Jess blushed and glanced up to see if he was joking again. Her eyes met his. Their depth gave her insides an odd tingle. She thought she could stare into them forever. She blinked and looked away. Jess tried to concentrate on the Mentor and adjust her focus by taking detailed notes.
When it came time for some hands-on exercises Jess wished she’d sat closer to the rest of the class. Alex was the only one near enough to work with. “Face your partner,” the elderly woman intoned. “Think of an object, close your eyes, and describe the object using only adjectives. Include all the senses.”
Jess turned to face Alex. “You go first.”
He closed his eyes. “Round,” he said with a smile on his face, “plump, firm, glistening.” The smile got bigger. Jess liked the crinkle around his eyes. “Smooth, slightly sweet, musky, earthy, beige to peachish.” The grin got even bigger.
Jess slapped Alex with her notebook again. “Yes, cantaloupe, very amusing.”
Alex opened his eyes and laughed. “Your turn.” His voice had a note of dare in it.
Jess could play this game. She closed her eyes. “Long, firm, warm, meaty.” She paused, brow wrinkled.
“Is that all?”
“Shhh! Salty, juicy,” she laughed, “peppery, tight-skinned.”
Alex cleared his throat a bit. “Bratwurst?”
Jess looked up at him. “Why, are you German?” She enjoyed the shocked look on his face. “Footlong or Little Smokie?” Jess batted her eyelashes innocently.
Alex shook his head. “You’re going to get yourself in trouble talking like that.” He put his hand gently on her knee. “Be careful.” The gentle, serious tone shook Jess. “Shall we try this for real? There does seem to be some use for this exercise.” He closed his eyes. “Cool and lightly breezy, salty on the lips…”
Jess watched the calm face. The chin was strong and nicely covered in a short dark beard with touches of red. The dark hair was uncombed, almost wild with slight curls. The deep rhythmic tone of his voice was rich and soothing.
Alex paused. He opened his eyes and stared into Jess’s. He expected to see humor in her gaze but saw something more intense. His brow furrowed. “I was describing the wind on the beach,” he explained as Jess hadn’t guessed.
Jess tried to recover. “Do you live on the coast?”
He nodded. “I have a cottage near the ocean.”
Jess pulled her eyes from his. “How wonderful, I love the ocean,” she tried to make up for her lack of attention. “Is it right on the beach?”
“It’s up above the drift line, out of harm’s way. It has enough height to have a nice view and to keep random beachcombers from looking in.”
“Sounds wonderful,” she said honestly.
Alex smiled with pride. “It is. The sound of the waves is so calming and a walk at sunset is heaven.”
Jess nodded in agreement. “I like to wiggle my toes in the warm sand.” And walk hand-in-hand with my love and fall into the ocean to have wild sex, but she couldn’t say that aloud. She took a deep breath and brought her mind back to the present. “I don’t get to the beach very often.”
“Maybe the future will bring more trips for you.”
“Now, group,” the Mentor interrupted, “find a single word to replace all those your partner used.”
Jess thought for a moment. Should she describe what he intended or what he implied? “Musky-sweet.”
“That’s two words. But well done. Alex leaned in close, close enough for Jess to feel the warmth of his skin and catch a hint of his musky scent. He whispered one word that made Jess turn bright red: “Ample.”
Jess was at a loss for a comeback for a moment then a grin spread over her face. “More than a mouthful is a waste.”
It was Alex’s turn to be speechless.
Jess laughed and left the gathering before Alex could compose himself and follow. She had a new opinion of Alex. She’d rather enjoyed seeing this side of him. When she returned to her cabin she found a note on her bed: ‘1:00’. She felt a shiver of excitement. Anticipation made lunch go by much too slowly. Ryan sat close to her and stroked her arm from time to time. Nora kept Alex to herself, though he shot a smiling glance at Jess once or twice. The afternoon session was Sharing and Critiquing and Jess was pleased to be sneaking out of it. She stopped by the cabin to grab a towel before heading up the hill.
Jess wasn’t pleased to see several sets of clothes hanging on hooks at the steam house entrance. It looked like others had the same dislike of communal critiques. She was glad to find Nora’s clothes were not among those on display. Jess hesitated. What she wanted to be doing did not include on-lookers. The door opened to the main room, and a large waft of steam filled the air as a towel-wrapped woman came out. Jess saw that there was very little light in the steam house, only what came in through a few skylights.