Temi was tired. She only had two minutes left on the ArcTrainer, but every step was a struggle. Never mind Thom’s incessant comments in regard to her stupidity. She knew he would be mad, but damn. Besides, she was going to fix it. The next time she saw Facundo, they would not pass Go, collect two-hundred dollars, or stop by Park Place… no, they were going to head straight to the bedroom and take care of business! God, just the thought of it made her hot.

            “I swear, if it had been me, I would have had his clothes off faster than he could say Ricky Martin!” Temi did her best to ignore him. “Instead of livin’ la vida celibate, you could have been livin’ la vida loca.” To that Temi wasn’t sure if she should take offense or laugh, but her two minutes were up. So, she walked over to the cleaning station, grabbed a few sanitizing wipes, and cleaned her machine.

            “You know, if you had ridden him like a Spanish bull last night, I would have exempted you from the gym today.”

            “Erhh, Thom!” She tossed her wipes in the trash bin. “I told you I would fix it. In fact, plan on exempting me Wednesday.”

            “Wednesday,” he questioned with a smile.

            Temi looked at him with her hand on her hip and her head tilted to the side. “Okay,” she sighed. “He called on the way here wanting to know if I would meet him for dinner. I told him I was on my way to the gym with you but would love to meet him after work tomorrow.”

            Thom’s eyes were as large as saucers. “Bitch, what are we doing here!?!” Temi was already walking to one of the ab machines and ignored him. “Artemisia Merinda Clarke! Do you have any idea what you’re going to wear tomorrow?” Temi stopped mid-rep and lowered the weights. “I didn’t think so.”

            “Okay… okay. Let’s get through the ab exercises and then we can go shopping.” Thom beamed at her. “But! This time I will buy several things that I can mix and match. I have a feeling I will be seeing quite a bit more of this Facundo Hernandez.”

            True to her word, Temi and Thom called it quits after their ab circuit. Then with Thom’s arm around her shoulders, they walked to the showers. “Okay,” he planted a quick kiss on the side of her head. “You run along and take a quick run through the sprinklers. Meet me back here in fifteen or less.” Temi gave him a lazy salute before entering the locker room.

            As usual, Temi finished before Thom and therefore waited patiently in front of the men’s locker room. She was thumbing through outfit ideas on Pinterest when she felt the heavy weight of someone’s gaze. When she looked up, her eyes locked with Mr. Hot-Stuff, and when he smiled, she forced herself to give a half-hearted smile in return before looking away. Something in his eyes made her uncomfortably warm inside. Her heart was beating faster than she thought it should, and her palms were beginning to sweat.

            “Ahh, you beat me!” Thom’s voice broke through the mad racing of her mind. He once more put his arm around her and pulled her to his side. “You okay?

            Not knowing one way or the other, she decided not to bring up Mr. Hot-Stuff. “Yep. Ready to go,” she smiled up at him as she wrapped her arm around his waist.

            “Yes, ma’am,” he smiled back. They left the gym without Temi looking back to the man watching her.

            Temi couldn’t believe how much fun she had. By way of compromise, she made Thom promise they would only go to two stores, but she said nothing to the number of wardrobe changes. Therefore, Thom took full advantage of dressing her up as if she were a doll. Normally she would have avoided this form of shopping, but this time… with every outfit she tried… she imagined Facundo’s response. If the thought of his response made her blush, it was a winner. And with Thom’s style and expertise, she had several winners.

“Phew, girl! You wore me out!” Thom was fanning himself with his free hand as they walked arm-in-arm into the Heritage Center.

            “Hi, Thom!” Temi smirked as Thom cringed upon hearing Summer’s voice. “I’ve been meaning to ask you,” she waved him over and gave Temi a warning glare letting her know she was not welcome. Temi tried to release Thom’s arm but he held on tight and pulled her along to Summer’s register. Realizing that she and Thom would not be having a private conversation, Summer decided to take a different approach. “I have two tickets to Howl-O-Scream this year and was wondering if you’d like to come.”

            Temi felt bad for the girl. She was completely clueless. If there was anything Thom hated more than almost anything else, it was theme parks. He hated the lines for rides, the lines for unappetizing overpriced food, and, though he would never admit it, he had little love for people who enjoyed that sort of thing. “I’d rather contract herpes,” he said under his breath.

            “I’m sorry, whaaa? I didn’t catch that.”

            Temi jabbed Thom in the ribs before answering for him. “Summer? It’s Summer isn’t it,” Temi asked though she already knew. “I’m Artemisia Clarke,” she offered her hand which the girl refused. “Right, well, I’m sorry but Thom, our boyfriends and I were planning to attend the rave at Private Eyes for Halloween. However, if you decide not to go to Howl-O-Scream, you’re more than welcome to join us.” Thom’s mouth fell open and Summer stood there wide eyed at my response. Temi allowed the awkward silence to stand for a few moments. Then, “Well, now that’s done. Thomas, I’m famished. Shall we eat?”

            They ate in complete silence. Temi her salad… Thom his chicken wrap. In the beginning, Temi wasn’t worried, but as it continued, she wondered if she had taken things too far with Summer. Granted, Thom was out with everyone she knew, but maybe he wanted to remain unknown within certain groups. She wished she had thought about that earlier. “Thom, I’m sorry.”

            He didn’t look at her for a few minutes, nor did he say anything. Temi began to have the distinct feeling that not only had she betray his trust, but she may have lost the amazing friendship they shared.

            “Listen,” he finally spoke. “I can’t pretend what you did was okay,” he continued to look down at his wrap, “but it really hasn’t changed much.” He looked at her then. “I know you were trying to help, but there are some things that we are going to have to do on our own and in our own time.”

            Temi’s heart ached. “I know, and I am so sorry. I should have let you handle it, and I promise that it won’t happen again. Do you want me to speak with Summer? I will tell her anything you want me to.”

            “Nah, it’s fine. Besides, now that she knows maybe we can come here without my sphincter tightening.” He gave a little smile.

            “Well, that’s something, I guess.” Temi finished her meal before Thom and decided to pick up some sage to cleanse her apartment. Although they said they were going to do it several weeks ago, they kept forgetting to purchase a few bundles. Well, after her earlier encounter with Jordan, Temi thought it was about time. “I’ll meet you up front?” When Thom nodded, she went in search of the needed materials.

            When she arrived at the register, she inhaled deeply and sighed. How could she have forgotten that Summer would have to check her out? “Will this be all,” the girl, whose hair today was a pale blue with violet streaks, asked without bothering to lift her heavily glittered lids.

            “Yes, thank you.”

            Summer rang up her sage and two metal bowls to collect the ashes, then placed them in a brown paper bag. “That’ll be thirty-six twenty-five.” Without a word, Temi went to the credit card reader and paid for her items. “Do you need a receipt?”

            “No, thank you.” Temi saw that Thom was waiting for her outside by her car, so she just wanted to take her bag and go. But as she reached for her purchase, Summer gently grabbed her by the wrist, bringing Temi’s eyes in direct contact with her own.

            “I knew he was gay, you know,” Temi didn’t know what to say. “It’s just that when I was being teased in school, he pretended he was completely in love with me and that I broke his heart. It was the kindest thing anyone’s done for me. I just wanted to be his friend.”

            Temi could now understand Summer’s affection for Thom. He was such a caring soul; it was hard not to love him. “I understand,” she smiled at the younger woman. “A little advice? Don’t force it, and I’ll see what I can do to help.” With a nod from Summer, she went to meet Thom, whom she hugged as soon as she exited the building.

It was another warm day in Tidewater, so warm that Temi decided to stop at home and change before heading to Facundo’s. The weather was so unpredictable, cool in the morning and then like summer in the afternoon; her sweater dress was just too warm. Since he was expecting her at six, she only had fifteen minutes for wardrobe change. She flew into her apartment, showered in five minutes, put on a pair of her sexiest undergarments, moisturized her skin, and dressed in a long, flowy, flirty summer number with a high slit at one side in the front. She replaced her studs with dainty dangles, freshened up her makeup, slipped on a pair of heals and was out the door.

            Due to the traffic around the shopping centers in Hickory, it was slow going, but she was able to make it with a minute to spare. As she walked up the pathway to his front door, she loved the way the wind moved the airy fabric across her legs. She felt sexy… sensuous.

            Before she arrived at his doorstep, Facundo had opened the door to meet her. “Welcome to my home.” Temi smiled. She had toured his home several years ago during the town’s Homearama Parade of Homes, but she wasn’t going to bring that up just yet. “I hope you like tamales.”

            Smiling again, she reached up to plant a sweet little kiss on his full lips. “I love tamales.” She was surprised that her voice had already turned from normal to husky, and as his eyes darkened, she knew he was aware of what was on her mind.

            Guiding her inside, he cleared his throat before speaking again. “Okay, I had planned on giving you a tour before dinner, but now I think dinner should come first.”

            The tamales were delicious. Facundo said he always used his grandmother’s recipe because it was the best. With the tamales they had a salad with a lemon-lime garlic vinaigrette he had made that morning, and of course wine. Temi drank her wine slowly; she didn’t want the alcohol to cloud her experience tonight.

            Over dinner, they shared family stories, talked about some of their most embarrassing moments, and even touched on the crazy heat for this time of year. But when silence filled the air between them, they became acutely aware of electricity in the atmosphere. Attempting to slow things down, Facundo began to clear the table. Temi took a moment to take a steadying breath before joining him.

            Once everything was clean and put away, there was nothing in the way of the tour. Taking her by the hand, Facundo took her back to the front of the house to start from the beginning. The foyer was neat and clean. The walls were grey with white trim, and on either side of the door were plants that looked like mini palm trees. Facundo called them money trees and said he put them there for luck. The palms had braided trunks that stopped just under the explosion of waxy green leaves. The rug beneath their feet, along with a large painting on the wall were the only real colors in the space; burst of oranges, reds, blues, greys and yellows, like the ocean at sunset.

            Continuing the tour, they began to work in a circle. To the right as you walked in the door was a formal dining room. They had not had their meal there, and Temi was a little glad. The room was lacking in personality, as if designed to mimic a room from Good Housekeeping’s design issue. There were no plants, the art on the walls were prints that could be found in just about any classy beach home in the country, and furniture was traditionally boring. The next room was the living room. Painted in a dark neutral, the room had soft leather club chairs and a red velvet love seat. There was a flat screen television on one wall, and the art was full of action, a battle, a hunt, an exploration. Temi walked to one of the elegant, wooded side tables where she found a humidor. The box appeared to be handcrafted bearing the imperfections of the wood from which it was crafted. She lifted the lid and found at least a dozen neatly stacked cigars. She lifted one to her nose reveling its sweet earthy scent before returning it to its box. This room, by far, was the most primally masculine she had seen.

            Facundo came up behind her, running his hands up her arms and stopping at her shoulders. “Shall we continue,” he asked kissing the crook of her neck. Temi nodded in response… the electricity pulsing from him to her, making her doubt her voice’s ability to communicate. 

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