Her eyes focused on mine and she said. "You’re butt naked, Asshole!"
We died laughing and she sat up, then pranced off. Before she left the room, she flipped me off.
Laughing, I enter the laundry room and strip, then head upstairs for another quick shower. The long run helped to clear my mind. Enjoying the warm water, I take my time, thinking about the renovations in the east wing I want to do and specifically keeping my mind off Seary. I’m feeling great when I go back down stairs to wait for Maria to return. In my office, I turn on my laptop, then go to the drawing table and roll out the plans to review. I like working with my hands and doing as much of the construction as I can. I make a project schedule, a list of subs I will use for what portions, a timeline on completion and a list of what materials I’ll need for the entire project, and what I’ll need to start.
When Maria returns, I go to help her. I spend the remainder of the day, eating and being her guinea pig for several new dishes, laughing and cutting up with her, teasing her that this taste terrible as I eat every mouthful and then helping her film and edit her clips. We finish washing the dishes together, grab a bottle of wine and go out on the patio to watch the sunset.
Sitting quietly with her, I’m again thankful for my life and comfortable with the way things are. Then Maria starts to talk. "You know, Aurei. Every time I see the sunset from here, the burnt orange glow changing into deep scarlet red on the rock, I think of how passion would look if it had colors. Like a fire that flames orange, then as it gets hotter, burns red until it’s so hot, it will scorch your heart no matter if you make it as hard as that rock. You know?" She looks at me. "I miss that. I miss the passion of love." She stands and says. "Goodnight." Then walks back inside without a backward glance.
I’m left alone watching the passionate sunset and seeing a flame called Seary dance in front of my eyes and I feel the place in my heart she has already scorched. It’s warm and feels strangely free.
I wait until the sunlight is completely gone, then I go back into the house, put my wine glass in the sink next to Maria’s and head upstairs to change.I have to see her dance again. Crazy as it is, I have to know if the lust she sparked last night was a fluke or if it was real.