Emily's Art and Soul

by Joy Argento

  When the laughter died down, Emily said, “No. I’m not, by the way.”

  Andi raised her eyebrows and tilted her head.

  “Complaining. I’m not complaining. I could easily spend the rest of my life in bed making love with you. It would just be a short life because we would die of starvation before too long.”

  “I think we would die from lack of water before we starve to death,” Andi said matter-of-factly.

  “Does it have to be actual water or would any fluid do?” Emily asked. “’Cause I think we would have plenty of other fluids.” A small snorting sound escaped her nose as she suppressed a giggle.

  “I thought I had a dirty mind, but yours is worse.” Andi threw a wadded paper towel at her.

  Emily caught it in midair.

  “You’re good,” Andi said.

  “You make me want to be good. I want to be good for you, and yes, I am talking in the dirtiest way possible.”

  Andi shook her head. “What am I going to do with you?” She was sure she could think of a few things.

  “How about I make you a list of everything you can do with me, while you make us lunch?” She grabbed a pad of paper and pen from the counter. She started to write. “How do you spell ‘cunnilingus’?” Emily asked.

  Andi stopped what she was doing and turned to Emily. “If you can’t spell it, you don’t get it.” She turned back to the job at hand.

  Emily stomped out of the room. “What are you doing?” Andi yelled to her.

  Emily yelled back from the living room. “I’m looking for a dictionary. I don’t want to risk spelling it wrong.”

  “Get your ass back in here, silly. I’m starting to miss you already.”

  Emily poked her head into the room. “So, you missed me, huh?” Emily seemed almost giddy.

  “Yes, I admit it. I missed your beautiful face and your cute little butt when you were in the other room. That was the longest fifteen seconds of my life.”

  Andi finished making lunch and set a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of tomato soup in front of Emily with a theatrical flair. “For m’lady,” she said, with a wave of her hand. “Eat fast. I can hear my bed calling us.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Sunday evening arrived way too quickly for Emily. She couldn’t believe how wonderful spending the weekend with Andi had been. The sex had been amazing. Emily never realized how wonderful lovemaking could be.

  “What time are you supposed to meet your dad and Mindy?” Andi asked.

  “In about an hour.” Emily sighed. She breathed in, smelling the scent that was Andi, and placed tiny kisses on her neck. She knew she had to get out of the bed and get moving.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”

  “Thank you for offering, but yeah, I’m sure. I don’t think I would make it there if you were with me. I would have to pull over at every rest stop and make love to you.” Emily said between kisses.

  “How many rest stops are there between here and Waterloo?”

  Emily thought for a few seconds. “Two, I think.”

  “Let’s see, that would be about forty-five minutes of actual driving and an hour at each rest stop. That would put you at the outlet mall way late.”

  “Only an hour at each rest stop?” Emily looked into Andi’s smiling eyes, knowing that an hour wouldn’t be enough time for everything she wanted to do to and with her.

  “I was trying to keep you on schedule. Guess it can’t be done.” Andi squeezed Emily tighter. “I don’t want to let you go.”

  “And I don’t want to leave you, but I have to go pick up Mindy.” She extracted herself from Andi’s arms, missing them as soon as she slipped out of the bed. “Oh.” A thought came to her. “Does this mean you have a new toaster oven coming to you?”

  “It’s not official till you get a cat.” Andi grinned. She jumped up out of bed and wrapped her arms around Emily. “Dance with me before you go.” Andi let go long enough to find a song on her iPhone. Soft music filled the air as she swayed with Emily. “How are you doing? Are you all right with everything that happened this weekend?” Andi asked her.

  “I am doing more than all right. How come you’re asking me that?”

  “Because I know this is all new for you, and I want to make sure everything is—you are—all right?”

  “I am so happy about this weekend and about you. The only thing that worries me…” She hesitated.

  “Yes?” Andi said.

  “I don’t know how I’m going to be able to keep my hands off you in school tomorrow.” Even the thought of seeing Andi and not being able to touch her was hard.

  “I guess that is going to be a problem for both of us. Should I keep my distance?”

  Emily didn’t know if she was serious or not. She hoped she wasn’t. “Don’t you dare!”

  “Okay, how about this? When I see you in the hall or the teacher’s lounge or something, I’m going to ask you how your oil painting class is going and that will be code for I want you so bad. What do you think?”

  “And how is that going to stop me from wanting to put my hands all over you?”

  “Oh. Good point. I guess we’ll have to meet behind the bleachers on the football field and make out.”

  An electric current ran through Emily at the thought. “You aren’t helping here, and I hate to do this, but I have to get going.” Emily kissed Andi softly on the mouth. She grabbed her clothes from the end of the bed and slipped them on. She gave Andi a hug and another kiss. “I’ll call you when I get home.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  Another soft lingering kiss and Emily reluctantly left, but she knew this was just the beginning of many long and blissful weekends with this wonderful woman.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The bell rang for the start of homeroom. All of the kids took their seats without a word from Emily, and Emily took attendance without the need to call names.

  With the small amount of sleep she had gotten over the weekend, Emily should have been exhausted, but she felt exhilarated instead. It was as if Andi had touched her very soul this past weekend and breathed life into her. The mere thought of what they had done, the love they had made, sent a tingle down into the pit of her stomach before settling lower. She knew she had to keep her mind on teaching today. She didn’t need her students seeing her staring off into space, her thoughts on Andi.

  The bell rang again and most of the kids filed out of her classroom and into the hall. Emily concentrated on the sounds of laughter and locker doors opening and closing. Her first-period students trickled in.

  “Good morning, everyone,” Emily said. “Today we’re going to watch a movie about Michelangelo and the Renaissance period. Can anyone tell me something about Michelangelo? Tony?” He’d been talking nonstop to his girlfriend since entering the room.

  “Um, he painted during the Renaissance period?”

  “Are you asking me or telling me?”

  “Asking you?” Tony said.

  Emily didn’t respond and kept her gaze steady.

  “Telling you?”

  The class erupted with laughter.

  “Can we narrow it down to one of those two choices?” She expected certain things from her students. One was paying attention and the other was confidence, both with their answers and with their art. “Try again.”

  “Michelangelo was a painter during the Renaissance period.” He said it with certainty this time.

  “Good. Much better. Now, who can tell me something about the Renaissance period? When did it start?” She looked around the room. “Jamie?”

  “The fourteenth century.”

  “Very good,” Emily said. “Jessica, name another artist who was painting during the Renaissance period.”

  “Was it Leonardo da Vinci?” She caught herself and said, “I mean, Leonardo da Vinci.”

  “Wow, you guys are good. Maybe we don’t need to watch this movie and I’ll give you a test instead.”

&nb
sp; Emily smiled when they groaned.

  “Steven, would you mind pulling the screen down and pull the DVD projector to the middle of the room?”

  Emily started the movie and shut off the overhead lights by the door. She closed the door partway and leaned against the wall next to it. She could see the movie from this vantage point and still keep an eye on the kids. She willed herself to pay attention to the movie. She’d seen it before but needed a refresher so she could ask questions at its conclusion.

  Emily jumped when she heard someone whisper directly behind her. “How is your oil painting class going?” The words and Andi so close caused a rush of moisture.

  Emily pretended that she didn’t know what Andi was talking about. “This is my art history class. Oil painting is at the end of the day.”

  “Oh, I thought you had oil painting classes all day long. Sorry, my mistake.” A couple of students looked over as the teachers talked quietly. Emily pointed at the screen and the students turned their attention back to the movie.

  “You know I would have oil painting classes all day and night if I could. But hey, I have to make a living, so I teach things like art history.” Emily looked at the clock. “How come you aren’t teaching a class right now?”

  “My kids are taking a mock SAT test in the cafeteria, so I have a free period. Did you want to meet me at lunch behind the bleachers on the football field?” She kept her voice so low that even Emily had to strain to hear it.

  “You are going to make me crazy. I can’t do this here.” She needed Andi to stop much more than she wanted her to stop. At this rate she was going to have to go home and change her underwear between classes.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. I was trying to get you to smile. Forgive me?”

  “I want so bad to tell you all about my oil painting class, but I can’t do it here. I can meet you at your house after work if you’d like.”

  “After work would be fine. We can go over those, um, test papers you wanted me to see. Will I see you at lunch, Miss Sanders?”

  “I believe you will Miss Marino. Have a good day.” She gently pushed Andi out the door.

  ***

  Andi spotted Emily right away seated at one of the tables in the teachers’ lounge when she arrived, a cafeteria tray in one hand and a bottle of spring water in the other. The room filled up fast as other teachers filed in on their lunch breaks.

  Andi set the tray down on the table, taking note of the various dishes and a chocolate chip cookie that fought for space on Emily’s crowded tray. She settled in next to Emily, sitting as close to her as possible without actually touching her. It only took a few seconds for Emily to move her leg, pushing it firmly against Andi’s. Andi’s body reacted immediately to the contact, momentarily making it hard for her to think.

  “A little hungry, are we?” Andi asked her when she had composed herself.

  “A little. I’m eating a big lunch because I need my strength for later.” Emily took a bite of pizza.

  Andi wasn’t sure where Emily was going with this, but considering they weren’t alone Andi hoped it wasn’t going in the direction her mind and body was.

  “I’m playing tennis after work. I thought I would try a little carb-loading so I could keep my stamina up. What do you think? Think it will help?” Emily’s voice held no hint of flirtation or double entendre.

  Andi could play this game. “I very recently started playing tennis myself. I find I can play on an empty stomach as easily as a full one. It doesn’t seem to matter.”

  “Tennis is a great game. Are you enjoying it?” Emily asked.

  “Oh my God, yes. I love it. Great exercise. It gets my heart pumping and my juices flowing.” Andi could see a slight blush rising in Emily’s cheeks. She knew her words were having an effect. But she wasn’t the only one it was affecting. Oh geez. I’m getting my juices flowing right now. Better stop all this talk about tennis.

  “I used to play tennis.” Ed Hinkle sat down across from them and joined in the conversation. “I had to give it up. Bad knees.”

  Andi avoided eye contact with Emily. She knew she wouldn’t be able to suppress the laughter if she did.

  “Wow, Ed, that’s too bad. Do you miss it?” Andi asked.

  “Sure do. I pump iron now to keep in shape, but I liked having a partner. I work out by myself. It just isn’t the same.”

  Andi thought she was going to die. She realized she was holding her breath. She tried to let it out slowly without drawing any attention to herself.

  “I hear ya,” Emily said. “It is always better doing it with a partner than by yourself.” Without looking at her she asked, “What do you think, Andi?”

  “Huh?” Andi pretended to be engrossed in her sandwich.

  “Ed and I both think it is better doing it with a partner than doing it by yourself. I was wondering what your thoughts are.”

  My first thought is that I am going to kill you. I am going to end up choking on my chicken salad sandwich if you keep this up. She knew Emily was looking at her, waiting for her answer. Guess this was payback for her talking about oil painting earlier. She took another bite of her food, to give herself more time to collect herself. “Having a partner is good. Why don’t you find a workout partner to pump iron with, Ed?”

  Mike Tadd sat down next to Ed. “I’ll pump with you,” he said to Ed. “I’ve been doing it by myself for a couple of years now, but I would love to have a partner to do it with.”

  Andi knew Emily was having way too much fun with this to let it die.

  Emily continued. “I think that’s a great idea, Ed, you could do it with Mike.”

  “They said it’s going to snow on the TV,” Andi said in a feeble attempt to change the subject.

  “It’s going to snow only on the TV? Is it going to snow anywhere else?” Emily asked.

  “I think I said that wrong.” Andi smiled at her own mistake.

  “I believe that is what you call a dangling participle,” Emily told her.

  Andi laughed. “I could have sworn you were an art teacher, not an English teacher.”

  “I minored in English.”

  “Well, then,” Andi said. “Thank you for helping me see the error of my ways. I will never make that mistake again.”

  “I decided recently that I am so done with dangling participles. In fact, I am done with anything that dangles.”

  Andi didn’t dare respond for fear she would burst out laughing.

  “Let me know if you need help with anything else, Andi. Spelling. Grammar. Tennis. Anything. I’m always glad to lend a hand.”

  Andi did her best to push the image of Emily’s hand touching her most intimate spots from her mind, but not before it caused a stir in her body.

  “Kind of early for snow,” Ed said, jumping back into the conversation. “But I guess anything is possible in Syracuse.”

  “I like to think of it more as everything is possible in Syracuse,” Emily said, slipping in a sideways glance at Andi.

  Andi smiled. “I like that,” she said. “I really like that.”

  ***

  Emily sat at her desk in the empty classroom. She had a few things left to grade before heading over to Andi’s house. Her cell phone rang, pulling her attention away from the stack of paintings. She reached into her backpack to retrieve it.

  “Hello?”

  “What are you wearing?” the husky voice on the phone asked.

  “I’m totally naked,” Emily deadpanned.

  Andi laughed. “Ooh, that’s what I was hoping to hear.”

  “And I was hoping to get an obscene phone call today. So I guess we both made out pretty darn good.”

  “I wanted to let you know that Mindy is more than welcome to come with you when you come over today.”

  “That is so nice of you, but I think it might be embarrassing for you when I rip all of your clothes off right there in the hallway. Besides, Mindy has plans for tonight with a friend from the center. So you’re stuck with just me.�
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  “In that case, maybe I’ll just answer the door naked to save you the trouble.”

  “Oh, it’s no trouble, trust me. I am almost done here, so how about I come over in about an hour?”

  “I’ll see you then, baby. Bye.”

  “Bye, honey.” Emily smiled. Just hearing Andi’s voice made her wet. She couldn’t wait to see her in person.

  ***

  “Damn. I thought you were going to be naked when I got here,” Emily said.

  “I was cooking, and I was afraid of burning something important.”

  Emily wrapped her arms around Andi. “Hi, baby. How was your day?”

  “Well, my lunch was a little difficult to get through because I thought I was going to choke on something. But I managed to survive.”

  “I’m glad. You know I would have given you mouth-to-mouth if you choked, right?”

  “I appreciate that, but I think that would have been the wrong rescue technique for choking.”

  “I know, but I’ll use any excuse I can to put my mouth on yours.”

  “You don’t need an excuse. You just lean toward me and…” Andi demonstrated. “Come on into the kitchen so I can finish cooking.” Andi took Emily’s hand to lead her, but Emily didn’t follow.

  “I have something in the car. Let me go get it and I’ll meet you in there.”

  “Need any help?” Andi asked.

  “No, I can handle it. I’ll be right back.” She went out to her car, grabbed the package she’d wrapped in silver foil, and headed back into the house. She handed it to Andi.

  “What’s this for?”

  “It’s for you.” Emily smiled. “I hope you like it.”

  “I’m sure I’ll love it. What is it?”

  “How about you open it and find out.” Emily held her breath as Andi pulled off the pink ribbon and bow and wrapping paper. She felt like she had put a piece of herself in that box.