“Hey, I’m treating you,” I protested as we made our way out on to the street, and she rolled her eyes.
“Oh, be man enough to let me get you something,” she shot back. “I’m not asking to pay for much, just something sweet.”
“But why would I need that when I have you?” I replied. She bit her lip and giggled.
“That is the cheesiest thing you’ve ever said to me,” she remarked, but she didn’t seem put out. She stopped at an ice cream stand next to the entrance of the park and picked us up a couple of overpriced cones.
“You have the one that’s dipped in chocolate,” she handed it to me. “It’s only fair.”
“If you insist.” I took a bite before tilting toward her. “You want a bite?”
“Yeah,” she admitted, and she took a nibble before she slipped her hand into mine, and we headed into the park.
We didn’t say much as we walked. We didn’t have to. The evening had been perfect, and I knew anything that I said might only fuck things up. I glanced down at our linked hands and enjoyed the way the wedding bands glinted dully in the pale light. She deserved something better than that, something bigger. I would get her something more impressive when we were back home, something to surprise her with. It wouldn’t be long till my own family started nagging me to get her something more impressive, after all.
“This ice cream is amazing,” she sighed as she licked up the last couple of drops of the double-chocolate that she’d purchased for herself.
“Always tastes better when you’re out in nature,” I replied, and she glanced over at me.
“Or when I’m with you,” she fired back shyly. I loved it when she flirted with me like this, even just playfully. I still couldn’t tell what was a game and what was real and where my feelings for her blurred across into fiction, but for now, it didn’t matter. Just the two of us, we weren’t playing at anything.
Before I knew it, we were back in the car headed home, and the night was done with. She dozed off in the seat next to me, the walking and the cocktails getting to her, and I kept stealing looks at her while she slept. There was something so intimate about seeing her like this, about knowing she was comfortable enough to trust me with her like this when she was at her most vulnerable.
We arrived back at the apartment, and I woke her gently. Her eyes fluttered open as she stretched and smiled at me.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” I greeted her. I felt my heart warming as I looked into her eyes. I leaned down and unbuckled her. Then, I swept her up into my arms and carried her up the stairs as she hooked her arms around me and nestled into my chest. Like a bride, sweeping her over the threshold. My head was a mess and so was my heart, but somehow, none of that mattered when she was here in my arms like this.
I planted her on her feet as soon as we got back in the apartment, and she yawned and stretched.
“I think I’m going to go straight to bed,” she told me, a little apologetic.
“Me too,” I agreed, and I realized I hadn’t asked if we were sharing a bed that evening. I decided to take the initiative, and while she was in the shower, I undressed and climbed into bed to wait for her.
She emerged from the shower wrapped in a big robe and dried off her hair as she perched on the end of the bed. She didn’t seem unhappy at my presence there, and I felt myself stirring as I looked at her nonchalantly flip her head upside down to towel herself dry. I was exhausted, sure, but I still wanted her in ways that she damn well knew. But I was always going to hold out until she made that move, even if that meant living with the sweet torment of her, near-naked, wandering around the apartment oblivious to her beauty.
She switched the light off and let the towel fall to the ground, and even in the dark, I could see the shape of her perfect body. I could remember how she had looked on top of me, riding me, the curve of her waist that seemed as though it had been made to fit into my hands.
She slipped beneath the covers with me and snuggled straight up against me, and I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around her.
“Tonight was perfect,” she murmured, and she planted a kiss on my cheek. “Thank you.”
“Anytime,” I promised her, and she closed her eyes and soon her breathing was heavy and slow as she slept next to me. And even though there was some nagging physical need that hadn’t been taken care of, the only thing I wanted was to lie here with her, my wife, and feel the rise and fall of her chest as she rested peacefully in our bed.