Tequila Sunrises over Georgia (a novella) (4 page)

No.

Not going to let this moment get away.

There’s something important happening between
us.

God, I hope I’m right.

Just as her lips were to make contact with my
cheek, I turn my head.

Our lips hover near each other’s for a brief
moment.

I can feel the heat of her mouth on my
lips.

Our eyes meet only momentarily, because I
move my hand to capture the back of her neck and with a firm
possessive grip on her hair, I kiss her.

I kiss
her
.

I kiss her with passion.

With feelings I didn’t know I had.

I kiss her to let her know she was no longer
a child in my eyes.

As my tongue started to tease her mouth,
begging for access, her hand finally leaves my arm and takes new
hold behind my neck, where both hands grab a hold of my hair,
searching, pulling, playing… possessing.

I move my tongue to find hers.

I taste her, lick her. I inhale her. I don’t
want the moment to end.

She tastes like mint, cherries and
obsession.

I press behind her back, pulling her
closer.

We lost ourselves in that kiss.

We found each other in that kiss.

Our bodies melded while we kissed.

It was a perfect unexpected seal.

I was out of breath and willing to let her
take all my oxygen.

It was a kiss to be remembered.

A kiss where our lips worshipped each other
and marked us as marred for other people.

When we finally came up for air, it was done
slowly.

I don’t think I will ever experience another
first kiss like this with anyone else, because I want all my future
kisses to come from her.

Only her.

“Gia…”

“…Carter.”

The warmth we imposed on each other’s mouths
was now forced to cool off, as the chill of the night mingled with
damp lips, creating goosebumps on our exposed skin.

We stared at each other and were painfully
aware that our union had abruptly ended and we didn’t know where to
go from here.

Her eyes were portraying the same confusion
that she was finding on mine.

The only thing I knew for sure, it was that
Gia Black claimed a small part of my heart tonight, and in her
arms, a full treasure awaited to be discovered.

It’s been days and I have done a great job at
avoiding talking to Carter about
the kiss
.

A mammoth of a kiss that left my legs shaking
like gelatin and took my lips by surprise through a storm of
emotions.

I have no idea what I feel.

Carter tried to corral me earlier in the
week, but as soon as we were done talking about work, I would make
an excuse to leave. The fact that we have cameras following us
around, have helped him stay away from me.

He’s frustrated, I can tell.

To say that it’s been difficult for both of
us being on the same jobsite it’s like saying “ant” when you really
meant to say “whale.”

Watching him parading around without a shirt
doesn’t help my situation. Yes, I know the weather’s uncommonly hot
for this time of year, but still. It makes my concentration work
double time.

He’s caught me looking at him a few times in
between takes, and his laugh… He has the most perfect laugh, all
male and sexy. I couldn’t help but give him a hint of a smile
back.

I snap out of my reverie as I see Jay coming
towards me.

“Hey, Gia…”

“Hey, Jay. How are things coming on your
side? Were you able to place the countertop orders?”

“Yes, I finally was able to get the correct
measurements for the outdoor living room redesign. But that’s not
what I want to talk to you about…”

I stop fiddling with the designs and turn to
look at him.

“You sound serious. What’s going on?”

“Well, I just had a conversation with the
homeowners…”

“Crap. What do they want?”

“They changed their minds about all the
faucets and the slipper style clawfoot bathtub…”

“What do they want?”

“They want the oil rubbed bronze hammered
copper double slipper bathtub with rings AND matching under mount
sinks.” He throws that at me in one single breath and then inhales
deeply while closing his eyes waiting for my response.

“But, but… that means we have to change the
faucets, curtain rods… ohmygoodness – the floors… the tiles… won’t
match!”

“I know, Gia, I’m so sorry.”

“You couldn’t talk them out of it?”

“No they insist, and they agreed to alter the
budget if necessary. They want to see new bathroom sketches
tomorrow.”

I roll my eyes to the back of my head. This
is going to be an all-nighter.

“Jay, please go cancel everything we have
ordered for the master bathroom. I have to start working on the new
design. With any luck, I will have it finished sometime tomorrow.
And somehow, I need to make it blend with the rest of the
house.”

I shake my head in annoyance.

“Are you staying late?”

“I don’t think so… I’m desperate for a shower
and real food. I’m going to get some takeout and come back
here.”

“Don’t let your momma find out you called
takeout ‘real food’ or you’ll never hear the end of it.”

“You ain’t kiddin’.”

“Okay, I’m going to call those cancellations
and then I’m leaving. I need alcohol and a hot bath, in that order.
Do you think Mr. Hunk would be willing to give me a massage?”

“Uh… Mr. Hunk –also known as ‘got his panties
in a bunch’ - has been in a pissy mood lately, so that would be a
no.”

“You don’t say… I
have
noticed his
mood to be in the darker side the last few days, I figured it had
something to do with all the extra work you have been doing at
avoiding his ass.
”

“Ha! That’s how much you know!” I smile and
give him a sideways glance. “I’m not avoiding his ass, I’m avoiding
all
of him.”

“I knew it!”

“And now you have to put it out of your mind
and forget about it. It ain’t gonna happen.”

“But why? Why not? He’s perfect, you
know.”

“Yes, I see him. My eyes are in excellent
working condition, my friend. It’s just complicated. I don’t need
complications. I need to work my ass off and go back to New
York.”

Jay lowers his voice and whispers close to my
ear, “Well,
he
can certainly give your
ass
the best
workout ever. I have no doubt those big hands and size thirteen
shoes come alongside an anaconda between his legs...”

I was right about his shoes!

“Jay! Hush your mouth! I throw my pen on the
table in frustration. “But it doesn’t matter anyway because I’m not
going to explore that venue. I have a self-imposed dry spell on my
lady bits. I have no business messing with that man. This
assignment’s only temporary. Remember? What if things get out of
hand? Then I will either end up with a broken heart or jobless –
neither of which I particularly want.”

“Alright, Gia. Think about it though. Don’t
let beautiful opportunities to experience life at its fullest pass
you by. That’s how regrets are born. See you tomorrow.”

Although my brain knows that Jay
is
right, my heart knows - without a doubt - that entangling with
Carter Owens will not be good for its health. It would be a
disaster. A sweet, pleasurable and magnificent catastrophe.

Gia, since when do you run away from a
challenge?
Says a little voice inside my head.

I think about this for a minute.

Life’s giving me a present right now – Take
advantage.

I have always been good at compartmentalizing
everything.

Can I keep it just physical?

Could we label it as stress relief?

Hmm…

Perhaps. We’ll see.

I guess I will need to face the fury first,
and see where I stand with the man.

* * *

Gia has been avoiding me for a few days now.
I have tried to give her space to process, but it’s not really
working for me.

If you say I’m obsessing, I would probably
say that you’re correct.

I haven’t been able to forget about those few
minutes when our bodies connected in a way that’s inexplicable, in
a way that I’ve never experienced before.

We
really
need to talk.

That kiss was not only a kiss.

It was more than physical. It was charged,
stimulating… thrilling.

If Nash hadn’t walked out the door when he
did, who knows where the kiss would’ve taken us? I love him like a
brother but if he finds out that I’m pursuing his sister, there’s
no tellin’ what he would do to me…

I just can’t stop thinking about her.

Today, I’ve been trying to catch her alone
without the filming crew or Jay. It has started to get dark and
everyone’s calling it a day. Earlier, one of my guys overheard Gia
tell Jay she was going to leave and come back later to work on some
drafts for the master bathroom. She’s given me no choice – I’m
going to wait for her to come back and we should be able to
talk.

In the meantime, I get busy cutting wood
pieces for a built-in bookshelf I’m working on for the reading nook
inside the Master Bedroom. Cutting wood pieces is somewhat
methodical, and I find the repetitions calming, somehow. Sanding
the wood comes right after, and it all keeps me busy until I notice
her rental car is already parked in the driveway.

Realizing the amount of sawdust I have all
over my clothes, I pat my jeans and my t-shirt, not making much
difference, so I take off my t-shirt instead.

Grabbing a couple of wood pieces, I walk back
in the house and start to look for her. I see her as I’m passing
through the living room.

She looks up at me with surprise in her eyes.
I smile at her and her response is to look back down at her
computer.

I keep going upstairs taking the wood pieces
to the bookcase to make sure they fit.

Why is she being so rude?

Is it so hard to say hello?

I don’t understand why she is acting like
this.

I should let it go.

Fuck, no! I’m not going to let it go until we
hash this shit out.

I storm back downstairs to confront her. I
make a point to step really hard when I reach the landing.

“Gia!”

With a startled look in her eyes, she finally
looks at me.

Really looks at me.

“Why do you have to be so rude?”

* * *

Whoa
.

What the hell?

“Carter.” I say his name curtly. “I have no
idea what you are talking about.”

Damn. I try to be a bit cold but it’s really
hard to be cold when you have such a powerful and gorgeous man
right in front of you.

Did I fail to mention the man has no shirt
on?

Yeah
.

You get it now.

It’s going to be impossible to ignore him
when all I see are muscles – olive skin and muscles everywhere -
tensing and moving my way.

Wait. Shit – he’s coming towards me. Get up!
Get up! GET UP!

I scramble out of my chair and walk away as
casually as possible in order to put some distance between us. It
works in my favor because he stops a few feet away from me.

I’m
totally
faking this shit, because
what I really want to do is get closer to him.

Really, really close.

Like invade all his personal space, and then
some kinda’ close.

Hell, I want to wrap myself around him,
tight… so tight… that my skin would get marked with the creases of
his muscles.

Breathe, Gia.

The goal is to not get involved.

“Gia… why are you walking away from me? All I
want to do is talk for a little bit.” His lips try to purse into a
thin line, but the plump bottom one won’t give into it. Damn! He’s
so sexy.

“I’m not walking away. I’m stretching my
legs…”

“Yeah, right.” His eyes zero in on me and he
starts to approach me slowly and calculating, alluring me to stay
put.

Taking a few steps back, I come in contact
with the kitchen counter.

Crap
.

Carter smirks a half smile and closes in,
trapping me with his arms on each side of me.

I’m so screwed.

“You can try to fake it all you want, but I
know the real truth.”

I feel my lip tremble a little. Stupid
nerves.

“What truth are you talking about?”

He smiles. “The fact that you are attracted
to me.”

“Huh?” I try so hard to look at him like I
have no clue of what he’s talking about. He chuckles and inches a
little closer.

“Let me see if I can do ‘girl’ talk. I think
if you were talking to one of your girlfriends, you would refer to
me as ‘he’s sooo hot.’” He finishes with a high pitched voice,
close to what a teenage girl would sound like.

I find myself smiling at his silliness and
I’m gifted with his devastating smile.

“Gia, I want to talk with you about
us
.”

“About
us
?”

I emphasizes the word “us” just like he’d
done.

My eyes shift from side to side in a futile
attempt to avoid looking at him.

Epic Fail.

Come to find out when a half-naked,
hotter-than-hell hunk is right in front of me trying to get my
attention, I can’t fake anything.

“Look Gia, I just want to have a friendly
conversation with you. I have been trying to talk to you for the
past few days, but somehow you have been a step ahead of me and
very successful at avoiding me.”

Swallowing hard, really hard, I wish I had a
drink because I’m having a terrible case of cotton mouth. I squeeze
my hand inside my jean pocket and pull out a piece of red Starburst
candy, peel it and put it in my mouth.

“Mm-hmm…”