the others join the chemistry lesson

"Chemistry, huh?" said Michelle. She didn't care if Abbie knew what she was talking about, it was an introduction and invitation to get physical.

She looked at Dominic. He was young and Black, cute if not downright handsome, and charming. His build was lean and muscular, as one would expect from a lifeguard. His long legs emerged from dark, baggy shorts, a chain running from a belt loop to a back pocket. He wore a white tank top under an unbuttoned maroon bowling-style shirt, and flip flops.

Michelle considered the situation for a moment, and found herself laughing. She was probably almost ten years older than Dominic, dressed up for what was a fancy dinner upstairs. When she thought about her own reality -- married to Chris, living a lifestyle that was nothing at all like the young, behind-the-hotel-scenes party world -- she was torn between feeling completely out of her element and eagerly wanting to make something of the evening because was she was out of her element.

"Right, let's do this," she said. She turned toward Dominic, and repositioned her hand on his leg. Her fingernails were long enough that she could lightly scrape at his skin, hoping to get him a little excited. Chris always liked it when she scratched him, but she realized maybe it didn't work on everyone.

Abbie watched. "Use your hands, Michelle, not just your nails." Abbie took the tone of a tennis instructor trying to teach a new student the right way to hold a racket. "Your skin should touch his."

Michelle smiled and shifted her hands. She put both palms on Dominic's thighs, and slowly ran them up his legs, and inside the loose material of his shorts. She drew her hands back out again, all the way to his knees, and then repeated. She focused on her thumbs, along the inside of Dominic's thighs. His skin was softer there, with less hair. She knew that if she pushed her hands far enough up, she'd get close to (if not in contact with) his privates. If she had been on her own, she probably would have just gone for it without question -- but following Abbie's guidelines, she was intrigued to take it slower.

Meanwhile, Abbie saw Stefan as a challenge. She wondered if maybe things had gotten too blunt, too aggressive, too forward, and all too fast. She turned toward Stefan and gently stroked the side of his face. He was rugged and stoic, his face rough with stubble, and his gray eyes peered out sternly under a heavy brow.

Abbie looked back into his eyes, hoping to see a spark. Maybe he just doesn't want to be here? she thought. Maybe he's not into me? She ran her hands up his arms, feeling his thick muscles. She smiled as she touched him, appreciating his build and acknowledging in her mind that he must work very hard to maintain that physique. Whether he was muscular or not, whether he worked out, that didn't matter to Abbie -- she was more interested in whether there was a person to connect to. Otherwise, the body was just a shell. So far, she hadn't been able to discern whether Stefan was anything more than a shell.

"Am I doing something you don't like?" she asked him plainly.

Surprised at the question, Stefan blinked and shook his head narrowly. "It's fine."

"Fine?"

Stefan took a breath. "Uh, no. It's good."

Abbie stopped caressing his arms, and flat placed one hand on his chest. "Hey, if you're not into it, maybe I misread the room." She turned toward Tyler, who was grinning. She knew he was into the moment, but she wasn't ready to give up on the challenge with Stefan.

After a pause that was almost too long, Stefan uttered, "No, I'm into it." As Abbie turned back to face him, he added, "Are you?"

Leaning a little closer to Stefan, Abbie was grateful to hear a question she could confidently answer. "Yes, I am."

Abbie kept one hand on his chest, but her touch shifted from a limp hand resting to an active touch, teasing the buttons of his shirt, her fingers drifting upward to find the last button over which she would be able to feel his skin and hair. Her other hand rose back up to the side of his face, and as she touched his cheek, she shifted her position on the couch to get a little closer, bringing her face toward his. They weren't close enough to kiss, but she could feel his breath between them, warm and scented of beer.