Triplets Make Five

“Yes, but I have just one condition,” I said.

“Anything,” she said.

I slipped my arm around her waist and pulled her close, allowing her lips to hover over mine.

She didn’t smell like Delilah. Her musk wasn’t as innocent.

“For the next two hours, the time is yours,” I said.

“You mean ‘ours’,” she said as her tongue licked my lips.

I saw the guys clapping in the booth as my eyes darted over towards them.

“No. I mean yours. If you want to have sex, I’ll give it to you. If you want to pleasure yourself, I’ll watch and cheer you on. But if you’re tired, rest. If you’re hungry, go eat. If you want to talk, I’ll be there to talk. All I ask is that you escort me to my regular room and do whatever it is you want for the next two hours.”

I could see the confusion wafting over the woman’s face. Her eyes were dancing in between mine, trying to get a read on what I was doing. I had no intention of sleeping with this woman. She did nothing for me.

But I wasn’t willing to deal with Bryan and Colin’s bullshit tonight. Hell, I wasn’t even willing to deal with my own.

I still didn’t know why the fuck my cock didn’t want this woman.

“Food and talking sounds…nice,” Roxie said.

“Then lead the way,” I said.

Twelve

Delilah

My paintings were drying all around me as I slathered some onto another canvas. The inspiration simply kept coming. Between the breathtaking views, the several hours of rest, and the very relaxing hot tub, I was open to the world around me. Open to its inspirational moments, it’s greatest fears, and it’s happiest of joys. Even a simple bird call in the distance triggered the unfolding of life within my mind’s eye. Sometimes they were sketches, left to be brought to life on my laptop at a later date. Sometimes they were fully-fledged paintings, dripping with desire and rolling with color. Sometimes it was a shaded

geometric pattern, meant to be hung in any direction someone’s heart desired.

But at the beginning of my second week of vacation, the inspiration stopped.

I didn’t know what happened, but I felt like I was getting sick. I was sleeping more, my coffee wasn’t working to wake me up, and breakfast was making me nauseated. I tried to get myself feeling better. I tried resting a bit more and taking it easy. I took a dip in the hot tub, I had some tea on the balcony, I tried to focus on my artwork. But still, I felt off. Like something wasn’t right. I felt barren. Useless and unseen once again…like I had been before I left for this retreat in the first place.

Until an unexpected moment occurred.

My phone rang out with a sound I was very familiar with. It was the ringtone I set to my work email, and it filled the loft area with its noise. I groaned into my tea as I closed my eyes, grabbing my phone and readying myself for my early return. Something had probably happened and Preston had probably cut my time here short. He was probably already asking me for help on some numbers or needing help navigating some investor meeting gone wrong.

My heart slammed in my chest when I saw I had an email from Preston, but relief flooded my veins when it had absolutely nothing to do with work.

Miss Kent,

I hope your vacation is going well. I wanted to relay to you that the paperwork from the investor’s meeting is underneath your door, as you requested. And don’t worry. No one has lost their job. Yet.

P. Walker

I sat there and read the email over and over again, and every time it struck me as odder than the last. Preston Walker was not the kind of man that did anything without a reason. And yet, this email seemed completely pointless. Letting me know I had work waiting for me when I got back? I knew that. Telling me no one had been fired? Okay. Nice, I guess. Was he looking for another date? I had already fulfilled that bet. But if he was fishing for something like that, Preston was the kind of man that would just say something.

It was odd, but it felt wrong to let the email go unanswered.

Mr. Walker,

Thank you for informing me of the paperwork. It will promptly be attended to when I return. As far as people losing their jobs, I suppose it is a good thing you haven’t fired anyone yet. Though I’m sure someone’s slacked off somewhere. Like I said in my prior email, I do not view you the way I once did. There is no reason for you to prove yourself any longer.

And the retreat is going wonderfully.