by Ava Summers
“Please make yourself comfortable. I’ll be back in a second.”
Samantha sat down on the sofa in the middle of the room. At her left stood two brown wooden bookshelves that covered the entire wall. In the corner of the room, right beside the bookshelves, stood a rocking chair. There was a small table on the other side of the room. She saw a drawing paper and a couple of pencils on it.
Samantha walked to the table and looked at the paper. It was an unfinished drawing of a forty-something woman with an oval face, long dark hair, almond-shaped eyes and full lips. A feeling of joy spread throughout her body when she realized it was her portrait. He wouldn’t draw her if she was just a random stranger to him, would he?
She heard approaching footsteps and returned to the sofa. Chris entered the room with a small bowl of water and cotton pads.
“Please give me your hand.”
She put her right hand palm up on his lap. He dipped a cotton pad in water and started cleaning her cuts. It burned, but she didn’t want to act weak in front of him.
“There you go. Please give me the left hand.”
Chris cleaned her left hand. She was almost glad she had gotten lost in the forest. His gentle touch felt like a sensual massage. And the drawing. Chris drew her portrait. That knowledge alone more than made up for the fear and embarrassment of getting lost in the woods.
“Why no hydrogen peroxide?” she asked.
“It’s ineffective as a disinfectant. It can even slow healing and lead to scarring.”
“Seriously?”
“I’m the doctor here. Remember?”
“Right, I’m sorry, Doc.”
He beamed at her. She liked how lively his eyes became when he smiled. He looked as if he had no care in the world.
“By the way, how about coffee tomorrow? I wanted to call you in the evening, but since we’ve already met, I guess we can talk about it now,” Chris said.
“Tomorrow is fine. When would you like to meet?”
“Noon? I open my clinic at two o’clock.”
“Noon works for me.”
“Perfect. I’ll take you to the best café in the town. I guarantee you have never had better coffee.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” She rose from the sofa. “Well, I better get going. I don’t want to take up any more of your time.”
“It’s okay. It’s not even noon. I still have two hours before I need to open the clinic.”
The sound of his cell phone interrupted their conversation.
“Hi, Katie. How can I help you?” Chris said. “Of course. No problem. Please come. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
He hung up the phone and looked at Samantha.
“Well, it seems our time is indeed over. I need to go to the clinic now.”
“It’s okay, I was just leaving.”
Chris walked her to the front door.
“See you tomorrow. I’ll pick you up at noon.”
“See you. And thanks for taking care of the cuts.”
“The pleasure is all mine.”
He gave her a hug. Samantha could’ve sworn it was much longer than their first hug.
Chapter 7
Samantha was looking at herself in the mirror for the third time.
She wore a knee-length red summer dress and strappy silver heels. She made beach waves in her auburn hair – one of her favorite styles because it was always super easy to create. Besides, Sarah told her she looked stunning with simple hairstyles.
She grabbed her purse and was about to look at herself in the mirror for the fourth time when the doorbell rang.
“Hi there,” Chris said. She felt herself blushing when he gazed at her with awe.
He wore a dark grey jacket, light blue shirt, navy pants and a pair of brown wingtips – certainly not his regular everyday outfit. She was glad she didn’t go with a pair of comfortable jeans and a regular shirt, something she considered before talking about it with her sister.
“Hello.” Samantha felt shaky in his presence. He looked so handsome in his jacket and blue shirt.
“Are we going to keep talking at the doorstep?” Chris asked amused.
“No, of course not, let’s go.”
When she was about to leave the house, Winston appeared out of the kitchen and ran toward Chris as if he were his best friend he hadn’t seen for years.
“Hey buddy,” Chris said and patted the happy dog on the head.
“See you later, Winston. Behave yourself,” she said and closed the door.
When they arrived at the café with a huge “Black Bean Café” sign over it, Samantha was surprised to see it was so full. People sat at the small brown wooden tables and on two sofas in the back of the room.
The interior of the café wouldn’t win any design awards, but there was nothing to complain about, either. The tables were simple, but didn’t look cheap. The light brown walls were decorated with illustrations and drawings of various places from the town. Samantha recognized the illustration of the town hall and the main street.
The central point of the café was a long wooden counter. Two twenty-something waiters stood behind it. On the counter stood a black board with specials written on it with white chalk.
Chris led her to a quiet table in the corner of the room. They ordered their coffee.
“Looks like a nice place,” Samantha said.
“It’s one of the best places here. But then again, it’s a small town. It’s not like you have a wide selection of locales.”
“I like it here.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Not all people can appreciate the slow pace of a small town. You moved here from L.A., right?
“How did you know?”
“Just a guess. I saw your registration plates.”
The waiter brought their coffee.
Samantha took a sip of her coffee. “Oh my God, it’s delicious.”
“Told you it’s the best coffee in the world.” A triumphant smile lit up his face.
“Did you draw any of the drawings here?” she asked and pointed to the walls.
“How do you know that I draw?”
“I saw a drawing paper and pencils in your house.”
Chris blushed. It seemed there had been something more to the portrait of her than just a habit of drawing every new stranger, after all.
“I… Yes, there are a couple of my drawings here. The one over there with the dog -- that’s Elsa -- and the one right there depicting the main street. There’s also my other drawing on the other side of the room. It shows my secret place.”
“So it’s not such a secret place, after all.”
“It’s not like I attached the map to the drawing. And it might as well be a product of my imagination.”
“Right, I didn’t think about it.”
“What about you? Do you have any secret talents I should know about?”
“I have a talent of getting lost in the woods five minutes away from the town.”
“That’s impressive.”
“It is. You should try it.”
“Maybe someday.”
“Jokes aside, how did Winston even find you?”
“Dogs have great smell. He must have somehow smelled Elsa.”
“I forgot to thank you for helping me find my way back.”
“It wasn’t me. You should thank Winston. He ran to me and barked like a wild dog. At first I thought you would be right behind him, but when he didn’t stop barking I knew something was up. That’s why we found you.”
A twenty-something busty blonde woman dressed in tight jeans and a white top approached their table. She stood beside Chris and put her hand on his shoulder.
“Hey, Chris, sweetheart.”
“Hi, Victoria,” Chris said. Samantha heard a hint of anger in his voice.
She took an immediate dislike to the woman. She didn’t introduce herself, as if Samantha wasn’t worth her attention. Disap
pointment crept up on Samantha’s face. Chris had a girlfriend, after all. The portrait, the walks, their meeting at the café, it was just him being friendly with her.
“Do you have a minute?” Victoria asked.
“Not now, Vic. Can’t you see I’m not alone?”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Don’t get mad at me, Chris. I’ll call you later, then. Bye.”
Chris didn’t bother replying.
“Let’s get going. It’s already past one. I don’t want to open late,” he said to Samantha, as if leaving the place would erase from her head the strange meeting with Victoria.
They paid the bill and left the café. Chris drove her back home without saying a word. Whatever happened in the café between him and Victoria made him pretty rattled. When Samantha came back home, she couldn’t find Winston anywhere in the house. She checked all the rooms in the house and the backyard. The dog was nowhere in sight.
When she was about to go looking for the dog in the forest, her phone rang. It was Chris.
“Hello?” she said.
“Winston is at my porch. Please come and take him.”
“What the hell is this dog doing? I’ll be there in a second.”
Five minutes later, Samantha parked her car in front of Chris’s house. Winston greeted her with Elsa, while Chris looked at her from the porch.
“Winston, what are you doing here?” she asked.
The dog looked at her and shifted his attention back to Elsa.
“I have no idea how he got here,” she said to Chris, who stood at the steps of the porch.
“He knew his way here. As for how he got out of your house, I have no idea, either.”
“I’m sorry, Chris. I’ll find a way to keep him at home. I probably forgot to close all the windows.”
“It’s okay, forget about it. Listen Samantha, I saw the look on your face when Victoria approached us. I’ll explain everything later.”
“What do you want to explain, Chris? We’ve just met for coffee. You don’t have to tell me about your girlfriend.”
“It wasn’t just coffee for me. And she isn’t my girlfriend.”
“She sure sounded like one. And the way you acted when she left us… Anyway, there’s nothing to explain. We’re just…”
Chris put two fingers on her lips and hushed her. His sensual touch lingered on her face even when he withdrew his hand.
“Listen, Samantha. I don’t want to be just friends. I know you don’t want it, either.”
His boldness made her mad. He talked to her as if he knew everything about her.
“What do you know? I’m forty-three, for God’s sake, and you’re at least ten years younger. Do you really think I thought there would be something between us?”
Chris didn’t reply. Instead, he touched her cheek with his soft fingers, brought her face to his and gave her a light, slow kiss. All her anger was gone in an instant.
She felt an intense desire to kiss him again and again and again. Oh God, how she missed kissing. Deep, passionate kissing. But she knew she couldn’t just let herself go and be vulnerable again.
“Yes, that’s what I thought. And you thought it, too,” he said.
“I… I have to go. We’ll talk later.”
Samantha descended the steps, grabbed Winston by the collar and guided him to the car. Chris stood confused at the porch steps.
Chapter 8
“I don’t know what to think. He kissed me, but this girl called him ‘sweetheart,’ Sarah.”
“Take your time, girl. Sleep on it. Meet with him tomorrow and see what he says then. No need to worry.”
“No need to worry. Why do you always have to be so upbeat and laid back?”
“Gotta be like that if you’re an actress. Besides, you said he’s into you. Why act so desperate, then?”
“What did I say?”
“You told me he drew your portrait.”
“It doesn’t mean he’s into me.”
“Right. And then when he told you he just doesn’t want to be your friend, was that just a mistake on his part? A blunder? Oh, right. He wanted to say he wants to be your best friend, nothing more.”
“Sarah…”
“Samantha, what do you really think about him? Can you be honest with me?”
“I don’t know. It’s driving me crazy. He made me nervous when I met him for the first time. I couldn’t stop looking at his forearms and his smile.”
“Oh, look, is Sam getting butterflies in her stomach?”
“Stop it, Sarah. You’re crossing the line here.”
“Sorry, girl. I didn’t mean it this way. Seriously, go back to your novel, forget about Chris for a while and talk with him tomorrow. Talk it over. This Vivian or whatever her name was may have been just his friend.”
“Victoria. And really, if you saw her, you would know why I’m so rattled now. The girl looked like straight out the model runway. Who am I compared to her?”
“You’re a mature and attractive woman in her early forties. Life ain’t over when you’re forty, you know? He doesn’t care about her if he kissed you.”
“Yeah, right. Sarah, you’re so naïve sometimes. Robert more than just kissed his blondie, and he was my husband at that time..”
“I know, girl. But let’s not talk about it right now. You’re still an attractive woman. I know you looked stunning in that red dress. I wish I saw the look in his eyes when he saw you.”
The doorbell interrupted her conversation.
“I’m sorry Sarah, someone’s at the door. I’ll call you back later.”
When she opened the door, she saw Victoria standing in the doorstep. She had a grim look on her face.
“What are you doing here?” Samantha asked.
“Just wanted to give you a word of caution. Chris is mine. Leave him alone, or I’ll make your life miserable.” Her words slashed the air like a sword.
“How did you know where to find me? And what do you want from me?”
“News travels fast in small towns. I bet they didn’t teach you that in L.A., dinosaur. Stay away from Chris. He’s mine.”
“Leave my property, or I’ll call the police.”
“Don’t worry. I was just leaving. Don’t you ever kiss him again, or there will be consequences. Maybe something would happen to your beloved doggie?”
Winston appeared in the doorstep and growled at the woman, making her leave with a frightened face.
“Good job, Winston. You perfectly conveyed my emotions.”
Samantha took Winston on a long walk to let off steam. When she came back, she listened to her sister’s advice and went back to work on her novel. As a way to release her anger, she made Victoria one of the antagonists in her new romance.
A few hours later, her phone rang.
“Samantha, we need to talk. Can I come over?” Chris said.
“Okay.”
“I’ll be there in a jiffy.”
Five minutes later, her doorbell rang. She didn’t make the same mistake as before and checked who was standing at the doorstep before she opened the door. It was Chris.
“I’m sorry.”
“What do you feel sorry for?” She motioned him to come in.
“For Victoria. I should have known she may see us there. It wasn’t her shift, but she frequently hangs out at the café even after work.”
Samantha led Chris to the living room. She sat on the couch, while Chris chose an armchair standing across her. Winston was nowhere to be seen. Samantha suspected he was in a deep sleep after a long and tiring walk.
“Who is she to you?”
“She’s my ex-girlfriend. We had a… a short-term relationship. It was a couple years ago.
“So what is she doing in your life right now?”
“After our breakup, she has never stopped meddling in my personal life. I thought she was finally done with her temper tantrums.”
“Well, that’s a
good way to put it. She was here today.”
“What? Victoria was at your home today? Why?”
Samantha told Chris what Victoria had said to her.
“She went too far this time. This can’t go on like that,” he said.
“What should I do? I don’t want anything bad happening to Winston.”
Chris rose from the armchair and sat down on the couch right beside Samantha. He put a hand on her knee.
“Nothing will happen to Winston or you. She might be crazy, but she wouldn’t hurt anybody,” he said.
He put his muscular arms around Samantha. Their faces were so close to each other she could look deep into his jade eyes. Samantha saw the longing there. She wondered if he saw the anticipation in her eyes.
“Samantha, you are so beautiful,” he said. He traced her cheek with his fingertips. She felt her skin prickle.
“Please kiss me,” she whispered.
His soft lips touched hers. A warm feeling of excitement spread over her body, the kind of heat she felt for the last time more than a year ago.
“Please don’t stop.”
His gentle, yet passionate kissing made her lips engorged with blood. Chris kissed the nape of her neck. He moved from bare skin into her hair, and fluttered the tip of his tongue over her hair follicles. His tongue caressing her earlobe sent shivers down her back. A minute longer, and she wouldn’t be able to resist him any longer.
“Chris, we should stop.”
He withdrew his face. “It’s okay. I don’t want to rush it.”
“I… I’m not ready yet. I… it’s just too overwhelming. Too many things, too fast.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain anything.”
“Chris, why me? What do you see in a forty-three year old woman?”
“What do I see in you? I see glowing chestnut hair, a kind and warm face, hazel eyes I can’t stop staring at and lips that beg to be kissed. Samantha, you’re a beautiful woman.”
“I… Thank you.” Nobody had ever described her in such a touching way.
“Tell you what… Why don’t we take things slowly, get to know each other better. I have a dinner with my aunt tomorrow evening. I’d love you to come. She’s a huge fan of your books.”
