River’s End

weeks, after all. What was wrong with taking the first few days with her?
    He wondered if the center she spoke of with such passion was her way of opening the bubble his mother had described or just another way to expand its boundaries and stay inside.
    “It’ll be a lot of work.”
    “It’s not work when you’re doing what you love.”
    That he understood. His assignments at the paper had become a grind, but every time he opened himself up to the book, dived into the research, pored over his notes and files, it was a thrill. “Then you can’t let anything stop you.”
    “No.” Her eyes were alive with the energy of it. “Just a few more years, and I’m going to make it happen.”
    “Then I’ll come see it.” His hand closed over hers on the white plastic table. And you, he thought.
    “I hope so.” And because she did, because she found she could, she turned her hand over and linked her fingers with his.
    They talked about music, about books, about everything couples talk about when they’re desperate to find every shared interest and explore it. When he discovered she had not only never been to a basketball game, but had never watched one on television, he looked totally, sincerely shocked.
    “You’ve got a huge hole in your education here, Liv.” He had her hand again as they walked to his car. “I’m sending you copies of my tapes of the Lakers.”
    “They would be a basketball team.”
    “They, Olivia, would be gods. Okay.” He settled behind the wheel. “We’ve managed to introduce you to the cultural delights of fast food: we have the only true sport heading your way. What’s next?”
    “I don’t know how to thank you for helping me this way.”
    “It’s the least I can do.”
    He already knew what was next, as he’d spent part of his day scoping out the area around the college. He had a pretty good idea it wasn’t only fish sandwiches and sports Olivia had missed.
    He took her dancing.
    The club was loud, crowded and perfect. He’d already decided if he was alone with her he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from moving too fast.
    He was an observer, a measurer of people. It had taken only one evening with her for him to realize she was every bit as lonely as the young girl he remembered on the banks of the river. And that she was completely untouched.
    There were rules. He believed strongly in rules, in rights and wrongs and in consequences. She wasn’t ready for the needs she stirred up inside him. He wasn’t sure he was ready for them himself.
    He saw her dazzled and wary look when they shoved their way through the crowd. Amused by it, delighted by her, he leaned close to her ear.
    “Mass humanity at ritual. You could do a paper.”
    “I’m a naturalist.”
    “Baby, this is nature.” He found them a table, jammed in with other tables, leaned forward to shout over the driving scream of music. “Male, female, basic courtship rituals.”
    She glanced toward the tiny dance floor where dozens of couples managed to squeeze in together and writhe. “I don’t think that qualifies as courtship.”
    But it was interesting enough to watch. She’d always avoided places like this. Too many people in too small a space. It tended to create pressure in her chest, to release little flutters of panic in her throat. But she didn’t feel uneasy tonight, bumped up against Noah, his hand lightly covering hers on the table.
    He ordered a beer, and she opted for sparkling water. By the time the waitress had managed to swerve, shuffle and elbow her way through with their order, Olivia was relaxed.
    The music was loud, and not particularly good, but it meshed nicely with that drumming under her heart. A kind of primitive backbeat to her own longings. Since she couldn’t hear her own thoughts, she forgot them and just watched. Courtship. She supposed Noah was right, after all. The plumage—in this case leather and denim, bold colors or basic black. The repeated movements that signaled a demand to be noticed by the opposite sex, a sexual invitation, a willingness to mate. Eye contact, the flirtation glance toward, then away, then back again. She found herself smiling. Hadn’t she seen the ritual, in various forms, in countless species?
    She said essentially this to Noah, speaking almost against his ear to be heard, and felt his rumble of laughter before he turned his face and she saw his smile. Just as she realized how incredibly stupid she must have sounded, he tugged her to her