Chapter 9

“No, you can write when you’re inspired.” He said calmly.

“Thank you!” I flopped down on the couch, losing some of my steam.

“She has a point though. You are a procrastinator.”

I flipped my head around to glare at him.

“You’ve been procrastinating for years, Mor. What makes you think you’ll break out of the habit in a couple of months?”

“I have the time! I have ALL the time. I should be able to write whenever I want.”

“It’s not the same thing.” He pursed his lips, and I was getting frustrated.

“See, I find that if I schedule time, are in a peaceful mood, and push myself into a creative headspace, things start to come out. It may not be spectacular, but it’s producing. Everyone needs structure, Mor. Even artists.”

I frowned and crossed my arms.

“Try to look at it from her perspective. One who’s only ever been on a schedule. That’s the way to get results. Having goals and working hard towards them, these are not bad qualities.”

I uncrossed my arms, starting to see his point.

“When you talk to her, try to be more neutral even if you don’t agree, because she not being malicious. This is coming out a place of love, that’s why she says it.”

That floored me and I gaped at him. He just raised his eyebrow and took another sip of his glass.

Other things popped up here and there of the same, and it was mostly my fault, I’ll admit. But with a dash of her using a tone coupled with the same short temper I had. Also a slight unwillingness from us both to cede to the other out of pride. It caused Jesse start to dread seeing my name on his caller ID.

I stepped through the back door and into the kitchen.

“Mor? That you? Thank god! I’m starving. Can you make me a sandwich, please?” She whined out the last word in a pleading voice from inside the open fridge.

I waited until she turned around, blinking and breathing mindfully.

“What’s up?” She froze in front of me as she saw my face.

I had my manuscript in my hands, and I was almost speechless. “I think I’m done.”

“What?” She spoke softly.

“I’m done. I mean, it needs work but I’ve taken it as far as I can by myself for the most part.”

She approached me slowly then stared down at the thing. She stretched her hands out, and took it from me. I had a moment of panic when she slipped it from my fingers, and had an impulse to snatch it back.

She didn’t open it though, she just looked at the title and my name underneath. She weighed it in her hands, and flipped it to look at it from each side. When she was done with her inspection, she handed it back.

“Wow! So, what’s next?” She sat down, and I copied her.

“I–uh–get a publisher to make it? I think I have to pay since no one will probably front it.”

“Don’t you need an agent first?”

“I don’t know! I didn’t think I’d actually finish!” I squeezed and shook the block of paper in my hands in a fit of emotion.

“Okay, okay! We can call someone!”

“Geez, I don’t know. Didn’t you go to school for this? You should know!”

“Oh, right. Okay, let me call MacArthur, my old professor, he’s published.”

“Okay, let’s do that!” She put her hands in her lap and smacked her thighs.

I looked at her enthusiasm and smiled widely. I laughed a short bark out then got up to make her a sandwich.

“Mor? What are you doing? Let’s call your friend!”

“Hold on, let me make a sandwich.”

“FORGET the sandwich!”

I went to stand in front of her, and she took a shaky step back.

I could feel my eyes blazing at her, only at her.

“Why? Aren’t you hungry?” I spoke with a tiny grin, and stalked a little closer.

“Yeah, but the book…” She looked all over my face quickly.

“I mean, I’ve been writing this particular book for four years and then eight years of failed half-assed attempts before that.”

She took another step back.

“So in light of all that, would you like turkey or ham?” I was moving in a tiny sway, and she hardly noticed how much closer I’d gotten.

Her butt hit the island, and she jumped. She looked at my eyes and I couldn’t read her eyes or face. It still screamed deer-in-the-headlights, but I couldn’t see beyond that.

My face was inches from hers, and I wished I could caress her soft skin. I wasn’t touching her at all but I ached to feel her body press against mine.

“Ham.” She answered quietly.

“Okay. Provolone or Havrati cheese?” My mouth hovered closer, and her mouth opened slightly.

I hummed lightly and tensed my jaw, enjoying the last few seconds of proximity to look at the details of her lips and lines around her mouth. I knew I was pushing the envelope but I was so damn excited, I started to want more. Sex, intimacy, to do something nuts.

“Excellent!” I spun around, waited a beat, and continued the circle all the way back to get in her space again. She jumped again when I clapped my hands together loudly, and she gripped the marble countertop behind her. “Oh! Almost forgot! Arugula or romaine?”

Her composure broke, and she smiled slightly as she answered, “Arugula, please!”

I grinned lopsidedly and turned to continue gathering the ingredients.

“Oh, Mor?” I hummed in question as she moved behind me to spy on what I was doing. “Can you put olives in it? Onions? Avocado?”

“And the chipotle mayo spread I like?”

“Course, I was already gonna do that!”

“Yay! Ooh! Can we make mimosas?” She was already heading to the wine fridge. “You know, to celebrate?”

She proceeded to make a whole picnic and insisted on eating outside. I called Jesse and just told him to come over. He almost cried when I told him the news in person, the softy.

We celebrated well into the night with pizza and a lot more wine. We forgot to call my friend and had to do it the next day.

*********************

“My old professor connected me with an agent. Hated the guy! He totally wanted to bleed me dry.” Our table was still listening intently.

“Ugh, yeah! He was shifty.” Suzie backed me up.

“But then, I bumped into a disgruntled client of his, and we bonded. A week later, he called me to say he found an awesome editor with a good network, and gave me the contact info for Sully here! The rest is history.”

“Aww, but you didn’t tell us the part where you got together!” Patricia whined.

“Yeah, Mor! Is your book more important than us?” Suz crossed her arms, and there were titters that went around the table.

“Uh, no, darling. I just think I’ve monopolized quite a bit of our night and wanted to offer a way out, you know?”

She narrowed her eyes at me in suspicion but let it go. “You’re very right. You’ve been talking too much.”

“You two are very cute.” Thomas’ voice rumbled, and he surprised me for the second time that night.

“Thank you, Thomas! We certainly think so.” I got shoved by her for that one. “Either way, if you would like to continue this another night we’ll be happy to have you for dinner, back home.”

“Ooh, yes! I heard you make an amazing duck, Moriah. Is that true?”

“I’m not one to brag, Fernanda.” I winked and grinned at her.

I could feel Suzie’s eye roll and didn’t need to see it. “It actually is really good.” She admitted as she sipped her wine.

“It’s a date! Sully, you think Brenda can make it?”

“I’m sure she’d love to.”

We left about a half hour after that and got to our room around eleven that night.

She took off her coat and came to take mine off too. She pushed me against the island and ran her hands over my front, raising a leg along my hip. I gripped her knee and kept it high up.

She breathed into my mouth as we floated around each other.

“You happy?” She whispered as her eyes danced.

“So happy. But you know, you’re the most important.” I pulled her into me by her knee.

“You’re the most important to me too.” Her hand touched my jaw and ran her other behind my head to grip my hair. She pulled me into her and our mouths moved together. Her hot breath was better than the dinner we had. It came into my lungs and was more substantial than any other nourishment.

“Now I’m extra happy!” I pushed my hips into her as I pulled at her knee, and she laughed as my lips touched her hot neck. I took my phone and put on The Mamas and the Papas, “Dream a Little Dream of Me.” I nudged her off me, and held my hand out.

She smiled and took it. I twirled her to the suite living room then pushed the coffee table to one side.

We danced, close together, slowly, and then picking up with the song to a crescendo.

“But in your dreams, whatever they be, dream a little dream of me.” I crooned in her ear, holding her hand to my chest and floating close to her face.

She kissed me near the end of the song, and I held her tightly. The sax intro to Careless Whisper started through the speakers. She looked at me, then dug her face in my shoulder, stifling her laughter.

I chuckled as I kept swaying us. “I’m sorry about that. That escalated quickly.”

“You know, I danced to this song with a boy, unironically, in the 80s.”

“Was it that jock boyfriend of yours, Kris?”

“Yes, actually! I thought he was hotter than George Michael.”

“Wow! High praise.” I twirled her, and she spun back in my arms.

She looked in my eyes and frowned.

“No. I don’t know.” She whispered.

I raised an eyebrow.

“It’s just a little trippy.”

I raised both eyebrows now.

“I love you. You’re a girl. I’m a lesbian.”

Her orientation was relatively recent to her since it came a bit from left field. She always vacilllated between speaking about her attraction to men in the past and now women, mostly centered around me in the present. I would have always labeled her as bisexual in my head, but never, ever said it out loud. She was whoever she wanted to be, and could call herself whatever she wanted.

“You are a huge lesbian!” I agreed with her playfully since she said it first.

“Rainbow Rug Muncher!” She agreed, matching my tone.

She scrunched up her nose at that one, and I grinned at her.

I kissed her because, what else is there to say?

Expressions of undying love are unnecessary.

You love each other harder every day.

You don’t take things for granted.

You forgive each other.

Then decades later, when one of you passes, there will have never been a need to say, “I’ll never leave you.” Because there’s not anything anyone can do about that type of leaving.

She walked backward through the French doors of the suite and crooked her finger at me. Her hair was partially in her face and she was oozing sex with every slinky step.

“Coming, lover? Maybe you can unleash some of that big dick energy on me.” She grinned wickedly.

I smiled as I approached her. Taking her by the hips, I sat her down at the foot of the bed. My phone was still singing my make out playlist out and I took my suit jacket off, setting it on the chair. She leaned back on her palms and watched.

I took off my cuff links and made eye contact with her.

Taking my vest off, I started to roll my body to the beat of the bass. I untucked my shirt and brought up my tank and shirt in front of her, exposing my front a little bit. She held her hand out and laid it on my skin as I rolled in front of her. I touched my sides with my hands and brought them down teasingly to my thighs.

My muscles twitched under her fingers and she scratched at the skin there. I loosened my tie and snapped it off myself, looping it over her head and pulling her close. I floated my mouth over hers and pulled away when she tried to close the distance.

“Didn’t your mama ever teach you not to kiss them on the mouth?” I teased, and she groaned in frustration as I pulled away.

I undid a few more buttons from the bottom of my shirt and kept touching myself, going as far as cupping my center. The setting amped up my arousal and even that small touch over my pants was molten lava that made my body twitch in between the undulating rolls.

She shifted her legs, and took off her own shoes.

I finished unbuttoning my shirt and tossed it to the side.

I held the hem of my tank and pulled it side to side, teasing higher and higher. I slipped it off and turned around to unsnap my bra. Turning back around, I took off the black bra and touched my breasts.

She huffed out and tensed her jaw. I looked at her hands, and they were twitching on the covers.