by Kris Calvert
“I think I might be falling in love with him.”
“What?” Seth turned. Kitty finally had his attention.
Seth sat next to her on the couch. He’d never heard Kitty say the word love when speaking about a man other than him. It warranted investigation. “Did you sleep with him?”
“No.” Kitty shook her head.
“Good,” Seth replied.
“I almost slept with him. I wanted to sleep with him, but then I found out that his dead fiancée, Jill, lived in my house before me.”
“What the fuck?” Seth blurted.
“Yeah…” Kitty agreed. “I know.”
“Jesus, that’s heavy.”
“I know,” Kitty repeated, slumping deep into the couch.
“What are you going to do?”
“It sounds crazy,” Kitty began. “And you know I don’t do crazy, but it’s almost like we were supposed to meet. Seth, you know the sculpture he’s done for the town square?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s a Native American symbol. I know it.”
‘It’s not…”
Kitty only nodded. Seth knew of the necklace she wore always. It was her one tie to the mother who left her behind.
“Wow.”
“I know,” Kitty said again.
“Kit, you have to see where this leads. Don’t you believe in fate?” Seth asked.
“No,” Kitty shook her head. “But I do believe in destiny.”
“Same thing,” Seth chided.
“It’s not,” Kitty argued. “Fate means my life was decided for me and no matter what I do, the course of my existence won’t change. Destiny means there were predetermined events in my life, how I’ve reacted to them has shaped my destiny. I choose my own destiny.”
“So what is your question again? Because you can call this anything you’d like, but you need this guy. This guy needs you.”
Kitty nodded and began to well up with tears.
“Wait. What’s all this?” he uttered as Kitty dropped her head into Seth’s chest.
“I’m afraid I’ll screw it up,” Kitty sniffed.
“Kit, you don’t cry. What is it?” Seth demanded.
“I think I’m falling in love with him and if I am I won’t be able to handle losing him. There are only two men I need to hang on to for the rest of my life. You and the one.”
“And you think he’s the one?”
Kitty could no longer speak. The words stuck in her throat like a thick piece of bread that she couldn’t swallow. She nodded and stood up to get a tissue from the desk in the room.
“When are you going to see him again?” Seth asked as he watched her pace the room and dry her eyes.
“Friday night. I’m going to the dedication with him.”
“Are you doing the black tie event?”
Kitty nodded.
“Good. Because there’s someone I’d like you to meet,” Seth confessed with a smile that let Kitty know he was up to something.
“Is this the girl that should be on a magazine that wanted nothing to do with you?” Kitty mumbled through her tissue.
“One and the same.”
“Is this the girl that left you a note that said ‘I don’t know how to say goodbye. I can’t think of any words.’?”
“How did you know that?” he asked, suddenly losing the smitten look on his face.
“I was getting a Tic Tac from your locker and found it in your coat pocket. How long have you been carrying around that little piece of paper in your white coat? Cause I might have to call bullshit on that.”
“Fine,” Seth confessed. “I took her to dinner the other night. We went to the old drive-in and saw Roman Holiday. ‘I don’t know how to say goodbye’ was a line Audrey Hepburn said. She liked it.”
“Apparently,” Kitty teased.
“She’s….” Seth started.
“She’s what?”
“Nothing.”
“C’mon, Seth. You’ve never not told me about your women. I’m the one person who gets all the gory details whether I want them or not. Frankly, if you’re going to tell me you got –you know–in her hair like that one girl–”
“God no,” Seth shouted. “Stop Kit. It’s nothing like that. This girl is special. She’s beautiful and she’s so smart. Funny, quick witted, and she’s tall. God, I love it that she’s so long and lean. I get hard just thinking about her.”
“And there it is,” Kitty smirked. “You had to go there.”
“Sorry.” Seth shook off the brashness of his own comment. “I am a man after all.”
“Not all men think like that,” Kitty proclaimed.
“The hell they don’t. We can get into love. We know what it is. We just don’t throw the word around like you girls do. You all love shoes and clothes – you love chick flicks and books that make you well up and cry. Men don’t love like that,” Seth explained as he moved his arms in a sweeping motion to add emphasis.
“What are you saying?” Kitty dripped with sarcasm. “Please, enlighten me oh guru of love.”
“Men love the women who touch the part inside them that no one else sees. Men love the women who know who they really are, know all the bad stuff, know all the shit,” he said as he gestured to his own chest. “And they love you anyway. There are two women in a man’s life that do that – their mother and the girl of their dreams. And if you’re lucky enough, you can turn the girl of your dreams into your wife.”
“Where does that leave me?” Kitty asked as she stood and walked toward him.
“You?” he questioned with a smile. “You’re my best friend. You mother me and spoil me so that I always know what I’m worth. You’re the reason I won’t settle until I find the girl of my dreams. Because you’ve convinced me that I deserve it.”
Kitty hugged Seth as tightly as she could. “You do deserve it.”
“So do you. If you love this man, you need to tell him.”
Kitty nodded and knew she would have to tap a place deep inside to find the courage. She rubbed the emblem on her necklace as she turned to walk away.
“Seth?”
“Yup,” he said as he stood once again in front of the closed locker and considered his best options for retrieving his white coat.
“Thank you for loving me.”
“How could I not? You’re my family.”
July 3rd
Matt Trask walked through the parking lot of his massage center, excited to get inside and to his desk to look over the papers that only needed to be signed to make Grace Bartel his business partner.
He unlocked the door and hurried inside to turn on the lights. He had another one of Belinda’s clients that she couldn’t keep. It was getting to be a habit, but Matt was still happy to help out.
He turned on the desk lamp that illuminated his office and sat, quickly unfolding the documents he’d just picked up at his attorney’s office. He would meet Grace tonight at The Seller and would sign the papers, celebrating with wine. Matt grinned to himself and said a little prayer that they would celebrate by doing more than just drinking the Chateau Margaux he’d been saving for a special occasion such as this.
He looked at the signature lines that showed both of their names and couldn’t wait to sign with Grace in front of the notary to make it all official.
He folded the papers and tucked them in his top desk drawer, knowing he needed to straighten the massage room and get the towels and stones heated.
He turned on the Pandora station that was wired through the entire center and switched from the Southern Rock he’d cleaned the office up to yesterday afternoon to the Spa station.
He walked into the first room and dimmed the light and lit the candles for the day and moved on to room number two. As he opened the door, he heard her voice before he saw her.
“You must be Matt,” Grace cooed as she stood in the darkened room lit only by candles.
“Grace,” he gasped a little taken aback by her surprise visit.
&nbs
p; “You must be Matt,” she repeated.
“What?” he laughed.
“You. Must. Be Matt,” she said a third time pausing between each word.
“Oh, you’re not Belinda? Are you?” Matt replied mimicking the day he first met Grace.
“Not hardly. I’m Grace. Belinda is sick.”
Matt grinned from ear to ear.
“She said she tried to get in touch with you,” Grace continued. “When she couldn’t locate you, she asked me to fill in.”
“I see,” Matt whispered.
“You can absolutely reschedule,” Grace giggled as she moved closer to him. “I promise, it won’t hurt my feelings in the slightest.”
Matt had never been more attracted to a woman in his life than he was in that very moment. His manhood stood at attention and he was certain, by the look on Grace’s face, she saw exactly what he was feeling.
“Ahhhhh….” he laughed. “I mean, no.”
“No, you’re leaving?” Grace asked as she moved into his muscled body.
“No,” he said as he bent down to kiss her lips. “I’m staying.”
“Wonderful,” she whispered as she pulled his neck toward her for another deep kiss. “You can get undressed.”
“You can undress me,” Matt responded between kisses.
Grace unbuttoned the top of his jeans and pushed them to the floor without hesitation as Matt pulled the athletic shirt that hugged his tight chest and muscular arms over his shoulders and tossed it to the floor.
Grace slipped off his shoes and rose again for his boxer briefs, quickly sliding them down his legs to join his jeans.
As Matt stepped out of his clothes, he pulled Grace in tight for a kiss and pressed his visibly hard flesh into her hip.
Grace teased him, kissing him deeply and pulling away only to nibble on his lower lip. “Is there anything that’s been giving you trouble or pain?” she whispered into his open mouth.
“Yes ma’am,” he smiled. “The groin area has been really, really tight lately.”
“I’ll bet.”
Matt grabbed the cotton maxi dress Grace wore on each side and began to inch it up slowly until he had a handful of material and could wait no longer to feel Grace’s silky nakedness against his body.
In one tug, he pulled it up and away from her, dropping it on the floor. Looking down he realized she wasn’t wearing panties.
“Don’t look,” Grace, begged as she pressed herself against his tight frame.
“That’s not how this works,” Matt whispered. “I love you. I love everything about you. Your beauty, your scars – your beautiful scar.”
Grace nodded and stepped back and away from him and looked to the floor, not wanting to see the look on Matt’s face when he discovered how damaged she really was.
“Oh God,” Matt began.
“I know,” Grace sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“Look at me,” Matt begged. “Grace, look at me.”
Grace looked up and into the eyes of Matt Trask, the most beautiful and kindest man she’d ever had the privilege of knowing. And he wanted her. “You’re beautiful.”
Matt dipped his knees and picked her up, carefully laying her alabaster body on the sheet covered massage table.
“You’re scheduled for a ninety-minute massage,” Grace gasped as she felt Matt’s straining sex against her body.
“That’s fantastic,” he moaned as he dropped his head to kiss his way from her breasts to her wet and waiting mouth. “I’m falling so in love with you, partner.”
As she caught her breath, Grace smiled and whispered in Matt’s ear. “This is gonna cost you extra.”
Matt captured her lips again and kissed her deeply, stroking her mouth to ecstasy.
“It’s okay. I’m a big tipper.”
July 4th
It was a big day for Banks Bartel. Today his latest masterpiece would be unveiled at sunset in the middle of the town square. When it was commissioned, Banks knew it needed to be beautiful on many levels. So many had lost loved ones three years ago on this very day, and the fact that they had trusted him to commemorate these lives with his artwork meant more to Banks than any other piece he’d ever created.
He’d set the piece yesterday under wraps and a cloudy sky. As long as the surveyors and the calculations were correct, it would be a spectacular unveiling tonight.
Banks hurried around the loft above his studio making sure he had everything he needed for the night. Kit was meeting him at the unveiling and before he left, Banks set up the small gift he’d managed to squeeze in as he finished the sesquicentennial sculpture.
Hopping in Big Red, he sped into the early evening sun, anxious for what the night would bring.
Danielle Trask answered the door as soon as the bell rang. Dressed in a low cut black sequined gown and three inch black Louboutin heels, she was anxious to see what Dr. Seth Newman might think of her outfit choice. She knew he would be incredibly handsome in his tuxedo, and when she answered the door she was not disappointed.
“Holy…” Seth muttered as Danielle swung open the door and hung her arm above her head for effect.
“Back atcha, handsome” Danielle smiled. Her red lips contrasted with her sun-kissed skin and blonde hair.
“Are you ready to go?” Seth choked on his words, still taken by her beauty.
“Yes.”
“Let’s do this,” Seth replied as he took her hand and wrapped it around his flexed bicep as he escorted her to his car. “I worried that I would be taking you away from your duties tonight.”
“All of my work goes into the planning. I’ve got people there to execute, and I have my phone with me in case disaster strikes.”
“If disaster strikes, then my department will come into play. See,” he nodded. “We’re made for each other.”
“A match made in heaven, huh?”
“I know this much. I’ll be the envy of everyone at the event tonight,” Seth said as he helped her into the car.
“As will I,” Danielle replied.
Seth shut the car door and adjusted his crotch as he hurried around the back end of the car to his own door.
He started the car and looked to Danielle. “I saw that,” she said with a smile.
“You saw what?” Seth asked as he donned his black Ray-Ban Wayfarers so he could stare at Danielle’s cleavage and her beautiful face without being caught.
“I saw that too.”
“Enlighten me, Miss Trask. What is it that you think you see?”
“I watched you adjust yourself because you got a little too excited as you walked around the car, and I can see you checking out my boobs in this dress when you want me to think you are looking at my face.”
“Wow,” Seth laughed. “I guess I’m not as cool as I think I am. The truth of the matter is this – I couldn’t help myself. You make me feel like I’m eighteen every time I’m around you. My dick gets hard and I have to find new and creative ways to hide it. Believe me, it’s not easy. And you are so beautiful – I want to take in every little piece of you. Your face, your eyes, your beautiful mind.”
“It wasn’t my mind you were looking at, Seth,” she charged.
“Remember when I said you make me feel eighteen again?”
“Yes.”
“There’s your answer.”
Danielle took his hand and threaded her fingers through his. “You telling me the truth was very cool,” she uttered in a sweet and sultry voice that gave Seth yet another reason to adjust his black tuxedo pants.
“Yeah?”
“I’m flattered. I love that I turn you on.”
Seth pursed his lips and nodded, afraid if he said anything it would ruin the moment. The woman he was falling in love with had just used the word love. Even if it wasn’t in an I love you, Seth was beyond ecstatic.
They made the turn into the town square and went straight to the valet parking area near the presentation podium.
As the teenage valet helped Danielle out of
the car, Seth saw him swallow hard and Seth wanted to say, I feel ya dude, I feel ya.
They walked to the center of the square where both Danielle and Seth greeted people with warm regard. They were asked over and over about their relationship and everyone made it a point to let them know what a beautiful couple they made. And they did. There wasn’t a more beautiful or taller pair in the crowd.
As the sun got closer to setting, the mayor addressed the group and introduced Banks Bartel.
Danielle put her hand in Seth’s as Banks began his dedication speech and Seth knew he was falling in love. Just as Banks Bartel began to speak, he leaned into Danielle’s neck and whispered, “Please don’t ever say goodbye.”
Kitty Clark stood in the setting sun and watched as Banks began his dedication. She knew what he was about to unveil would mean so much to so many. She was beyond proud to be his date for the evening and even prouder that he’d trusted her enough to show her the piece before anyone else.
“Today marks many things. The one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of our wonderful city, and the anniversary of a tragic day in many of our lives. Over the past three years, the people of this community have picked up the pieces and started over, just as the founders of our city did one hundred and fifty years ago.
Lao Tzu said that new beginnings are often disguised as painful endings. And that’s what we have to remember tonight as we unveil this piece that commemorates our past and our future. And as I look to my watch, I’m praying that the time on it is correct as I say this to you. It gives me great pleasure to present to you the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary and community commemoration art for the town square. A piece that with its eight points for guidance and circles signifying protection, will illuminate for a moment at sunset each day, as we are all only here on this earth a short while. But like the name of the piece, each day brings another opportunity for beauty. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Hope.”
As the red satin drape flowed to the ground in billowed grandeur, all eyes were set on the sculpture as it glowed in the sunlight.
The forty foot, six thousand pound stainless steel sunburst enclosed within a larger circle faced due west, and as the sun set, the art was set ablaze by the reflection as the sun passed through its inner circle.
