Page 5 of Taurus
I forget for a moment that Franny probably knows Cordelia since their cottages are right next door.
There is a sound of shuffling on the other end before Franny gets on the phone.
“Ask her about her art,” she tells me.
“What?”
“You hate talking about yourself, and if you are looking for something to get her to fill the conversation, ask her about her art. She’ll fall in love with you for sure.”
"I don't like this woman. I mean, I just met this woman. I'm not looking for dating advice from two people who fell in love in one night. It’s not normal.”
I’m referring to the night they crossed paths in an airport, getting stranded by a freak snowstorm. Instead of sleeping in the uncomfortable chairs and trying to get some sleep, they spent the whole night talking and walking around. They both admitted they fell in love before sunrise the following day. Declan changed his flight to follow after her. It's romantic, but I'd never admit that to them, especially at this moment.
Franny chuckles. “When you know it’s right, why prolong the inevitable?”
"I'm not going to ask her about her art, and I'm not going to fall in love with her."
“Who are you not going to fall in love with?” a voice asks next to me.
“Geez!” I jump, dropping my phone by my feet.
Cordelia is standing at the open passenger side window with a greasy brown bag of food in her hands and a quizzical expression on her face.
"No one," I say as I reach down for my phone. I can hear Franny still talking, but I press the button on the screen to end the call. “Just talking to my sister-in-law.”
"I'm guessing since you are staying the in the Calloway's cottage, that makes your sister-in-law—Franny?" Cordelia asks, opening the door and hopping in.
“The very one.” I nod and shut off my phone when Declan’s name pops up on the screen again. I’ll call him tomorrow.
“It’s been forever since I’ve seen her,” Cordelia says, reaching into the bag and pulling out a few fries. “She used to babysit me when we were kids.”
I glance in and see two orders of fish and chips wrapped in newspaper. I pull out a fried piece of fish.
“No, you need the special sauce," Cordelia says, stopping me.
She reaches into the bag and pulls out a little cup of tartar sauce. I tentatively dip in the fish and take a bite.
“Oh my gosh,” I say around a mouthful. “What’s this made of?”
Cordelia smiles and shakes her head. "No one knows. I personally think they mix in a bit of crack as the secret ingredient because how else does tangy tartar sauce taste so good.”
"I think you're right," I laugh, dipping my fish in again and taking another bite.
“You’ve got—” Cordelia chuckles and points to my mouth. “Here, I got it.”
She reaches out and runs her thumb over the side of my lips and licks her finger clean. If I wasn’t already hard before, the way my imagination floods with images of her mouth is making me hard as a rock. I try to shift in my seat, pretending that I'm not hiding my hard-on as I start up the Jeep.
“Tell me about your artwork,” I say.
4
CORDELIA
“How did you—” I start to ask but stop when he points to the silver bracelet on my wrist with the piece of sky-blue sea glass in it.
“It looks homemade.”
“Is that another way of saying cheap?” I ask, spinning the silver band around my wrist.
