AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Tess’s green eyes were mysterious in the candlelight. “I think it has to be this way. At least for now. Nothing has changed other than… I know you.” Her voice cracked a little.
He caught her lips, kissing her softly. Sadness settled around him. He’d found the perfect girl, but because he’d taken the perfect job, he couldn’t have her. Bitter, bitter irony. Actual tears caught in his throat when he thought of this being the last time he held Tess.
“Life is not fair,” he said, trying to keep sorrow from spoiling the time they had left.
“I’m beginning to understand that more and more. Come on. We still have tonight. I don’t want to think about tomorrow.” She stood and the water ran off her naked body.
And then he wasn’t so sad anymore.
She was a goddess—not of the usual variety—but of the Tess variety with her trim legs, soft bottom and perfect breasts. Girl next door meets Barbie.
Graham rose and pulled her against him. “Only tonight.”
She kissed him. “A good policy for the moment.”
Much later, after they’d made love again, Graham walked quietly out of Tess’s bedroom where she lay dozing. He hadn’t had supper, and after spending the last few hours quenching his hunger for Tess, he was ravenous. He rounded the bar and nearly slipped on the papers that had fallen when he’d lifted Tess onto the counter. He shuffled the papers into a haphazard stack and tossed them and the folder onto the bar before opening the fridge.
Eh, not much to be had. He grabbed a yogurt that had expired a week ago and found the silverware. In the low light, he leaned against the counter and made short work of the yogurt. Looking around Tess’s Spartan kitchen, his gaze snagged on the only disorganized object—the stack of papers—and the drawings lying atop the folder he’d dropped.
He moved closer, lifting the first one so he could see it better in the light.
Stunning.
He picked up a few more and took them back to the light above the sink so he could see them better. Obviously they were the drawings done for Oedipus with their theme of “Songs of the South.” Instead of large bulky props, Tess had layers of numerous smaller magnolias over the sides of the “Belle of Bourbon” with a twisting oak sprawled across the middle of the float, holding fiber optic glowing magnolias and glossy poster board leaves. The second layer resembled a huge white Saint Charles-esque house. The design was elegant, elaborate, and… way better than what Ullo had put together. He flipped through the other sketches: “Paddling the Mississippi,” “Ain’t She a Peach,” and “Bayou Dreamin.’” All were artistic and—
“What the hell are you doing?” Tess said from the hallway.
Graham jumped, nearly dropping the computer-generated sketches. “I was picking up the papers we’d knocked down.”
She crossed her arms over the large T-shirt she’d pulled on. “Way over there?”
Tossing the sketches back upon the folder, he shrugged. “Everything fell out. I came to get something to eat and they caught my eye.”
Narrowed eyes. Mistrust.
He held up his hands. “I’m only human. Those sketches are like porn to a fifteen-year-old boy. I can’t not look.”
“This is what I’m talking about. Competing against each other, minding our words, worrying about subconsciously sabotaging each other’s work—this is why it can’t work between us,” she said, padding into the kitchen and stacking the drawings together before sliding them back into the folder.
“Does it help to say your proposal for Oedipus is… so good
I’m breaking a sweat?”
Her head snapped around. “You’re just saying that because I let you tie my hands to the bed and play Princess Leia and Han Solo a few minutes ago.”
“Is that why you called me Han?” he joked, pulling her to him. “Baby, those are brilliant. Really beautiful.”
“Those are the early copies, but probably won’t be enough for Miles. He protects the integrity of the parade, but he’s more a nuts-and-bolts guy. He’ll appreciate working with you,” she said, relaxing against him, even as her gaze stayed on the folder. “I don’t want to talk business. I want to go back to bed with you, feel you against me. Morning will come soon, and until the first ray peeks over the sill, I need to stay in the world we’ve created.”
Ducking his head, Graham placed a gentle kiss atop her head. He wanted that, too, but he wanted it to last past morning. But at 1:17 am, his brain was too fuzzy to figure out how to make that happen… and his body had gone from boneless to hard while holding Tess.
There were better things to do than contemplate the morrow.
Daylight would come soon enough and pop the bubble of contentment that enveloped them.
Like that Scarlett O’Hara chick, he’d think about another day.
MILESBARROW’SOFFICEheld a huge desk, a huge blue marlin mounted on the wall, a huge plate glass window overlooking Magazine Street, and a small assistant twitching nearby like a bluejay guarding its nest.
