A few years ago, I was spending a summer working in Savannah. I didn’t know anyone there, and the summer was shaping up to be a pretty lonesome time.
In the evenings, I would ride my bicycle around the old part of the city, past all the grand old houses and the bed-and-breakfasts there.
One late afternoon as I was riding past a B&B I saw a really pretty young woman unloading some luggage from the back of her car. I smiled at her and she at me, and then she waved me down. She asked me if I was a local, and could I direct her to________ (I don’t recall which local landmark). We chatted a bit and I learned she was a nurse, passing through on the way to a new job in North Carolina.
I asked if she had plans for the evening, and offered to show her around town. She quickly said yes.
That night, after strolling around River Street for a while, we decided to head out to Tybee Island (the closest beach). We stopped at a grocery store and picked up some wine, some grapes, and a few light snacks.
Out on the island it was a perfect night. There was a crescent moon coming up over the horizon. The air was warm, with a nice breeze blowing in from the Atlantic. The surf was up a bit, and the waves were crashing noisily on the shore.
We climbed up onto a lifeguard stand, and there we sat and passed the bottle of wine back and forth as we talked for a while.
We finished the wine. She took out the grapes and, smiling suggestively, put one into my mouth. I leaned over to kiss her, and as we kissed, I passed the grape to her, intact. We kept kissing, and soon she passed the grape back to me. It went back and forth a few times, and then I pulled back just slightly and, leaning over her and holding the grape between my teeth, bit down. The juice from the grape flowed into her open mouth, and she drank it down greedily, as we pulled each other close, and held on tightly.
The rest of the evening went well, and the rest of the weekend, until my new friend left town.
We got together after that, but only a couple of times, and we never managed to build anything close to permanent. Still I remember that night in Savannah and that kiss and always smile at the memory.