“No one can guess a movie in a second. Not unless it was It Happened One Night. I could guess that from the opening shot.”
I nod my approval. “You’re the first woman I’ve ever met who’s seen it.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“I guess you don’t meet many women. It was a smash.”
“Seventy years ago maybe. Times move on.” I hold out my hand. “Let me show you.” She passes me her cellphone and I get a sudden urge to keep her phone until she agrees to let me fuck her.
I type in the website address. As I give the phone back, I let my fingers brush against her palm. If she didn’t get it before, she does this time. The spark that passes between us. Unmistakable. Her breath caught in her chest. I heard it. I saw the way her pupils dilated, her tongue wetting her lips like she’s getting them ready for my cock.
If I wasn’t on the way to a funeral and she hadn’t just undergone a trauma, I’d fuck her here and now, not giving a shit who sees us.
She looks up into my eyes, her breath catching in her throat. For a long time, she says nothing but then she gets a hold of herself.
“Let’s give this a go,” she says in a mumble. She looks down at the phone, hitting play. “Holy shit,” she says a moment later. “That was fast.”
“You get it?”
“I think so. Was it E.T?”
“You got it. Comes out once a day same as Wordle.”
The train is starting to slow down. “This is my stop,” I tell her, getting to my feet.
“Mine too,” she says, grabbing her handbag. “Small world, right?” She manages another smile and I want more than anything to push her to her knees, make her gag on my cock while she stares up into my eyes. It’s those lips and those eyes. I want her more than I’ve ever wanted any woman before in my life.
Now is not the time.
She turns and walks toward the door. I look down at her ass in that black dress. My cock twitches again. If it were any other day I’d reel her in. Not today.
We get onto the platform and I see Albert waiting over by the newspaper stand. He gives me a nod as the woman turns to look at me. “Listen,” she says, staring up at me with those piercing blue eyes of hers. “Thank you, for what you did back there I mean.”
“I did very little though you are welcome all the same.”
She looks like she’s about to say something else. Then she disappears into the crowd of people heading for the exit. I’m about to follow when someone recognizes me. “Don Bianchi,” an elderly man says. “Please, I must speak with you.”
In the time it takes me to snap, “Not now,” she has gone for good. I curse my misfortune. I never even found out her name.
“Don Bianchi,” the intruder says, bowing slightly. “I wanted to thank you for what you did for my children.”
“It was nothing, Georgio,” I reply, still looking over his shoulder to see if I can spot her. “Say no more of it.”
It’s no good. She’s gone.
“Nothing?” Georgio says with a chuckle. “So modest. You got them both into Harvard. I cannot thank you enough.”
“I merely wrote a letter of recommendation. Their grades did the rest.”
“The first of our family to go to college and they get into Harvard thanks to you. Anything I can ever do for you, simply say the word, Don Bianchi.”
“I’ll bear that in mind.” I let him shake my hand. “Excuse me,” I tell him. “I have business to attend to.”
“Of course, of course. I’m sorry. Please, thank you again.”
I walk past, meeting up with Albert at the newspaper stand. “Must be fun being so popular,” he says with a wrinkling of the corner of his mouth. “Got footage of the four on the train. They’ll be gone by tonight.”