Page 46 of Serenity
“I’m glad to hear that,” I smiled at the light-skinned woman before me. Her honey-blonde hair was hiked into a messy bun, but no one with a set of working eyes could say she wasn’t exquisite.
“Juliette, right?”
“Yes. My name is Juliette, but you can call me Julie.”
Julie rattled on for an additional fifteen minutes about her new life as a single woman and all the beautiful things she’d learned on her new journey. By the end of our conversation, I needed a snack and a somatic release session of my own to free all the trauma she’d dumped on me. That was the norm, though. I had that approachable energy that caused people to share their lives with me. Most days, I didn’t mind, but today, a bitch was hangry, and my ears were bleeding from all the shit I had to listen to.
In between classes, I munched on a granola bar, seeking to stave off growing hunger pangs. Stalking barefoot onto the classroom’s terrace, I admired the view of the mountains.
Paramour Canyon was such a striking place. Nestled between the Rocky Mountains, the city maintained the best of landscapes. Coastal cities opposed the mountainous region, granting us access to the best of both worlds. The hilly, verdant terrain of Anderson Mills offered a variety to the greenscape as well. Cherry blossoms in the spring. Neutral rainbows in the fall. With all my soul, I loved Paramour.
Readily, my thoughts drifted with the fog covering Mount Paramour in the distance to a man who’d agitated my world, granting me a taste of resplendent possibilities. Endless potential existed with the man named Duke. Incomprehensibly, there were feelings afoot.
Captivated, I was by his world and everything in it. The way I relaxed in his presence was something I could quickly grow used to. Support felt like being held. Guidance felt like being led. In the short period that we’d become acquainted, Duke had persistently done both. Where some would take offense to a man offering advice, I welcomed it. I loved every bit of that shit. My obsession ran far and deep for the man, and such thoughts frightened me.
As if I’d summoned him, I felt him near. Not physically, but mentally and emotionally, he was there. My phone, though on silent, lit up, alerting me of a call. A smile tugged the corner of my lips, informing me of the imminent joy fermenting inside my chest.
This is ridiculous.
This is senseless.
This is dangerous.
This was real.
Forever, I’d go where my nervous system thrived. Ignoring my head, my heart led. Swiping across the phone’s screen, I answered, placing the call on speaker.
“Hi.”
The way my tone softened. The way my spine straightened. The way I became my favorite version of myself in his presence. I noticed.
“Worker Bee. Busy Bee. Queen Bee. What’s good, baby?”
His voice leaked through the phone and slathered my ears. Fluid and unruffled, the simple terms of endearment dissolved me. Somatic release for anxiety and healing was one thing, but listening to the velvety tone of Duke was another level of therapy.
“I just finished my last class for the week. I planned to sit in on the next one, but I think I’m gonna go home and relax.”
“You overdid it again, I see.”
“I can’t argue with you there.”
Throughout the week, we’d been speaking, though we hadn’t seen each other since he left town on business.
“I can’t go a day without a little honey, Bee,” earlier in the week, he’d teased.
“Is this the class that prevented you from living it up with me in Dubai for the week?”
“Mmh hmm,” I nodded, loosely realizing I was biting my lips and pressing my fingers into my chin.
“And you’re done for the week?”
“I am,” I crooned, unable to hide the smile in my voice.
“Good. Come ‘ere.”
“Come where?”
The phone disconnected, leaving me to twirl around the terrace in search of him. He wasn’t anywhere openly perceptible. As much was certain as my brows knitted together.