Perfectly Inappropriate

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Long after the town hall meeting wrapped up, and after a quick bite, Noah followed Olivia into an old shoe factory, not far from Paige’s apartment, glad the meeting was over. Most times, he usually ended up taking a beating while listening to the residents complain about things he wished he could make better too. Change was hard. Getting laws passed was even harder.

Once he followed her inside the factory, the heavy steel door slammed behind him, and she greeted a young, dark-skinned man sitting behind a small counter. “Hey, Bruno.”

“Olivia!” Bruno exclaimed with a smile. He had wild curly hair and dark eyes. “It’s been a while. Good to see you, girl.”

She smiled. “Likewise. Is there a room available?”

Bruno glanced down at the piece of paper on his desk. “Yeah, room four is open for the next couple hours.”

“Perfect.” She held out her hand and accepted the key from Bruno. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” He gave Noah a pleasant smile, obviously not recognizing him.

Noah returned the smile then followed behind Olivia, turning past the reception desk toward a hallway lined with rooms. “What is this place?” he asked, done with trying to figure out where she’d wanted to bring him after they had grabbed a quick dinner.

“It’s a private darkroom.” She opened the black door with the metal 4 in the center, spilling red light out into the hallway. “There’s a couple public rooms around the city for photographers to go to, but Paige knew a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy”—she smiled—“and she got me a year membership when I moved in with her.”

Noah took note of the sign to the left of the door, DARKROOM IN USE, as he entered the room. He discovered a long table and a string hanging over it with clothespins. He grinned at those. He had never met a woman where his kink went toe-to-toe with her passion. “It’s a neat space,” he noted, staring around at the industrial area. The stone walls were likely original, and above him all the metal piping was exposed, some even coming down lower on the wall.

“I know. It’s cool.” She shut the door then flicked a light switch on.

Noah assumed that was to light up the sign outside. “Where did you develop your film before?”

“I had a darkroom at my house.” She moved to the table.

Noah removed his jacket and left it on the edge of the table by the rectangular tub. He stayed back and silently watched Olivia work. It became clear very quickly how the process of mixing the chemicals relaxed her. She moved smoothly and slowly until she was all set up with the machinery in the room.

When she turned to him again and smiled, she was, without a doubt, in her wheelhouse. “Ready?”

He cocked his head. “Ready for what?”

She reached into her purse then held up a roll of film. “To see the photographs from our night away.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Now those I’m particularly excited to see.”

She laughed softly. “I thought you might like to see them.” But then, the moment was gone when she got to work.

All he could do was watch her.

He thought it was a terrible waste that anyone with her talent did not pursue their dreams. He had no doubt that Cameron had been behind some of that, but he also knew life could always get in the way of a person’s dreams. Noah simply had been too stubborn to fail.

Many minutes went by as she began developing the photographs, hanging each one on a clothespin as she went. Until one photograph stopped her. She went unnaturally still and stared at the picture.

Noah stepped closer. “What is it?”

She turned to him, her eyes teary. “I look really happy in this picture.”

Those tears had him reaching for her and pulling her in close. “It’s good to be happy.”

“I just…” She paused, then raw emotion seeped from every syllable in her voice. “I think I got wrapped up in all this with you, but it’s like I forgot, you know…”

“Forgot what?” he gently pushed.

Her chin quivered. “How sad I was.”