Later, once dinner is finished (“No dessert,” I tell Emily. “Not here, anyway.”), we take the private car just a few blocks to one of the city’s most elegant resident hotels. Emily thinks we’re getting a room for the night, but I remind her that I have plenty of my own rooms, and more than enough privacy. “But this place,” I tell her, “has one thing I don’t.”
“I literally can’t even imagine what that is,” she says, but she looks excited, ready for the game.
Once again we take the elevator to the top floor, but this one isn’t quite as high—only twenty-eight stories high.
When the doors open at the top, we step into a warm dim glow of light.
“Good evening, Mr. Jackson, Ms. Brown,” the woman who greets us says. There’s a gentleman with a tray nearby with two glasses of champagne. I say hello and take the champagne, handing one to Emily.
“I hope you like the surprise,” I say. I want her to be impressed, by how I treat her and I suppose what I can give her, even if she says she’s not really into all this stuff. It’s the only way I know how to show how I feel.
“I’m with you, aren’t I?” she says. “Nothing else matters.”
And that’s why she’s got my heart so hooked on her.
The greeter directs Emily into a nearby dressing and me into the other side. I told them to do this, to keep us separated while we changed. I wanted to give her a moment alone to collect herself and, I don’t know, do any of the odd things I imagine women must do to fix themselves up when they’re on a date. Plus, I knew being apart to take our clothes off would heighten her curiosity.
“Are we getting a massage or something?” she asks when she meets me in her plush robe and slippers, looking so adorable I almost can’t handle it.
“No,” I say. “Maybe later though, if you’re good.”
I take her hand and guide her through the space and out onto the terrace, where I have had the building’s heated pool closed off to all the residents and hotel guests. Candles line the pool’s perimeter, the lights glow electric, and the hot tub bubbles. The city’s view is dark and sparkling and we are the only two people in the world.
“Jackson,” she says. Her face washes with wonder. It makes me smile, which I’ve been doing a lot of since I met Emily. “You are out of your mind.”
“I know it’s a little cool outside,” I say, “but the pool is heated and there’s the hot tub too. Summer may be over but you can still get wet.”
She pauses from her awe and gives me a look. “Very funny.” Still, she wraps her arms around me and says, “This is the coolest thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you, Jackson Croft.”
“You’re very welcome,” I say, and kiss her. I didn’t plan to do anything but swim a little here—it was more the thought of the pool than the actual swimming—but knowing how little she has on underneath that robe, if anything at all, is already making me pretty anxious. “Do you want to get in?”
“Definitely,” she says. I watch her walk to the pool steps. She takes off the slippers and begins to untie her robe. She looks over at me. “You coming?”
“I want to watch you first,” I say.
She slowly lets the ties of the robe fall by the side. She opens the robe, exposing her smooth skin and the curve of her breasts, and I actually sort of love that she’s still wearing her underwear. I’ll get them off soon enough. She pulls something off her wrist and uses it to pull her hair back, twisting it up in a knot on top of her head.
She slowly steps down into the water.
“It’s so warm,” she says. “Feels so good.” She dips down to her shoulders so that I can’t see the rest of her body. “Are you coming? Or are you going to make me do this alone?”
“I’m definitely coming,” I say, moving to the edge, closer to her. “Take off your bra. I don’t want to be the only one topless.”
She swirls in the water like a nymph, turning her back on me. She looks over her shoulder at me before unhooking her bra and tosses it on the ground. She keeps the water to her shoulders, still hiding from me.
“You have to get in if you want to see more,” she says.
I take off my robe and slip in from the edge and swim over to her. I gather her body up in my arms and she wraps her legs around my waist. We kiss, our tongues slipping against each other. With my hand at the back of her neck I push her face closer into mine, always wanting more of her.
Her full bare breasts feel so soft and plush up against my hard chest. I’d rather have them in my mouth, though, so I break away from her sweet mouth and bury my face in those mounds. She pulls closer to me, wanting more from me. I intend to give her everything, even if it takes all night.