Page 40 of Wolf's Redemption

She took the coconut from me. "You won't get perfume if you eat the ingredients."

I concentrated on everything I was doing so she would notice my interest in learning about her passion. I wanted her to see that I was not one of those men who say things just to impress women but one who speaks from the heart.

She walked from one place to another, solving my mother's doubts and giving us instructions for the next process.

I just watched her and listened to what she said, stunned by her beauty and how lovely she looked doing what she loved. Although I tried to focus on what she was working on, I couldn't help but admire her every time she wasn't looking at me.

"Very nice job," she said, dipping her fingers into a small glass container in front of me where she had stored the coconut extract. "Yours came out excellent the first time. You have a talent for this."

"Good gracious," my mother exclaimed, causing Cathy to almost drop the small jar. "I had forgotten my dentist appointment. I have to go."

She took off her safety gear and hurried to tidy things up as best she could.

"Then we can continue tomorrow with the next step," Cathy said.

"No, no, dear, don't stop this for me," my mother said, taking Cathy's hands and looking her in the eyes.

"Are you sure?" Cathy tried to run away from me one last time.

"Absolutely, you guys go on without me, I insist."

Cathy nodded with resignation painted on her face and walked toward me. My mother took advantage of the fact that she wasn't looking at her and modulated the word 'good luck' with her lips, then turned and walked out of the lab without further ado.

"Now we must purify the coconut extract and separate the oily essence from the watery liquid," she said.

I looked at her and couldn't think of anything else but what had happened last night, how she gave herself to me, and how our bodies had come together. But I controlled myself and focused on what I was doing, so I listened to her instructions and followed them to the letter.

"Looks good. Put out the fire," she told me.

I turned off the flames of the small portable heater and waited until the oil separated from the water in two layers. The whole room smelled of coconut, and the aroma was mild, but you could feel it all over the place. I lifted the container with the contents, but as soon as I held it, both layers were mixed.

"Now, how do we fix them?" I asked.

"Do you want the easy way or the hard way?" she asked.

"I don't want you to think I'm lazy, but this time I'll choose the easy way," I replied, wiping the sweat off my face from the steam.

"Wise choice," she said, then took the container out of my hands and put it in the small cooler at the end of the lab.

"So what now?" I asked her.

"We just have to wait for the magic to happen," she commented and sat down in one of the chairs. She took off her gloves, let down her hair, and began to massage her head gently.

"Do you want to talk?" I asked, sitting down across from her.

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked, crossing her legs.

"About us," I told her.

"There is no us. What happened last night was a mistake," she said, chewing on her words. "We can't be together. We're from very different worlds."

"That's not true," I replied, "You, of all people, know that everything you just said is not true. I feel it inside me, and you feel it too."

"You're wrong," she exclaimed and adjusted her posture.

"So you're telling me you don't feel something for me?"

She tried hard to avoid answering me. Her heartbeat quickened, as did her breathing.