“There’s nothing wrong with my lips,” Russell said, smiling, “as I’m sure you’ve noticed.”
“Well, if you aren’t going to talk about past clients, let’s talk about the current one,” Tessa said. “What are we doing this evening?”
“Like the Big Man in the Red Suit, I’m taking your list and checking it twice. Except in your case, my job is to make sure you’re naughty, not nice.”
Tessa laughed. “Just how naughty are you going to get me to be?”
“As naughty as you like. This is all about you, Tessa, so take full advantage.” The light ahead turned red. Russell brought the car to a stop and used the opportunity to focus on Tessa instead of traffic. He looked into her honey-colored eyes. “I’m going to spread out an assortment of toys—the ones I picked up at Laces & Ties—and you’re going to try them.” Russell smiled. “What kind of cuisine have you never tried before?”
“What?”
“Name a type of food you’ve never eaten before. Like Thai or Brazilian or whatever.”
“I live in New York, we have everything. But for some reason I’ve never tried authentic Swedish food, except a drink called glogg, which will put you on your ass in no time if you aren’t careful.”
“Okay. Think of tonight as an all you can eat Swedish Buffet. You’ll taste a little of this and that, and eat a lot of whatever you like. If you hate something, you can spit it out, but you must at least taste it.”
“What if it looks so bad I can’t even put it in my mouth?”
“Then I’ll blindfold you.”
They pulled into the hotel parking lot. Tessa wondered just how much of the buffet she would like and Russell hummed. It took her a a minute to recognize his song: Three Blind Mice.
While Russell showered, Tessa checked her email. There was the usual junk from websites Tessa occasionally shopped at. There was an email from Stacy, her right-hand woman at work. Tessa held her breath as she opened it, paranoid that some terrible thing had happened while she was gone. A fire. A burglary. An order cancellation from Dillards or Macys or Saks. Or worse, an order cancellation from Dillards and Macys and Saks.
Hey Tessa. Just a note to tell you all is well here. Everyone survived Christmas and will, we predict, survive the craziness that is New Year! We all hope your vacation ‘down under’ is fabulous and that you’re having the time of your life. You deserve it. See you shortly after New Year. Stacy.
Tessa smiled. A friendly note was so much nicer than finding out her entire office was gutted by fire or a very greedy burglar.
There was one other email that caught Tessa’s eye. It had been sent just after she’d left with Russell this morning and it was from David.
Are you alright? I read your email first thing (Hawaii time) and you sounded a little lost.
Tessa searched her memory. What had her last email been? She’d written when she couldn’t sleep and… Oh yeah, she was feeling sad that the hot sex she’d had with her sex therapist hadn’t been hot sex with her wish-he-was-my-boyfriend David. She’d also been feeling more than a little guilty. Apparently she had worried David, and she felt terrible.
You know you can call me if you need me, right? I have an early breakfast meeting, after which I’m done with work. I’ll have a few days off before I have to head back to Chicago. Thought I’d soak up some Hawaiian sun as long as I’m here. Well, got to get ready for my breakfast meeting. Call or text me and let me know you’re okay. David.