“That’s what I thought,” she said.
“Speaking of education,” I said, and then I told her about my conversation with Augie the night before.
“So you’re going to talk with this Anthony?”
“Probably. As Augie said, it can’t hurt, and his mother was an okay kid when I had her in class.”
“Just don’t get your hopes up, okay?”
“I’m not,” I told her. “But isn’t that a rather pessimistic viewpoint, especially coming from you. You’re usually so positive about the kids.”
“I know,” she sighed. “It’s just that lately I’ve seen a real change in the kinds of kids we’re getting in the system. Sue and I were talking about it just this morning. We agreed that, within just the first few days of kindergarten each year, we can predict which of the kids will be troublemakers up through high school and beyond. It’s depressing, I know, but more often than not, it’s true. And anyway . . .”
She stopped for a moment and then continued.
“And anyway,” she said, “that’s not why we’re here, is it? Let’s finish dinner and then do some serious shopping. Are we having dessert?”
Since I had once again managed to finish my meal before Laura had finished hers, I volunteered to get dessert for us. I wondered over to the Baskin & Robbins, just in case, and what I saw there caused my heart to skip a beat. Almost, anyway. A few minutes later, I was back at our table.
“Okay, woman,” I said, as I sat down across from her, “hold on to your hat. Baskin & Robbins has brought back Maui Brownie Madness.”
“I’m not wearing a hat,” she said, “and what is Maui Brownie Madness?”
“Only the best lowfat yogurt in the world. Here, I got two spoons. Try it.”
She tasted it and then said, “It’s pretty good.”
“And,” I informed her, “I’ve come to the conclusion that the reason that Baskin & Robbins only offers it occasionally is that it’s such a powerful aphrodisiac. If it was on their menu all the time, people would be embarrassing themselves in food courts all across the country. Tell the truth, aren’t you getting a little warm?”
“Yes,” she said, as she stood up and grabbed her coat. “I always get this way when there’s shopping afoot. C’mon.”
Three hours later, we were back at her apartment. As I helped her hang up the last of her newly-purchased clothes, she turned and snuggled against me.
“You know,” she said, “maybe there’s something to that aphrodisiac theory of yours after all. I believe I’m feeling a little randy.”
“Could be the Maui Brownie Madness,” I agreed. “But it could also be the Day ‘N Night sale. The longer we stayed at the mall, the more flushed your face became. And when you found that Ann Taylor jacket at half-off, your nostrils definitely flared.”
She leaned in a little closer.
“So,” she murmured, putting her face close to mine, “are you more interested in the cause or the effect of this particular phenomenon?” And then her tongue flicked out and grazed my lips.
I was right.
It was the pink one.
Chapter 6
When I opened my eyes at a little before seven the next morning, Laura was sitting up in bed next to me, writing in one of her school notebooks. She was wearing the sheer yellow nightie she’d slipped on after our lovemaking the night before. As I moved closer to her and rested my arm across her lap, she put her notebook and pen on the nightstand.
“Hi, sailor,” she said. “Come here often?”
“A couple of times last night, if memory serves.”
Fluttering her eyelids, she said, “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean by that, sir . . . but it certainly sounds delicious. And speaking of delicious,” and she raised the blanket for a second, “you look pretty scrumptious in those burgundy briefs.”
“Please,” I said. “I blush easily.”
“I know. It’s one of the reasons I find you so adorable.”
I moved my hand up and under the nightie.
“You know,” said Laura, “if we’re going to have breakfast at the club before we play racquetball, we’re going to have to hurry.”
I began moving my hand more quickly, and a little higher.
She laughed and said, “I meant we’re going to have to hurry and get ready if. . . oh . . . well . . . that feels good.” She closed her eyes and slid down lower in the bed so that we were lying side by side. Turning to face me, and softly caressing my stomach with her hands, she said, “Perhaps this is one of those times when we should monitor and adjust.”
“I love it when you talk that dirty education stuff,” I said.
“And do you also love this?” she asked, as her hands began to move a little lower.
Turns out the club has a brunch on Saturdays.
* * *
By mid-afternoon, we’d spent some time in a racquetball court, where I was teaching Laura the game, and in the weight room, where she was almost as experienced as I was, just with lighter weights. Her rent at the Tennis Club Apartments included a membership in the adjacent Tennis Club, one of the best facilities of its kind in the country. After a two-mile run on the indoor track, we showered and dressed and walked back to Laura’s place. She had to get ready to go to an all-girls party that night for an old school friend who had just gotten a promotion at work, so I grabbed some of my stuff, kissed her goodbye, and drove back to Shadyside. Along the way, I thought about our relationship. As I said, it is definitely exclusive on both our parts, and happily so. As for the future, I didn’t know what to think. Neither of us has said the L word yet, but it’s pretty obvious that that’s where we’re heading. Not too long before we met, Laura was
