by Mia London
His eyes appeared suddenly aflame. He moved into her personal space and pointed at her, just as he’d done the night before.
“What do you want?” he barked.
The air around them charged. His stare shot daggers at her. She didn’t budge an inch—wouldn’t give him the satisfaction—just glared at him. Her heartrate skyrocketed, and she licked her suddenly dry lips. His eyes glanced down at her lips, then back into her eyes.
The words formulated in her head to scold him like the spoiled, little brat he was when his eyes and his body noticeably relaxed.
“Again, I apologize.” Then without warning, he turned on a heel and walked toward his SUV.
She moved only her head and, wide-eyed, watched him drive away.
“Well, that was unexpected,” she whispered.
She inhaled, slowed her stunned breathing, and sank into the driver’s seat of her car. She brushed her palms down her jeans. Charlie had to admit that little interaction was exhilarating, and left her nipples tingling. Her tummy fluttered.
Oh, don’t go there, she told herself.
Thoughts of passionate moments with Blake could send her in a tizzy. Standing close to him like that aroused her. Even though he was angry at first, her body didn’t seem to care one tiny bit.
Their track record for amazing sex was outrageous.
Prior to meeting Blake in college, Charlie had had two other lovers. Den, and the guy she lost her virginity to. Neither were exceptional. They’d each fumbled through the act, knowing nothing about how to really turn on a woman. And definitely not knowing how to bring her to orgasm.
Blake was made differently. He knew what to do and learned her body quickly, she always orgasmed when they made love. Even times when she was stressed and thought there was no way she could climax, Blake only saw it as a challenge. Man, did he rise to that challenge.
Her time with Blake was a blessing. As much as it tore her heart out to watch him leave, she was grateful for all they’d shared. All she learned. Because of him, she learned what love could be.
Reminiscing about the past was a waste of time, though. Even with his apology, she felt quite certain they had no chance of being friends.
She exhaled and stared into the distance. That’s a shame. Blake was always smart about technology, marketing, and climbing. She shook her head. Her lips curved into a smile, and she couldn’t stop it.
Driving up to her little home, happiness filled Charlie’s soul. She was still so enamored with her house. She bought it without her parents help three years prior. She found the little gem quite accidentally and fell in love with it. A covered front porch with a wooden door directly center. Flower beds flanked each side of the steps leading up to the porch. And a large oak tree graced the front yard. When she finally saw the inside, that did it for her. Hardwood floors, a large fireplace in the living room, a huge farmhouse sink in the kitchen, she could go on. It was perfect for her.
She unloaded her groceries and inspected the spilled cans for any damage. She would need to focus on her work now, her project. If she stalled anymore, she was liable to miss her deadline. And Charlie did just about anything to avoid that.
As she brought her PC alive, her thoughts wandered back to Blake. How could they not?
Really, he was all she could think about, it seemed, these last few days. Images flashed in her mind about times they’d shared together, things they’d done while they were dating. Including the intimate and passionate times.
Then the images of his face when he yelled at her over the whole Den incident brought any happy thoughts to a sudden halt. The utter, bone-deep pain written on his face when he thought she’d cheated on him still haunted her.
She had to stop herself, or else she’d start to cry. She fought for control. The emotion lingered under the surface. She would never forget the look in his eyes.
None of it was real. Den was an asshole. She might never forgive him. Because of Den, her life had been changed. Forever.
She pushed past the rising lump in her throat and opened up her latest project. Charlie was contracted to create some marketing collateral for a sporting goods retailer in the greater Denver area. She lived there all her life; this should be an easy task. She’d been on the lakes, climbed the mountains, and hiked this land since she was old enough to count.
She blew out a breath. The job was a major coup. When she got the call to meet with them, she nearly wet her pants. She could not screw this up.
She picked up the client’s file containing the materials they had given her so far. The retailer had provided her with an extensive product list, and, up until now, had been using only whatever marketing materials were offered by the manufacturers. Her project was to create a comprehensive branding identity to complement the TV spots they planned to run. Hm, it’s easy for a camera to capture the adventure of outdoor sports. What would her approach be to recreate it in print?
Her mind strayed to some of the outdoor activities she and Blake would do while at CSU. She flipped over to her electronic photo album and opened it. Before her, mini pics of her and Blake living life in Colorado’s great outdoors. Climbing, hiking, biking, and one where she had convinced him to have a picnic. She smiled at that one. He called it a compromise, that if he went on some girly picnic, she owed him. She’d made sure to pay him back that night.
She was a glutton for punishment. She scrolled through picture after picture, so many great shots, some rather intimate. And she could only smile, even through her watery eyes. She hung a while on a particular picture of Blake rocking climbing. It was taken from a reasonably close vantage. How did she get so close while they were rock climbing?
She scanned a few more photos when it hit her—they had stopped on a ledge of a mountain. They were close to the top, but she’d wanted to take a break. Blake had agreed to go to the next ledge and scope it out. What a brilliant move to take out her camera before Blake was out of range. The camera picked up the beads of sweat on his face, the flush in his cheeks, the flexed muscles of his arms. She’d captured a brilliant shot. The strength, power, and concentration became more evident the longer she stared.
The ideas began formulating in Charlie’s head. She shifted in her chair and sat straighter. She flipped through several more shots, maybe hundreds. Soon, she started tagging some of the best, a few in which one could almost feel the action, the sense of adventure.
Geez! There were some seriously good photos they’d taken.
She flipped back to her working document. She typed out a few headers: climbing, hiking, biking, boating. Then, cut a ton of text she’d already written. The focus had been on the products, on the features and benefits. That won’t sell jack squat.
Energy. Emotion. The Why. Those are the things that will sell sporting goods.
She copied and pasted a select few photos, and sized them just so.
Wow! This is really coming together.
Charlie worked straight through lunch and most of the afternoon. The ideas were flowing so fast, her fingers had a hard time keeping up. Finally, Mother Nature demanded she take a break.
She exhaled as she saved one last time and stepped back from her work of art.
She chuckled aloud. Insanely great.
She rummaged through her refrigerator for something to make for dinner. Not having lunch made her famished. She found some chicken strips she’d cut up and froze in fajita marinade. Chicken fajitas sounded good.
She stopped midway from cutting a bell pepper and shook her head. She was doing it again—thinking about Blake even when she wasn’t thinking about him. They used to make fajitas all the time in her college apartment. Most times, they could actually finish before he had her, naked, and writhing under his touch. Hmmmm.
One time she recalled, she’d been hand-washing the dishes when Blake came up behind her, flipped up her skirt, lowered her panties to her ankles, and had his wicked way with her. He moved slowly and sensuously, and wouldn’t let her stop what she was d
oing. Crazy man.
God, those were the best times of her life.
Stop it, she scolded herself.
She missed him. She’d been doing well, forgetting about him these last few years. But seeing him again brought it to the surface—fresh and new.
She wiped a tear that slid down her cheek with the back of her hand. Time moves on.
Chapter Five
Friday morning, Blake dropped his grandmother off at the church to help set up for the rummage sale. There was crap everywhere. People, too. According to his grandma, the church benefited greatly every year from the sale.
Blake shook his head.
“Are you sure you’ll be alright? This seems overwhelming, grandma.”
She flapped her hand at him. “I’m not an invalid. I’ll be fine. They’re bringing in lunch, and Dorothy will bring me home in a few hours.”
He tipped his head and gave one last look around.
“Go do something fun,” she commanded.
There was no doubt in his mind that his grandma was a strong woman. But one look around he could see, even a teenager hyped up on sugar and caffeine would be exhausted sifting through all that stuff.
But, he couldn’t deny. The mountains were calling to him. “Will Dorothy bring you home early if you get tired?”
“Yes. Yes. Now stop worrying. Shoo. Go have some fun.”
He smiled and leaned down to kiss her cheek. He had every intention of having some fun.
He hopped into the rental and headed for one of his favorite spots to climb. Not too challenging, with too many compressions and underclings. The place he had in mind would be perfect for getting back in the swing of it.
After he had parked, he took several minutes to touch base with the office. The company had three top people, in addition to himself: Roberto, his right-hand man, Patrick, the comptroller and Marianne, head of technology. This time, he called Patrick.
“Man, all’s quiet here,” Patrick said. “Nothing to report. As to be expected in September, traffic to the website is good, and bounce rate is still low.”
Blake knew this. He had been to the back-office and seen the analytics.
“Good to hear. Was Glenda able to fix the glitch on the pageview reporting?”
“Oh yeah, she had that done Monday.”
“Super. Anything else to report?” He had an uneasy feeling about how things were going, and talking to Patrick gave him the reassurance he needed.
“Nope, but when you get back, Stephan wants to go on vacation. His brother is getting married in a few weeks.”
Blake rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I remember. I’ll keep you posted on my return date. A lot depends on when my cousin Adam can make it to Fort Collins.”
“No worries, man. Enjoy your vacay. It’s been—what—four or five years?”
Blake chuckled. “Yeah, something like that.”
As he looked at the terrain before him, he knew it had been too long since his last vacation. He hadn’t realized how much he missed it or needed it. He wrapped his conversation with Patrick and tucked his cell phone into his backpack.
He got out of the SUV and went to the trunk. The conditions were amazing: moderate temp with low humidity and a light wind. He changed into his favorite slippers designed for steep routes and bouldering. He pulled the Velcro straps to lock his foot in. God, it felt good. The adrenaline began to surge. He was in his element. He took one last chug of water before he slid on some lightweight gloves.
With the car door locked, he headed straight for the mountain. He couldn’t remember the name, which was odd because he’d climbed it at least a dozen times. Charlie would remember the name.
The thought popped into his head before he could stop it. Yeah, she would remember. Several times, in fact, she’d accompanied him on this climb. They had some great times hiking, climbing, biking. Almost every weekend, they would head out.
Her muscles started getting so defined, it drove him wild when he’d see her in regular street clothes. A sleeveless shirt or a skirt cut above the knee could almost put him in cardiac arrest.
The memories of Charlie were good, so instead of fighting with himself over them, he let it ride. It would only be natural—being back here and thinking of her.
He arrived at an over-sized ledge and stopped for a break. He threw back some water and scanned his surroundings. He used his sleeve to wipe his mouth. This was God’s country. Where the trees cleared, he could see a fair amount of the Rocky Mountains. The air smelled crisp and clean. He inhaled again. Charlie would love this view, he thought.
He stowed his water bottle and continued his trek. Occasionally, he would hear other climbers, but generally, the area was peaceful and quiet. His thoughts wandered to work a few times, his cousins, and his grandma. Admittedly, he thought of Charlie the most.
By the time, he’d made it back to the ground level, he was drenched in sweat, and his muscles felt tight. It was good to work his body, to test its limits. He drove straight to his grandma’s house; he knew she’d be home by now.
He walked in and heard her in the living room, talking to someone on the telephone. He knew he needed a shower, but he needed to eat first. He opened the fridge door and started rummaging.
“Hi, Blake,” his grandma called from behind him.
“Hi, Grandma. I’m getting something to eat, then I’ll sit and talk with you.” He glanced back to see her smile. She nodded and took a seat.
“Can I help you?”
He retrieved a bowl of spaghetti and scooped a bunch onto a plate. He layered the sauce and meatballs atop. “No thanks. I got it,” he said as he set the microwave. “Did you eat lunch?”
“Yes, dear. Two hours ago.” She chuckled.
He grinned at her. “Time must have gotten away from me.”
“What did you do?”
“Went rock-climbing.”
“Oh, wonderful.”
He fetched the water pitcher and a glass. Then he picked up his hot plate and set it on the table across from her before sitting himself.
“It was wonderful. The weather was great. I could see for miles. Worked up a little bit of a sweat.” He shoveled in a bite. “How did your day go?”
“Fairly well. Most of the work is done. Half of us left, and the rest stayed to finish up.”
“Do you have to go back tomorrow?”
“Yes, I need to work a shift from ten to twelve.”
“Okay, I’ll take you. Do you think they’d need my help? I can stay too.”
Her eyebrow lifted. “Well, that would be great. Yes.”
He took another bite and chased it down with some water.
“I know you’re just now eating lunch, but I’d like to make a pot roast tonight. Is that alright with you?”
“Absolutely,” he murmured with a mouthful and nodded.
“Alright then.”
She continued to watch him, and he couldn’t help thinking there was more she wanted to say. He looked over at her. “Is everything alright, Grandma?”
“Yes, it’s wonderful. I’ve noticed that you seemed to have had a good day. The outdoors agrees with you. You seem so . . . relaxed.”
He felt relaxed. He missed being outdoors, plain and simple. He would get his fill as much as he could before heading back to Chicago.
He smiled. She rose and walked over to kiss his head. “I’ll leave you to eat. I have a few more phone calls to make before tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
He sat in the pleasant quietness of the house. For the first time in a long time, he could sit and eat without feeling like he was in a rush, or had something important to attend to. Perhaps he never really examined how much rushing he did, all in the name of work.
He inhaled, and slowed his eating, now that the initial hunger pains have subsided. Well, one thing was certain; he would definitely look into making some changes when he returned home. He needed to include more fun and relaxation time into his schedule.
He cleared his
dishes and finished the last of his water, and stared out the back window. Surely, a little more fun wouldn’t jeopardize the success of his company. Everyone needed to blow off steam now and again.
The office would probably appreciate if he had more R&R. The corners of his mouth curved slightly. Yeah.
Chapter Six
Saturday morning, Blake accompanied his grandma to the church rummage sale. The place was once again bustling with activity, only this time it seemed more organized. He’d helped his grandma at a particular group of tables; mostly he worked the cash. He chatted and flirted with the ladies as he made change. He cajoled them into making purchases, telling them it was for a good cause. In turn, he gathered the attention he paid the ladies—with the help of a full-on smile—would help as well.
As they were wrapping up their shift, Blake noticed a woman walking toward his table. She looked familiar.
“Hi, Blake,” she said beaming at him.
“Hey. How are you, Trish?” Her name came to him at the last possible second. Trish had a serious crush on him in college. Of course, he’d only had eyes for Charlie so Trish didn’t stand a chance.
“I’m real good. How are you? What brings you to town?” She licked her lips slowly as she tipped her head and fingered her shoulder-length blonde hair.
“I’m here visiting my grandma for a few weeks.”
“Oh, that’s great.” Her eyes twinkled.
“So what have you been up to these last few years?”
“Well,” she smoothed her lipstick, “after graduation I took a job at Patterson, Breakway, and Humus. I’m also studying for the BAR.”
“Good for you.”
She shifted her weight to one leg. “So I heard you sold your internet company.”
He nodded.
“So are you moving back here to Fort Collins?” she asked as she nudged a little closer to him.
Her flirting was sweet. And maybe he could be interested.
“No. I’ve started another company, so I’ll remain in Chicago.”
She let all her white teeth show and placed her delicate hand over his. “You always were so ambitious, Blake. I’m happy for you.”