Just the Beginning

by Denise Evans

the feeling the clay in my hands and through my fingers. Being able to mold and shape it into something beautiful."

  "I can understand that. Maybe I need to get a hobby like that." Her dream job was working in solitude; working alone, with no one else around and no other emotions to deal with.

  "I would be happy to show you how to create something with your hands," he told her as he cleared the table. Grace stood up quickly to take the glasses to the sink and lost her balance. Manny caught her and the glasses before she dropped them.

  "Wow, amiga slow down," he said, rubbing her shoulders. She was unable to stop the sensual shiver from going through her body. The only response from Manny was a small smile on his lips.

  "Um… Thank you. I must’ve drank a little too much." Holding her hand to her head she looked down and stepped sideways out of his hands. The wine made her already low defenses practically nonexistent. Her mind wanted nothing emotional, but her heart still hungered for it.

  "Maybe a bit. We will watch that next time." His smile was devastating to her already quickened pulse. She noticed the longer she looked at him, the stronger the pulse became. The wine, she told herself. It was definitely the wine.

  Grace breathed in deeply and looked around the room, trying to focus. "Sure, thanks for dinner." She headed toward the stairs. It had to be the wine and even then, it was probably all in her head, but when she walked away she felt lust stroke her spine and travel downwards, as if tugging her back to the kitchen. Trying to ignore it, she paused halfway up the stairs and glanced over her shoulder. Manny was watching her. Now Grace knew she had drunk too much, because there was no way that he was attracted to her.

  However, Manny was enthralled by Grace. She was not only beautiful, but could hold a conversation on variety of subjects. In getting to know her, he was also learning how to help her. Turning around, he continued to clean up and realized that they had drank a whole bottle of wine. He shook his head. No wander she almost tipped over. Every time that she received the message his emotions were giving out, he knew right away. She would get this surprised look on her face and he could almost see the wheels in her head turning. He knew he was pushing it when he let his attraction seep out and stroke her. When she tried to build her wall he sensed her effort, but it was flawed. Now, if only he could figure a way to make her talk about what she felt.

  Inside her bedroom, Grace tried to shake off her amped up emotions. She was uncomfortable with the attraction because she had not been in a relationship for a while. Although her body was ready, her mind was not. She didn’t want to deal with anything that remotely involved a relationship. Tomorrow, she was going to work on building her wall. Manny would not get close, she promised herself.

  The morning light peeking through the blinds woke Grace the next day. Outside energy called to her as she stretched and dressed quickly. Walking down the hall, passing the first bedroom, thoughts of Manny crossed her mind. She wondered what time he would start working. She didn’t know what she was going to say or do around him. Although she had slept well, Manny was still in the background. She had tried to get away from him so fast the night before that she realized she’d just went to bed without seeing him to the door or helping him clean up . Looking around the kitchen, there wasn’t a spot that was dirty. No dishes, cups, pots, or even trash. Smiling, she already knew two things she was going to say to him: ‘Sorry for not helping with the cleaning’ and ‘thank you for doing it’.

  The sun felt so refreshing and warm outback. She found a nice spot to sit that faced the rising sun, perfect for meditation. In front of her was a small lake stocked with fish. Her uncle liked fishing and used to take her every summer. With happiness all around her, she opened her book and read the lesson for the day. Then, laying the book aside, she cleared her mind and imagined a white light coming down and cleansing her body and soul. Her mind now blank, she visualized building a brick wall. With each brick she laid, she said a positive affirmation. The wall was about waist high and 6 feet long when she felt warming sunrays at her back. She paused because the warmth reminded her of what love felt like, unconditional love. Her wall began to crumble. She opened her eyes, still dazed, shook her head, and slowly looked around to see if someone was there. She stood up, looked across the lake, and still saw no one. To calm her nerves, she took a deep breath and muttered, "Grace, you’ve got to get a hold on yourself." She decided to walk back to the house and figure out what had happened to her wall. Then she entered and saw Manny standing in the room that faced the lake.

  Manny knew exactly when Grace had woke up because she did not shield her emotions. He wondered if she knew how or just felt like she didn’t have to. He was happy that she had slept well and seemed quite happy to start her day. He stayed out of sight while she went down to the lake to meditate. This gave him time to watch her and to get a good feel of her abilities. When she slipped into her meditative state, there was a white orb surrounding her. His eyes widened in disbelief at what he saw. He was positive that she had no idea what was around her. As she continued, the orb grew and become thicker. Astounded, Manny let his emotion reach out to her. When it touched the orb, it popped like a bubble. She abruptly came out of the meditation, shook her head, and her confusion shot back to him.

  Noticing her coming back, he quickly poured some water in a coffee cup and made it back to the window right before she opened the door. He gave her a friendly smile, "Buenos Dias. How was your meditation?"

  Shocked by his knowledge of her meditation, she stumbled with her words. "Uh… Kinda productive. How – how did you know what I was doing?"

  "I know because I do it myself," he answered and handed her a cup of herbal tea. "When you meditate, what do you focus on?" He studied her over the rim of his cup.

  She looked into her cup. "It’s kinda weird, but I build a brick wall." She didn't want to explain more to him because most people wouldn't understand. She barely understood it, but knew what she had to do.

  "That’s exactly what you’re doing?" Confusion swirled out of him.

  Looking up Grace asked, "What did you say?" She felt the confusion, but figured it was her own.

  "I have some experience with meditation. I do mine in the morning and also at evening. I would like to meditate with you and help you build your wall." Hope wrapped around her waist and tugged her a little towards him.

  "We’ll see. Thanks for the tea." She put her cup down and went to her room. The feeling of hope that came from him was nice and she liked it.

  The rest of the day, Grace relaxed by reading her London book, giving herself a mani & pedi, and taking a nap. She woke up to the sound of pounding on the wall. She waited for it to stop, but when it didn't she followed the sound downstairs to the basement. There, she saw Manny, with no shirt on, hammering something in the wall. For the first time in a long time, she was memorized. The copper color of Manny's muscular back had a sheen of sweat glistening over it and she liked it.

  Manny knew when she entered the room because he felt her interest fall upon him with a touch of sexual awareness. It was hard not to react physically and emotionally. He wanted to respond to her, but he knew that her wall was not at the strength that she wanted. Her receptors were growing stronger and she needed stronger defenses. He wondered when she would speak instead of just standing there watching. After a few moments, he decided to make the first move by stepping down off the ladder and pretending to look for something in his tool box. Casually, he looked up and acted surprised to see her standing there.

  "Hola. Was your siesta good?" he asked, turning to her and pulling his shirt on.

  "Yes. Your banging that woke me up." She didn't mean to sound snarky, but she had to do something to fight her attraction to him.

  "Sorry, I have to get this AC unit in here," he said, smirking. He knew exactly what she was trying to do and knew it wasn’t going work.

  "No problem. Can I get you a—”She was thinking a towel so she could wipe him down, but she quietly cl
enched her mind against that thought. "—drink or something? I’m about to make some sandwiches for lunch." Grace fidgeted under Manny’s stare. She had built her wall, but there was something off with it because it kept crumbling.

  Manny smiled "Si, it would be great to have lunch with you.”

  "Okay, it'll be ready in about 20 minutes." Grace retreated quickly, berating herself over her thoughts about Manny. By the time she started on lunch, she had locked away the image of a shirtless Manny. Instead, she focused on making turkey and Swiss on rye bread with a pickle spear. She found some Lays chips and Sun chips, not knowing which one Manny preferred and put both out. As she finished pouring some sweet tea, she felt a sense of appreciation come over her from behind. She slowly put down the pitcher and, without looking, she asked, "What would you like to drink?"

  He answered while washing his hands, "Whatever you’re having is fine."

  Not sure what to talk about and hating the silence, Grace asked, "How long have you been working in your field?"

  He felt her uneasiness as he looked down at his plate. "I've been doing this for at least 20 years. Mi padre trained me." He looked up at her. "Tell me, what do you want to do now that you're finished with school?"

  "Not