brought his head down to kiss the
exposed skin, and I arched my back at his warm breath, giving him better access.
He started fumbling for the hem of
the shirt, pushing it up above my breasts. “Wait, we don't know how this works,” I moaned, yet still grabbed his
hips and thrust against them.
“It's clothing, it's easy.”
“No, I mean--” I released his hips
to take hold of his ears, and forced his head up and away from my breasts. Distraction over, I released the ears
and put a hand on each cheek.
Undeterred, he continued to unhook
my bra. “We're married. I want in.”
“We don't know how this works,” I
repeated. “I don't want to be
stripped in the middle of a crowded theater.” His fingers stopped as the realization
hit him. “We don't know what
happens to our modern bodies while we're ... where ever we are.”
Eddie looked longingly at the
breasts, so close to coming out of my bra at this point. So much for dressing conservatively this
evening.
“I'll let you play find the freckle
later,” I promised, and took his mouth prisoner in a kiss. After a minute of smooching, but before
we got too carried away, I pulled my shirt back down, reached my hands around
his neck, and removed the ring.
The person in the seat next to me
looked over as I gasped for air, suddenly not in the middle of a kiss. I looked down my body, then Eddie's
– good, fully clothed. Eddie
shifted in his seat to hide the enjoyment he had received from the time with
me, and placed his Playbill strategically. My stomach rolled. I grabbed
his right hand with my left, and curled up on his shoulder, clutching his bicep
tightly, trying to control my breathing. I wanted to leave, go back to his place and talk about what just
happened, but was determined to finish the show first. He paid the money for
the show, and who knew if I could ever see Romeo and Juliet on Broadway
again. My breathing had calmed down
by the time the show finished, but I still was flushed all over.
“How far is your apartment? Can we walk?”
Eddie glanced at the cross street
as we left the theater, and nodded. “It's a bit of a walk, but not too bad. I'm worried about rain, though,” he
said, looking up at the dark sky. I
didn't know how he could tell – I couldn't see anything past all the
light pollution.
“I won't melt.”
I regretted that statement several
blocks away from the apartment when the skies opened up. Apparently the storms that had delayed
me in Dallas had finally blown through to New York, and still had plenty of
rain left in them. After a block of
trying to run in the rain, I went back down to a walk, tugging at Eddie's arm
so he slowed down as well.
“I can't get more wet.”
He looked me over, and I knew what
he saw. Everything. Off white doesn't do much more than
white when soaked, the full skirt was dragging at the sidewalk, and my nipples
were erect through the thin linen tank. The latter might have been from the look he was giving me, and not the
cold, though. I felt like a drowned
rat, and was sure I didn't look much better. Eddie's suit was soaked as well, and I
hoped it wasn't ruined.
I unknotted my scarf, and placed
the silk strategically to cover my my nipples. I may be acting like a tramp with my
husband, but not in public, thank you very much.
The doorman waited with an open
door when we reached the building, and wisely kept his eyes off of me. Eddie had been very possessive of me so
far, and I wouldn't want to cross him if I was the doorman.
Eddie handed me a pair of
sweatpants and a t-shirt, and I went into the bathroom to towel off and
change. I hung my clothing over the
shower curtain to dry, trying not to be self-conscious at hanging my
unmentionables for him to see.
“Do you have a sweatshirt--” I
broke off as I left the bathroom, catching Eddie after he had changed into
jeans, but before he put a shirt on.
Jessica Conant-Park, Susan Conant