Night of Loving Dreams

And she smiled cheekily as she hung up the phone: her plans set in motion, now all she needed was wait a few more hours for them to be complete. And what a great treat is was to be! She had watched, recorded, paid attention to every slightest nuance in his voice, every little thing that she had ever noticed had made him smile, and catalogued them within the depths of her memory, for a night such as this, where she could pull out all the stops, and maybe, just once, completely floor him with what she was, and who she had always wanted to be.

And so she met him at 7 o'clock that night, meeting him at his house as he always liked to drive, as much so as she liked to recline back in the seat next to his, and tempt him even as he drove.

And tempt she did, for she could not help it - she was inevitably drawn to him. The way he smelled, the way the smiled, the way he looked directly at her and just was, and left her smiling back with an equally goofy grin on her face, because that was just what he did to her: he made her smile. And it felt good to smile.

And so she smiled sweetly when he answered the door, giving him a big hug as an embrace, his arms surrouding her in sweetness and she could not help but press her lips softly against his, to laugh a little and look into his eyes. Oh how she loved what she saw there, the boy who made her laugh. For that he was, and yet, so much more.

For while they were often the boy and the girl, such as they were when in the presence of others, so much more they were to each other as they lay in each other's arms at night, when, entwined as only lovers could be, they shared their hopes and dreams with each other. And it was only with sad restraint that they would part in the morning sun, for inevitably the weekends would end, and lives at work would have to begin again, but still, they each knew they would return to each other soon enough, the opportunity always presented itself. And so they would survive, until the next meeting, always sharing and smiling, the pair of them. For in each other's gaze, each other's love was perfected.

And so these thoughts streamed through her mind even as the car sped along to their destination, though he did not know it. Indeed, he did not even know the final location of their destination - she had been careful not to tell him that. Merely she made a game of it, giving him a little bit of the puzzle only as necessary, keeping him wanting more, begging for more, and only then she offered the next piece. And so she did even in their relationship - though not really to torture him, but rather so that he might experience each new emotion and thought in its entirety, that he could experience each individual action and reaction, cause and effect, as fully as any mortal in his given life, for only immortals can truly spend an entire afternoon on a single thought. But still, she offered slowly, so that he could experience it all at the most richly, and she smiled even as he struggled with it sometimes, for she was slowly exposing him to so much, even if he did not realize it.

And then she told him to make two more rights, then turn into the parking lot that would just three houses down, and they would be there. And when he turned off the ignition and went to open his door, she got out before him and opened his door in turn, reversing the roles they so often played when they went out. For tonight was not for her, but rather, for him. And so she held open the door, and watched as he stepped out of it, her man, the one who had brought her into this world. And once again she smiled, and stopped him from going any farther, just so that she could kiss him and revel in his nearness, his love for her. For she could feel it, always, even in the slightest little thing he did for her. It was just always there, plain and visible to her on his face, though few others could see it, unless they knew to look for it. But always, it was there.

And she led him over to the entrance to the restaurant. They had never been here before, and while she had been there many a time before with friends, she knew that he never had. But the place delighted her, and she knew it deep within her soul it would call to the same emotions in him, and so she had brought him here.

She smiled that same smile to the maitre'd, though it did not carry the solar systems it did when she looked at him, and he led them over to the table she had specially requested for the night. In the farthest corner of the room, away from the families and other couples who were sharing and talking, they sat, one opposite the other with a magnificent view of the river to both capture their hearts and delight their senses.

The waiter came over with two menu's, but she shook her head and reminded him that she had phoned in advance. The boy blushed, afraid he had just lost his tip, but she smiled at him and he knew that he was still good in the mind of the young woman. And she smiled secretly at him, and the boy remembered what he had been told earlier in the day, about a special couple that were coming to the restaurant that night, and he returned her glance with a cheeky glance, then winked and disappeared into the backrooms of the kitchen.

And her companion at the table raised an eyebrow in incredulous wonder, and she just laughed lightly at him, biting her lip and raising an eyebrow suggestively as if to ask, "What, you didn't expect this of me?"

And he had just shook his head at her, eyes wide and sparkling, for indeed he hadn't quite expected something like this, and was in wonder at what else the night had in store for them. But she just back in her chair in that little corner of the world that was theirs that night, winked once more to say "Enjoy", and made him wait for the next surprise that was to come.

He had to admit that he was utterly amazed - she always surprised him, he did not deny it, but he was never quite prepared for it. And so he just shook his head in wonder, and took in the atmosphere around them. The restaurant was of an ancient style, furnished entirely in antique wood and the softest of crushed velvets. The arms on the booth in which he sat were exquisitely carved, the table itself was inlaid with a fine pattern of marble, and as he sat there, under her loving gaze, he could not help but feel as though he had been transported back into another age, back when women wore the finest dresses and jewelry, and men courted them under the stars while musicians played the music of Bach and Mozart on their instruments.

The boy returned with a bottle of wine, interrupting his thoughts. He looked at the lady with whom he shared the table, and watched as she nodded for him to pour the glasses. He knew that she preferred the lighter, white wines, and therefore noted that once again, she was acting to please him, having selected one of the red varieties that she knew he was so immensely fond of. She lifted on glass, offered it to him, then took the other glass for herself and lifted it high so that it reflected in the dark firelight that occupied their small corner of the world. "For you, the one who has not only stolen my heart, but has completely eclipsed my soul. I know not how this came to be, but I cannot thank you enough for it."

And he brought his own glass up into the firelight, and answered her with the words that came from his own heart. "And to you as well, my love. One soul of two bodies, may you always be happy."

"May we always be happy," she echoed, and they each raised their glasses to the lips of the other, the wine their promise to each other, each drop like liquid ectasy as it drained down their throats.

It was then that the boy returned, balancing several trays in his hands, not unlike the juggler at the carnival with his sticks of fire, and carefully he laid each one in front of the couple. And the man was once again pleasantly surprised, for he found that she had ordered in advance every single one of is favorite foods, even the ones he had only mentioned once or twice in passing, and had thought she had paid no attention to. And she had only smiled with that knowing smile of hers, as if to say, "Yes, I know you that well. Enjoy."

And so they had eaten, enjoying each dish and ending the meal with a sorbet made of fresh strawberries and topped with plenty of cream. She had played games with him as they ate the dessert, seductively pulling the cherry off of its crown position on the top of the dessert, licking her lips, the pulling the juicy fruit off of its stem, twisting the stem into a knot with her tongue. Oh yes, she loved the effect she could have on him, she found it intoxicating, but still, she was careful never to go too far with him, to push him beyond his limits. And so they both enjoyed, her teasing, he wanting, waiting, for the real dessert that he knew would eventually come.

But it would not come yet, even as they finished the dessert and she passed the boy the money to pay for the meal, plus some extra for a gracious tip. And she smiled at the boy as they left, for she had enjoyed the look on his face as he recognized the value of those bills, and she still could not believe that it was because of the one that she was with that she could pull said bills out of her wallet to pay for such a meal. In deed, at times, she felt that it was all because of him, this life that she led. He had lifted her up, lifted her out, taken her to such heights that they had first dazzled, amazed, then puzzled her, to the point that she had had to try and conquer them all by herself, and won, and now she stood at the top, with him as her prize. Or her as his, she could never be sure which. That, or she did not care.

She requested the opportunity herself this time to drive, and he acquiesed, wanting as always to make her happy, to her smile with that look that both made his eyes light up and his sould hunger. For when she smiled, he always wanted her. She was made up of the light, and all things good, and his thirst for her resounded in his veins.

And she drove them to a small little club, the one where they had first exchanged glances, then words and smiles, and finally, a dance in the center of the club, where each saw none other until the music had ended and the place had closed for the night. And he had offered to walk her to her car, and she had explained that she had none, but that if he wished it he was more than welcome to lead her back to her apartment, as she never did quite feel safe walking home in the night alone. And so he had accepted, and before long he had found the courage to place his hand in hers, and she had responded by returning it with a firm grip of her own, and so they had walked, hand in hand, up to the steps of her apartment.

And there she hesistated for a moment, seeing the echoes of options she had at that exact moment in time, and taking one slightly shaky breath, she had offered him the chance to come inside, to warm up a little before he ventured back to his car, his own home for the night.

He had come inside, and she had made tea for the two of them, and removed several small bisquits and chocolates and placed them on a small tray which she then laid on the small wooden table in the centre of the living room. She bade him sit down, which he did, and they had drank and ate as they conversed, and by the end of the night they found they had found something in each other.