Mari sat on the couch staring at the shimmering candles on the coffee table, the only source of light in the darkened living room. A flowery aroma of incense wafted in the air around her and she inhaled it deeply. Pulling the collar of her white chenille robe closer around her neck, she drew her legs up onto the cushions, curling them under her seat. She sighed again, trying to relax and distance herself from the tease of emotions whispering to her behind her ear.
Just forget about him, already. You made this choice, remember? This was for the best.
She closed her eyes and dropped her head back and groaned, agitated. God, I wish I just had a body to hold onto right now.
Suddenly, Mari felt a light tap against her bare forehead. She opened her eyes, expecting to see the ceiling of the apartment. Instead, the crystalline blue eyes of her friend, mentor, and co-worker, Petra, blinked thoughtfully back down at her.
"Something the matter, sweety?" Petra asked through a sly white grin.
Mari remained unmoved, blankly gazing up towards her upside-down friend. "Can you get a knife?" she asked. She made a motion across her throat. "Just slit it across right here."
Petra clicked her tongue repeatedly, wagged her finger, and shook her head. "Oh no, no, no. Not on my lovely lambskin chaise, my dear," she insisted as she walked around from the back of the sofa. "Although I'm sure your blood is the most lovely shade of crimson, I've put a lot of effort and pored through far too many design magazines to attain the perfect living space. I believe a pool of red blood across grey natural leather would not get the Laura Day stamp of approval."
"Is that a no?" Mari asked.
Petra sat down beside her and offering her a tall flute glass of champagne. Tossing back her golden blonde hair, she winked and said, "You'll just have to commit hari kiri somewhere else."
Mari smirked and rolled her eyes. "I'll take that as stylish way of saying no rather than a knock on my heritage."
"Wouldn't think of it, Ms.Nakajima," Petra replied, holding up her glass.
"Thank-you for your thoughtfulness, Ms.Sundstrom," Mari replied. They clinked their glasses lightly together and took a sip. Mari scrunched her nose, the tingling bubbles tickling her tongue and upper lip. It tasted good. It felt good going down.
Petra shifted to her side and crossed her legs. She was taller than Mari but her robe, cherry red and luxurious, was the same length. Needless to say, more of her pearly white skin was on display. Mari quickly glanced up and around as she took another sip, avoiding the attractive exposure of her friend.
"Feeling good?" Petra asked.
Mari nodded. "Very much, yeah," she said, looking around Petra's elegant apartment, "The bath was great. Those salts you have made the water feel like heaven, like I was floating with the angels. Seriously."
"Nothing like pampering the skin once in a while," Petra said, smiling wistfully. As if without thought, she reached down and dragged her fingers gently up her long leg. "And it feels like you can leave all your troubles in the bath water when you're done."
"I see why you can be so relaxed and focused at the office," Mari acknowledged.
Petra turned her piercing eyes upon Mari. A sharp grin angled itself onto her long, angular face. "Mari, I have not begun to show you my bag of tricks for relaxing."
Mari smiled, at first cautiously then more with a hint of curiosity. "I guess I came to the right place then," she said.
With a gentle motion, Petra reached out and touched Mari's long black hair. Mari frowned slightly but maintained her smile as the other woman brushed her hair with her fingers.
"Don't worry, dear," Petra cooed as she teased and stroked the fine strands of hair. She continued with that warm, Scandinavian-tinged voice of hers, "I've always taken good care of you, haven't I?"
Mari had already been feeling warm that night, what with the bath, the champagne, the candles. An unexpected surge from within just ramped up the heat. Her cheeks were flushed red highlighting the inner warmth she felt. Clearing her throat, she said, "Well, I've loved everything so far. What's next? What's the plan then?"
Petra regarded her for a moment longer then reached down to the coffee table to pick up a chocolate covered strawberry from a plate. She took a deliciously deliberate bite of the fresh fruit, her full red lips sucking in any drips of juice trying to escape and chewed slowly. Mari could literally see it sliding down Petra's gullet. She never wanted a strawberry so much in her life.
"Well," Petra began, counting off with her fingers, "We've had our fabulous dinner at Tangled. Put my whirlpool bath tub to work. Destroyed a bottle of champagne. We'll have some scandalous girl-talk in bed. Tomorrow, we pay for all this decadence with a hard, crack of dawn run through the ravine trail and then end with a spa and manicure down by the harbour front. Sounds good?"
Mari nodded enthusiastically. "Mm-hmm! More please," she giggled. She polished her glass of champagne off with one last, bold gulp. It fizzled down her throat like sparkles from a firecracker. She winced then laughed.
"Oh good show!" Petra applauded. She sighed and rested her head to the side on her hand. Smiling she said, "It's good to hear you laugh like that."
Staring down at her empty glass for a moment, Mari finally nodded once. She exhaled deeply and said, "It does feel good. Thanks to you."
Petra shrugged.
Still peering down to the bottom of the glass, Mari mused sadly, "God I really am alone now, aren't I?"
The older blonde woman shifted slightly in her seat, curling her legs in a little more, but she didn't say anything. She just continued silently contemplating her friend, listening carefully.
"It seems silly, doesn't it?" Mari continued, "I'm the one who called it off, told Justin to leave. But I think I'm feeling more hurt than he does. It doesn't seem fair."
"It was the right thing to do," Petra remarked with a firm tongue, "It took a lot of courage for you to make a choice and I'm very proud of you."
Mari's eyes flitted momentarily towards Petra and smiled, caught off guard by a budding sense of personal accomplishment that her friend instilled in her. Petra had that magical way about her, never preaching or criticizing. She preferred to use encouragement to guide her rather than offer television show type advice. She was a strong woman and it was impossible not to find that sense of confidence inspiring or attractive. Certainly Mari found herself drawn to her and felt fortunate to be part of Petra's circle.
"Yeah...yeah," Mari sighed, "You're right. His fault for cheating on me. I deserve better."
"You certainly do," Petra acknowledged. She tipped her glass towards her lips, pausing to say, "Do you suppose I have a shot at Justin, now?"
Mari's mouth dropped, then curled into a smile as she watched Petra drink the remainder of the sparkling liquid from her glass. "Oh God! Don't say that, Petra!" she scolded playfully, swiping at her arm.
Petra cocked her finely trimmed brow. "I've been waiting to take a bite out of that apple-crisp ass of his for some time now," she mewed wickedly.
Mari looked up towards the ceiling and groaned, "Unbelievable! Uhh!"
Successfully haven broken up the cloudy mood, Petra giggled then waved her hands. "Oh please," Petra scoffed, "That man is not good enough to clean my panties with his teeth and neither is he for you, my dear. Besides I never do it with guys in the office and I have a list of asses like his the length of my arm in my on call file."
Mari laughed, "Oh, you've got to share that list with me, please! I'm in desperate need of a good, hot ass right now."
"Really?" Petra asked. She placed her glass on the table then returned to her seated position, facing Mari, hands folded together on her lap. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she added, "I'm not quite sure you'd be prepared to delve into Petra's Black Book."
Mari tilted her head, interest clearly piqued. For a woman like Petra, she had an idea that her Black Book would be quite impressive. Feeling emboldened she asked, "Is that so? Why not?"
Petra grinned as if she were looking at an eager to please puppy. She shrugged and said, "Well, you do know that there are both men and women on that list?"
Mari stared back blankly towards her. Her mouth slightly ajar, she blinked once, twice, then said simply, "Oh."
"Do you mean you didn't suspect that at all?" Petra asked.
There was no doubt in Mari's mind from the earliest days when she got to know Petra that the distinctly alluring, sexy, brash way she carried herself in the office most likely translated into an exciting after hours lifestyle. Though she imagined Petra must have had a street length line up of men at her doorstep, Mari never heard any of the men at the office boasting of any trysts with the striking blonde. Despite that, the woman still oozed of a certain wild, mysterious sexuality.
"No, not really," Mari replied realizing she suddenly had trouble convincing herself of that.
Petra glanced down and away, arching her brows upward.
"I...I mean," Mari said then stopped. What did mean? "That is...it's alright with me. It's fine. Uh...not that you need my permission."
Petra grinned and chuckled to herself, enjoying how the younger woman fumbled over her thoughts and words. "Well, that's good," she giggled, "Thank you."
Mari blushed and shook her head, embarrassed by what she had said. She looked toward Petra, seated beside her. Of course it shouldn't have been a surprise that women would be attracted to her just as much as men. If she thought about it hard enough, ran through the times she was with Petra at work or in restaurants and shops, or out on the streets, she could probably recall her turning the heads of both men and women alike.
Lucky her that she was able to appreciate and indulge in the experiences on both sides of the fence.
The two women sat on the sofa, a stifling air of silence hanging between them suddenly, or at least, that's how Mari felt. Petra was content to let the younger woman think this through.
