“Yes, she recorded it for me after I saw her play it one night.”
He holds me tight, refusing to let me go. As the music rises once again, he spins me away.
“Why are you sharing this with me now?” I demand.
I’m more annoyed than I probably should be, but all I can think about is the fact thatshe’shere again.She’s always here.
“Because, Gemma, this is us,” he explains in a voice that’s now become somewhat detached. “We are three. Can’t you see that? Just like any moment of beauty, we’re all working in synchronicity to find that elusive moment, like that moment you and I found out in the vineyard…withher.”
Finally, the music stops, and I’m staring up into a face that seems oddly serene, almost as though he’s made some calming realization, just as I’m having a majorly fucked-up one.
“No, I can’t see that, Phillipe,” I snap as I step back.
I’m trying to disentangle myself from the web he’s once again drawn me into. I’m also silently berating myself. Although I’m outwardly telling him no, knowing he’s delusional, I realize deep down that he’s right. I’m just as entangled with Chantel as I am with him.
“Okay, Gemma.” His voice breaks through the tense silence, sounding defeated. “Have it your way.”
I’m standing only a couple of steps away from him, but as he moves forward, I cross my arms over my chest like a shield.
“Do you want to pose this afternoon and continue with your questions?” He reaches out, touching my cheek gently. “Or do you want to leave?”
My eyes land on his full, sensual lips. I’m reminded of this afternoon and the way his mouth moved over my skin. I find myself wanting to reach out and touch that mouth. He must sense a change in me, because one corner of those incorrigible lips tilts up.
“Undress for me.”
God help me, I do.
Impulsive ~
I asked Phillipe to come and watch me tonight.
When my mother first mentioned I should stay with Uncle Beau, my first thought had been,Where would I get to play?I didn’t want to be anywhere I couldn’t play my music.
Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy losing myself when I’m on my own, but there’s simply no better feeling than playing at the front of a full-scale orchestra.
It’s hard to explain, but imagine you’re in a smooth body of water as you effortlessly swim along. You’re just rising with each movement and then flowing back down. Now, add a stormy ocean, and as each loud and powerful wave hits you, it pushes you up, higher and higher toward the sky, before crashing you back down into the turbulent ocean.
You might be scared and terrified, but you love feeling the exhilaration and power of that ocean along with the sheer force and beauty of it.
That’s how I like to think playing in front of a full orchestra feels, like one big, powerful wave that crashes down over you.
I used to play as a guest performer with the local orchestra back home. I told my mother that before I would even consider moving here, we would need to find one close by, and we did.
Tonight, Phillipe is coming to watch me.
Gemma surprises Phillipe when she silently walks to the drop cloth and removes her clothes.
After the way she pulled away from him, he was positive that she would tuck tail and run. Instead, she is now sitting in pose, nude, with her back to him and the blindfold firmly in place.Probably cursing my name.
He doesn’t understand why every move forward they take feels as though it’s somehow enhanced by the memory of Chantel.
When he originally went into this bargain with Gemma, he did it with the expectation that she would understand Chantel better, and as their story unraveled, she would get to see a side of him he found so difficult to show. He did not count on the intense feeling of connection to ChantelthroughGemma.Perhaps it is Gemma herself?
Maybe if she didn’t seem so bewitched and curious about Chantel, he wouldn’t feel this way.Maybeif Gemma just asked him questions in a perfunctory manner, he wouldn’t be feeling this aberrant entanglement of desire that he can’t seem to shake.
As he looks over to the woman seated on the floor, he remembers the way she came with such force. He can still feel the sweet, tight squeeze of her pussy. He knows he isn’t the only one baffled by this strange connection that they seem to share.
“You’re very quiet,” he states.
