wouldn’t have looked twice at.
What am I talking about? I look at everyone twice.
But here’s my point: as I got closer, I noticed something unusual about him. He was still. Perfectly still. Leaning against the wall—not futzing with his phone, not fidgeting, not looking around. But not bored or spaced out, either. He looked like he was having an interesting conversation with himself.
I put my hand on his arm, and he turned and looked at me politely. He had brown eyes and thick, expressive eyebrows.
I said, “Are you in line for the bathroom?”
“I am, yeah,” Will said.
“Okay,” I said. “But I was here before you. Just so you know.”
He gave me this slow, shy smile. “Is that right?”
“I was here last night,” I said. “And the night before that.”
“You come here a lot?”
I nodded gravely. “I practically live here.”
We heard the toilet flush. Someone stepped out. Will gestured gallantly toward the open door. “Please.”
When I came out, he gave me a quick smile, ducking his head as he passed me to go in.
When he came out, I was still waiting. “I forgot something in there,” I explained.
He looked surprised. “What was it?”
I smiled at him. “You.”
He burst out laughing. Will has this great laugh, really sudden and happy. The kind of laugh you feel proud to have inspired, the kind that you want to keep hearing. I went to say good-bye to the banker. Willwent to say good-bye to his friends. We met up at the restaurant across the street.
He was a little shy at first, but not for long. We talked for an hour. He told me he was an archaeologist. I told him I was an astronaut. He said he was serious. I laughed at him. He showed me his museum ID to prove it. Then he told me all about his job, and he was so earnest and charming. I told him what I did, and he pretended to be interested. I asked him to speak Latin, and he did, but he wouldn’t translate what he said. Then he spoke a few more languages—Aramaic and ancient Greek, I think. Then we were kissing. Then we were leaving. My building was a block away. We barely made it into the elevator before we started tearing each other’s clothes off. Once we got inside the apartment, we didn’t leave again for three days.
The sex was amazing. The best I’ve ever had. Ardent and intense and dirty and … honest, is the only way I can describe it. We knew how to communicate with each other, right away. And it was so much
fun.
When I wasn’t coming, I was laughing. And I mean,
this
guy? This sweet, brainy guy? Will is good-looking, but he’s totally unaware of it. He wasn’t at that bar to pick up women. He wasn’t one of those men who are so impressed with themselves, so eager to telegraph their prowess. And yet he turned out to be this gifted, uninhibited sex maniac.
It was such a surprise. And I
love
surprises.
Sometime in the middle of that first night, I woke up, aware that Will was touching me. Not like he had in the hours before, when it had been frantic and wild. Now it was slow, careful. Reverent. The light was on, and he was studying my body, inch by inch. Dwelling on my face. Combing his fingers through my hair. It was like he was memorizing me.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said softly.
I’m not, really I’m not, but who am I to contradict? Instead I raised my face and kissed his mouth and pulled him down to me again.
It came to an end, eventually, as it had to. I got dragged back into work on Monday, when the opposing side in one of my cases filed an emergency motion. I pulled an all-nighter at the firm, then another. I flew to California with Philip and Lyle for a hearing. By the time I gotback, Will had left for an academic conference in London. He was gone for a week. We’d been talking and e-mailing whenever we could, but I was swamped, and things kind of trailed off. Freddy and I went out one night while Will was gone. I met someone—the pickle guy. I went home with him. It was pretty great, which
What am I talking about? I look at everyone twice.
But here’s my point: as I got closer, I noticed something unusual about him. He was still. Perfectly still. Leaning against the wall—not futzing with his phone, not fidgeting, not looking around. But not bored or spaced out, either. He looked like he was having an interesting conversation with himself.
I put my hand on his arm, and he turned and looked at me politely. He had brown eyes and thick, expressive eyebrows.
I said, “Are you in line for the bathroom?”
“I am, yeah,” Will said.
“Okay,” I said. “But I was here before you. Just so you know.”
He gave me this slow, shy smile. “Is that right?”
“I was here last night,” I said. “And the night before that.”
“You come here a lot?”
I nodded gravely. “I practically live here.”
We heard the toilet flush. Someone stepped out. Will gestured gallantly toward the open door. “Please.”
When I came out, he gave me a quick smile, ducking his head as he passed me to go in.
When he came out, I was still waiting. “I forgot something in there,” I explained.
He looked surprised. “What was it?”
I smiled at him. “You.”
He burst out laughing. Will has this great laugh, really sudden and happy. The kind of laugh you feel proud to have inspired, the kind that you want to keep hearing. I went to say good-bye to the banker. Willwent to say good-bye to his friends. We met up at the restaurant across the street.
He was a little shy at first, but not for long. We talked for an hour. He told me he was an archaeologist. I told him I was an astronaut. He said he was serious. I laughed at him. He showed me his museum ID to prove it. Then he told me all about his job, and he was so earnest and charming. I told him what I did, and he pretended to be interested. I asked him to speak Latin, and he did, but he wouldn’t translate what he said. Then he spoke a few more languages—Aramaic and ancient Greek, I think. Then we were kissing. Then we were leaving. My building was a block away. We barely made it into the elevator before we started tearing each other’s clothes off. Once we got inside the apartment, we didn’t leave again for three days.
The sex was amazing. The best I’ve ever had. Ardent and intense and dirty and … honest, is the only way I can describe it. We knew how to communicate with each other, right away. And it was so much
fun.
When I wasn’t coming, I was laughing. And I mean,
this
guy? This sweet, brainy guy? Will is good-looking, but he’s totally unaware of it. He wasn’t at that bar to pick up women. He wasn’t one of those men who are so impressed with themselves, so eager to telegraph their prowess. And yet he turned out to be this gifted, uninhibited sex maniac.
It was such a surprise. And I
love
surprises.
Sometime in the middle of that first night, I woke up, aware that Will was touching me. Not like he had in the hours before, when it had been frantic and wild. Now it was slow, careful. Reverent. The light was on, and he was studying my body, inch by inch. Dwelling on my face. Combing his fingers through my hair. It was like he was memorizing me.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said softly.
I’m not, really I’m not, but who am I to contradict? Instead I raised my face and kissed his mouth and pulled him down to me again.
It came to an end, eventually, as it had to. I got dragged back into work on Monday, when the opposing side in one of my cases filed an emergency motion. I pulled an all-nighter at the firm, then another. I flew to California with Philip and Lyle for a hearing. By the time I gotback, Will had left for an academic conference in London. He was gone for a week. We’d been talking and e-mailing whenever we could, but I was swamped, and things kind of trailed off. Freddy and I went out one night while Will was gone. I met someone—the pickle guy. I went home with him. It was pretty great, which
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