Friday 14 June 2013

Friday, June 14, 2013 -

Learning Curves

by Elizabeth Belmont
Published: Jun 10, 2013
Words: 32,391
Category: romance
Orientation: M/F
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OPENING EXTRACT
Weaving its way through the downtown Las Angeles traffic, soft jazz coming from the front of the black sedan and low arguing coming from the back, a black Lincoln Town Car deftly carried its passengers to its first destination. A stop just a few blocks off the famous Hollywood Strip. A drop-off arranged the night before... and still being argued in the early morning.

"Jason, you don't have to walk me in. Besides, if you don't hurry you'll miss your plane." As the Tri-Star Luxury Car Services sedan slid to a stop in front of Valerie (Val to her friends) Howard's LA apartment, the frowning blonde once again checked her watch. It showed 5:10am. "Seriously, if you wait any longer you could hit traffic on the 405."

Stretching his legs as best he could in the confines of the sedan, the big man sitting next to her shook his head and pointed to his arguing girlfriend's building as the driver opened her door. "I'll worry about traffic baby girl. You worry about getting upstairs."

Pink lips closed in a hard line Val stepped out of the car and purposefully quick-stepped ahead of her bemused guy. She loves the man but damn it he can be pushy! Rushing into her building, the leggy blonde quickly worked the lock on her apartment door and stepped in with a toss of her purse and a slam of the hollow core door. Stalking over to the refrigerator, she grabbed a bottle of orange juice and slammed the door closed. Turning, she leaned against the still shaking fridge and waited for her mountain of a boyfriend.

And waited.

When the big man didn't appear, Val rubbed her face in frustration and set the juice down. Why was she so mad? Her evening with Jason had been wonderful, the perfect send off for his trip to the new Chicago office. Val had made her special pasta in Jason's expansive West Hills kitchen. Fresh tomatoes, basil and jumbo shrimp tossed with garlic and oil sizzled while the big man packed upstairs. After dinner they had shared a very fine central valley Grenache and puffed Cuban tobacco from a red-bellied glass hookah hidden under the stairs.

"The hookah's a gift from a glass artist I know up in Santa Barbara," Jason told Val as he showed her how to draw up the sweet smoke with minimal inhale. "Don't ask how I get the leaf and for God's sake don't tell my good buddy River about any of it. I don't need another hour lecture from the granola-boy."

Later they had danced by the pool. As the midnight winds picked up Jason had peeled off her clothes, covering every inch of newly bared skin with kisses, and warmed her naked body with passion until neither had the strength to make it up stairs. Early in the morning Val had awakened to warm sunshine bathing her naked back as she lay curled up next to her man in the oversized lounger under the veranda.