Sapphire FallsGoing For It

by Marilyn Brant

  Tina wandered into the coffee place, ordered a veggie panini and a double espresso, and sat down to think through possible lyrics to her new song.

  When her cell phone buzzed about three hours later, she read Trevor’s message at once.

  “Give me 15 min. to wrap things up here, and I’ll come get ya! Hotel check-in first. Snack next. Maybe some private smooching time?” he’d typed.

  She laughed aloud, garnering a few stares from people at nearby tables. But she gathered her things and, within the allotted time, met Trev by the door. He was carrying a mysterious brown-paper sack and wearing a triumphant smile.

  “So, things went well?” she asked.

  “Things went awesomely.” He grinned. “Truly, coming out here was the best idea ever. No way could I have gotten so many training details without seeing the athletes in action for myself. That’s the good news.” He paused. “The bad news is that I only have about an hour and a half before I need to get back to the Olympic Headquarters. Bill Kowalski, one of the trainers I was talking to, invited me to watch a practice shooting session with a few of the pro basketball players who’ll be in this summer’s Olympics. A dream come true for me to get to chat with them and snap some pictures, but it won’t give me much time with you tonight.”

  She nodded. “That’s okay. Really. This was the reason we came. And you won’t be out all night, will you? I’ll see you at midnight or something, right?”

  “You most definitely will.”

  He held out his free hand to her, and she took it. It was large, warm, and the perfect combination of rough and gentle. She remembered well what he could do with those long, strong fingers...

  She fought a blush and managed to ask, “So, what’s in the bag?”

  “Ah. Treats and delights just for you, Tina Marie. I’d wanted to get this thing,” he slightly lifted the paper sack he was holding, “since I dropped you off this morning. I’ll show you what’s in it when we get to the hotel. C’mon. The car is parked just down the block.”

  To Tina’s surprise, the brown sack wasn’t the only new purchase Trevor had made. As the two of them pulled into the hotel’s parking lot and gathered their belongings, she spotted several little bags dotting the backseat that hadn’t been there earlier in the day.

  “Did you really interview people or did you go on a shopping spree?” she joked.

  “I did both,” he said with a laugh. “Picked up some fun souvenirs for the both of us, and I got a few food items to keep the nibbles at bay until dinnertime.”

  “Mmm. can’t wait to unwrap all of your surprises.”

  He shot her a devilish grin and raised one cocky eyebrow. “Is that so?”

  She felt herself flush. “You know what I mean.”

  “And you know what I mean, Ms. Moran.” Just a few steps away from the check-in desk, he leaned toward her and whispered, “Not every gift I have for you comes in a small package.” Then, before she could open her mouth to reply, he turned to the desk clerk and said, “Reservation for Cayne, please.”

  This time, they didn’t bother getting two rooms. Trevor had reserved one that was furnished with two queen beds, so she could legitimately say she had “a bed to herself,” if questioned by anyone she didn’t want to confide in...but she knew for sure that one of those mattresses would remain untouched. Unlike yesterday, when she was still unsure how far she wanted to go with Trevor, there was no question of what she wanted tonight. She wanted him. Bad. And it would be pure pretense to act otherwise.

  Once they’d settled into the room and stashed their stuff, Trevor unveiled each of his store-bought gifts one by one. He’d gotten them both U.S. Olympic Team t-shirts, commemorative beer steins with the official Olympic Games logo, a six-pack of beer to pour into the steins, a large bag of mixed nuts and a few other salty snacks, and a CD just for her, entitled “Colorado Country,” which featured statewide artists singing country big hits.

  “Very cool!” she said. “Thank you.”

  “That’s for songwriting inspiration.” Then, handing her the brown-paper sack, he added, “And this is from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. I saw it just down the street from that coffee shop. We’ve got English toffee, cherry cake pops, and sea-salt caramel fudge. Pick your poison, babe.”

  “Oh, yum. These could almost rival the offerings at Scott’s Sweets in Sapphire Falls.”

  “There’s a candy shop in town?”

  “A great one, yes. When we get back, I’ll take you to it. You have to try their chocolate-covered strawberries and their cocoa-dusted almonds.”

  “I’d like that,” he murmured, closing the gap between them and pulling her into his embrace. “For now, though, you look more delicious to me than any confection.” And when he kissed her, she found herself wishing it was already late in the evening and that they could settle in for the night. In bed.

  From his body’s reaction, Trevor must have been wishing the same thing. He took a half step back. “Right now, you’re tempting me to blow off every commitment I made tonight, just to stay here with you.”

  “You can’t do that—”

  “I know, but it’s crossed my mind. Repeatedly.”

  She smiled. “Well, we do have almost an hour left before you have to go.”

  He exhaled. Slowly. “Also extremely tempting. But I’ve been imagining tonight. In exacting and vivid detail. Since, oh, about two minutes after I met you at the book club.” He flashed a smile at her. “That’s not an exaggeration. So I don’t want to rush this, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “That said, I doubt anything I write at the athletic center tonight will make sense. My mind will be on you.”

  She leaned in to squeeze him. “And I have to write the music to go along with my song lyrics.” She pointed to her guitar case. “I probably won’t fair much better than you.”

  He swallowed and kissed her again. “We’ll need to let our craving drive us creatively then. That’s the only good thing that’ll come from this separation.” He chuckled. “Use the anticipation to sharpen our minds and heighten our senses.”

  “Use the hungering lust as inspiration rather than distraction,” she suggested, not bothering to disguise her mocking tone.

  He snorted. “Hey, that’s what I’m gonna keep telling myself.” Then he kissed her again and she forgot whatever teasing thing she might have said next.

  It was fun and refreshing, though, to be able to have a conversation like this with someone who understood the creative life and could discuss professional passion this way. It was rare to find people who really got the pulsing need that fueled not only sexuality but, also, creative expression. People who recognized that both drives often came from the same deep source in one’s soul.

  “If we’re really not going to go any further right now, Trev, you may need to distract me with some of that fudge.”

  “Yeah, me, too.” He broke open the package and fed her a morsel of pure chocolaty deliciousness.

  She moaned. “Oh, dear heaven.”

  “That good, eh? A buddy of mine told me that feeding a woman something tasty was on the Approved Foreplay List.”

  “He was right.” She took a turn feeding Trev a piece of fudge this time, and he closed his eyes for a second in sweet rapture. “So who is this genius friend of yours?” she asked

  “Blake Michaelsen. He’s a local DJ back home in Mirabelle Harbor.”

  “A DJ, huh?”

  “Yeah. He has a lot to say about music.” Suddenly, Trev laughed.

  “What?”

  “It’s just that he always used to make fun of things—like love songs on the station’s usual rotation and his brothers, two of whom are in committed relationships. That is, ‘til he met his dream girl. I’d never seen a guy change his behavior so fast.” He paused. “Until this week—until I met you—I honestly didn’t have a damn clue how that could happen.”

  “I know,” she said. And she did. No doubt about it, she felt exactly the same way, bu
t it was a weird sort of wake-up call to hear him admit it to her. Having him say this aloud made their connection all the more real, which was scary, especially when both of them knew this thing between them couldn’t last.

  They got ready to part ways for the evening.

  Since Trevor wasn’t sure when he’d be back tonight, Tina told him that she’d order a pizza when she got hungry, and she’d save half of it for him. “How’s sausage and mushroom?” she asked.

  “Perfect.” Then, with a wave, he was out the door.

  Tina calculated the hours in front of her. She had a couple of verses of her new song written, and she had a decent handle on the bridge, but the chorus was giving her fits.

  She picked up her guitar, softly strummed a few chords, trying to match the tune to the key she’d heard in her head. Something light and bright. One of the major keys for sure. A? D? No, and no. Not F. G was closer... Then she tried it in sunny C Major. Bingo.

  The tricky part of working through the music was not just matching the right tone and tempo to the lyrics, but she also had to make sure both parts of the song—the words and the melody—really expressed what she wanted to say.

  Which was...oh, boy. Moment of truth.

  That she knew she’d crossed an emotional line with a man.

  And she knew it was too late to protect her fragile heart.

  But, in spite of it all, this particular guy was worth it.

  She hoped Trevor felt at least a sliver of pride in his achievement in winning her over, even if there was no way he could know what an enormous feat he’d accomplished. She exhaled and glanced at her lined music paper. How to fit all of these feelings into a snappy chorus?

  For about two hours, she played her guitar quietly, testing out different variations on the chord structure. She wrote and rewrote segments of the main lyric, adding in a few of the rhymed words Trev had come up with when they were fooling around last night. She couldn’t help but smile at the inside joke. Then she plunked her way through the tentative chorus, meshing her emotions with the notes and the words...until, finally, her stomach growled and she had to call it quits.

  She ordered the pizza and, while she waited for the delivery guy to arrive, she checked her phone for messages, surprised to see two texts.

  The first was from Trevor.

  “Just thinking about you. Basketball practice is interesting. These athletes really know how to pursue a dream. But I can’t wait to get back to you. See ya around 10ish!”

  She replied with an enthusiastic emoji and then read the next message. Phoebe.

  Her friend had texted, “Ran into your aunt tonight! You’re in Colorado? With Bernadette’s grandson?! WHAT??! Details...now!”

  Tina laughed. So, in between eating her half of the pizza, she texted back and forth with Phoebe, filling her friend in on what had been going on with Trevor, and swearing her to silence. All Tina needed was more people in Sapphire Falls gossiping about her and her relationships. She’d had more than enough of that with the whole David and Lori fiasco.

  Still, even with the benefit of having her music to work on, a good friend to text, and complete command of the TV’s remote control, the time dragged like a blues ballad. Until she heard Trev’s key card click open the door.

  He slipped into the room, exhaled heavily, and just stood there for a long moment, staring at her lounging on one of the beds. Then he grinned and said, “Honey, I’m home.”

  “About time. I missed you,” she admitted, which was so true it hurt. “You hungry?”

  “Hell, yeah.” But he didn’t head toward the mini fridge where she’d stashed the remaining pizza. He strode right over to her. “I’m starving.”

  Then, without saying another word, he tossed a brand-new bag at her before whipping off his dress shirt, his tie, his slacks. He stood at the end of the bed in only his socks and boxers—waiting.

  “One more gift for me?” she asked, peering into the plastic bag and pulling out a rather large, unopened box of condoms.

  He grinned. “A gift for us both, darling. And some more good news. We can sleep late tomorrow. With Bill’s help, I was able to get done everything else I needed to do in town tonight. I think the story is gonna rock, but even if it doesn’t make the cut for the magazine, coming here was worth it. And—” He paused. “We can do a bit of sightseeing in town in the morning, if you’d like, but then we can blow. Get you back to the festival in Sapphire Falls. I don’t want you to miss those fireworks.”

  She laughed. She’d always loved the festival fireworks, but she had a sneaking suspicion that the most memorable fireworks of the week would be tonight. Right here. Right now.

  She crawled on the mattress to where he was standing, pulled off her shirt, shimmied out of her jeans, and then whispered in his ear, “Take me to bed, Trevor Cayne. I want you.”

  “That’s all I needed to hear,” he whispered back.

  ~*~

  Tina wasn’t sure when they finally fell asleep.

  It was some time after she came for the third time. After they’d tried two different positions—both more than satisfactory. After he’d gone down on her once. (Wow. Just wow.) And it was definitely after she’d used some of the softened sea-salt caramel fudge as body paint on his chest...and licked it clean.

  That had been fun. And delicious.

  Then, hours later, when it was still dark in the room, she’d swiveled toward Trevor, whose breathing had turned from the deep full sounds of slumber to the shallow inhalations of arousal. Their lips met, their limbs tangled, and they were making love again in those sensually serene moments before dawn.

  God, I could get used to this.

  She tried to smother that thought with the hotel bed sheets, burying herself completely under the covers and making sure she was securely wrapped in Trevor’s arms.

  He could really be the one, though, the persistent voice in her head murmured.

  But she truly didn’t want to hear this. She’d once thought David was “the one,” after all. And even if she’d never felt like this when she was with David, Tina knew better than to think her infatuation with Trevor Cayne would last indefinitely.

  When finally the rays of sunlight poured in around the edges of the blinds, illuminating the room, and after they’d had a chance to awaken slowly within the warmth of each other’s embrace, they got out of bed and entered the day.

  “Have you ever been to the Garden of the Gods?” he asked her.

  Tina shook her head. “I’ve seen a few pictures. Pretty rock formations, right?”

  He nodded and checked the website on his phone. “The park is already open. Want to grab breakfast and then, maybe, wander around in some natural beauty for a while?”

  “Sounds lovely.”

  “Or,” he said, crossing his arms and leaning against the nearby wooden desk, “I could just sit here and stare at you.”

  She felt herself blush. “Enough with the flattery. Besides, you’ve already had your wicked way with me. No need to go overboard on the sweet talk.”

  He grinned. “Yeah, but there were, like, thirty-six ultra-ribbed condoms in that box. We have a bunch left...”

  She feigned elbowing him in the chest, and then laughed as he pulled her into his arms again.

  “I’m not kidding,” he whispered, kissing her temples oh so sweetly.

  It took awhile, but they did (eventually) get to the Garden of the Gods, walk hand in hand down the winding paths and through the dramatic reddish sandstone landscape, stopping to snap pictures of each other with their phones and pausing periodically to make out like newlyweds.

  Tina loved every second of it. But they were happy strangers here in a stunning but strange land. Everyone around them was friendly but unfamiliar. That wouldn’t be the case at home.

  A realization that hit her hard when they returned to the parking lot.

  Trevor glanced at his watch. “So, when do these festival fireworks traditionally start?”

  “Nine or nin
e thirty tonight. As soon as the sun sets and it’s dark enough.”

  “Let’s get you back to Sapphire Falls for them. I’d love to watch them with you.”

  She agreed. But as they got into her car and started heading out of Colorado Springs, she swallowed back a surprising surge of emotion. These past few days had been amazing, beautiful, and utterly memorable. Once they crossed back into her hometown, though, she’d need to finish packing for Nashville. And Trevor would have to get his car fixed so he could return to Mirabelle Harbor.

  In other words, once they got there, it would truly be the beginning of the end.

  Chapter Five

  As soon as they’d crossed the state line into Nebraska, Trevor called his grandmother from the road to let her know they were on their way back to Sapphire Falls. He could hear the relief in her voice when she said, “Oh, good! Will you be here in time for dinner?”

  He sent a grin to Tina Marie, who’d insisted on taking a turn behind the wheel. She was currently jamming out to some all-girl country group on the radio that he’d never heard of before, while driving precisely the speed limit.

  “Ms. Moran here is intent on following the posted speed signs, Gram,” he said with a mock sigh. “At this rate, we may not get to Sapphire Falls before breakfast tomorrow.”

  “Hey!” the gorgeous redhead said, whacking him none too gently on the arm and laughing.

  On the phone line, his grandmother’s silence, in contrast to Tina’s playfulness, rang loud and rather awkwardly. Gram was the woman who’d teased him about every girl since junior high that he’d so much as had a crush on. And, still, she hadn’t said a word about his relationship with her friends’ niece.

  What gives?

  He cleared his throat. “Um, sorry, Gram. No, I think we’ll be getting to town just in time for the fireworks. So, we’ll probably head directly to the river to watch from there, and maybe catch a few of the festival attractions if we have a chance. Will you be downtown watching them, too? Because, if you’d like, we could meet up and—”