Back in Alan's suite, it all felt strangely familiar again. They let themselves into the room giggling like teenagers, and all fumbling hands and passionate kisses as they hungrily pulled the clothes from each other's bodies. They didn't even make it to the bedroom as they collapsed onto the couch, Alan struggling to unzip Rosalie's dress as she pulled his shirt off.
"Just pull it up, I don't want to wait," she said breathlessly into his ear.
"Are you sure? What if it rips?"
"We've been waiting months for this, just get my pants off," she said as she gently bit his earlobe. Alan loved it when she was like this, all passion and no calculation. Tonight was just about the two of them, and perhaps something a little deeper than the pure animal attraction.
Some time later, Rosalie rolled off the couch and unzipped her dress. Alan watched her as she walked away towards the bedroom, placing the dress carefully on the bed before hanging it in his wardrobe.
"Making yourself at home again?"
"I didn't bring a change of clothes," she said, looking back over her shoulder with a smile. In that moment Alan remembered all the emotions she had ever made him feel – the sight of her in her underwear, vulnerable yet beautiful, was too much for him and he spoke without really thinking.
"Would you make yourself at home again?"
"Alan, it's been one night." She crossed the room again and sat next to him, running her hand through his tousled hair. "Maybe we rushed a bit last time, made things difficult. Let's see how we go?"
"You're right. How long till you're back in New York?" He pulled her down next to him, kissing her neck and stroking her arm.
"There's nothing concrete planned," she said as she stretched languidly. Alan watched her stomach muscles contract and release with her stretch, the delicate rise and fall of her ribcage as she breathed, the tan lines on her chest and legs from the time spent outside. "I've got another few months of sabbatical left. I was wondering about returning to pure academia though. Dropping the lectures and just being a researcher."
"What would that mean for you?"
"Mmm, shorter hours. More time to focus on my research than educating the youth of today, who often have the intellectual capacity of a peanut. More travel, but no need to be tied to an institution. Less faculty meetings, less bureaucracy, no tedious interview panels." She yawned and gently rubbed her feet together. Alan smiled, remembering her little quirk.
"Let's talk about it in the morning. Would you like to go to bed?"
"It is morning," she said with a smile. "Yes, definitely bed."
Alan's alarm went off at the usual time and he rolled over and turned it off, before remembering that Rosalie was lying next to him. He rolled back over to look at her and felt a sense of balance restored within him. She was facing him, her hair away from her face, full lips pursed slightly. He could see the freckles on the bridge of her nose brought out by the sun she must have encountered in France. How could it be possible that she was more beautiful now than she had been that first night, or the evening he'd taken her to dinner when she flew back to Boston, or even the firm party? The nuances lay in the way the cold November sunlight was starting to cast shadows on her face through the windows and the way her scent laced his pillows again. He remembered with slight shame how he had hidden a pillowcase from the maids for the first few days she'd been gone, sleeping with it on occasion because it still held remnants of her. Stroking her hair gently, he got up to shower and dress.
Rosalie woke up confused, realizing Alan wasn't there, before hearing the shower running. She stretched in a cat-like fashion and swung her legs out of bed, running a hand through her hair. She opened the bathroom door a crack.
"Morning, sunshine."
"Are you coming to join me?"
"Not this morning, I need to get back to Dad's. I don't know if he knew I was out last night."
"Rosalie you are thirty-six years old, I hardly think Denny knowing you were out all night having rampant sex really matters anymore." Alan turned the shower off and stepped out with a towel wrapped around his waist. She smiled at him, pulling a hairband from her handbag and tying her hair into a ponytail.
"That's because he is your friend and not your father."
"I don't think my father would have cared either."
"Shush," she said and kissed him. It was the familiar peck she gave him whenever she wanted to end a topic of discussion and he had missed it. He remembered an evening when they'd been having a lively discourse about the merits of a particular arthouse film, and she had kissed him like that when she knew she was losing. It was the first time they'd kissed outside of the lead up to sex, he realized. She walked to the wardrobe and pulled her dress out, sliding it up her hips and putting her arms into the sleeves. He came behind her and zipped it up, gently kissing the nape of her neck. She leaned against him slightly and he felt a familiar stirring. She clearly felt it too.
"I'm not dealing with that, we don't have time," she said with a laugh, walking over to the dresser to put her watch back on. "Which shirt today?"
"The cleanest one. Big case today and I'm closing."
"First chair?" She pulled out a crisp white shirt and looked through the ties, finally deciding on a dark blue one with a charcoal suit.
"Yes. Denny's second chairing as it happens."
"Maybe I'll come and watch. Crane and Shore, attorneys at law." She chuckled and watched him dress before helping with his cufflinks. It felt just like before, she thought. He still wanted her, still desired her, perhaps even loved her.
"I'd prefer that you didn't, I'm not sure a jury will take me seriously with an erection." She slapped him playfully on the arm and went to slip her shoes on.
"Get moving Mister Shore, else you'll be late." She checked her cell phone again and grabbed her handbag. "I'll be late too."
"What are you doing today?" Alan asked as they walked out the door.
"Oh, I have an appointment. Nothing to worry about." They walked into the elevator and nodded politely to a fellow passenger, walked out of the hotel, kissed in the lobby, and walked in opposite directions.
