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Show All the Variables & Other Love Stories 73 Over dinner that night Zach told his parents and hers that he loved Cara Neal, he would be good to her-which was only reasonable since she meant more to him than life-and if anyone had congratulations, advice, or reservations, he'd just as soon hear 'em to his face. He kissed her, held her, but whatever fire was burning he kept to himself. He also nursed a mild tolerance for vodka. He seemed so ardent she wondered how she could have doubted so long. She had reservations but every day consciously allowed herself to be a little more seduced. She felt for the first time that he was sincere. Only two days remained before she would fly back to Utah and she felt foolish for letting so much time slip by when she could have been alive with Zach. Her parents announced they and the Hutson's were spending the evening bar hopping in town and she and Zach made a rendezvous of the hotel's heated swimming pool. Zach brushed his teeth twice in preparation and studied his physique and complexion in the mirror. So much time was spent rehabilitating his knee after the injury his body conditioning had gone completely. A layer of flaccid skin covered him like rubber but he hardly cared. For once in his -life he believed-he knew-a girl loved him for who he was deeper down. He was alone in the pool fifteen minutes swimming laps. Cara came draped in her jacket with her hair tied in a pool-towel. She smiled shyly, took down and shook out her hair, and let the jacket slip off. She was exquisite. There was not a single sharp angle on her whole body; her contours flowed from a delicate geometry as if composed of a breathing stream. The dark hair, freckled shoulders, high breasts-she was just as he remembered-and he throbbed inside and out. He could not speak for fear of weeping. |
