I reached and pulled her on top of me. “You’re making it hard for me.”
She settled against my groin, grinding on my growing erection. “I see what you did there.”
I kissed her, tasting the salt of her breakfast and the sweetness of coffee that was more cream and sugar than anything else. The kiss deepened, and all thoughts of food were forgotten for the next hour. I could’ve happily remained in the hotel for the rest of the day, losing myself in sleep-sex-talk intervals, but Thea had more New York-ing to do.
“I’d like to wander through Greenwich Village,” she said. “No plan. No agenda.”
“No oysters,” I put in and laughed at Thea’s sour expression.
Two days ago, we went to Grand Central Station, where Thea insisted on splurging at the Oyster Bar because it was a very “New York thing to do.” When the plate of raw oysters arrived, her eyes widened at the gelatinous goop and her nose wrinkled at the smell. But Thea being Thea, she clinked an oyster shell against mine in a toast and tossed it back. She immediately looked like a beautiful woman who’d knocked back the worst thing she’d ever eaten and was trying desperately to pretend it wasn’t so bad.
I can’t remember laughing so hard in my life. I chuckled again now, thinking about it.
“You’re still laughing at me?” She held up her pinched thumb and forefinger. “I was this close to barfing.”
“Is barfing in the Oyster Bar a very New York thing to do?”
She gave my bicep a playful punch. “Shut up. Anyway, I’d like to walk around Greenwich, have a late lunch, maybe do some shopping, and then have a cocktail at a jazz lounge or something. Sound good?”
She always asked me that. Sound good? And I always pretended to think about it for a half a second, before saying, “Sure.”
As if I’d deny her anything.
We showered, dressed, and headed out into another sticky, sun-drenched day. Thea wore shorts and a white tank top with flowers embroidered along the top.
“You’re beautiful,” I told her on the elevator ride down.
She leaned into me, kissed my neck. “You always say you’re beautiful, instead of you look beautiful.”
I shrugged. “Both true.”
“Yes, but one is a sweet compliment about how I might look at the moment, and the other feels like you’re describing who I am.” She sighed and rested her cheek on my shoulder. “You’re very eloquent. Has anyone ever told you that?”
I smirked. “What do you think?”
“I think everyone who missed that about you can suck it.”
“It’s not like I gave them many opportunities. I didn’t say much. But I had this one teacher, Mrs. Marren. She was nice to me. Said I was smarter than anyone thought, including myself. She’s the one who told me to sing to help the stutter.”
“I love her already.” Thea glanced up at me. “Speaking of singing…”
“Ah, shit.”
“How have I completely forgotten you brought your guitar?”
“Because I keep it stowed in the hotel closet?”
She grabbed my arm as the elevator door opened on the lobby. “Promise you’ll sing for me? And play? At least once?”
“What do I get out of it?”
Thea tapped her chin, pretending to think. “Sex. All the sex.”
“I’ll sing for you. No sex required.” I kissed her softly. “But since you’re offering…”
“Oh hell, let’s be real,” she said, looping her arm with mine as we crossed the lobby. “If you play guitar and sing for me, Jimmy, I’ll be naked before the second verse.”
We took the subway to Christopher Street and proceeded to walk approximately every square inch of Greenwich Village. Thea dragged me up and down the streets, pausing to admire window displays or pop in every other shop. She took us over to Bedford Street to see the apartment building they used for the exteriors of Friends.
“Second best show on TV after The Office,” she declared and had us take a selfie while she sang a terrible song about a smelly cat.
We had lunch at a noodle restaurant on Sixth Avenue, then headed back over to Christopher Street for soft-serve at The Big Gay Ice Cream shop on the corner.
The entire time, Thea’s happiness wrapped around me like a summer heat—not thick or humid but the kind of heat that thawed a decades-long winter. I wasn’t the only one basking in Thea’s radiance. Anyone who came in contact with her—waiters, passersby, street vendors—they were in love after one smile, joke or hug.