by Cass Sellars
Becky sat alone in the lot describing the highlights of their date today. She lovingly penned the details onto the blank pages. She imagined Sydney reading her journal when they were together again. Sydney would never doubt the depth of her feelings.
Becky straightened the picture she had clipped to her visor and rubbed a finger across Sydney’s face. Well, she knew it was Sydney’s face. The long distance in the dark bar had been quite a challenge for her cheap phone camera but she thought the way Sydney looked at her was perfect, Sydney’s feelings for her evident in those deep gray eyes.
She drove slowly out of the lot feeling soothed by her lover.
*
At four o’clock Sydney left the gym and cautiously strode toward her car, scanning the lot and adjacent street, thankful the Pink Box of Hell was nowhere to be found.
She was amazed and just a little frightened by how much she looked forward to seeing Parker. She’d never felt the need or the desire to date. With all the women she had met in bars and at parties, she’d never felt compelled to pursue anything beyond a brief physical encounter, certainly nothing emotional. Sex first, never companionship and conversation. The feeling was foreign. Foreign but somehow amazing, she decided, trying not to allow the sense of dread to take hold of her thoughts.
Chapter Ten
Parker woke to the phone alarm shrieking from the floor next to her frameless mattress in the loft. The first day back to work was exciting but she felt wistful about her free time to putter around the house and stay up late with Sydney. Rolling up wearily, she pulled her T-shirt down over her shorts and headed for the stairs.
Parker could see Sydney packing her car for her out-of-town project as she passed her front windows. Parker stood staring at Sydney, secretly wishing they had met before Parker was toppled by Dayne, and Syd by life. Syd would never be really ready to give up her bar girl habit and Parker had no designs on commitment, but she drew the line at being one of some rotating pool of Sydney Hyatt’s options.
As Sydney shut the door and ran her hands over her hair, Parker watched her every move, mesmerized by her muscular frame and smooth, assured stride. Her mug of tea in hand, she headed up for a shower.
A gentle knock curtailed her climb as she ditched her cup on a stair and shuffled to the door. Parker shifted it open; Sydney stood there, resting her forearm on the door frame.
“You didn’t ask who it was.” She lifted Parker and guided a gentle kiss over her lips.
“That’s because I didn’t figure the guys down the hall wanted to visit me this morning,” she joked, returning the kiss and vining her arms around Sydney’s neck.
“They don’t know what they are missing, then.” Sydney smiled easily.
“Maybe I just hoped it was you.” Parker looked up at Sydney and brushed a hand over her sleep-matted hair. “I look a wreck.”
Sydney bent and slipped her arm around Parker’s waist as she closed the door behind her. “I think you look especially beautiful this morning.” She delivered a kiss just below her ear.
“How can you do your work with such a significant visual impairment?” Parker flirted with Sydney.
“It’s rough, but I’m nothing if not persistent. Remember that,” she said with a wink. “I’m leaving for Philly and I just wanted to say good-bye before I did.”
“I’m glad. I hope you have a great trip.” Parker was trying to extinguish the burning she felt because of her proximity to Syd. “Come home safe—you have plans this weekend, remember?”
“This weekend?” Syd tapped her chin as if searching for a lost memory. “Oh yeah, I’m taking some chick for bad sushi, right?”
“Yeah, that’s it.” Parker pushed her playfully.
“Promise you’ll be careful, okay? I’d like you in one piece when I get back.” Syd leaned to Parker and kissed her smoothly.
“I will. You, too.” She absorbed the gentle proprietary concern.
Syd dangled a key from a simple metal ring. “In case you need anything from my place while I’m gone.”
“Oh, okay, but I doubt I will.” Parker looked at her carefully as she closed her fingers around the offering.
“Just be sure not to host any orgies while I’m away.” Sydney kissed her again, a bit harder this time.
“Well, what’s the point of having the key if you take all the fun out of it?” Parker laughed as she pulled up to Sydney and returned her kiss, slowly and more deeply this time. Her breath faltered as she felt Sydney’s arms tighten around her. They stood quietly in the embrace.
Reluctantly, Sydney loosened her hold, almost whispering, “I better go.”
“Okay.” Parker sighed. Kissing Syd again sweetly, she stepped back. “Be good.”
Sydney nodded and slid the door closed behind her. Parker collected her tea from the stair and headed up to get ready for work, watching for just a moment as the car pulled down the street.
*
Parker glided off the elevator dragging her briefcase behind her. Jenny sprang up to greet her, and Parker returned her enthusiastic hug.
“I’m so glad you’re back. This place is major boring without you, and Frank Myers keeps hanging out in my visitor’s chair so he can tell me about his girlfriend of the moment. At least when you’re here he stays away.”
Laughing, Parker deposited her briefcase on her desk to remove her laptop and a stack of files. “Next time you see him, mention I’m back and want to see his progress on Eastwood. We won’t see him for a week.” Parker made a face, knowing the account manager procrastinated on everything.
“Good idea.” Jen pointed at her as if she had just solved a complicated math problem. “Tell me about everything, and I mean everything.”
“I take it you’ve been talking with Allen?” Parker smiled, knowing that she had been the subject of at least one gossip session.
“Maybe.” Jen attempted an innocent smile, her pale blue eyes flashing at Parker.
“Well, the loft is pretty much done. I ordered a bed online last night from the MidMod Warehouse. The kitchen’s fini—”
“Not!” Jenny set her hands on her hips and tilted her head at Parker. “You know what I mean. I’ll come see the place for myself. I mean the girl.”
“The girl? Hmm, let me think.” Parker rolled her eyes toward the ceiling in mock thought.
“You are one minute from radio silence for the rest of the day, Parker,” Jenny warned.
“Oh, well we wouldn’t want that, would we?” she responded playfully.
“No. We wouldn’t.”
Parker sat at her desk and booted up the laptop as Jenny flopped into one of her visitor’s chairs. She smiled in spite of attempting to maintain a detached demeanor.
“Her name is Sydney Hyatt. She is gorgeous, really short black hair and muscular, and taller than Dayne.” Jenny’s eyebrow went up and Parker nodded.
“She’s funny and smart and gorgeous…Oh, I might have said that already. She invited me for wine one night after she yelled at me—long story—and we realized that we had met briefly at TPL when we all went.”
“I think I remember seeing her that night,” Jenny said excitedly.
“Probably, she’s kind of hard to miss,” Parker said wistfully. “We’ve seen each other a bunch at the warehouse but we haven’t been on a date yet. She’s out of town until Saturday and we are supposed to go out then. Oh, and we spent the night together once.” Parker dropped the sentence as an afterthought knowing Jenny would never let it pass.
“You what?”
“Relax, we just fell asleep together on the couch. We’ve kissed a couple of times but nothing more, really.” Sydney’s face flashed in her mind.
“You think this could really be something? I mean, if not, block parties are going to be really uncomfortable,” Jenny joked.
“She has a bit of a reputation, you know, lots of girls but no relationships. So I’m trying to wrap my mind around enjoying a really hot fling.” She flashed back to the quick extraction mo
ve Sydney had made in an effort to escape her own feelings. “I’m pretty sure that as long as I don’t profess my undying love during sex, I will be well taken care of, if you know what I mean.”
“I’ve never heard you say anything remotely like that.” Jenny appraised her boss cautiously.
“Who knows? Maybe I’m branching out or something. Now tell me about you before we have to get back to work stuff.”
“Mack’s been working a lot on a homicide on the west side near McLean so I haven’t seen her before midnight in a week.” She looked hopefully at Parker and nearly whispered, “But she promised she’d be with me for our next artificial insemination appointment. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck. Maybe this will be the one.”
“Well it kind of has to be. We don’t have any more money for round four, so it’s all or nothing.” Jenny looked apprehensive.
Parker raised both hands as she crossed her fingers and then her arms. “Let me know if you and Mack need anything, okay?”
“I will,” she responded, as if a brief fog passed over her. “I need more coffee and then the work stuff, okay?”
“You got it.” Parker grabbed her mug and headed to the break room with Jenny leading the charge in high black sandals and a khaki pencil skirt. Parker always teased her that she was the only person that made her feel tall.
Within hours, she had processed through her emails and begun work on the design selections for the Eastwood project that the client had sent over in preliminary form. The project was slated to break ground in late September, so she was pushing through her early plans before the crucial thirty-day clock started ticking down. Jenny breezed through around noon to inquire about lunch.
“I’m running down the street, roasted veggie ciabatta and lemonade?”
“Ooh.” Realizing that her stomach grumbled at her, Parker nodded. “Just the sandwich would be great.” She fished out her wallet and found a twenty. “You fly, I’ll buy.”
Jenny rolled her eyes and took the bill from Parker. “You really can’t pull that off, you know.”
“Sure I can.” Parker laughed and threw a pen at her retreating friend as she pulled the office door shut behind her.
She heard it clunk against the wood as Jenny called back, “Missed me.”
Parker returned to her computer and prepared for a catch-up conference with Quint Davidson later in the afternoon.
Parker reached for her cell phone when it chirped the arrival of a text. A picture of a highway and the nose of a black Porsche filled her screen. I think this would be much more fun if you were with me.
Parker flushed and giggled at her phone. I think so, too. I was just thinking about you.
Syd’s reply was almost immediate: Good, I like that. Keep it up. See you soon.
By eight , Jenny and most of the rest of the staff had long since called it a night. Parker’s eyes blurred and cotton duck started to morph into nubby tweed, chairs into desks. She pushed the pile to the side and shut her laptop. Considering she would be back to the same spot in ten hours, she left her computer and briefcase where they sat and locked the door behind her. She headed home, fighting the perpetual longing to feel Sydney Hyatt’s hands wash over her body again, longing for Saturday night.
Chapter Eleven
At 6:59 p.m. Sydney stepped across the hall in tailored black dress pants and an open-collared white linen shirt which hung neatly under a matching jacket. Her hair was perfectly styled; square titanium studs complemented a short, thin chain of the same metal at her throat. She carried a single white rose as she knocked on the door of the woman who had consumed her every spare thought over the week.
Faint clicks across hardwood grew louder, stopping just on the other side of the oak panel before the door rushed open. Parker wore her chestnut hair pulled away from her face but allowed it to fall loosely behind her shoulders. A strapless black cocktail sheath was set off by a V of platinum around her neck. Pale coral lip gloss highlighted her full mouth and teardrop diamonds fell from her delicate ears. An equally subtle bracelet draped around her wrist. Her silky legs met five-inch satin open-toed heels which displayed a fresh pedicure.
Syd exhaled loudly. “Damn, you look amazing. Stunning and amazing. I missed you.” Her mouth hung open slightly as her gaze passed appraisingly over her date.
“You look absolutely gorgeous. I missed you, too.” Parker sounded nervous. She scanned the long lines of Sydney’s body.
Sydney bowed slightly as she presented the rose. “Firsthand flower this time, my lady.”
Parker giggled as she took it and held it to her nose. “Thank you. Can I hug you?”
“You better.” Sydney pulled her in as she smelled her skin, folding her arms around her tightly and pushing her body against Parker’s. Feeling a burning rush overtake her, she whispered into Parker’s ear, “We have to go or we aren’t leaving at all.”
Parker slipped out of her embrace to turn and lock the door. Dropping a black silk pashmina over her left arm, she glided her right hand through Sydney’s elbow and squeezed against her as they floated down the walk.
At the car, Sydney opened Parker’s door and held her hand as she sat, carefully swinging her knees inside. A low groan left Sydney’s lips as she walked to the driver’s side. “You are in big fucking trouble, Hyatt,” Sydney mumbled to herself trying to regain control.
Parker tried to still her battering heart. She leaned over to open Sydney’s door and watched her fold her tall, agile body in beside her. They rode in silence as Sydney slid her thumb back and forth across Parker’s fingers adding more goose bumps to her already hypersensitive skin.
Arriving at the Rio Madre, Parker gazed at the tiny white lights spanning the entire façade of the Italianate bistro. As they pulled to a stop at the valet stand, a slight man in a white dinner jacket rushed to open Sydney’s door. As she stood, she motioned for the gentleman beside Parker’s door to wait as Sydney crossed behind the car and held out a hand to her. Parker felt like a guest on the red carpet as she took Sydney’s hand and rose from the car, sliding fingers through Sydney’s elbow again. Sydney covered Parker’s fingers with her other hand and led her up the stairs.
“Ms. Hyatt,” the maître d’ said formally when they reached the top, “Your table is not quite ready. May we show you to the lounge?”
Sydney leaned over briefly and they exchanged a kiss on each cheek. “Thank you, Paul, I know where it is.” When they reached the lounge, Parker settled into a high padded bar chair and crossed her legs. She shivered against the robust air conditioning.
Sydney must have noticed her discomfort. “You okay?”
“Perfect, but I left my pashmina in the car. The AC is killing me.” She winced at her unspoken request.
Sydney smiled back at her and took her hand. “Don’t go anywhere, okay? I’ll be right back.” She hopped off her stool and started toward the door, then turned back and said, “In case I forget to tell you later, this is the best night of my life.” Sydney grazed her lips over Parker’s temple before heading toward the valet stand. Parker shivered again, this time at her reaction to the moment, at the entire night that she was sure would be burned in her memory forever.
Parker watched Sydney walk away and began to examine the strange developments in her life when a figure appeared in her peripheral vision.
“Hey, beautiful,” he began without invitation, “I have the newest Audi R8 parked outside. Have you seen one yet?” He leaned closer for emphasis. “How about I buy you a drink and then we take a drive down the beltway, sweetheart.”
Graciously, Parker replied, “I came in a lovely vehicle myself and I look forward to dinner with my date this evening.” She was amused when Sydney quietly detoured around the bar, wrap in hand, instead of rejoining her. Parker watched Syd lean confidently against the bar, standing sentry as two younger men and a well-dressed older gentleman formed a semi-circle around Parker. She politely answered their questions and deflected not-so-subtle advances.
From time to time she stole a glance at Sydney who winked at her.
Not to be thwarted, the taller of the two young men slid his fingers through his too black hair in a patently flirtatious move. “My company owns a private jet. Breakfast in Paris is more than possible, honey.” They were obviously competing with each other, not really concerned with the prize. Parker was acutely aware of that fact and didn’t bother to be insulted. She wondered if that line had ever worked for him. She guessed that it hadn’t.
Again, she deflected. “Gentlemen, I am very flattered but I am happily spoken for this evening.” The older man seemed to be enjoying the show almost as much as Syd who was absently threading Parker’s pashmina through her fingers. Sydney seemed amused as she watched the display.
“Who leaves legs like those alone for even a minute?” the second young man queried as he reached toward Parker’s right knee. Before he could complete the move, Sydney was at her side, coolly setting her hand on Parker’s waist and draping the fabric over her arms. Sydney dusted a kiss on her shoulder, but her focus never wavered from the man with the eager hands.
“Miss me, baby?” Without waiting for a response, she turned to the trio. “Gentlemen, thank you for entertaining my lovely companion during my absence.” Parker slid her fingers into Sydney’s proffered hand as she stepped fluidly from the chair. The chill she felt then couldn’t have been stemmed by a hundred pashminas.
Losing any vestige of mannered behavior, private plane guy sneered to his friend, “There you go, Bob, beaten by a damned dyke.”