Tati came up right behind Ash. “Give us a ten-minute head start,” she said.
Matt laughed. “Okay, we’ll see you over there.”
We said our good-byes to the musicians and thanked them for a beautiful performance. After Ash and Tati took off in a cab, Matt took my hand in his. “Do you wanna walk?”
“Yeah.”
It was a warm and sunny day. The neighborhood felt more laid-back than usual. Matt swung our hands back and forth as we walked down the street.
When we got to Senior House, the moment felt surreal and beautifully nostalgic. The building looked a little different but still felt the same. Tati and Ash were standing in the stairway. “Come up!” Tati yelled.
On the third landing, we peeked into my old room. It was empty except for my cello, propped on a chair near the window. I looked at Ash and she smiled. “Play for Dad, Mom.” She handed Matt an old camera that I recognized from college. “It’s loaded and all set for you.”
He smiled. “Thank you, Ash.”
“Okay you two, there’s an envelope for you on the windowsill,” Tati said.
“How did you guys get into this room?” I asked.
“We told the summer RA your story and he gave us the key. It’s the summer and no one was using it anyway,” Ash said, laughing.
“How much time do we have?” Matt asked.
“Be at the next location in an hour.” She leaned up on her toes and kissed her dad on the cheek and then turned to me. “Have fun, you guys.”
After they left, Matt closed the door behind us. Almost immediately, I heard the shutter on the camera clicking as he photographed me from behind. I went to the cello and sat down. “Any requests?”
He pulled the camera away from his face. “ ‘Fake Plastic Trees’?”
“You remember?”
“How could I forget?” His gaze was heavy. There was warmth and desire in his eyes, but there was also a tiny bit of regret that I knew would never go away. I felt it too, especially in that room.
I played the rather difficult song, alternating between vibrato and the bow. Matt stopped photographing me and just watched in wonder. When the song was over, I looked up to his smiling face. “You stopped taking pictures?”
“Some things are better to keep up here.” He tapped the side of his head.
“I agree,” I whispered.
He was at my side in two strides. As I stood, he gripped my face and kissed me hard. We broke away from each other for just a second. Matt set the camera on the windowsill andpressed the shutter release. The timer was on and he was back to kissing me as it clicked down and snapped open and shut, capturing the moment.
His hands crept under my dress, and before I knew it he was peeling my panties down. “Take these off,” he said, breathily.
“There’s no bed here.”
“That’s never stopped us before.”
I pulled my panties down and kicked them off. Matt’s belt was undone already when I looked back up. He picked me up to straddle him and set me on the chair. He was inside of me in two seconds without ever breaking the kiss.
“I love you, Gracie.” His voice was so smooth near my ear that I practically fell apart in the first few moments. He told me he loved me but I already knew. We moved slowly and gently and it was enough. Our moans were quiet and soothing, and I didn’t want it to ever end. Afterward we held each other for a long time.
Inside the envelope on the windowsill was a picture. It was an old color photograph of Matt and me in our pajamas, with the traffic blurred behind us. “This is cool. I’ve never seen this.”
“I just got it developed when we got back in touch. Turn it over, let’s see the clue.”
Go east one block to Avenue Seven
And then south three more
