“You’re gonna need ’em this summer,” Trip said.
“I like Nikki and Dex’s gift better,” I laughed. “Yours comes with a ton of work.”
“Hey, we’re getting paid, remember?”
“I remember.” I smiled and added seriously, “Thank you very much. I’ll put ’em to good use.”
“Open Terri’s next,” Christy said.
I unwrapped a long, flat box and revealed a pastel pink Pierre Cardin tie.
“Ooh, nice,” Christy said. “You have good taste.”
“Thank you,” Terri said. “I hope you like it.”
I thanked her and then opened Christy’s presents, a Lagerfeld toiletry set and the Phaidon Encyclopedia of Art and Artists. She had at least two more presents upstairs, private ones, but I kissed her and thanked her for the cologne and book.
Finally, we toasted my birthday and poured fresh drinks for everyone. Trip turned up the music, and the party resumed where we’d left off.
* * *
We were still going strong a couple of hours later. Christy, Wren, and Freddie had been drinking pretty steadily all night, although the others had done their best to keep up. Rosemary hadn’t, but she was a lightweight. She seemed happy, though, and leaned with her back against Freddie as he argued something with Trip and Dex.
Terri and I were the soberest of the bunch, although “sober” was a completely relative term. Neither of us were feeling any pain. The night was still young, so I was a little surprised when she leaned into me and said she should go.
“Why?” I protested. “Stay.”
“No, I’m a third wheel. Everyone else is part of a couple.”
I glanced up and saw Christy watching us. Her eyes were bright with alcohol and barely suppressed desire.
Terri stood and wobbled. Her dancer’s reflexes saved her, but she still sat down heavily. Christy abandoned her drink and rushed to her side.
“Are you okay? Do you need to lie down?”
“No, I’m fine,” Terri said. “I just need some fresh air.”
“Do you want to take her upstairs?” Christy asked me. “You can put her in our room.”
What’re you doing? I demanded with a look.
Please? Can we? She knew the answer before I gave it, and she sighed in resignation.
“I should go,” Terri repeated.
“Do you want Paul to walk you home?”
“No, I—” She took another deep breath. “If you don’t mind?”
“No, of course not,” Christy said. She helped me get Terri to her feet and then followed us to the foyer. “Thank you for coming.”
“Thanks for inviting me,” Terri said. “And thanks. For letting Paul… uh… take me home.”
Christy smiled and put her hand on my arm. She stretched up for a kiss. “I’ll see you when you get back.”
* * *
The evening was warm, but Terri still leaned against me as we walked to her apartment. She seemed steadier than before, and I wondered if her dizziness had been real. She wasn’t the type to fake it for attention, and she had been drinking all night. Not like Christy and the others, but enough.
I decided to stop overthinking it. Instead, I contemplated what I wanted to do when we reached her apartment.
She started up the stairs but then stopped and turned. “I had fun tonight.”
“I’m glad,” I said automatically. “I did too.”
“I’d invite you up, but… I don’t trust myself. Besides, I don’t want to seem like a tease.”
I felt a spark of frustration but smothered it before it flared into resentment. Terri didn’t owe me a thing, no matter what the little head thought.
“I don’t want a one-night stand, either,” she added.
“It doesn’t have to be.”
“I’m leaving on Saturday. You’ll be gone all summer.”
“So? I’ll be back.”
“We can’t. Not tonight.”
“What about my present?”
She frowned but then understood. “You can unwrap me some other time. I promise, you’ll see them again.”
“When?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “After the summer, if you’re still interested.”
“I’m interested now,” I said, a little churlishly.
“I am too. That’s why I can’t invite you up. One thing’ll lead to another, and we’ll end up in bed.”
“So? That’s the point, isn’t it?”
“Maybe. But what happens then?” She waited for an answer I didn’t have. “I’ve thought about this a lot,” she continued. “I don’t mind if we keep it casual, but I’ll go crazy over the summer if we have sex tonight and can’t do it again for… what? Three months?”
“I’ll be back before then,” I insisted, “to check on the house.”
“Once a month? Twice? So… what? We’d see each other every two weeks? Now who’s the tease?”
That punctured my ego balloon.
“Mmm hmm.” She ducked to look into my eyes. “I want to have sex with you. You know I do. But not when it’s one night. I mean, you can’t expect to start something and then put it on hold for three months. Besides, it’s your birthday! You have an entire party waiting for you at home. Did you expect a quickie or something?”
“No, you’re right.”
“I still owe you a birthday present. And, if you’re lucky, maybe a birthday blowjob.”
“I’d like that.”
“Me too.”
I looked up hopefully.
“Not tonight,” she laughed, soft and rich. “Sorry. But… sometime. If you’re still interested.”
“Oh, I’ll be interested.”
“I know. Me too.” She paused and then grinned. “So you’ll think of me? Over the summer?”
“You know I will. Especially the part about your gag reflex.”
She grinned. “I thought you’d like that. I’ll think of you too. I have lots of sexy things I want to do to you.”
My eyebrows shot up.
“I said I’m not a prude.”
“Then… I want you to do something for me.”
“Maybe. It depends.”
“Shave your pussy.”
It was her turn to look surprised. Then she frowned. “Why?”
“Because I like it.”
“I keep it neat for my leotard,” she hedged. “And it’s pretty sparse down there already.”
“I don’t care. I like it smooth.”
“That’s a new one.”
“You’ll understand when you see mine,” I said.
Her eyebrows flew up again. “You mean—? You shave? Down there?”
“Completely.”
“Okay. Not what I’d imagined.”
I shrugged.
“No, I think it’s cool,” she said quickly. “It’s kinda sexy, now that I think about it.” After a moment she grinned. “I thought I was gonna leave you wanting more.”
“We can still go upstairs,” I suggested, but she knew I was bluffing.
“We should say goodnight. And goodbye. But only till September.”
“Only till September,” I agreed.
“And then… who knows?”
I nodded and leaned in for a goodnight kiss. I kept it chaste, but she sighed when I pulled back.
“We’re making the right decision,” she said.
“Are you talking to me or yourself?”
“Both!” She kissed me again. “Now go. Before I change my mind and drag you upstairs anyway.”
“I’ll wait till you get inside.”
“Always the gentleman.” She smiled, but it was a little sad.
I watched her climb the stairs and waited until she unlocked her door. Then she waved goodbye and disappeared from my life.
Forever? I wondered. Who knows?
* * *
The party was still going when I returned. I thought back to Christy’s birthday, when I’d come home to a quiet house. Part of me felt like so much had changed since then, but it hadn’t. Not really. I’d been horny and a little frustrated then, too. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I snorted a laugh and closed the front door behind me. Rosemary was asleep on the couch in the living room. Everyone else had moved to the dining room. Dex sat there with a vacant expression, but the others were talking. They’d also been doing shots. The bottle of Crown Royal stood empty and forgotten at the end of the table.