Campaign for Love

by Annabelle Stevens

  "I hope it’s the first of at least fifty," said Quentin as he gave her arm a squeeze. "Now, let’s separate to buy our gifts for one another."

  They agreed to meet at the nearest coffee shop again in an hour.

  When they were together again, they had the good luck to hail a cab right outside the door of Saks, and in a half an hour they were home with all their booty.

  They set up the tree on a coffee table in the living room. After decorating it together, there was much scurrying and hiding as they wrapped each other’s gifts and placed them under the tree.

  After that she got out all her best china and serving pieces while Quentin prepared the sweet potatoes, and cleaned and chopped salad greens.

  Suzanna made the stuffing and everything was put in the fridge until the next day. They broiled a couple of burgers for dinner and had them with everything on them, and home fries and salad on the side.

  When everything was put away, wrapped, or prepared, Quentin asked Suzy to play some Christmas music on the spinet. She played all of the old favorites, and they finished with ‘Silent Night.’

  They watched all the Christmas specials, caught some Femme Fatale Cosmetic and Imperial Foods commercials, snuggled on the sofa, and went to bed early.

  Their mood was romantic, but strangely subdued. Once in bed, they held one another tenderly and reminisced about Christmases of their childhood, treasured gifts received, families-parents and grandparents-gathered around a table groaning with goodies. Both had been only children, but with lots of cousins and friends.

  Though he did not extend an invitation to meet any of his friends or family, the way he had hers, she was not unduly alarmed. It was early days yet. No sense in forcing the issue through feeling insecure, or a bit less than welcome in certain areas of his life. This was as new to him in some ways as it was to her, so one day at a time, she decided as she snuggled tightly against his long, lean body, and noticed as always how perfectly they seemed to fit together.

  They fell asleep cradled in each other's arms, and Suzanna felt sure she had found the right man for her at last. She just hoped he would soon be as sure of their future together as she was.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  After a long, dreamless sleep, Suzanna woke with a sense of utter peace and joy in Quentin's arms.

  It was a strangely silent world for the holidays, she noted as she raised her head from the pillow and looked toward the window.

  Then she remembered, it was Christmas Day, and was also a Saturday, and the still-sleeping city had become blanketed with snow. Thick flakes had piled several inches up the window already, and were still falling at an amazing pace.

  Suzanna knew it was the one thing they needed to make the day perfect. They jumped out of bed like kids, ran to open the window, and scooped handfuls of the beautiful white flakes off the windowsill and fire escape.

  They washed one another’s faces with the pristine snow, and since they were wearing no clothes, they continued on down over bellies, backs and buttocks, making one another shriek and shiver.

  But the fresh white snow was too good to resist, as was the joy of playing and laughing together. The horseplay soon turned into foreplay as he began to lick the melting snow from her body.

  After some sultry lovemaking, they showered and dressed, and went into the kitchen for breakfast, bagels and cream cheese, with thinly sliced smoked salmon. After they had eaten, it was time to check if there was anything else that had to be done urgently.

  "No. If you want to head out into the snow—"

  He shook his head. "Time to open the presents."

  "Oh, good," said Suzy. "This is the best part."

  "Not quite. I think we might have just had that, though I hope I can look forward to more of the same later?"

  She peered out the window. "Yep, it looks like plenty more snow where that came from."

  He laughed and tweaked her on the nose, and they went over to the tree and sat down next to it on the floor.

  As soon, as Suzy opened her first gift, she knew Quentin had cheated. The box was marked Cartier’s, not Saks’. It contained a heavy gold tennis bracelet.

  Suzanna gasped. "Oh, Quentin, this is gorgeous. It must be worth a fortune."

  "As they say in the ads, you’re worth it. I enjoyed getting it for you. I hope to be able to buy you lots more over the years."

  Suzy’s heart gave a leap. That certainly sounded as if he wanted a permanent relationship. She wasn’t at all sure what she was hoping for, it was all so sudden and new, and she didn't want to seem like she was pressuring him, so all she said was, "Thank you, darling. Now it’s your turn. You open one."

  He picked a flat package, opened it and exclaimed over the black pigskin wallet with the gold initials riveted on. Inside, he found two pictures of Suzanna, ‘before’ and ‘after’ as well as one shot of the dance scene commercial shot in the Bahamas. She had wheedled the three shots from Candy, who had had the special wallet-sized pictures made up for her.

  "I see I’m not the only one who cheated. Obviously, you had these made up weeks ago. Thank you. It makes me feel good to know that you were thinking about me."

  When Suzanna opened all her presents, she found she had acquired a complete set of custom-made charms for her bracelet. There was a gold and enamel roll of Quik-Bix, a package of Spudz, an Imperial Foods logo, and the Femme Fatale logo, and a miniature lipstick, blusher and mascara. Each one was a tiny work of art.

  Suzy was overwhelmed. "Quentin," she breathed, "these are magnificent!"

  "I tried to think of something personal and meaningful."

  "I tried to for you as well, but couldn’t," she said with a pout.

  "Not true. The wallet and pictures are both."

  His next gifts were an electronic book reader, a watch, and a black leather, gold embossed initialed scrapbook with copies of every campaign they’d worked on, with ‘Pierce and Sills’ printed on the top of each page. It was loose-leaf so that future projects could be added.

  He smiled in delight at the last gift. "Wow. It couldn’t be better. I love them all."

  After some warm kisses, she put her charms on her bracelet and put the rest of the gifts in her jewel box, while Quentin placed his on the bedside table in her bedroom, another sign, she thought, that he was beginning to see himself as 'at home' with her, and their relationship as something long term.

  After the gift-giving rites and some appropriate 'appreciation' for one another, Suzanna adjusted her clothes and headed into the kitchen to stuff the turkey and put it in the oven. Quentin set the table like an old pro, then they checked their lists one more time.

  "Right on target."

  He nodded. "So why not head out into the new-fallen snow before people start to clear the sidewalks?"

  "Sure thing. Did you bring an extra sweater, because I think you're going to need it."

  "I did, and a thermal top."

  "Great. Ready in ten?"

  "Perfect."

  They put on warm clothes and sallied forth. They walked, slid and skated, they ran, they pelted each other with snow-balls, they threw their heads back and caught the delicate, icy particles on their tongues as they had done when they were young.

  Rosy-cheeked and exhausted, they returned to the apartment, where they got into dry clothes. Between the two of them, they fixed a delicious dinner, which they enjoyed all the more for their exercise in the snow. Turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, they indulged in it all, and while their presents had been lovely, both knew the most precious gift of all was the time spent with each other.

  When everything had been eaten and the kitchen restored to order, they went once more to the living room, where Suzanna played all his favorites, sentimental ballads for the mellow mood they were both feeling.

  He sat back with his eyes half-closed as she played themes from all the old musicals and Hollywood films which her grandparents had always loved, and even sang.

&nbs
p; "You have a lovely voice. But then, I don't know why that should surprise me. Everything about you is lovely."

  "Thank you, darling. You certainly know how to make me feel that way." She gave him a warm kiss. "Now you get to play for me."

  He grinned. "All right, but I warn you now, I'm better with my organ."

  "I'm counting on it, big boy," she said in her best Mae West impersonation. Both of them broke into happy laughter.

  Next they played ‘Name that Tune’ and she even got out her Scrabble and Monopoly. She couldn’t recall ever having spent so much time with someone not in her family, let alone a man.

  In fact, it was getting to the point where she could barely remember a time that she had not been with Quentin, though she knew it had only been a few months since they had first met.

  They sat in the dark watching the lights twinkle on their tree, and then Quentin rose and stretched, and held out his hand. "It’s been a perfect day. How about a perfect night, princess?"

  "Yes, my prince."

  Later, in the throes of their most exquisite passion, she wondered if it was possible for it all to get any better than it already was. Each time they joined as one, it was more and more thrilling, each time, like the first time all over again, only better. One thing was for sure, this was a Christmas she would never forget. The question was, could things ever get any better? Or like many couples, did it all start out great, but then just slide into routine that got taken for granted, with a bit of romance only a few times of the year?

  Only time would tell, she thought with a sigh as she drifted off to sleep in his arms. All she knew was, she was going to make the most of this for as long as it lasted.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Their long Christmas weekend had been idyllic, and there was still more to enjoy.

  They slept late on Monday and when they awoke, found that the snow had stopped falling and the snow-plows had been out. They were happy they had had their White Christmas.

  They arose, bathed and dressed and sat down to a warming breakfast. Suzy had decided it was a good day for hot cereal and made oatmeal from scratch.

  They also had a cheddar cheese omelette and toast with coffee. After cleanup, they took Suzanna's bracelet and went out to have the charms welded on. They went to Cartier's where he'd bought it, and the job was done while they waited.

  Suzy loved the way it looked on her, and knew no one else would ever have one like it. She was also thrilled at how sentimental it was—their most special moments captured forever. The only question was, how many more would they be able to add to this collection?

  Then they headed to a premiere of a movie that had gotten good reviews, and made out like a pair of teenagers as they sat snuggled in the dark. They were so hot and bothered, that they barely made it through the movie. They gave up on their plans to eat out, and headed home for a feast of the senses instead.

  Quentin was hardly inside the door when Suzanna pounced, tearing the clothes off him with a remarkable efficiency as he slid her skirt up her thighs and her blouse down over her breasts.

  "Mmm, someone's eager," he said with a laugh as the fly of his jeans parted thanks to her nimble fingers and the straining of his flesh beneath the confining denim.

  "I can't help it. And he looks to be more than ready as well," she said with a breathless laugh.

  "Suzanna, love, maybe we should head to the bed---"

  He never finished the thought, for she was indeed more than eager. Wrapping one leg around the back of his knees, they melded into each other and he lost himself in the sheer thrill of being inside her and the rollercoaster of sensations every kiss and stroke evoked.

  Suzanna lolled her head back as her lover poured his passion into her. She was glad she lived in an old building with solid walls, for she was sure the paper-thin ones of a modern apartment block would be no match for Quentin's powerful thrusts.

  Her legs began to weaken as her orgasms multiplied, and he allowed her to sink on to the run, where he immediately turned onto his back. "No rug burn for you, darling," he said with a grin, before rotating his hips upwards once more. Gravity made her slide down the length of his shaft, taking him even deeper. It seemed as if he were caressing her inwardly in places she had never even known existed. Suzanna just let the pleasure wash over her, and Quentin watched in awe as the shy, retiring woman he had once though frumpy blossomed thanks to his vigorous loving.

  When they finally came up for air and were hungry for real food, she went into the freezer and got out the Thanksgiving leftovers she had bundled up before they had headed to the Bahamas.

  It was hard to believe a month had flown by since then, she mused as she warmed them in the microwave, and said as much to Quentin when he came in a short time later to see if she needed any help.

  "I know, it's hard to believe. So much has happened, all of it great." He gave her a warm kiss.

  "So now, can I give you a hand in here?"

  "No, just grab whatever you want out of the fridge for a drink, and I'll join you in a moment."

  After they ate, they switched on the television set so they wouldn't miss any commercials. Then they played a cut-throat game of Scrabble, complete with some rather suggestive words that got them in the mood all over again.

  Quentin had one more surprise for Suzy after they finished making love on the living room carpet.

  They headed into the shower, and then he started to get dressed to head back to his apartment just to make sure it was still there. But just before Quentin went home, he took an envelope out of his pocket, and handed to her with a smile.

  "What's this?" she asked in surprise.

  "Another little holiday treat."

  In it were two tickets for the latest musical she had been dying to see, for Friday night.

  She kissed him warmly, and then he gently removed her arms from around his neck and said with a sigh, "I hate to leave, my darling, but I need clothes, and there are a few things I have to do at the apartment. For one thing, it doesn't pay to leave it empty too long, not around the holidays, anyway, as you know. But I want you to know that this has been a Christmas I'll never forget."

  "I tried to make it one worth remembering. When I'm old and gray, if anyone asks me about my best one, this will surely be the one I'll recall."

  "The bed will be lonely tonight. Think of me, and I'll see you in the morning."

  With one last kiss, he reluctantly left.

  She shut the door behind him with a sigh, wondering why she felt so empty now that he had headed home.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  After their magical holiday weekend, reality beckoned on Tuesday morning. Both returned to work on Tuesday morning rested, refreshed, and brimming over with new ideas for old clients. This was the day Suzanna was to spend two hours at the Femme Fatale cosmetics company studios to start on their spring sales campaign.

  This time, instead of going on location, they were working at home. Later, there would be outdoor shots in the parks and zoos and indoors in the various museums. Suzy would be part of it all, despite her concern that they might want to go with another ordinary before and after model. Apparently they had done some tests and focus groups, and her face had not only launched the sales of a thousand lipsticks, no one else surveyed could imagine another Femme Fatale.

  She ate lunch with Sharon in the cafeteria as usual. It was her first cafeteria appearance since the Christmas party. People who had only nodded or said a polite 'hello' just a few weeks ago now called her by name, waved at her across the room, or stopped by her table to say, "I saw you on TV in the Femme Fatale commercial. You looked fabulous."

  To her relief, the men, though they exchanged pleasantries, made no attempt at further familiarity. They treated her like a professional, not a mannequin or sex object.

  She was relieved, and thrilled with her new life. Thanks to Quentin and her own hard work, everything seemed possible. And just seemed to be getting better and better.

  The
rest of the week passed uneventfully enough considering how busy they were with their top clients, and now more companies hearing all about the new wonder team at Elder and Rubin who had swept the top commercial listings for the month with their Femme Fatale and Quik Bix campaigns.

  Quentin no longer needed to surprise Suzy in her office. They had their private lives at night. Once in a while, though, he stopped in for a 'fix', which was what he called their stolen kisses.

  One bit of news Quentin had for her was that when he had arrived home one night, there was an invitation from the Reeds, who were having a New Year's Eve supper party at their estate in Tuxedo, New York. Although addressed to Quentin, the invitation specifically included Suzanna.