The zipper had reached its end.  I wiggled my shoulders so that the straps would fall off.

I caught the dress before it pooled around my ankles.

She licked her lips, eyes locked on my breasts.  A stiff breeze blew all of a sudden, and I shivered slightly.

She motioned that she would slip the top of the lounge suit over my head.  I stepped out of the dress and handed it to her.

And then I raised my arms and continued, voice muffled by the shirt that soon covered my head, “and your inner core of steel, that indomitable strength, that’s somehow matched to this emotional expressiveness when it’s just you and me…”

My head popped out.  I struggled into the sleeves, and pulled down on the edge of the top.

She held the pajama-like bottom open, and I continued as I slipped one leg through, holding on to her shoulder to keep my balance, “And then there’re all these affectionate things you do, caressing my arms with your fingers, kissing my shoulders, running your fingertips over my face …”

As she pulled on the draw-strings and knotted them , she cut in, “and helping you dress?”

She was smiling, but I could tell that she was turned on.  Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her breathing was shallow, and her eyes shone… nay, sparkled.

I bent forward to kiss her softly.  “And there’s this whole sexual magnetism thing,” I murmured against her lips.  “You and me … I’ve never experienced anything as strong as this, Harley.”

She moaned sexily.

I drew back. “I need a drink or something,” I said, playing for time, trying to make up my mind about whether or not she was, indeed, ready for everything that would follow if we sealed this attraction with ….

She smirked as she stepped away. She handed me one of the glasses in the tray.
As I sipped on the drink, she walked to the wide and deep sofa that had been built into one side of the deck, which was across where we stood.

I called out to her, “And what about you, Harley? What’s in your list?”

She was pulling on the knots of one end of the sofa cushion, and then walked to the other end of the build-in sofa, as she responded, “I’ll tell you in a minute. Can you please help me with this?”