Chapter V: Andante Amoroso Part 1

Satuday, June 15th, 07.20 a.m.

The sun seeping through the window, which curtain he had forgotten to close the night before, awakened Jarod. It was just after dawn, and he saw the bright sky above the Irish garden.

He turned his head to look at Erin; during the night, the young woman had turned toward him and placed her head on his shoulder, while their hands were still interlaced, resting between their bodies. A long dark strand of hair had fallen on her face; there was no sign anymore of the bitter tears she had shed the night before.

Gently, Jarod pulled back the lock from her face. Erin opened her eyes, coming suddenly out of her sleep without a flinch, and looked at him; her expression bore no surprise, because she had perceived his presence all night long, solid and reassuring, even as she was sleeping.

"Good morning", she whispered, faintly smiling at him, in an almost apologizing tone.

"Good morning", Jarod said, returning her smile, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thanks to you", she answered, "I'm sorry that I dropped my issues on you", she added then, feeling ashamed.

Jarod used one hand to cup her cheek:

"Never mind. Friends are there for this, aren't they? And anyway, it's me the one who has to thank you: I can't tell you how much your trust means to me."

Erin covered his hand with hers, turned her face and kissed his fingers in a grateful gesture completely free of sexual meanings: at this very moment, they weren't a man and a woman, but just two human beings sharing a very rare and precious spiritual union.

Then Erin smiled, with a smile that reached her eyes and made them shine like stars, and caressed his cheek; eventually, she sat up, flinging her legs over the edge of the bed. The moment of intense emotion had passed, but would always remain in their hearts and souls, making them special to each other for all their life, whatever might happen.

"I go and do a bit of tai chi", Erin announced, getting up and looking for her shoes. Jarod got up, too, and picked up his shoes to put them on.

"Can I come with you?" he asked with an expecting expression. She flashed him one of those smiles of hers, as bright as the sun, which thrilled him so much, and nodded.

They went over the lessons of the last two weeks, during which Jarod had finished one form and begun another. Their soft, almost dreamy movements seemed to have nothing to do with martial arts, but in one second, they could become a lethal weapon, as Jarod knew well, for the slowness with which every move is performed demands a great psychophysical control, which takes to perfection: those same movements, performed on speed, become irresistible.

After about forty-five minutes, they stopped, and Jarod realised he felt full of energy. Indeed tai chi means supreme energy, and in China it is practiced early in the mornings before going at work, in parks and squares, people performing together, in more or less large groups, those harmonious movements.

"I'm starving", Erin confessed.

"Don't tell me!" he agreed, "Full breakfast?"

"Yeah, but Italian style", she said, and at his puzzled glance she explained, "Bread, butter and jam, and we'll drink cappuccino."

The last word was in Italian, but Jarod knew it: it meant a hot smooth milk with espresso coffee.

"That's fine", he said, smirking at her, "but can I take a shower, before?"

"Sure! The guest bathroom is the door at the bottom of the corridor. You'll find even an electric shaver: I keep it for my father, who always forgets his at home when he comes to visit me."

Erin took a shower, too, and then donned her clothes. She chose an ivory lace set of underwear, because she had discovered that putting on nice – not necessarily sexy – underclothing made her feel different; not that, once wearing it, she thought of it continously, but something inside of her changed: she felt more attractive, bolder, and therefore she ended up facing the world and people in a somewhat easier way. When she had realised it, a few months ago, she had thrown away all her old cotton underwear and purchased several new sets, in lace, tulle, silk, not looking anymore for practicality only, but for aesthetics, too. The result had been a subtle but plain shift in her attitude towards life. Odd that sometimes you need so little to feel better, thought Erin, putting on a sleeveless water-green shirt, hugging the lovely shape of her upper body, and a long soft orange-brown skirt; then she slid her feet into comfortable sandals and headed for the kitchen.

She was about putting some bread in the oven when Jarod appeared on the doorway.

"I smell a delicious coffee!" he cried. She turned to look at him and couldn't take her eyes off him anymore: his hair was still damp, his face perfectly shaved; he was barefoot, and looked terribly sexy.

Their eyes locked and, all of a sudden, both forgot breakfast. Jarod reached out, placed one hand gently on Erin's shoulder and pulled her slowly to him.

"May I give you the good-morning-kiss?" he asked, in a low and vibrant tone. Erin lifted her arms and placed them around his neck, raising her head in a silent encouragement.

Jarod leant over, brushing her lips in a light kiss; then he straightened his back, ready to pull away. But he discovered he couldn't move, awaiting for something else to happen.

Erin felt the same way. She also knew that it was her turn, now. But to do what?

For a long time now she had found out that, rationalising things too much, one can end up destroying great opportunities. Therefore, she ignored her brain and used her heart.

Slowly, she cupped his cheeks and placed her mouth on his. Jarod sneaked his arms around her waist, avoiding holding her too tight, because he wanted her to know that she was free to decide to stay or to withdraw, at her wish.

Erin stayed.

They kissed once, twice, thrice. Every time lasted a little bit longer than the one before. Their hearts were pounding in unison with great thumps, shaking them inside, deep down to the most hidden corners of their souls.

Then, Jarod parted his lips and, very gently, brushed hers with the tip of his tongue, longing for a deeper kiss, but giving her again the choice. Erin threw her arms around his neck and parted her lips, accepting his kiss. Jarod shoved his tongue in her mouth, slowly, almost shyly; the night before, he had been lost in a wild desire, but now, while with the tip of his tongue he was brushing hers, he felt shaken as if it was the first kiss in his life.

Erin had a great roar in her ears; her knees felt like jelly and were about to give in. She kissed Jarod desperately, clutching at him as if about to drown. Jarod returned the kiss in the same desperate way, stunned, unable to think coherently anymore, aware only of the woman he was holding in his arms, of her body pressed against his, of her mouth, so soft, warm, yielding.

It lasted very long, surely the longest kiss that both had ever given and taken in their whole life. Finally, their lips parted, but they stayed there holding tight. Both felt their heads swirling because of the intensity of their feelings.

They looked in each other's eyes, and their gazes were dim with longing.

They uttered a gasp and kissed again, with a burning need that left them breathless. Unable to keep still, Jarod let his hands wander on her body; passion exploded between them, sending their minds into oblivion and darkening the light of reason. With a groan of desire, Erin crushed her body against Jarod's, moving her hips in a seductive way. Jarod stroked her back, down to the curve of her buttocks, and held her even tighter; he left her mouth to kiss her throat and neck, and she gasped:

"Make love with me, Jarod...!"

Her imploring tone couldn't be misunderstood, so Jarod hesitated no longer: he lifted her in his arms as if she were a feather and carried her to her bedroom. His legs trembled with eagerness; he stumbled in the sunlit room and layed her down on her still unmade bed. They clung one another and began to kiss again.

Then Jarod left her lips, but only to place a trail of kisses along her cheek and the side of her neck, under her ear. Erin's faint moan told him that he had touched a sensitive spot, so he lingered there, tickling it gently with the tip of his tongue.

Erin was lost in a turmoil of blissful sensations. She felt very hot and kicked off her sandals. She didn't think any longer, she just wanted it to last forever, she wanted Jarod to go on, never stopping kissing and caressing her. Clothes were an unbearable hindrance, both hers and his; she wanted to touch his skin, so she lifted his shirt and slipped her hands under it, brushing his back in a slow and sensual caress. She heard him sigh and felt him shiver.

Jarod was burning with desire, not just a physical desire he could satisfy by simply having sex, but something transcending flesh to transfuse into soul: he wanted Erin... her, not only her body.

He pulled a little back and placed his fingers on the first button of her shirt. He undid it; then he undid the second one, the third, with growing urgency. Erin helped him taking off her shirt, then it was her turn to unbutton and take off his. They embraced again, and the violent heat their bodies were giving off amazed Jarod: it was as if they had a fever.

Erin couldn't believe the intensity of her own need. She had never considered herself a very hot woman, but now she was yearning for Jarod. She wanted him inside of her, in her body, as much as he already was inside her soul. She thought vaguely that she was about to became the lover of a man she barely knew and of whom she knew almost nothing, and for a moment she wondered if she had lost her mind... But Jarod had touched her soul in the same way he was now touching her body: gently but firmly, asking for nothing, but offering everything.

She barred the door to logic and opened another to her feelings, yielding to them.

Jarod fumbled shortly with the zip of her skirt, then he slipped it along her legs until it fell to the floor; he had not yet finished and she was already pulling on the belt of his pants, and then they landed on the ground with the other clothes.

They were now in their underwear only. Jarod found that Erin was wearing a lace set only slightly sexy, but that was exactly why it was so very enthralling; he appreciated it shortly before pulling aside the strings of her bra and lowering them to uncover the soft mounds it contained. He cupped one breast, closing forefinger and thumb upon its stiffened nipple. He heard Erin utter a soft cry, which she repeated louder as he lowered his head and seized the other nipple with his lips.

Erin clutched his head, sinking her fingers in his short brown hair, almost fearing he could leave her. She felt her centre on fire, quivering with longing. She pressed hard her thighs together, trying to control her craving, but at the same time, she wanted him to touch and caress her most sensitive spot.

Jarod perceived her impatience and felt flattered and glad; no woman had ever excited him so much, and he didn't realise that she was as much excited. Barely keeping at bay his own impatience, he unfastened her bra and tossed it on the floor; gently nibbling her breasts, Jarod slid his hands along the curve of her hips, hooked his thumbs to the sides of her panties and began to lower them.

Erin writhed to help him and, at last, she was naked, exposed to his gaze. Not feeling the slightest embarrassment, but feeling instead bold as never before, she bent one knee and parted her legs to let him see all of her.

Eyeing the rosy slit among the dark curls at the junction of her thighs, Jarod held abruptly his breath; his expression became hungry and he reached out to brush in a sensual caress the velvety skin on the inner side of her legs. She opened them wider and, as she felt his fingers touching the very core of her womanliness, she trembled uncontrollably. A rattling gasp of astonished pleasure escaped her lips as Jarod's fingers explored her female treasure, tempting her nether lips, fondling her clit, stirring up a storm of delightful sensations inside of her and making her quiver.

Then Jarod lowered his head between her parted legs and, realizing the erotic fantasies he had indulged into in the last few days, he began licking at her greedily. Feeling his tongue following the warm slit between her thighs, she uttered a long moan and held her breath as it touched her clit. Then she moaned again, louder, feeling it sliding inside of her, stimulating her merciless. Perceiving pleasure rising in her depths at a terrifying speed, Erin gasped and withdrew: she didn't want to come like this, she wanted him to take her, to make her his woman, completely.

Jarod could barely hold back any longer; feeling her withdrawing from the assault of his tongue, he realised that Erin, too, couldn't stand it anymore. He was so hard that the need to plunge in her spread and inviting body was almost painful. Therefore, he leaned over her, freed himself from his brief boxers and immediately lowered his body on hers. The tip of his manhood touched her soft petals, which parted, warm, wet, yielding. He was about to thrust himself inside of her, making them one, when all of a sudden he felt her stiffening spasmodically under him. Alarmed, he looked at her; her scared gaze was a stab in his heart.

What was Erin so afraid of? She had been married, so she wasn't a virgin for sure, and was aware of a man's passion... Then, suddenly, he understood: after the end of her marriage, most likely she hadn't been with any other man. Probably she was again narrow like a maiden, and now she was facing the obvious fright that he could hurt her, entering her too roughly. He thought he had been a stupid egoist for not having guessed it earlier, treating her more gently, preparing her for a longer time. But she was holding him tight, and it was plain that she didn't wish him going back to more foreplay.

He kissed her tenderly, trying to reassure her. He moved slowly his pelvis, brushing her centre with his, making no move to penetrate her, just teasing her. Little by little, she relaxed and slumped in his arms. Pulling back his head to look at her, Jarod saw in her eyes an immense trust and an unmistakable invitation; he realised that she was ready and so, very slowly, he entered inside of her.

Erin was so damp with desire that she felt him sliding into her with no difficulty; feeling his testicles touching her labia, she realised that he was completely inside and hadn't hurt her at all. Joy overwhelmed her and tears of gratitude filled her eyes.

Jarod's lips were very close to hers and she felt there his warm breath. She lifted her face and kissed him deeply, passionately.

He began to move inside of her, at first cautiously, then, as he felt her body getting familiar to his, at an increasingly broader and quicker pace. Erin felt him gliding up and down inside of her; she began moving her hips at his rhythm, increasing the pleasure she was giving and receiving, while ecstatic sighs were escaping her throat.

Erin was so narrow and supple that Jarod was powerfully stimulated; he felt his orgasm coming swiftly and tried to hold it back, slowing down his movements, thinking it was too early. He hadn't considered that, if for Erin's dimensions he was strongly stimulated, she was, too: he realised it only when she uttered a vivid protesting groan. Hence, he resumed his rhythm and, after a few thrusts, he felt her arching under him. He saw her throwing back her head, while short breaths escaped her lips; her climax shook violently her depths, wringing a cry of pleasure from her. Jarod echoed it as he exploded inside of her.

For long moments suspended out of time, they stayed still, lost in an ecstasy both of flesh and soul and therefore absolute, sublime. Then, their bodies relaxed, satisfied at least for the moment. Jarod propped on his elbows to avoid weighting on her, but Erin held him tight, glad to feel him above her.

Jarod dove his face in her fragrant hair and kissed her earlobe, biting it gently. He felt utterly blissful, and indescribably lucky for having met this wonderful woman, so sweet, strong, tender, passionate...

Suddelny, with no warning, he realised what the sensation was that he had begun to feel in his stomach since almost the very first moment they had met.

With no possible doubt, it was butterflies.

The words rushed to his lips spontaneously, but before he could speak them out, Erin turned her face and sought his mouth with hers. They kissed tenderly, for a long time, and Jarod tried to make her understand his feelings that way. When their lips parted, however, he couldn't repeat the words aloud, overwhelmed by a sudden shyness: what if she didn't feel the same? The fact that she had made love with him didn't necessarily mean that she was in love... that she felt the butterflies in her stomach like he did. Perhaps her loneliness, or the gratitude because he had listened to her venting her issues, understanding and comforting her the night before, had brought her to accept him in her bed and in her body, and love had nothing to do with it...

For this reason, he chose to be silent, at least for the moment. He pulled back, turning on his back, but still holding her; he had her resting her head on his chest, one arm around her shoulders, caressing her gently.

Erin sighed lovingly, wrapped one arm around his waist and closed her eyes. She had never felt so content in all her life, so in peace with everything and everyone, so... complete. They hadn't spoken a single word since they had kissed the first time, but there hadn't been any need for it, because they had understood each other perfectly without uttering one syllable, as if the room had been echoing with words. Never in her whole life had she felt such a deep understanding like with Jarod.

She sighed again.

"I hope I didn't disappoint you too much... I'm not very good."

The statement surprised Jarod: not very good? She had made love like a goddess! Okay, he wasn't exactly an expert, but she had been everything but awkward...

"No, you are very good", he contradicted her, sincerly. Erin raised her head to look at him, not hiding her perplexity, but seeing that he was convinced of what he had just declared, she lowered her eyes with slight embarrassment, then returned to rest her head on his chest. In this position, she could hear the thumping of his heart, still a little uneven.

"Do you really mean it?" she asked in a small voice, "I... had never known another man, besides my ex husband..."

Jarod felt a lump in his throat; moved, he held her tighter.

"Thank you", he said in an undertone. Erin blinked, amazed.

"Thank you for what?" she asked, confused. Jarod kissed her hair.

"For picking me for your second first time", he explained. Erin felt tears in her eyes: how many men thank a woman for such a reason? She held him as tight as she could, making him feel her emotion, and Jarod returned her hug. He didn't believe much in God, but this very moment he thanked Him from the bottom of his heart because He had made him meet this woman. He felt stunned like with Nia, the first woman he had slept with, less than one year after his escape from the Centre; but at the same time, he felt it was a different kind of feeling, more mature and significant. Not the crazy windmill of sensations like the teen-ager he had never been, never had been allowed to be, but the concreteness of an adult emotion, different, too, from what he had felt for Zoe, the gorgeous young woman with a cancer who, about one-and-a-half year before, he had persuaded to accept treatment and was therefore healed. Now he understood why, in spite of his convictions, their relationship hadn't worked: his feelings for her were not even by far comparable to what he was feeling now for Erin.

A grumble coming from Erin's stomach interrupted his thoughts. The young woman chuckled:

"My stomach never hesitates to let me know when it wants to be filled up!"

Jarod burst into laughter and brushed her arm:

"Mine is maybe more discreet, but it's as demanding as yours!"

Laughing, Erin stood up and, gesturing him to stay in bed, headed for the kitchen. Shortly later, she returned with a large tray loaded with their breakfast.

"Coffee's still warm", she announced, placing the tray on the nightstand. They merrily jumped on the food, laughing and feeding one another, and exchanging spontaneous caresses. When even the last crumb had disappeared, Jarod wrapped again his arms around Erin and led her to lay down next to him.

"I'd like to stay here forever", he said in a longing tone. Something in his voice gave Erin a bad foreboding, but she didn't have the nerve to ask him anything. She sensed, in a confused way but for sure, that in the past of this wonderful man laid a terrible secret haunting him; anyway, with the discretion characterising her, she didn't wish to ask him anything: when he would feel ready, she was sure he would tell her everything of his own free will.

Silently, she stooped and kissed him. Jarod realised she had somehow guessed his distress, at least partially, and was offering him comfort; grateful, he grasped her like someone shipwrecked grasps a lifeline.

Erin caressed his chest with a sensual and though sweet touch. He sighed in pleasure and Erin, encouraged, slipped her hands down his torso, his abdomen, lower and lower, until she brushed the tower of his manliness. Hearing him gasping, she hid a smirk and slipped away from his arms to slide downwards. Before he could fully realise what she was going to do, she had closed her mouth around his already stiff shaft.

An incredulous, rattling breath escaped Jarod's throat as she brought him toward the high point; he tried to stop her, wanting to give her as much pleasure, but oh!, he had never experienced such an powerful delight, and when she refused to interrupt what she was doing to him, he yielded, having no strength to fight. In a few moments, he reached the top and, with a strange sense of unreality coming from the potent sensation he was feeling – not only on the physical side – he burst screaming into Erin's warm and wet mouth. She smiled, exulting, and rose to look at him. Jarod had his eyes closed, but feeling her gaze, he opened them.

"My God..." he whispered, stunned, "I've never..." he stopped, unable to go on. Erin realised he wasn't referring to the act itself – surely other women had made to him what she just had – but to the emotions he was feeling. She crouched in his arms, happy and touched.

"Did you like it, cow-boy?" she asked, trying to put on the manner of an experienced woman, but blushing all over her face, like a little girl. Jarod felt moved and stroked her back.

"Like never before in my life", he answered softly, sincerely. He felt Erin shiver under his hands, and decided to return the pleasure she had just given to him. He made her lay on her back and kissed her lips; as she parted them, he lingered to caress the edges of her mouth with his tongue, then deepened the kiss, fondling her tongue for a moment in a sensual and provoking game. In the meantime, his hands wandered all over Erin's body, and she vibrated, answering his touch like a well-tuned instrument. He left her mouth, leaving a trail of kisses on her neck and chest before fondling her nipples, first one, then the other, with his lips. At the same time, he slipped one hand between her thighs, and she parted them with an expecting sigh; using his fingers, he tempted the warm folds of her womanliness, smoothing them gently like flowerpetals. Finally, he placed his mouth on them and began to caress her intimately with his tongue. Erin shuddered violently; as she felt Jarod's tongue penetrate her, hot like ember, pleasure took her breath away. She was so aroused, she needed only a few minutes before orgasm shook her core, wringing a long, heart-breaking moan from her throat; Jarod savoured her pleasure with a feeling of deep joy, going on caressing her until her spasms ceased. Then, he pulled back, kissed the silky skin on the inside of her thighs, then her abdomen, climbing along her body to lay down again next to her. He saw she had her eyes closed and was still gasping a little; a veil of perspiration covered her forehead.

"No revenge has ever been so sweet..." he whispered in her ear, grinning mischieviously. Erin opened her eyes.

"Then you began a blood feud right now", she whispered in return. She turned her face to his and kissed him; on his lips, she tasted her own flavour, and thought stunned that it was a very erotic sensation.

They stayed in each other arms for a long time, caressing one another; at a certain point Erin's gaze fell on the alarm clock.

"Oh, damn, it's almost ten o'clock!" she cried, sitting up with a start. In the movement, her breasts bounced in a way that Jarod found absolutely irresistible, but before he could reach out for her, she was already standing up, "Sorry, but I really have to go", she told him, smirking, "The fridge is empty: I have to buy something to eat, or in the next days we're going to starve..." she stopped with a slight blush, "Will you stay for the week-end, won't you?"

"Just try to send me away and you'll see", Jarod challenged her with a laugh, propping on one elbow, "I just have to go to the motel and take new clothes and my tooth-brush."

They dressed and went out together, heading for the gym to get Erin's car. The young woman, knowing she had to stay away longer than him, gave Jarod the keys to her house, one more proof of her confidence in him that left him speechless. After kissing him, not caring about bystanders, Erin climbed in her Solara and drove to the same shopping centre where Jarod had been a few days before.

When she returned home, around noon, she found Jarod while finishing setting the table; he had closed the curtains to create a twilight and lighted some candles. In a crystal vase he had found in the cupboard, he had put a few flowers: lilies and jonquils. Noticing this unusual ensemble, Erin thought it couldn't be a coincidence: in the flower language, it meant that he was thanking her for becoming his woman and that he felt for her a burning desire. She looked him in the eyes, while a slow smile curled her lips.

"I didn't know you knew the flower language", she said. He came nearer and took the large bags from her arms.

"I didn't know you knew it, either", he answered, placing the packs on the kitchen counter, "Just in case, I prepared a card."

He handed it to her, and she took it with trembling fingers. God, this man was affecting her so much!

On the card, he had drawn a red rose, the symbol for passion; the text, written in a resolute but slightly childish handwriting, reproduced in words the flower message: Thank you for this morning; my desire for you is as wide as the sky. Jarod.

It was the very first time in all her life that she received a flower message; oh, sure, her ex husband had bought her flowers, but based only on their beauty and never minding their meaning, which anyway he didn't know at all.

"Also my desire for you is as wide as the sky, Jarod", she whispered, and it was plain that she wasn't speaking of the sheer physical part, "and I thank you for this morning. I hope there'll be many other mornings, and evenings, and nights..." her voice faded as she looked away with a sudden shy expression. Jarod felt a wave of tenderness and emotion for the allusions he had caught in her words. He wrapped his arms around her.

"I hope so, too", he whispered, his lips pressed against her hair. They held tight for some moments, then Erin pulled gently back and glanced at him with a grin:

"Yesterday evening we had Greek: would you like to try now Irish cuisine?"

He returned her smile:

"I'd love to, I've never tried it."

While Erin busied herself around the food, Jarod headed for the drawing room and found a number of Irish music CDs, which he placed in the small stereo in the kitchen; Erin flashed him a smile, approving his choice, and focused again on the food.

"I gave a look to your library", Jarod said, "You have a noticeable collection of fantasy and SF books, as I expected... And in all the languages you told me you speak, but there's one that I didn't recognise."

"Your name is O'Donnell and you don't recognise Irish Gaelic?" Erin laughed.

"Oh, that's it!" he grumbled, "The fact is that my Irish ancestors are quite far", he explained, inventing the story on the spot and hating himself because he had to lie to her, "I think he was my father's grandfather, and the language hasn't been handed down, in our family."

"I understand. Well, after all not even my brother Sean's children speak Gaelic, I think it's more or less inevitable that the original language of an immigrated family gets lost, after one or two generation at the most."

Half an hour later, Erin served a delicate pepper soup with cream, enriched with crêpes, followed by a lamb stew with boiled potatoes in a beer sauce; they drank a dark beer with a thick foam, deliciously bitter. At the end, they had the highly famous Irish Coffee, hot, strong, sweet and with lots of whiskey.

They loaded the dishwasher, then moved to the drawing room, where Erin prepared two glasses of ten-years-old Bushmills, without any ice nor seltz, explaining:

"Irish whiskey is best served neat and at room temperature."

They drank, and Jarod declared:

"Just some more and I'll get drunk."

"You aren't much used to alcohol, are you?"

"Indeed. But you are, right?"

"Well, at home my mum and my granny compete for the best-cook home-award", Erin chuckled, "And obviously every food has its most suitable drink. So, since I was a teen, I've been used to drink wine and beer. As for spirits, I have grappa and brandy to my mother's side, and sherry and whiskey to my grandmother's side. I hold alcohol quite well, and that's why I've never once got dead drunk in my whole life: what's the reason to hangover for two days, later?", she drank the last sip of Bushmills, "Anyway, there are moments when you can drink, like now, and others when it's better not touching even a drop, like before a sport performance, or immediately after it, or when you drive."

Jarod put down his glass.

"What about a walk?" he suggested, "So I sober up, and we can get rid of a few calories..." he thought about a more agreeable way to loose calories, and his glance became naughty, "There are other ways, of course..."

Erin's lips curled into a promising smile:

"I agree, but I'd spare me for tonight..."

They took a bus to go at the state park, a few miles north of Santa Lorita, where they walked about lazily, hand in hand, sitting here and there on a bench and snogging like two teen-agers. And indeed, they felt that way: two carefree young people enjoying the discovery of mutual feelings, with light hearts and innocent souls.

It was almost dark when they returned home; they were hungry from the long walk, so they had a light dinner with different cheeses and mixed salad, this time drinking just water. In spite of the humble food, Jarod lighted again a few candles and put on romantic music, creating an atmosphere full of anticipation that ended up involving them to the point they forgot to clean up.

They went to bed early and fell asleep very late.