Tequila Sunrises over Georgia (a novella) (5 page)

I finally realize that he’s not going to talk
until I give him my full attention. I take a deep breath and
mentally brace myself for this conversation.

Giving myself a pep talk, I repeat
“Be
strong”
in my head over and over again.

“Okay…”

He moves his arms closer to me still. As soon
as we touch, the warmth of contact becomes more heated, and the
heat travels through my entire body, pooling between my legs.

What the hell?

It was the teensiest touch!

How is it that this man can do this to
me?

This man… the way I react to him…It’s
completely new territory for me.

As the heat rises on my cheeks, I look into
his eyes and I can see them getting intense and darker.

“Carter, are you okay?”

If he only knew the push/pull that’s going on
inside my head.

“Yes. Perfect.” He gives me a reassuring
smile and a wink, which causes more blushing to rise up.

“Okay, you flirt. You have my full attention.
What’s going on?”

“Gia… Let’s not play games. It’s obvious that
there’s…
something
significant going on between us. From the
time you came through the door, you have become a fixed image in
the center of my mind. I’ve tried to ignore it. I’ve tried to push
it to the side. It’s impossible.”

“Carter… I… I don’t know what to think. On
one side, I don’t believe it’s a good idea to mix our work and
personal lives…”

His eyes are searching for something inside
of mine. What is it?

“Ever since we kissed… Why Carter? Why did
you kiss me? I haven’t been able to think of anything else. That
kiss… I’ve never been kissed like that before. It felt… powerful.
Meaningful. Like it would be a sin to push it to the side and
forget about it.”

“Right! I feel exactly the same – and you
thought that avoiding me would explain everything? It won’t. That’s
why I’m here… because, Gia, I don’t think we should push it to the
side. I don’t think we should forget it. We need to see where this
thing between us will take us. We need to let things happen.”

Moving his arm out of the way, I walk towards
the large picture window.

My heart starts to race.

Fast.

Real fast.

There are no lights outside that window and
we can see the full moon and the stars in the clear, cloudless
sky.

I move my palm against the window pane, as if
I could touch all the things that I can see but are
untouchable.

Is my heart untouchable?

Carter is too close to my heart to not take
some of it when this is all said and done.

I hear him coming behind me, and even though
he’s not touching me, I can feel his warmth near me and his breath
on my neck.

The playfulness is no longer here, between
us. It has been replaced with heat and want.

“Ten weeks, Carter. Ten.” I whisper.

I let him see the worry all over my face when
I turn to look at him.

His hand reaches for my face and his fingers
wrap behind my neck. His thumb brushes my cheek with a gentle
motion.

I lean into his touch.

So much for being strong. I inhale deeply and
all my senses are consumed by his clean woodsy smell that’s all
Carter.

“I know, Gia. Ten. But isn’t ten better than
none at all? Can we take it one day at a time? All I’m saying is
that we should not waste one more day. Don’t you want to find out
what we could be when we are together?”

I’m thinking about it.

He can see it in my eyes. My mind is going
one hundred thousand miles a minute.

“There’s one condition, Carter.”

“I’m listening…”

“You need to realize that all I have is these
ten weeks. I don’t have additional time. When this project’s
complete, I’ll be going back to New York and my career. We need to
be clear on that.”

His fingers reach for my chin and he lifts my
face towards his.

“We’re clear. I understand.”

I look down, and when my gaze returns to meet
his eyes, the words he’s been waiting for are whispered from my
mouth.

“Yes. Let’s see what we can be for these ten
weeks.”

“Yeah?”

I nod and think how weak I am when it comes
to Carter. Thank god he has no knowledge of the power he has over
me, or better yet, the strength I lack when it comes to him.

He laughs out loud, grabs me by the waist and
pulls me towards him.

Our lips crash into each other and the taste
of his mouth on mine shatters any doubts I may have had.

I kiss him.

He consumes me.

I replenish him.

His mouth moves with passion and power,
letting me know that my mouth? My mouth is his. Very soon my body
will be his, too.

We taste and explore with our tongues, slowly
learning the little things we enjoy most.

His hands move down my sides, learning by
touch the topography of my body.

The peaks and valleys of my torso.

The elevations and contours of my
breasts.

If he could only imagine the rush of want
between my legs.

I could be here all day, but force myself to
stop.

He sucks on my top lip one last time while I
lick his bottom one.

“Mmm…” A tiny moan escapes me at the same
time my body shivers.

A smile forms on my face as he places small
kisses all over it - jawline, cheeks, between my eyebrows, my
earlobes…

Carter whispers in my ear “Not here, not now,
sweetheart, but soon, very soon.”

“When, then? Weren’t you all alpha male a few
minutes ago when you were doing the ‘let’s find out what we can be
together’ bit?” My voice’s playful and sultry.

“Tomorrow. Dinner at my place.”

“Why tomorrow and not now?”

“Well, it seems you’ve forgotten that those
drafts are not going to draw themselves, and your deadline is
tomorrow, after all.”

“Crud.”

“And, Gia? When I finish with you, you will
not be able to move on your own. Your body will be my expedition.
I’ve yet to learn what pleases it, what you respond to… and when
I’m finished, you will be incoherent, unable to formulate a simple
word.”

I’m drenched.

I can also feel my nipples trying to burst
out of my tank top – and he hasn’t even touched me yet!

A rush of red covers my face, but I try to
play it off.

“Promises, promises.”

I move away from him and towards the drafting
table.

“Noted, Mr. Owens. Tomorrow, then. I will
take all these designs and head to my hotel.”

“Yes, that’s a great idea. Can I help you
pack everything up? I’d much rather you finish these in your hotel
room. I couldn’t leave you here, and if I stay, you wouldn’t get
anything done.

“It’s okay. I really needed to come back for
the measurements and some notes. Since I already have those, I can
finish everything at the hotel.”

He nods at me. I’ve gotten everything packed
up and ready in a few short minutes.

“Carry these for me, Carter?”

“Sure thing, sweetheart.”

I’d forgotten what a Southern male is like.
All the little terms of endearments. You don’t hear many of those
up north.

He follows me to the hotel and waits while I
park, waving at me prior to going inside.

Tomorrow night
.

Two words that carry the weight of our
present arrangement, and they’re also full of futures possibilities
of what could be. What
we
could be.

I still can’t believe that last night went my
way. I feel so lucky that I’m going to spend the next ten weeks
with Gia…

When I got home I called the cleaning company
and asked them to come by in the morning, planned what I was going
to cook and went to the store to get the ingredients.

This is so much more than dinner.

Tonight it will be about our first time
together; about a lot of little moments that combined will make it
special for the both of us.

I’m fucking glad that I’m not one of those
dudes who can’t cook for shit… With that said, my menus are
limited. I ain’t Bobby Flay but I like good tasting food, and so
I’ve learned to cook a few dishes.

The day was passing by slow as fuck. I was
ready to go. The good news is that Gia was no longer avoiding me.
She was actually smiling every time she caught me looking.

During one of the cameramen breaks, I had a
chance to ask her if she ate shrimp, because there was still time
to change the menu, if needed.

Lucky for me she loves shrimp, so dinner will
continue as planned.

I’ve never cooked for anyone other than my
family, so it’s an exciting night for me. As I was leaving, I hand
her a note with my address and the time – Which gives me two hours
to get ready.

The anticipation is intoxicating.

I make a quick stop by the flower shop to
pick up a mixed arrangement for the dinner table. Nothing fancy,
just sunflowers and daisies in a large vase. I’m staying away from
the roses. Roses are expected, traditional… simply boring. That’s
not what I want our relationship to be. Gia is fresh,
fun…unexpected.

After a quick shower, I start prepping the
vegetables for the shrimp stir fry, and set them to the side. I
light a few candles and place them around the living room, just to
give the place a more homey and comfortable appearance. Looking
around one last time, I realize the place was too quiet so I turn
on Spotify and found a playlist with the Dinner Party Orchestra, it
has today’s hits but instrumental, and it works as background
music. If I had a choice, I would play some Alternative Rock, but
I’m afraid that will not be helpful in setting the mood.

I’m ready.

* * *

Staring at the few items of clothing in the
hotel’s closet, makes me feel like I should have stopped after work
to shop for a new outfit. Taking a deep breath, I put on an olive
green tank belted dress, and since it has cooled down a bit this
evening, I grab my off-white light cream cropped cardigan. It’s
dinner at his house, which doesn’t need fancy clothes, but sexy is
as sexy does, so I look for my strappy Louboutins’ spiked brown
sandals… Now I feel great.

I know I could give someone whiplash from
going back and forth on the Carter issue, but I really feel that
way in my mind. When I’m by myself, I’m that confused. I want to be
with him but I’m not sure if it’s a smart decision. On the other
hand, when I’m near him, it all feels right, as if all the puzzle
pieces fall into place.

My last relationship taught me a couple of
things:

1. Don’t be so trusting,
   

2. Don’t ‘do’ anyone you work with.
   

And now, I’m about to break both rules. Well,
technically Carter is a contractor, he doesn’t work at my company,
so maybe I’m only breaking one little rule instead of two.

Really doesn’t make it any better.

There is something so sincere about his eyes
when he looks at me…

I take a final look in the mirror nodding in
approval, move over to the table to grab my handbag, – or should I
say pocketbook since I’m back in the South? – find my keys and I
head out before I change my mind and talk myself out of dinner
tonight.

* * *

I walk to the parking lot, hit the button to
unlock the rental and get in while throwing my pocketbook on the
passenger’s seat.

I’m nervous.

Shaking my hands, I take a deep breath to
help me relax a little bit. Then, I finally start the car for the
short drive to his place.

I’ve been alone for a while.

Maybe if I wasn’t this horny I could think
more clearly.

I’ve been working so hard, letting my work
assignments fill the void. Coming back to Georgia has opened up a
flood of memories, wants, and now opportunities with Carter. I
think I may have forgotten how to be in a relationship, although I
must confess this will not be a conventional one… It’s more
convenience than anything else.

Why do I feel so scared, then? It’s just sex…
Well, I’m lying to myself now, because for all the years I’ve been
pining over Carter, it couldn’t be “just sex.” I don’t want to give
him a piece of me. I don’t want the pain that will come when I have
to go back to New York. Which means that I have to keep my feelings
reigned in and just
enjoy
the physical aspects of this…
whatever it is going to be.

Earlier I had taken a look in Google Maps to
see where his home is. It sits in a somewhat affluent neighborhood,
but it’s not a mansion or super fancy. It’s a traditional ranch
home with a large front porch. The street it’s beautiful and lined
with trees that come together to form a canopy, giving you a
magical impression of the neighborhood. All the homes have similar
design, but are not identical, which makes the subdivision stand
out from most cookie-cutter ones.

I come to his house and pull into the long
driveway. His property must be three acres, minimum. The driveway
curves to the side of the house so as you come in you cannot see
the garage. There is a small parking pad next to the vast front
lawn, adjacent to the driveway. I carefully park there.

I sit there for a few minutes, getting my
courage and armor in place. I grab a piece of chewy candy instead.
It’ll work just the same.

There’s a knock on my window.

“What are you doing?”

I turn at the sound of Carter’s voice, and
smile at him as I grab my pocketbook and get out of the car.

“I was making sure I had everything I needed.
Hi…”

“Hi.” He moves and gives me a quick kiss on
the lips and a hug. Then, he takes a deep breath while giving me a
soft kiss on my forehead.

“Come on, juicy, let’s go inside.”

I stop.
Wait. What?

“What did you just call me?”