that makes me melt all over again. My stomach rumbles with hunger, and I feel James’s laughter against my lips. He raises up. “Let’’s get something to eat.” Since I am undeniably hungry, I enthusiastically agree.
James orders burgers that he swears are the best in the city from a Tribeca steakhouse. While we wait for them, he explains that the restaurant only makes a limited number of these burgers, and the owner tweets the number available for that day. When they arrive, I am famished. Just as James promised, they are juicy and bursting with flavor. “How did you find out about this place?”” I ask between bites.
After taking a swig of his beer, James shrugs one shoulder. “Don’t know. Word just gets around about these kind of things.”
I bite into my lone French fry. “Isn’t it kind of odd that they serve it with a single fry?”
“I guess they think of it as garnish.”
There isn’t much to clean up after we eat, and it is still fairly early. James asks, “Do you have to go back to your apartment tonight or can you stay here?”
“I can stay here. Maybe I’ll get up early and run back up to my apartment in the morning.”
“Yeah, okay. Is there anything you would like to do now?” James asks solicitously. I glance up at him shyly. “Now I’’m intrigued. What has you blushing like that?” he continues.
“I couldn’t help noticing earlier that your bathtub doesn’t look like it gets much use.”
“It doesn’t. I’m more of a shower man. Do you want to take a bath?”
“Only if you join me,” I say provocatively.
“Come on.” He leads me into the master bath, where a huge oval bathtub sits in the corner.
“Do you have any bubbles?”
“Let me see.” After rummaging around in a cabinet, James returns with a gift basket filled with bath salts, flowery soaps, and bubble bath.
I laugh. “Where did you get that?”
“I think it was a housewarming gift from my mother.” I raise my brow at him in disbelief. “I know. She’s a little out of touch,” he explains.
James turns on the water and adjusts the temperature. I choose the “Cherry Blossom Vanilla” scented bubbles out of the basket and pour a dollop into the tub. The swirling jets make the bubbles foam up nicely. I pull my hair up and fix it on top of my head with a hair tie before dropping my robe and slipping into the inviting warmth. James removes his clothes and steps in behind me. I close my eyes and lean back against his firm chest as the water laps around us. James nuzzles my ear and trails kisses down my neck to my shoulder. “This reminds me of skinny-dipping in the Hamptons.”
I smile at the memory. “That seems like ages ago, but it’s been just a few weeks.”
We sit in companionable silence for a few minutes. Then James asks, “How long were you and Mark together?”
“We were together for most of law school.”
“But you never lived together?”
“We had a sort of understanding that we would wait until after law school and see where our jobs took us. Besides, I liked living with Sam.”
“Huh,” James grunts in response.
Needing him to understand my relationship with Mark, I continue. “I should have broken up with him much sooner, but it was easier to let things keep drifting along. Every time I would work up the courage to break it off, he would convince me to give it another try. In the end I put my foot down and wouldn’t let him talk me into staying in the relationship.”
“When did you break it off with him?”
“The beginning of last March.”
“And before Mark? Was there anyone before that?”
My thoughts turn to my dismal undergraduate years. Most people were having the time of their lives, but I spent the entire time buried in books. The only highlight of those years had been my friendship with Nick. “No, at college I was very studious. I spent a lot of time in therapy and coming to grips with the accident.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It wasn’t all bad. I
James orders burgers that he swears are the best in the city from a Tribeca steakhouse. While we wait for them, he explains that the restaurant only makes a limited number of these burgers, and the owner tweets the number available for that day. When they arrive, I am famished. Just as James promised, they are juicy and bursting with flavor. “How did you find out about this place?”” I ask between bites.
After taking a swig of his beer, James shrugs one shoulder. “Don’t know. Word just gets around about these kind of things.”
I bite into my lone French fry. “Isn’t it kind of odd that they serve it with a single fry?”
“I guess they think of it as garnish.”
There isn’t much to clean up after we eat, and it is still fairly early. James asks, “Do you have to go back to your apartment tonight or can you stay here?”
“I can stay here. Maybe I’ll get up early and run back up to my apartment in the morning.”
“Yeah, okay. Is there anything you would like to do now?” James asks solicitously. I glance up at him shyly. “Now I’’m intrigued. What has you blushing like that?” he continues.
“I couldn’t help noticing earlier that your bathtub doesn’t look like it gets much use.”
“It doesn’t. I’m more of a shower man. Do you want to take a bath?”
“Only if you join me,” I say provocatively.
“Come on.” He leads me into the master bath, where a huge oval bathtub sits in the corner.
“Do you have any bubbles?”
“Let me see.” After rummaging around in a cabinet, James returns with a gift basket filled with bath salts, flowery soaps, and bubble bath.
I laugh. “Where did you get that?”
“I think it was a housewarming gift from my mother.” I raise my brow at him in disbelief. “I know. She’s a little out of touch,” he explains.
James turns on the water and adjusts the temperature. I choose the “Cherry Blossom Vanilla” scented bubbles out of the basket and pour a dollop into the tub. The swirling jets make the bubbles foam up nicely. I pull my hair up and fix it on top of my head with a hair tie before dropping my robe and slipping into the inviting warmth. James removes his clothes and steps in behind me. I close my eyes and lean back against his firm chest as the water laps around us. James nuzzles my ear and trails kisses down my neck to my shoulder. “This reminds me of skinny-dipping in the Hamptons.”
I smile at the memory. “That seems like ages ago, but it’s been just a few weeks.”
We sit in companionable silence for a few minutes. Then James asks, “How long were you and Mark together?”
“We were together for most of law school.”
“But you never lived together?”
“We had a sort of understanding that we would wait until after law school and see where our jobs took us. Besides, I liked living with Sam.”
“Huh,” James grunts in response.
Needing him to understand my relationship with Mark, I continue. “I should have broken up with him much sooner, but it was easier to let things keep drifting along. Every time I would work up the courage to break it off, he would convince me to give it another try. In the end I put my foot down and wouldn’t let him talk me into staying in the relationship.”
“When did you break it off with him?”
“The beginning of last March.”
“And before Mark? Was there anyone before that?”
My thoughts turn to my dismal undergraduate years. Most people were having the time of their lives, but I spent the entire time buried in books. The only highlight of those years had been my friendship with Nick. “No, at college I was very studious. I spent a lot of time in therapy and coming to grips with the accident.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It wasn’t all bad. I
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