Breaking Perfect

He looked around the room as he brushed his teeth. It reminded him of a cave or some Chinese hut. Everything was stone and separated with rice paper dividers. There was a fireplace in the bathroom filled with various tapered candles and a medieval looking tray hanging from the ceiling like a chandelier that also was covered with the pillar candles. He rinsed his mouth out and wiped his face on the hand towel.

As he opened the door he caught a flash of white out of the corner of his eye and turned. A white linen sheet parachuted over his bed and Liberty’s form came into view. She gasped when she saw him and quickly covered her eyes.

“Shit!” Sean quickly turned around offering a clear shot of his naked ass rather than his cash and prizes. He focused on the juxtaposed sinks he could still see through the bathroom door, but his vision filled with the image of Liberty’s shocked expression.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! I thought you would have taken longer. I just wanted to freshen up you sheets and make your bed.”

Sean actually felt himself flush. “Uh, that’s okay. It’s my fault. Um…do you mind just stepping out for a sec so I can put on some pants? Then you can do whatever you need to do.”

Her soft retreating footsteps were followed by the click of the door closing. Fuck. He hoped this didn’t mess up her mood. They had a good few hours with no incidents as far as he could tell. Cursing, he quickly drew on a pair of jeans pulled from his bag and walked to the door. He opened it and found Liberty standing there, face beet red, wringing her hands.

“I’m decent. You can come back in.”

She looked up at him then quickly looked away. She made the bed with practiced speed and avoided making eye contact. Sean on the other hand couldn’t tear his eyes away from her as she worked. As soon as the bed was made he wanted to toss her down on it and mess it right back up. Whoa! What the fuck?

“I have to go practice. I’ll see you downstairs,” she mumbled as she swiftly left the room. Sean told himself he was glad for her quick escape.

He spent the next hour wandering around the house listening to Liberty play the piano. At first the melody sounded frantic, but by the end of the hour she seemed to have calmed sufficiently and fell into a soothing tempo that climbed up and down the keys in soft brushing strokes that filled the house in a spontaneous sort of melodic lullaby.

Sean found himself standing by the poolroom when the music slowly faded away. The conclusion of her playing was so perfectly graceful he almost didn’t realize she stopped. He stared through the glass wall at the flat surface of blue water laid out before him.

The narrow rectangular pool fit between lines of white marble columns. Seamless ivory tile made up the floor wrapping around the perimeter. A glass wall across the room showed the fading afternoon sunshine and tall dunes concealing the ocean in the distance.

On either side of the pool were two square cots made of modern cut wood and squared off foam mattresses dressed in flat white linens with a heavy white bath sheet folded neatly at each foot. Although the house was a cool sixty-five degrees he could feel the heat penetrating the glass from the other side, see the quivering beads of condensation in the crevices and seams of the see through wall.

“Did you want to go for a swim?”

Sean started at the sound of Liberty’s soft voice. He turned. She was barefoot and had removed her yellow cardigan. Her small breasts filled out the top of her white tank top and he could make out the petite shape of her nipples behind the fabric. Little and not brown. Pink. Perhaps the same color one would find in the center of a nectarine.

Fuck. He was such a piece of classless shit. This was Mason’s wife. Checking her out was a betrayal to Mason on so many levels he winced. But Liberty’s image stuck in his head. He couldn’t shake the vision. Why was she affecting him like that? She was married. To his ex lover!

He slowly opened his eyes. She wore a bright turquoise beaded necklace that intensified the blue of her eyes. “I don’t have a suit,” he rasped.

“I can loan you one of Mason’s. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sharing.”

He would if he knew what I wanted to borrow. Jesus, maybe he needed to submerge himself in a pool of cool water. Before he could answer Liberty said, “I’ll go get you one and bring it to your room.”

“What are you going to do?” he wondered.