike and nodded, and Mike nodded, and that was good enough. We knocked out six of the posters before the girls returned, and Zahra smiled at me in a particular way across the table - I assumed I'd been the subject of conversation in the women's room too. They added a couple more of the answers, and Amaya came up with the theme, and we got it in midway through the time allotted.

"So how did you all meet?" I asked, as Amaya brought the sheet up. Mike answered.

"Well, Will, Amaya and I were all chemistry undergrad together at Northeastern, along with-" and there was a weird moment there, which seemed to kind of freeze Zahra, "well, along with Keith, who was a friend of Zahra's, that's how we met her." A couple glances around the table told me there was more to that, but I didn't press. Once again, though, Zahra made it so I didn't need to.

"Keith is my ex-boyfriend, he cheated on me, I found out about three months ago and dumped him. I got all of them in the 'divorce'." She shrugged, but kept watching my face for a reaction. Among everyone else there was a little silence, and then they all collectively decided that was that. I held Zahra's eyes for a couple seconds after, trying to convey 'yeah, recent shitty breakup here too' with my eyes. It was probably a bit too complex a thought to convey like that, but I gave it my all.

"Sorry if that question brought up anything difficult." She waved it off.

"Thanks, that's sweet, but I'm over it." She paused and I looked at her, waiting. "Okay, that's a lie, but I'm getting over it."

"That I understand." I gave her a quick rundown of the Sarah situation, and noticed Molly paying attention too.

"For me it was some woman he met on a dating app he was hiding from me - can't imagine if it had been a good friend. That's awful. I think I have a better idea of why you're driving across the country."

"That's a big part of it, yeah. Not all of it, probably, but a big part. I needed some distance."

The next round started up then, and we had worse luck there, with Mike and Will getting into a friendly argument about when Saturday Night Live debuted, only to find out they were both wrong. We got three of the questions in that round correct, and got the countdown halftime question at the six point mark. When the MC read out the scores we were in the upper half of the pack, but not in the top three. They told me they'd placed only a couple of times - this was a spot with tough competition.

We rebounded in the third round, though, getting the first four questions right; there was even a Phillies question - "which National League team didn't win its first World Series until 1980?" - which was all mine. In between questions, Zahra and I spent most of the time talking; I learned her mother had left Iran in the 1970s and did non-profit aid work for displaced women, which explained some of her travels. She was 25. She'd gone to school for psychology, but wasn't sure she wanted to do that long term, so she'd wound up in hospitality while she decided what was next. She used to wait tables at a burger joint near Northwestern, where she'd met her ex and his friends.

"So you just pick up all your clientele, then?" I asked - a joke, and a proposition.

"Is that what you think I'm doing? Picking you up?" she said, with a mock skeptical look on her face.

"You're right, it's not like you slipped me your number on a cocktail napkin or something."

"See? Totally innocent." Her leg brushed mine under the table as she said it, and based on how long it lingered it was intentional.

"I hate to interrupt, but Zahra, we need your help on this one." Will looked a little amused at having to shake us out of a flirtation during the fifth question of the round. Zahra knew the answer fast - some guy named Binet invented the first IQ test. Molly brought the slip up, coming back with the last bonus round, a clever thing about actor names. We ripped through it collectively, and this time Zahra delivered it, then came back. As she sat down, I took another long look at her figure, and let her see me do it.

She kept her eyes locked on me as I looked her over, and when I met them again the gray-green of her irises seemed to dance with fire. That little bit of nervous anticipation I'd been carrying all night bloomed into something else, something more primal, as the rest of the bar seemed to fade into nothingness. I felt her leg against mine again under the table, and felt a silent communication pass between us: we were far from done with each other tonight.

We aced the final round too - there were two science questions, including a chemistry one, which helped. There was also a good geography question about landlocked countries that I got. When they read the scores before the final round, we were only a couple points out of third place - not much chance of winning, but a definite chance of placing.

The final round category was music, and that go my attention. We could wager up to twenty points. The question came in: what was Madonna's first top ten Billboard hit? I was dead sure it was 'Material Girl', and said so immediately, but Zahra's eyes went wide. "No, 'Holiday', I'm 100% sure." The rest of the table looked at us.

"I have every album, my aunt played Madonna for me all the time, I've seen her in concert three times. It. Is. Holiday." She was leaning over the table at me.

"I think we're going to go with that one, sorry Dan!" Molly laughed.

As she brought it up, I leaned in to Zahra and said, softly: "I'll make you a bet."

"Hmm, this sounds potentially interesting. Go on."

"Okay, if I'm right... you buy my dinner, and a drink after, just you and me."

"Done. And if I'm right, you buy my food, and a drink after... and you kiss me." Her eyes sparkled again, and I saw Molly trying to hide her reaction - she'd heard that.

"Just a shame I'm right, and you'll be denied all of this." I waved my hand over my face, and she laughed.

"I guess we'll see, my friend." I let my hand touch hers on the table, and her leg rubbed mine under the table, and some things started happening in my pants.

There was still another song to be played before the final answer was announced, and Zahra offered to take the sheet up. Molly piped up.

"I need to head to the ladies' room - Zahra, join me?" She nodded at her friend and looked at me again, a little apologetically. Amaya stayed this time.

Will leaned over to me. "You seem like a nice guy, Dan, but if you hurt her, just be aware I do have both the knowledge and resources to make deadly poison." He was smiling, and maybe 50% kidding. Amaya hit him. I nodded at him.

"Dan, don't listen to him. She's a grownup, you're a grownup." I nodded at her, too. "But also, if you hurt her, I'll help him." That one made me laugh.

They returned from the bathroom just in time to hear the results. Zahra beamed triumphantly when the MC called out 'Holiday' as the right answer, and we all cheered when we were announced the second place winners - the two teams ahead of us had missed it. Zahra sat down across from me as Mike put down his card and told the rest of us to Venmo him. Zahra watched me, with a big smile on her face, as I paid for her meal and drinks as per our bet.

"And don't forget the last part," she said, as I put my phone away.

"Hasn't left my mind since we made the bet." I told her, this time brushing her leg with mine. She bit her lower lip, just a tiny bit.

A silent sort of communication passed between Zahra's four friends, and they said their goodbyes and left us together.

"Let's get you that drink." I said. I grabbed my jacket, and she grabbed hers. I let her lead up to the bar, and checked out her ass on the way, which continued to look stunning in her dress. I let myself have a couple visions of sliding it off her, and it seemed like those might come true sometime soon.

She ordered a fruity cocktail, and I got another whiskey and coke, my go to. We clinked and she leaned back on the bar, looking at me.

"So what next? It's only 9:30. I could give you a little tour of the neighborhood. Or have you had enough walking for the day?"

"I have some strength left in me."

"I hope so." And that's when I gave out the other part of the bet. I reached out for her face, sliding my hand through her hair by her ear, and leaned down to her. She moved to me, meeting me halfway as first our lips, then our tongues, met and danced slowly. She pushed her body against me, and must have felt my cock wake up as she did.

"You definitely have some strength somewhere." She said, looking at me.

"You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, did you know that?"

"I've heard that from people, yes."

"Well, none of them were lying. I can't stop looking at them."

"You were looking at other parts of me earlier."

"I like those a great deal too." She kissed me now, a little more insistently.

We finished our drinks with some light chat. She let me know, not quite casually, that she was off work for the next couple days. I paid up, but the whole time I felt that light flutter of anticipation, and I could tell she did too. We started to walk, and she pointed out some spots. We held hands as we went.

"So I want you to tell me about the hotel room. I've never actually been in one of them, but I've looked at photos online. Is it amazing?"

"It kind of is. The bed is maybe the most comfortable thing I've ever slept on, the view is stunning, there's a huge walk in shower, it's not a place I ever thought I'd stay in." With Del and Katie's voices in my head, I stopped - the train station was a block east. "Want to come see it?" I asked, looking into those gorgeous eyes. She looked back.

"I really, really do."

Her apartment was close by, and she ran in to grab a few things, a tacit acknowledgement that she wasn't leaving the room until tomorrow. On the train, we sat close and made out, resisting the temptation to do much more than kissing, though my hands brushed her breasts a couple times.

Before we reached my stop, she looked at me. "I need you to know I don't really ever do this, random hookups."

"I don't either."

"I haven't had sex since my breakup."

"Neither have I." I didn't count what happened with Katie two nights earlier, an omission that was both technically and emotionally correct. "And... look, we don't have to do anything."

"But we can. And I want to. I'm just... I don't know. Letting you know that."

"You got hurt. So did I. There's stuff that goes with that. But we're at the same place with it, so we may as well try out getting over it together."

"I'm interested in trying that out tonight, yes." My hand was on her leg, bare below the hem of the dress, and she slid it a bit higher up. That gave me a surge.

We got off the train and managed to make it across the river and into the hotel without making out again, but we certainly didn't last the whole elevator ride without it. We went into my room while kissing, but she stopped when I turned on the lights, and looked around. I took off my jacket, and slid hers off her shoulders while she took it in, throwing both on a chair.

"Holy shit, look at this place." She went to the windows and looked down onto the river, lit from the streetlights and businesses around it. Her eyes moved around the room, over the bed, and through the glass wall into the bathroom. "Ooh, you didn't tell me about the glass wall here. That's hot. She looked through.

"We could try it out." I walked to her, slowly.

"The shower?" She looked at me coyly, and it almost buckled my knees.

"The shower." Feeling my nerves about to explode, I took a little breath then reached down and pulled off my shirt. She bit her lip again and looked down at me, over my chest, my abs.

"Holy hell you look good without a shirt on."

"I'm willing to bet you do too."

"Please, please come find out."

I slipped my shoes off and walked to her, kissing her and feeling her hands on my bare chest. I moved my mouth down her cheek to her earlobe, which I nibbled on as my hands slid under the straps of her dress. Her hands moved to my neck, the back of my head, as I kissed her own neck, then slipped the straps from her shoulders and let her dress fall.

I stepped back to look at her, taking in every curve of her beautiful body. Her slender neck and graceful collarbones, the breasts I'd been stealing glances at all night now uncovered in all their glory. Her dark areolae and nipples, pointing at me, hard and ready. A lean, thin waist and smooth stomach I wanted to lick down. And her hips and ass and pussy now hidden only by a pair of red boyshort panties that clung to her, tapering down to a v between her smooth thighs and long beautiful legs. I was throbbing for her.

"Take off your pants." She said, lustily, and turned as I started to, sliding her panties off and letting me see her from behind. She looked back at the bathroom door to see me now in my underwear, and I showed her as I pulled them down, letting my cock spring free, hard as steel. She went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, hot water flowing from the ceiling straight down, and she stepped inside, me right behind her. We kissed under it, and let our hands roam everywhere. I felt hers on my back, my ass, and finally up my shaft, making me groan. All the while I squeezed her breasts and pinched her nipples, held her hips to me, let my hand slide through her trimmed public hair and into her warm, wet slit.

"Oh god keep doing that..." she whimpered into my shoulder as I fingered her. I turned her around and pressed my cock up against her ass as I slid my hand down and started rubbing her clit while playing with her breasts with my other hand. She writhed in my grasp and I could feel her getting close, but then she stopped me.

"I want to finish this with you inside me. I need you deep..." She said, and backed out of the shower, grabbing a towel. I turned the water off, and we dried each other perfunctorily, then moved to the bed.

"I have a condom in my bag," she said, breathlessly, as we arrived. Before she could go get it, I reached down to the bedside drawer, where I'd put some when I arrived - an in-case move. She didn't even make fun of me for that, she just licked and kissed my dick while I unwrapped it, then helped me put it on, cupping my balls. She pulled me down on top of her.

"Fuck me, Dan, I need it so b- " and I pushed into her and she moaned instead of finishing her sentence. This wasn't going to last long, and we both knew it. She wrapped her legs around me and pulled me close as I thrust into her, holding her wrists to the bed. She looked up at me with excitement and ecstasy as I pounded her tight pussy, feeling her everywhere. Her tits jiggled and bounced on her as I fucked her hard, every bit of energy I had going into her, and she urged me on as I did. Maybe later we'd take one slow, but now, tonight, we needed everything immediately, and we got it.

She came first, loudly, calling out and arching her back, her legs clamping down on my backside as I felt her contract around me. The condom had kept me from blasting off immediately, but feeling her shudder around me was too much, and I erupted right after she did, spasming again and again as I unloaded into the condom. I stayed up on my arms, above her, feeling her and moving slowly as I squeezed every drop out, but soon she pulled me down to her and our bodies, wet from the shower and the sweat of each other, met as we rested there.

After a period of haze and gentle kisses, we extricated ourselves from each other. I took off the condom and cleaned myself up with a tissue, but then sunk back down to her, pulling her against me, feeling her tits on my side and her warm back under my fingertips, our legs intermingled. We kissed again, and lay there breathing, and maybe we were both thinking and feeling the same things. After a while, I spoke.