“Yougot me going,” Debra corrected.
“You know what I mean.”
“I do. But it wasn’t the movie; it was you. I had my eyes closed when I came, remember? You got me turned on, and you made me come.”
“Okay. Well, do you want me to put in an actual movie now? We can find that romantic comedy.”
“Do you want to go for a walk?” she asked.
“A walk? We’re in bed. I’m in pajamas. We were going to do dinner and a movie and maybe fool around later. You want to walk?”
Debra nodded and said, “I feel like if we were on a date outside of this week, I’d want to take walks with you.”
“Well, youdidmention walks on that dream vacation, and we did really well on the hike today.”
“Oh, God. Now, you’re turning me on. No walk.”
“What?” Sharon laughed wildly.
“You had yoga pants on, Sharon. I was behind you. Youhaveto work out, because your body is just…”
“I do a lot of manual labor at work now. I’m on my feet, running around for at least eight hours a day, but no, I don’t really work out. My apartment doesn’t have a gym, and I do not have the energy or money to pay for a membership somewhere. Besides, I don’t really want to run unless someone is chasing me.”
Debra laughed and said, “My place has a gym.”
“Your apartment?”
“I have a house.”
“You have a gym in your house?” Sharon asked.
“I do. When I changed jobs, I moved, and I got a four-bedroom place for the asking price. I made one my bedroom, one my office, one a guest room, and one a gym. I only use it a few times a month, though. I had this idea that with all my spare time, I’d suddenly start working out because maybe that would give me some positive hormones moving around in here.” She motioned to her body with one hand before putting it back on Sharon’s hip. “That didn’t happen, but there’s a treadmill, an elliptical, and a weight thing in there. I don’t know what that one is called. There’s also space for a yoga mat and other odds and ends. The guy at the store just sold me a bunch of stuff.”
“You sound like a great negotiator,” Sharon teased her before she leaned down and kissed her. “Do you really want to go for that walk? We can. I’m sure everyone’s settled into their rooms by now.”
“I do. I just want romance with you, too. Don’t get me wrong; I want sex.”
Sharon smiled down at her and said, “On our way back in, can we stop by the den?”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Sure. I’d like that,” she replied. “Grab a sweater or a jacket. It’s going to be cold.”
Sharon climbed off her, making Debra regret the walk request immediately, but she also felt at ease. That night she had had with Kristina had been nice to start to heal sexually, but she’d known it would be one time. With Sharon, though, she knew they would come back to this room tonight and fall asleep next to each other, and that had her feeling better than pretty much anything else these days.
Sharon returned from her room a minute later, wearing a thin jacket that would work well enough, and Debra tossed on a hooded sweatshirt that she thought she could trade with Sharon if that jacket wastoothin and she needed something warmer. She took Sharon’s hand, and they walked down the quiet hallway and back out toward the front door.
“So, where are we walking to?” Sharon asked.
“Just around. I thought we could go down to where the turn is and walk back,” she replied as she opened the door for them and ushered Sharon out, closing the door behind them both.
“Okay.”
Sharon moved into her and rested her head on Debra’s shoulder as they walked.
“The den, huh?” Debra asked.
