They went to the same place they always used to go before she moved to LA. It was a little Italian place just off Bowery in Nolita, the kind of place that just hunkers down with its Sinatra soundtrack and red checkered tablecloths, hoping that Chinatown wouldn't creep in and switch the marinara for hoisin before you knew it. They used to live in the neighborhood, and it was what she said she missed most about New York.
It was cold, she had forgotten what winter was like living in California, and with no scarf the wind crept down her jacket and up her skirt, tightening her flesh into goosebumps. He had goosebumps too, but not from the cold. He walked slightly behind her, closing his eyes to the longing to have her back in the old days when they would come to the restaurant and they would sit for hours. Her smile would twinkle and she would toss her blond hair and their toes would touch around the table legs, and then they would go back to his apartment where it was warm and they could have each other. He remembered how she would scream and yelp and bang and his old Chinese neighbor would give him little winks the next morning as he sheepishly checked the mail.
They came to the restaurant and he opened the door for her. She made fun of him, as always, for being such a southern gentleman. They were seated at a tiny table in the corner. The table was so small they could have easily touched knees under it, which they both studiously avoided. The tablecloth was the wrong shape for the round table, and it hung off enough that it was almost like a blanket, brushing the floor.
They ordered wine and bruschetta and caught up, the conversation was warm but banal. She talked about the wedding, how she was sorry he wasn't invited. About her new husband and how he was a really nice guy and he really wanted kids, but she didn't know if she was ready. He told her that he hadn't had a serious relationship in the three years since she left, but didn't tell her about all the women he fucked trying to forget her. He tried not to stare at her green eyes, the thick blond hair that cowlicked off of her forehead before spilling onto her shoulders. He tried not to focus on the small mouth and darting pink tongue that had made him so happy. He tried not to picture her holding back that hair and closing those eyes as she slid that mouth onto his cock, barely able to breathe.
She finished her wine and there was a silence. He looked sad, she remembered that look when his eyes would tighten up and he would stare off into the room. He still wore a little stubble on his jawline, the same stubble that used to tickle her thighs and belly. She remembered how he used to bite her shoulder when he was about to cum, just a little sweet pain as both of their bodies shuddered and sweated and pressed against each other.
They ordered big salads and veal parmigiana to share, at the chef's recommendation. She dribbled vinaigrette down her shirt and grabbed a napkin and some water to clean it up. He watched her dabbing the fabric, swearing, a slick trail leading down between her breasts. They were perfect, not the biggest he'd been with, but compact and shapely. Small B-Cups, he remembered how they hung on her chest sassily, pointing puffy little pink nipples up at him. Their skin was impossibly soft and he used to try to kiss every downy little blond hair around her nipples. He remembered how he used to try to get her to go braless, but the swishing of soft fabric across her nipples made her perpetually horny and almost useless, which he never minded but she did. He tried not to think about her leaning down over him when she was fucking him from on top, arching her back forward so that gravity would bring her nipples for him to suck as his cock was plunged snugly inside her.
She gave up on the blouse and shifted back up to look at him. Their feet touched, and neither of them moved away. They ate and talked about work, her new job in movies, his old job in magazines. Both of them wished they made a little more money. They were feeling freer with each other, things were feeling more natural, and they almost didn't notice when the waiter walked up.
"More wine for the lovers?" he asked.
They giggled and explained themselves, that no they weren't lovers, but sure another bottle of wine would be great. By the time their second bottle came, their knees were touching and they were talking about one of their first dates. They had gone to a movie with friends only a couple of days after the first time they had sex. It was sweaty, clumsy, crashing drunk sex that first time, the kind of sex that feels fantastic but that you're a little bashful about the next day. They couldn't get the other's smell off of them, couldn't get their taste out of their mouths. They sat at their desks at work crossing and uncrossing their legs, furtively going to the bathroom to relieve themselves in hopes that tiring out their privates would let them get some work done. And then they went to the movie, which was something terrible about race cars, and right there in the theater, right next to their friends, she had given him a handjob. A rough, jerky, grasping of his cock during the loud parts of the movie, finishing him in 5 minutes he was so pent up. Then he had reached up her skirt and felt her wetness and pressed a finger into her clit and wiggled it up and down until she was shuddered and coughed and they both had to go to the restroom to clean up. He remembered how his pubic hair was matted with cum, she remembered how she had to take her panties off they were so wet. She left them off and brought them back to her seat, pressing them into his hands to promise what would come later. They laughed and laughed and the whole restaurant turned to look at them a little, but it was so funny and they couldn't stop. They were such kids back then, what were they in high school? Movie theater handjobs? Those were the days.
They looked at each other and were both a little flushed from wine and laughing and, privately, being a little turned on from remembering that night. The waiter came again and they ordered tiramisu, and she excused herself for the bathroom. When she stood up, the room shifted and she caught herself, a master of putting one high heel in front of the other and walking in a straight line no matter what the circumstances. He watched her ass sway away from him. It was always the most wondrous part of her, such a round juicy thing behind such a tiny little white girl. He remembered how quickly the pale flesh would turn pink with a little spanking.