“That’s it,” she heard Scott mutter, his hands still gripping her thighs. “Good girl.”
She collapsed against him, everything inside as hot and eager as though she hadn’t come at all. Her orgasm had been intense but it was also a prelude to more. How couldn’t it be? They hadn’t even gotten to third base.
Scott nuzzled her neck, kissing and stroking, his touch as familiar as though they’d been doing this for a decade. “How was that?”
Sam swallowed, trying to clear her mind. “Good. Do you want to keep going?”
“More than anything, but the police might not be sympathetic to my cause. And those teenagers over there might be too sympathetic.”
Sam forced a laugh and tried not to take it personally. Scott had a valid point and she was twenty-seven years old. The last thing she needed to do was get arrested for public indecency. “We should go home, shouldn’t we?”
“We could go somewhere else?”
Scott said it lightly, making it clear she could say no. Sam considered the idea of going back to his place. To his fancy apartment. No, that would never work. Reality had too many gaps to slide inside there and her place would be even worse. She shifted against him, feeling uncomfortable. Already the illusion that settled over them from that first perfect kiss was fading into post hookup awkwardness.
It was just a fluke.A one night thing by the light of good old McDonald’s.
“I’ll take you home,” Scott said and he helped her clamber back over to her side of the car.
They were silent as he drove. The noiseless atmosphere wasn’t uncomfortable so much as it was loaded. Sam knew that if she turned to Scott and said ‘take me back to your place and fuck me’ he wouldn’t even break for traffic. Maybe he knew that too and was deliberately avoiding conversation. They were being careful with one another in a way they’d never been as kids when they’d wound each other up like those clockwork frogs and let them flip and crash all over the place.
Scott had his radio tuned to the classic rock station her dad used to listen to. When the ephemeral sound of Stairway to Heaven filled the car, Sam’s insides swelled. Where was her dad? Climbing the stairway to heaven or struggling to stay away from home, even as he hoped it would make her grow the hell up.
“Are you okay?”
“Just this song,” she said, trying to be casual. “It reminds me of my dad.”
Wordlessly, he covered her hand in his, weaving their fingers together. It was embarrassing how nice it felt.
They drove in silence, listening to Led Zeppelin. When Scott turned the corner to her street, Sam laughed. “I was going to ask you how you knew the way, but that’s no surprise, is it?”
“I don’t know, I was surprised how well I remember it all; school and mum and…” The silhouette of his jaw tightened. “…everything else.”
Sam knew he meant the ugliness, the events they didn’t want to rehash. Wind. Put the frog down. Flip. “Are you glad you remember?”
He looked across at her. “I’m glad to be back.”
Fleetwood Mac’s Everywhere came on as he pulled up at her curb. The lights in Nicole’s bedroom were on and she was both annoyed and grateful her twin was home. It meant she couldn’t invite Scott up for a nightcap and an incredibly complicated screw. “Thanks for tonight. The orgasm and the burger and everything.”
“It was my pleasure. Sleep well, Samantha.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek, lingering just long enough for it to be tender. The skin where his mouth touched burned.
She’d nicknamed him Galahad when she was fourteen. She hadn’t known anything about Arthurian legend, she’d been riffing on the Monty Python and The Holy Grail idea that Galahad was a stuffy virgin. After Scott left for London she’d read up on the mythos of King Arthur and his knights. She’d been infatuated by the stories—especially the ones about Morgan Le Fay, of whom she’d get a tattoo when she was twenty. Sam had also discovered Galahad wasn’t a virgin, he’d just been gentle and self-sacrificing to a fault. She’d unknowingly chosen the perfect nickname for Scott. He’d always been well mannered and chivalrous, and he was being that way now. He was leaving the ball of their attraction in her court, even though he knew they both wanted more. The kindness of that made Sam’s breath catch in her throat.
“I know it’s a bad idea,” she said, before she could stop herself. “But would you like to see each other again?”
Scott blinked. “I…yes. Of course.”
Both exhilarated and embarrassed, she opened her car door. “Bye, Galahad.”
He clasped her hand, keeping their bodies close. “How can I contact you?”
“You could always climb up to my window like you used to.”
“Don’t tempt me. Seriously though, how do I call and arrange a date with a woman who doesn’t have a phone?”
Feeling mischievous, Sam smiled. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”
“I will. I warn you, we’re going on a proper date, though.”