Tequila Sunrises over Georgia (a novella) (8 page)

“Gia this is my favorite spot in my home.
This hammock faces the sun as it comes up, and to me it’s one of
the more peaceful, beautiful sceneries I’ve ever seen.”

“Really? Nice! You don’t have neighbors back
there?”

“No neighbors. There is a gas line running
through the woods back there and nothing can ever be built on that
land. Even though I have a private fence around my property, it’s
nice to know that all that nature will never be touched. We are
free to do anything we want without worries.”

I smile at him and move to sit on the
hammock, after setting my drink on the little table. Carter takes a
few minutes to start the fireplace, and I’m grateful because the
cool Fall night carries a bit of chill in the air.

“Come here, Carter. Sit next to me.”

He does and I rest my head on his neck.

“Carter, I want to watch my first sunrise
with you from right here.”

“That’s an awesome request.”

He gets a large blanket over us, and I don’t
feel cold anymore.

Carter pulls out his phone and asks me if
it’s okay to take a selfie.

“Yes, on the condition that you send it to
me, I want to have it on my phone, too.”

Now it’s my turn to ask questions.

“Tell me Carter, did you always want to be a
structural engineer?”

He chuckles. “No… When I was a little boy I
actually wanted to be a tiger when I grew up.”

“A what?”

“A tiger. Yes, a completely different
species. I was obsessed with tigers. I had them on everything and
everywhere. My mom bought me this plush tiger, and I used to take
it with me all the time.”

I laugh at the idea of crossing species. Then
I think about some paranormal books that I’ve read, and suddenly
his kid dream was not so far-fetched.

“There are some romantic novels out there
with paranormal elements of people who can shift into animals and
vice versa. So I’m sure you are not the only person who’s had a
thought like that.

“Do you still have the stuffed toy?”

“Yes, it’s falling apart from having played
with it so much, but I still have it in one of my storage boxes in
the bedroom. It’s one of the few treasures from my childhood. I
miss my parents so much, but I try to concentrate on the great
memories they left behind.”

“Do you remember that time after Christmas
that I was trying out my new skateboard, I fell and skinned my
knees? Your mom heard me screaming and came out, picked me up and
took me inside to clean it and put medicine on. I was about eight,
I think.”

“Yes, and then she asked you to bake cookies
with her and she wouldn’t let us eat the cookie dough. You were
sneaking little chunks here and there… I was so jealous!”

“Yeah, you wanted some so bad, and were
making faces at me when your mom wasn’t looking! Ha!”

“You’re doggone right I did!”

“Ohmygoodness! Do you remember the time we
were playing baseball with your dad in the backyard and the ball
went straight for your mom’s flower bushes; at the same time your
dad was trying to catch it and he landed on top of all the flowers
– smashed everything! When he realized what he’d done he packed us
all to go get ice cream…”

Carter interrupts me and finishes recalling
that day.

“…then pretended we all saw it for the first
time when we came back, and mom was livid! She was so pissed! I
think she knew, but couldn’t get dad to confess his crimes…”

“Your parents were hilarious.”

“They were amazing. I miss them.”

How sweet.

How sad.

Maybe I can make him feel a little
better.

“So, Carter, you do realize that I’m not
wearing anything under this comfy robe.”

His eyes look at me with so much desire.

“Well, Gia, I think this is the perfect time
for you to take a wild ride in a good ‘ol saddle, don’t you
think?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

* * *

After having another round of amazing sex, we
fell sleep on the hammock. Luckily I had enough sense to set my
phone’s alarm for us to wake up in time to watch the sunrise.

We looked at the sky as it filled from an
intense dark to layers of yellows, oranges and red.

It was stunning.

When the sun finally broke through, I carried
Gia into the house, and we took a long hot shower together. We may
or may not have had amazing shower sex. I ain’t tellin’.

The weekend passed us by in a blur.

Too fast.

After stopping by the hotel so Gia could
change and grab some additional clothes and a swim suit, which I
told her she won’t need because my specialty swim is skinny
dipping, we headed to the country market to get fresh vegetables.
Another stop by the butcher shop to get a couple of steaks, and
then we spent the beautiful day outside, grilling kabobs and
bathing in the pool.

Of course we had pool sex… We had a round
inside the pool, and another fun one on the trampoline. That was…
interesting. Some more oral exercises on the patio furniture, and
we were walking around like everyday nudists.

That was a fun day.

Today’s Sunday, and it felt good to sleep
late. I made her brunch and got her some ibuprofen because she was
very achy in all the right places.

Yes, I say that with a lot of pride.

My dick was feeling like superman and he
performed like him, too.

“What’s up with that smirk on your face,
Carter?”

“Hmm, nothing, just thinking about this
awesome weekend.”

“Are you coming to Sunday dinner at my
parents?”

“If you want me there, I sure will.”

“Yes, please? This week’s going to be rough
without being able to cuddle with you every night.”

“Why not? We can make it happen. You can move
in here for the remainder of your stay.”

“That would not be smart – at all! I would
never get any rest!”

“You’ve got that right.”

I pull her towards me and kiss her
passionately. Her body responds, but then she freezes.

“Carter, I really need to go spend some time
with my parents. They keep texting me that they want to see
me.”

“I understand. Are we going to tell them that
we are dating?” Her eyebrows furrow as she thinks about this.

“Carter, we aren’t dating, we aren’t ‘seeing’
each other. Remember? We talked about this. No relationship of any
type. Ten weeks. That’s all.”

My heart twisted painfully at the delivery of
her words. But she’s right. That was the agreement.

I fake a smile towards her. “Got it. I don’t
know what I was thinking.”

With a nod, she turns around and says, “Bye,
see you in a few hours.”

That’s when I realized that even though Gia
didn’t want to give her heart away, I was the one that was going to
end up with mine in a million crushed little pieces.

Ten weeks.

Ten weeks and three days, to be exact.

I have filled every spare moment I’ve had
with Carter, but the time flew by anyway.

And as hard as I tried not to, I’ve fallen
for Carter Owens.

And even though he has not said a word about
it, I know deep in my soul that Carter Owens has fallen for me,
too.

It was a mistake to agree to be with him. Now
I have to face the consequences.

Last night was beautiful between us. And
although it was late, and I was tired; my brain would not rest.

I felt bad.

Mostly, I felt sad.

I couldn’t deal with the feelings I was
having. I got up, wrote him a quick note and left in the middle of
the night.

Like a coward.

Now, I have to face everything – I have
nowhere to run. I cannot hide.

It’s my last day here.

It’s time to turn the finished house over to
their owners.

The show ends this morning.

My heart ends this afternoon.

Carter has agreed to take me to the airport,
but maybe I should ask Nash to do it.

“Hi…”

I turn away from the full length mirror we
keep on the set, and put on the show for him.

“Oh! Hi Carter… How are you doing this
morning?”

“Not as good as you, obviously.” He gives me
an upset look.

I try to keep my cool, even though it’s
harder to breathe now that he’s here in front of me.

“I understand. Are you ready to turn the
house over to the owners? It turned out beautiful. A masterpiece.
Your crew can work miracles.”

“Why did you leave me last night?”

“Carter this is not the time… But I can only
tell you that I was upset and I needed space.”

“So the physical space you are putting
between us when you get on the plane later today… that space isn’t
enough?”

I can’t answer that, because he’s totally
right. But if I get into it, I’m going to lose my shit. So I can’t.
Instead of answering his question, I give him a pleading look.

“Fine. Where is Jay, I haven’t seen him this
morning.”

“He had to take an early flight. He was
called to fill in for a designer who got sick on another show, so
he pre filmed some commentaries this morning, and left me to
present the final product. I miss him already.”

Especially because he has been my sounding
board about this Carter “thing” and I hate not having Jay around
for moral support. He was very clear to me when he told me not to
let great opportunities pass me by and that true love is an evasive
sonofabitch.

In other words, he thought I was being an
idiot.

But I’m not letting Carter find this out. He
doesn’t need any more ammunition.

We always have choices in life. Sometimes
it’s hard to make the right ones.

I’m really dying inside.

I’m going to miss him.

Hell, who am I kidding? I’m going to fall
apart.

I wrestle with my feelings about Carter,
versus the feelings about my career.

How am I supposed to throw away what I have
worked for my entire life for someone I’ve only been with for ten
weeks?

It’s impossible.

It’s would be absolutely crazy.

Maybe he would be willing to give me some
time to try and come up with a plan.

Perhaps I can talk to Dillon.

Ugh! This is so frustrating!

I take out not one piece of chewy candy but
two pieces, and try to get lost in the juicy goodness.

Juicy!

Crap.

The producer comes by with the director to
give me this morning’s briefing. I walk away with them glancing
over my shoulder at Carter, who’s talking to some of the crew
members in the adjacent room.

I really fucked this shit up.

Well, he shares a little of the blame, too, I
think.

Since he was the one with the bright idea and
all.

This day is going to suck balls really,
really bad.

* * *

Nothing.

There’s nothing I can do.

I’ve fought and lost.

Gia’s taking my heart with her, and I will
never be the same.

Never.

Everything’s done. The filming crew’s
finished. The customers are ecstatic. The producer’s talking about
the next assignment and how much buzz the show’s previews are
creating.

I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on my work,
on my crew, and promises to do business again when they decide to
film back here, in the South.

But the promises that I really want, I’m not
getting.

Gia has not been able to look at me since our
earlier conversation ended.

And even though we have not spoken those
painful words, we are also about to end
this
.

It’s so much more than a fling.

Much deeper than an affair.

The angst inside my soul is shattering my
being.

What can I do? What can I say to try to
change her mind?

I’m sitting in the driveway with all her bags
on my back seat. Jay took her car to the airport and returned it on
his way back to New York earlier this morning; the company is
shipping her tools and all the other filming gear.

There will be nothing left.

I see her coming outside after getting what
I’m sure is the twentieth hug from the home owners.

This is going to be hard.

So hard.

She starts to walk toward me. I’m going to
miss those tight jeans with the loose shirts she normally wears and
now that it’s been cooler weather, her jean jacket that she puts on
every day.

But what I’m going to miss the most is her
laughter after one of my corny jokes.

The way she takes care of me, making sure
I’ve had enough to eat and enough rest.

Her head, relaxing on my shoulder while we
wait for the sun to rise.

The taste of cherry from her mouth.

The way she looks at me when I come up with a
solution to one of her many design problems.

Her attitude, when she knows she’s right but
I pretend that she’s not.

The smell of her perfume on my sheets.

Her brown eyes looking at me, trying to tell
me the things her mouth won’t speak.

So much more.

I get out of the truck to open the door for
her and help her get in. She has long legs but with those spike
heels she likes to wear, the jump can be a bit tricky. I’d rather
be there to catch her if she falls.

I want to always be the one to catch her.

But I have built my business here and she has
her career in New York.

I cannot ask her to give everything up
because I don’t think I could do it myself, if our roles were
reversed.

With a small smile, I pull out of the
driveway, and away from the place where Gia became the sunrise that
lit up the darkest parts of my existence.

* * *

The ride was silent and uncomfortable.

When we finally arrived at the airport, he
pulled into one of those drop off lanes. Being the middle of the
day in the middle of the week, traffic was light and there were no
other vehicles trying to pull in front or behind us.