"Very nice job," she said, dipping her fingers into a small glass container in front of me where she had stored the coconut extract. "Yours came out excellent the first time. You have a talent for this."
"Good gracious," my mother exclaimed, causing Cathy to almost drop the small jar. "I had forgotten my dentist appointment. I have to go."
She took off her safety gear and hurried to tidy things up as best she could.
"Then we can continue tomorrow with the next step," Cathy said.
"No, no, dear, don't stop this for me," my mother said, taking Cathy's hands and looking her in the eyes.
"Are you sure?" Cathy tried to run away from me one last time.
"Absolutely, you guys go on without me, I insist."
Cathy nodded with resignation painted on her face and walked toward me. My mother took advantage of the fact that she wasn't looking at her and modulated the word 'good luck' with her lips, then turned and walked out of the lab without further ado.
"Now we must purify the coconut extract and separate the oily essence from the watery liquid," she said.
I looked at her and couldn't think of anything else but what had happened last night, how she gave herself to me, and how our bodies had come together. But I controlled myself and focused on what I was doing, so I listened to her instructions and followed them to the letter.
"Looks good. Put out the fire," she told me.
I turned off the flames of the small portable heater and waited until the oil separated from the water in two layers. The whole room smelled of coconut, and the aroma was mild, but you could feel it all over the place. I lifted the container with the contents, but as soon as I held it, both layers were mixed.
"Now, how do we fix them?" I asked.
"Do you want the easy way or the hard way?" she asked.
"I don't want you to think I'm lazy, but this time I'll choose the easy way," I replied, wiping the sweat off my face from the steam.
"Wise choice," she said, then took the container out of my hands and put it in the small cooler at the end of the lab.
"So what now?" I asked her.
"We just have to wait for the magic to happen," she commented and sat down in one of the chairs. She took off her gloves, let down her hair, and began to massage her head gently.
"Do you want to talk?" I asked, sitting down across from her.
"What do you want to talk about?" she asked, crossing her legs.
"About us," I told her.
"There is no us. What happened last night was a mistake," she said, chewing on her words. "We can't be together. We're from very different worlds."
"That's not true," I replied, "You, of all people, know that everything you just said is not true. I feel it inside me, and you feel it too."
"You're wrong," she exclaimed and adjusted her posture.
"So you're telling me you don't feel something for me?"
She tried hard to avoid answering me. Her heartbeat quickened, as did her breathing.
Cathy was about to explode, and I couldn't hold back anymore, so without further thought, I moved closer to her and covered her lips with mine, knowing she might react badly, but instead, she softened hers and kissed me back.
Chapter 14 Cathy
"Please stop," I pushed Eric. "Don't do that again."
I could feel the connection between him and I had grown. My lips longed for his, and my whole body wanted to duel in a love duel where only passion would win.
