32. Hildy
Hildy
TEN YEARS AGO
TAMPA, Fla.—One of Hildy’s special gifts was taking something that was already pretty great—hanging out with Walter, his hair, their story—and raising it to the next level.
It was instinctive, the way tennis must be for someone sporty.
Ideas popped into her brain without conscious effort: a tweak here, more emphasis there.
Sometimes her head felt like a crystal ball.
Ping! Another gem of inspiration shimmering into place.
Her latest brainwave was perhaps her most daring idea yet.
Sex. With Walter.
As a concept, it was both obvious and brilliant.
Trust, attraction, limited supervision—the conditions were ideal for her first time.
Clearly the universe wanted them to do this.
Especially since it would also be Walter’s first time (she was pretty sure), so Hildy wouldn’t feel self-conscious about her lack of experience.
Or worry that he might forget her after this week, when they went back to their separate lives. You never forgot your first.
Hildy didn’t have anyone she could ask for tips on staging a seduction, so she was winging it.
She wanted tonight to feel classy and sophisticated to show Walter he was important to her—that she cared enough to pay attention to the details.
Hence the trip to Victoria’s Secret, and the cans of cranberry juice cocktail (Walter’s favorite) chilling in the mini fridge.
This was definitely not what her uncle had in mind when he booked a hotel room in case Hildy couldn’t handle the dorms, but she was all about making the most of the resources at hand.
She’d proven she could rough it, and now she needed privacy, because if she asked her charming roommate to make herself scarce, Corinne would come back after five minutes, just to be a contrarian.
And from everything Hildy had read, this would take longer than that.
He knocked on the door promptly at eight.
“Hi,” she said, hoping the breathlessness sounded sultry rather than nervous.
“I got your note.” Walter held up the folded square of paper, sending a wave of fragrance in Hildy’s direction. It was possible she’d gone overboard with the perfume. “Is everything…”
He trailed off, and she watched his gaze flit around the room, taking in the low lighting and soft thump of music in the background. Hildy stepped out from behind the door, giving him a glimpse of her lacy purple nightie. Walter’s eyes went wide.
“Am I interrupting?” he asked, hovering on the threshold.
She frowned, wondering how the scenario could have been any more obvious. Maybe she should have gotten a piece of posterboard and written LET’S GET IT ON in bubble letters. Grabbing him by the wrist, Hildy tugged Walter into her hotel room, slamming the door behind him.
He glanced over her shoulder, and Hildy saw him take in the full picture: the sheets neatly folded back, a trail of rose petals leading to the bed, the plastic hotel ice bucket on the desk with two cans of Ocean Spray.
“You. Uh.” He paused to take a breath. “You were waiting for me?”
“Yes, Walter.” In more ways than one, but she wanted this moment to be sexy, not sappy. “Is this okay?”
He nodded, still blinking more than normal, like she’d just set off a strobe light in his face. Hildy edged closer, placing her hands on his shoulders. That triggered a response, his arms coming around her waist. She felt the warmth of Walter’s palms through the satin at her hips.
“We finished the story.” She wasn’t whispering on purpose, but they were standing so close a normal voice would have felt like shouting.
Walter made a low murmur of agreement.
“You know what that means?”
His gaze strayed to the bed. “Possibly?”
Hildy tried to think of something saucy to say to erase any lingering doubts, but a smile broke free instead. When he smiled back, she forgot about planning her next move and stretched up to kiss him.
Walter’s mouth was warm and soft, with a hint of sweetness from the peanut butter and banana sandwiches he made himself for dinner every night.
She was ready for it to be awkward, since they’d never done this before, but kissing Walter was as easy as having a conversation with him.
Except their lips were less far apart—and all the parts of them below the chin were touching too.
The press of Walter’s body against hers felt so good, Hildy couldn’t stop straining to get even closer. She needed an assist from gravity, and a lot less clothing. When she reached behind her to untie the halter neckline of her nightgown, Walter put a hand on her arm.
“Let me do that.”
She shivered as his fingers skimmed up her back, slowing when they reached the midpoint. A crease formed between his brows as he moved his hand from side to side.
“Something wrong?” Maybe she had a previously undiagnosed spinal condition.
“I can’t find your bra.”
“I already took it off. You don’t wear them under pajamas.”
His blush intensified. “Sorry. If you’d given me more notice, I would have done research.”
She was focused on walking backward without letting go of him, so it took a second to catch on. “Like porn?”
“No!”
The light went on. “You were going to interview people. About sex. A little fact-finding mission. Maybe loop in a librarian.”
“Forget I said anything.”
“Not likely.” She kissed him again, because he was so earnest, and she could.
“Speaking of preparations,” he said, when they were standing next to the bed. “I don’t have any, um—”
“I have some. From the dorm.”
“Okay. Wow. I should have known you’d be on top of things.”
“And you’re cool with this?”
He laughed, just a little, so she could tell it wasn’t aimed at her. “I keep waiting to wake up.”
Hildy reached around him to pinch his butt. “Still with me?”
Walter nodded.
“Then I guess it’s not a dream.”
She kissed him again, keeping her hand low and tight on his behind.
Now that she’d blazed that trail, it was fair game—and Walter’s ass felt like a safe place to start before things really escalated.
There had to be a graceful way to ease onto the bed without either of them chipping a tooth.
Hildy was attempting a slow sag when her phone buzzed.
“Ignore that,” she told Walter, breaking away long enough to drop onto the edge of the mattress. She patted the space next to her thigh.
He sank down beside her, and Hildy managed to get them horizontal without too much struggle.
They stayed like that for a while, lying on their sides, facing each other, lips and tongues together while their hands wandered.
She wanted to close her eyes and savor the feeling of Walter touching her, but couldn’t seem to stop her own restless exploration, from his ears to his shoulders and chest. When her fingers brushed against the button at the waistband of his shorts, Hildy pulled away just far enough to look him in the eye.
“It’s actually a snap,” he whispered. “Not a button. Just FYI.”
“Thanks for the heads-up.”
“Any time.”
Her fingers had just started tugging on the pull of his zipper when the hotel phone on the bedside table rang, the sudden burst of shrillness startling them both.
Her hand jerked, bringing her knuckles into contact with a sensitive part of Walter’s anatomy.
She wasn’t experienced enough to know whether his yelp meant she’d hurt him, or the opposite.
“Should you get that?” His voice was slightly strangled.
As much as she wanted to ignore the call, Hildy was afraid whoever it was might come knocking if she didn’t answer. Sighing, she rolled over and grabbed the receiver.
“Hello?”
Ten seconds later, Hildy’s insides had turned to ice. The freezing sensation spread from her stomach to her heart and then to her face. She was dimly aware that Walter was watching her with concern.
The person at the front desk was waiting for a response. Hildy needed a defibrillator for her brain.
“Tell him … I just got out of the shower,” she stammered, with none of her usual flair for ad-libbing. “I’ll be down in ten—fifteen minutes. Tell him not to come up,” she added, with a sudden stab of panic.
Hildy let go of the phone. She had considered beating herself to death with it, but she didn’t have the strength—or the time.
“Hildy?” Walter asked, placing a tentative hand on her arm. It was a sympathetic gesture, as if she needed another sign that the romantic portion of the evening was over. “Is everything okay?”
“My uncle’s here.”
He scrambled to his feet. “Here—at the hotel?”
“I told him not to come. It’s so typical of him to show up anyway.”
“He wanted to be here for the awards?”
Hildy shrugged. Uncle Richard would claim he was there to support her, but he undoubtedly had other reasons for making an appearance. Throwing his weight around, glad-handing a few cronies, being fawned over—the usual.
“That’s kind of nice,” Walter pushed back, ever so gently.
“Is it, Walter?” She cast a significant glance at the front of his shorts, still gaping open. He adjusted himself before zipping up his fly. Now all he needed was a duffel bag to hide the evidence of what they’d been doing.
“What’s the plan?” He looked around the room, from the tangled sheets to the trail of rose petals. “Do you want me to help clean up?”
She shook her head. “I need to get dressed and get down to the lobby before he decides to come up here.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
Hildy could tell he wanted her to say no, but she wasn’t ready to introduce him to her family. That would require more preparation—on both sides. She’d been a little too focused on getting Walter naked to worry about explaining her life story.
“Sorry,” she said, as if that would soften the blow of kicking him out.
“That’s okay.” He leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “I’ll see you later?”
It was a classic Walter response: hopeful but trying not to push. Hildy’s heart squeezed with affection. “I’ll call you.”
She wanted it to be tonight, but there was no telling how long it would take to manage her uncle, and Hildy was tense enough without worrying about Walter waiting for her.
He hesitated in the doorway, sending her a last fleeting smile. “Good luck.”
The second she was alone, Hildy had the strangest urge to throw herself on the bed and cry. But that was silly. She would handle the situation like a mature and competent adult, and then she and Walter could finish what they’d started.
There was no reason to feel like she’d just lost something precious.