“Himlavalvet.”
“I’m impressed. You speak Swedish or something?”
“Here and there. Had a good teacher once.”
“Did you break her heart, too?” Samantha was enjoying everything, the change of environment, especially, and even Gordon’s company.
“Samantha…”
“I’m just kidding. Sorry to spoil the mood.”
“Well, shall we walk back into the park and catch that sunset?”
“Shouldn’t we pay for the food first?”
“Oh, they know who I am. They bill my Stockholm secretary, and he sorts it out. And I tip them generously.”
“Maybe I won’t bother to offer to pay for this then.”
As they stood up to go, Gordon said, “I promise I’ll let you pay for something soon.”
“How about dinner tonight?”
“Oh, I’m taking you to an expensive restaurant.”
“And Ella?”
“She can come. But I’ve contacted somebody about a kid’s party.”
“A party! A party! I want to go to a party!” Ella tugged on her mother’s hand.
“Are you manipulating me?” Samantha asked. Gordon had been great with Ella, and she seemed to like him.
“Little bit.” Gordon smiled.
“I’m paying for dinner.”
“It’s expensive.”
“I’m paying for dinner.”
“Fine. Done. If that’s what it takes.”
After a little walking, Samantha saw the departing light of the day dance over the Stockholm skyline. It glimmered and glinted off the tall buildings, as well as the old factories and churches in the distance. Ella laughed and held her hand out for Gordon to take. Smiling, he accepted her instruction. Samantha turned, smiled, and put her other hand on Ella’s head.
Gordon was beaming, and Samantha smiled as they stared at each other, Ella in the middle. Everything seemed perfect. Samantha was beginning to warm up to the idea of opening up to Gordon, and the fact that Ella really liked him made it easier for her.
I’ll see where this takes us, Gordon, she said in her mind. Just don’t hurt me. I can’t take being hurt from you twice.
What was she even saying? She snapped out of her thoughts and enjoyed the moment.
That night, Samantha decided, after a quick glimpse at the menu, that she wasn’t going to worry about the price. It was so expensive, there wasn’t much point in trying to skimp and save. She wouldn’t buy the most expensive champagne, but she might still drink champagne. She started, however, with a light beer. Conversation flowed naturally between the pair.
It was as if they had never been apart. Very quickly, their shared sense of humor came to the surface, and they slipped back into the rhythm of question and answer that had become a feature of their jokes. Samantha was pleased with how much she was enjoying the champagne. It enabled the evening to flow much more smoothly. Having passed uncomfortableness of the initial stages of their new relationship, she no longer felt guilty about looking at his jawline and finding it attractive. As the champagne sunk in, she relaxed back into her chair and began to treat Gordon more like eye-candy. She began to enjoy his physical features. She even found the area in between her legs to be tingly, reminding her that she hadn’t had sex for a while. But she wasn’t about to rush into anything. She just let the feeling settle there, tingling her inner thigh.
Soon the feeling became more like an itch, and, after standing up and going to the restroom, she returned to the table and moved her chair next to Gordon. As they talked and joked, the pair began to lean closer and closer together. Samantha, with a beer and half a bottle of champagne in, ordered a glass of red wine, which Gordon altered to a bottle. Samantha noticed her hand on Gordon’s leg. Soon, as the pair moved closer towards each other, Gordon placed his hand on hers. Almost in sync, the two arms slowly moved up the leg. Gordon’s now began to ride up the inside of Samantha’s black dress; Samantha was more brazen and cupped Gordon’s balls. He was now as hard as a rock. Samantha realized where his hand was, particularly as it entered her panties. The moment he touched her clit, she pulled back.
She didn’t want to think of the exact moment they had gotten back to this level of openness because she couldn’t remember, and she had mixed feelings about it. She wasn’t sure if everything could be back to what it was. Something had just happened to her. She wanted to have all of Gordon, and she suddenly started beating herself up for it.
“What was the name of that Swedish girl again?” she asked.
Gordon replied slowly, a little dumbfounded, “Err, what?”
“The girl, the Swedish girl, what was her name?” Her emotions were all over the place. A minute ago, she could have had sex with Gordon right there and then, but now…
“What? What? Why?” Gordon was taken aback.
“I think you should go and fuck her tonight.”
“Sammy, I figured we could…”
“No, Gordon, I had too much to drink, and I lost control. I’m sorry I got you worked up.”
“From the wetness between your legs…” Gordon was going to crack a stupid joke to dowse the tension.
“I am…I’m about to cry. But you really should go and get your jollies on.”
“Samantha, we can just sit and talk. Whatever happens will be natural. Remember, it used to come naturally to us.”
“No, Gordon. I’m going to my hotel room. I'm going to cry.”
Samantha fished out a wad of cash, placed it on the table, and left. Samantha could feel Gordon’s eyes on her, and she was sure that he was confused as to what had happened. To be honest, she was confused, too.
Samantha sat in the bath, surrounded by bubbles and with a strawberry cheesecake in her field of vision. She thought its dense texture might soak up some of the alcohol. The party with Ella had turned into a sleepover, and Gordon had told her it was okay because the family was close friends of his, so Samantha was on her own in the hotel room.
She thought about turning on the television over the bath. There was a flat screen in every room. But none of the shows she was watching appealed to her. Nothing appealed to her. She began trying to conjure up the image of Gordon, the one that had brought her to so many tears in the past, but she couldn’t. And it seemed silly to try. Eventually, she gave up and reached over to her mobile, dialing in Gordon’s preset number.
“Gordy, are you in the hotel?”
“Yes.”
“Come up, Gordy.”
She heard the sound of the phone being hung up.
A couple of minutes later, Gordon showed up at her door, dressed in pajamas. Samantha had answered the door straight from the bath.
“You’re naked. And very wet.”
“I am very wet, indeed. Are you still hard?”
“Give me just a second.” Gordon stared at her naked body. “Yes.”
Samantha pulled Gordon into the room and pulled open his pajama shirt. She was surprised, pleasantly surprised, to find a six-pack there. Somehow she imagined that Gordon wouldn’t be quite such a fitness freak. He certainly hadn’t been before. Not that she minded. She so admired the six-pack, that before she had taken off his pants, she was already grinding into him with her dripping pussy.