The Height Of Happiness

The memory of that desperate craving for something more from someone who could love her entirely came rushing back as reality became a soft focus. The bartender wasn’t stingy with his shots, and now they began to take effect. Closing her eyes, Serena rested her head on the stable chest before her. The steady breathing of Teddy’s lungs helped make her feel a bit more sober. It also gave that lovesick child in her past a thrill of delight.

After a long serenade, the band moved to a slightly more upbeat song, but they remained in their own little quasi box step motion at the corner of the dance floor. Teddy didn’t speak, but neither did she. Serena kept enjoying the moment before the bubble they seemed to build finally burst.

When the music finally became more than their twirling could match, Teddy finally spoke again. It took a good deal of effort for Serena to make out his words.

“Do you want to get some fresh air? It’s a little hot in here.”

Serena opened her eyes, and saw that the crowd had doubled around them. She nodded and allowed him to lead her out through the scattered cocktail tables and down a hall decorated with fanciful plants, until they reached the atrium of the hotel where a still glowing pool lit the scene.

Serena felt surprised to see that nobody was there, but swimming wasn’t allowed after ten and the poolside bar was dark and empty. Still, Teddy looked around before slipping behind the counter as they wandered to where the long black cushioned lounges sat empty, waiting to be useful.

“You’re going to get caught!” Serena hissed but she couldn’t help but laugh.

He shrugged, “They can put the damage on my tab. Tonight is a special occasion.”

“Why?”

He smiled at her question as he made them both gin fizzes with little umbrellas, “It’s special because I met you, Serena.”

Her heart melted, and this new sense of giddiness began to change into something else she couldn’t quite articulate. Serena only knew that she liked it. No boy had ever doted on her quite this. Teddy was ready and willing to take on the risk of trouble for the sake of her entertainment. It made her mind run wild with school girl dreams that she had thought were lost to adults like herself. Filled with thoughts that her god-fearing family back home would describe as sinful, Serena set aside other people’s expectations and focused on the man in front of her.

Sitting on a poolside lounge chair, Teddy looked at her the way every girl dreamed of being looked at. She felt as if she were the last star shining in the night sky, and he could only ever admire her. She hardly noticed she was sucking air up into the little black straw of her drink, and looking down Serena could see out of the corner of her eye that Teddy hadn’t even touched his.

“I have to be honest with you Serena,” Teddy whispered.

“Yes?”

“I didn’t bring you out here just for a cocktail and the quiet.”

Serena smiled at him, “I hoped you hadn’t.”

The strength of his hand slowly moved up her thigh to her hips, paced as if he was giving her opportunity to refuse or maybe drive her wild with impatience. She couldn’t decide. She only knew she liked the way the heat of his skin felt against hers as the fabric gave way to something better.

Unbuttoning the collar of his shirt and then the button below it, Serena was able to let the fingers of her left hand find their way to his bare chest. The downy dark hair that grew there was surprisingly soft and warm, and Serena could tell by touch alone that it was just enough to make him look like a man and not a bear. Her right hand anchored him close as she let her grip rest against his neck. She never wanted to let him part from her. The feeling was too perfect to let go. As the nighttime breeze swirled around them, only heat moved between Serena and Teddy. Serena would have it no other way.

His kiss tasted like the cocktails they’d been drinking, and it made her even more intoxicated than she was before. The push and pull of the interlude had them slowly falling backward until they laid side-by-side on the wide chaise. A voice in the back of Serena’s head questioned if they would get caught out there, but something far more potent hoped they would. Serena felt wild, and her exuberance translated into the way she kissed her galant stranger. As time passed, Teddy felt less and less like a stranger to her. He felt like something she’d been dreaming of her whole life, and finally he’d appeared to make her mind, body, and soul feel at once complete.

It was all so blissful to be real, until an alien noise burst their bubble. Serena opened her eyes to reality. Nobody had come around. It was still just them at the pool, but they were no longer fully alone. The mobile phone rang in his pocket, and Serena heard him groan as he pulled it out.

Looking down at the screen, Teddy sheepishly admitted, “I really sorry, but I should probably take this.”

“Work?” Serena said with a tinge of melancholy in her voice.

He shook his head. “Worse. Family. Let’s just say this will keep vibrating until I answer it.”

Sure enough, as the call stopped the phone began to buzz again. Serena looked away from the phone and back at his beautiful green eyes. There was no reason to refuse him, and she could tell by the look of his face that he also felt disappointed by the intrusion.

“Go,” Serena offered as she let her hand touch the softness of his handsome face. “I get it.”

“I don’t have much time to be coy about this,” Teddy’s voice trailed off. “But after about ten minutes of talking I’ll be free again, and I’m lucky enough to have one of the better rooms in this place. Maybe you’d like to come see it? It’s quite a sight. The bathtub has its own room.”

Serena laughed as she felt a room key find its place in her open palm. He kissed her one last time as the world went quiet again, only to sound off once more with that ring that was becoming more and more obnoxious to Serena’s ears. With one last smile, he disappeared around the corner as he answered his phone, and she was left alone.