A Winter Awakening (11 page)

Oh Jacob. I just wanted tonight to be special,
she thought to herself.

Resigned that her romantic plans would need to wait for another day, she excused herself to the ladies room. She found that it was empty when she arrived. 

Sarina must be searching for the box,
she thought to herself as she fished a shrug out of her bag. 

She took one last look at her reflection. The fashionistas had been right. She did look good. She sighed.
No need to display these anymore. Jacob can see the effects of this dress another day.

She wrapped the shrug around herself, then reached under her dress to remove the thong jewelry. A hard jewel teasing her was one thing when she was anticipating an evening with Jacob, but another thing entirely when she would likely be dealing with paperwork and police reports all night long. With a sigh, she placed the jewelry in her bag.

When she returned to the office, it was buzzing with activity. There were uniformed officers searching people as they headed for the front door, others with notebooks and pens talking to people that had volunteered for the event.  Ellie scanned the scene for Jacob, but couldn't find him anywhere. She checked her phone for a text. Nothing.

Just then, an officer approached her.

"Mrs. Sanderson?" he asked.

At her nod, he continued, "I understand you were heading up this fundraiser?" 

"Yes," Ellie replied. "Though Sarina Elliott was of great assistance to me." 

At this, Ellie remembered Sarina. She glanced around the busy room, but was unable to locate her.  

She must be here somewhere,
thought Ellie.

The officer continued, "Would you be willing to come down to the station? As the event coordinator, you know more than anyone else about who may have been involved." 

"Yes, yes of course," replied Ellie. She pulled her phone out to text Jacob. 

"I must go to the police station. I'm sorry. I miss you." 

The police officer led her out the door, and helped her into the passenger side of his squad car. As he wound his way to the station, Ellie fidgeted with her phone and tried to process all the events of the last week; Uncle Emery’s death, her fight with Jacob, her fight with Jacob, Uncle Emery's death, the inheritance, Mr. Bennett and the Great Elevator Debacle, and now the theft of the Burlesque funds.

Ellie sighed at the thought, then glanced sideways at the officer, wondering if he had heard her.

Will things ever return to normal? s
he thought.

Girl, you don't WANT things to return to normal,
retorted Inner Diva. At this, Ellie tried to suppress a grin, and refocus her attention on the matter at hand. Did she know anything that would aid in the investigation into this theft?

Sarina inspected her face in the restroom mirror. Her makeup actually looked pretty good, considering the events of the last thirty minutes. Just a little touch up, a dab of perfume, and she would be ready.

I have to catch Jacob before he leaves the show,
she thought.
I hope I won't be too late.

She took care of her finishing touches, gave herself one last glance, then headed out the door. Once in the main hall, she scanned the room for Jacob. Just when she spotted him, a police officer stood up on a chair, cupping one hand to the side of his mouth.

"Excuse me." He paused. 

"Excuse me." Louder this time.

The room hushed and turned to him. This gave Sarina a chance to edge around the back of the room, closer to Jacob. On her way, she passed by the table holding the bottles of champagne. She grabbed a full bottle that was being stored on the floor under the table cloth, and concealed it in the folds of her coat. She reached Jacob's side just before the officer began to speak again.

"I wonder what this is all about," she whispered as she leaned in close to his ear. 

He looked at her and she gave him a wink.

The officer's voice boomed over the crowd, "Ladies and Gentleman.  I am sorry to have to cut this evening short, but we have a situation. We need to evacuate the building. None of you are in danger, but if you would please gather your possessions and exit through the side door, that would be great.  Please be so kind as to comply with the officer's requests on your way out. 

"He may ask to see the contents of any items you are taking out with you. Take no offense. It's simply standard procedure in a situation like this." The officer stepped down from the chair, and started making his way to the side entrance.

The room was immediately filled with chatter. People were looking around to one another, trying to figure out what was going on.

Jacob turned to her, "Well, I guess the party is over."

"That's too bad, because I was just getting started,” Sarina purred. They started to head to the door, and Sarina took a risk by sliding her hand under the crook of his arm. He didn't resist the move.

"Have you seen Ellie this evening? Her flight landed earlier tonight, and she was to meet me here. I haven't seen her at all." Jacob scanned the crowd once again. At his height, he was able to see over most of the heads in the room.

"You know, I saw her a while ago, leaving in a rush. She was simply stunning in that dress. You are one lucky man, Jacob. I'm surprised you let her be seen like that." Sarina held his arm tighter to her as they approached the door.

Jacob looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face.  "What way would that be?"

"Oh, well, her dress was quite stunning, and quite revealing too. I thought she had mixed feelings about Burlesque shows, but I guess not. I wonder why she was rushing off so quickly. I called out to her, but she was in such a hurry to leave, she didn't reply." Sarina then turned to face Jacob, stopping them from moving forward in their slow progression to the door. 

"Jacob, why don't you come over to my place? Ellie is obviously busy. I was all set to enjoy an evening amongst adults tonight. I've got a fresh batch of chocolate mousse just waiting to be eaten." 

Sarina couldn't contain the sparkle of excitement in her eyes. 

Jacob hesitated. 

"Oh Jacob. It will be fun. Besides, I owe you for comforting me the other night. I was so upset." 

She noticed Jacob soften a bit at the mention of this. 

"Oh, I haven't had a chance to tell you. I have news about the boys and their father. I'll fill you in on that. Then I say we forget our troubles and just enjoy ourselves for a night."  She held up her bottle of champagne and added with a grin, "Besides, I've got this!"

"Chocolate mousse, you say?" He gave her a smile and they continued toward the door. Jacob grabbed his phone again to check from any texts from Ellie. Sarina watched his expression change from puzzlement, to worry, to consternation. 

Once out in the fresh air, Sarina tried again. "Come on Jacob. You can follow me to the house. I won't bite, I promise." She grabbed the tip of his tie and started marching through the parking lot, the hand holding his tie draped over her shoulder. He had no choice but to follow. 

Sarina arrived at her house just moments before Jacob pulled up and parked along her curb. She fumbled for her keys, and grabbed her bottle of champagne. 

Steady, Sarina. You can do this,
she said to herself.

Once inside, she headed for the kitchen, grabbed two glasses and slid the bottle over to him.

"Someone with biceps as big as yours needs to open this bottle," she said with a crooked smile on her face.

She started some soft music in the background, then headed back to the bar in her kitchen to pour their glasses of champagne. 

"One for you, and one for me,” she said to Jacob and held up her glass for a toast. "Cheers."

She studied his face as they each took a drink. What was that expression? Sadness? 

"Aww, Jakey. What is it? What is that look?"

His expression changed to one of surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry.  I didn't realize I was showing anything. Ellie has been acting so strangely lately. Have you noticed? First she takes off on this cockamamie trip, she doesn't contact me while she was there, and now she is back in town, showing her ass to the world, apparently, and didn't find me while she was at the show." 

Jacob took a swig of his drink, pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and plunked it onto the counter. 

"You are such a good husband," Sarina took a breath before she continued, "you deserve happiness." 

She took another drink of her champagne, and topped off both their glasses from the nearby bottle. 

Let it flow,
she thought to herself. 

Jacob shrugged his shoulder, as if trying to rid himself of some unseen weight. At this, Sarina walked around to his side of the bar and stood behind him.

"You need a massage. It doesn't do any good for a strong man like you to walk around with all this tension. Lucky for you, I was a masseuse before I moved here. Let me work your muscles out before we have our mousse." She leaned around him, reaching for her drink. As her chest brushed up against his arm, her body warmed at the memory of his physical reaction to her the last time they were in close proximity.

With any luck, I will get that kind of reaction out of him again,
she thought.

 
"Now, you just relax and let me work on you," she cooed. 

She placed one hand on each side of his spine, about half way down his back. With her fingers splayed out toward his sides and her thumbs running along his spine, she slowly moved her hands toward his shoulders. As she worked out the knots in his muscles, she leaned in closer to him, occasionally letting her body brush up against his. 

At natural breaks in the conversation, she would press up against him and reach for her glass, or for the bottle to top off both their drinks. As the minutes ticked on, and the alcohol flowed, she brought her face in close to the back of his neck, parting her lips enough to let her warm breathe wash over his skin.

Jacob continued to lament about Ellie, and the topic was grating into her nerves. She noticed small goose bumps on the back of his neck the last time she pulled her body in close to his. 

If I can just get him to shift his mind to other things, or perhaps to nothing at all, he will let his true feelings for me come through,
she thought. 

"Jacob, I have an idea. Let's enjoy our mousse from my hot tub," she suggested.

She gave his shoulders a final squeeze, and went to the refrigerator to pull out her mousse. As she dished up their dessert goblets with the chocolate delight, she noticed Jacob had begun to pace the living room floor. There were a handful of things that were definitively true about Jacob. She listed them in her mind as she watched him pace.

He has a high libido.

He feels a devotion toward his wife.

He desperately wants children.

He loved to rescue other people.

He had a soft place in his heart for her boys.

He paces when he is stressed.

Why is Jacob pacing? Does this mean he is actually considering getting into the hot tub with me,
she wondered.

He came to a stop, and peered out the living room window, into the back yard. Sarina took advantage of this moment, to grab his cell and take a glance at his recent incoming text messages. 

One from Ellie. 

Not anymore,
she thought to herself, as she wiped the message clean. 

He will never know she was thinking of him tonight.

Sarina took a deep swig of her drink, topped off her glass and took a deep breath. Jacob was still lost in his thoughts.  Gathering ever last bit of courage she had, Sarina unzipped her dress and let it fall to her feet. Taking a deep breathe to steady her nerves she walked across the living room floor leaving her clothing in a heap on the kitchen floor. She reached the French door, just to the left of Jacob and managed to open it with her one free hand. In her other, she balanced a serving tray with mousse, a bottle of whipping cream, and her glass of champagne.

"Will you be joining me?" she asked him without looking in his direction. 

She didn't need to see his expression when he realized she was nude. This was it. If he left the house, it was a hint that he may not be swayed away from Mrs. Platinum. If he joined her…  well, that would be another story all together.

She sent prayers up to her God that the champagne would do its job and lower his inhibitions.

To her delight, she heard his voice from behind her, just as her nude backside slid beneath the water line. 

"You’re naked." 

No Shit, Sherlock,
she thought as she turned to face him.

"And you are not,"
she said. 

He took another step closer to her. 

"You know I’m married." 

Sarina grabbed his dessert goblet and held it up for him.  He took another step and lifted it out of her hand. Without taking her eyes off his, she then reached for her glass of champagne, which was delicately balanced on the side of the tub. 

"Ah, the rules and constraints our society puts on marriages," she said. 

She slowly brought her glass to her lips and closed her eyes as she savored the bubbly drink. 

"But, that is another topic for another day, Jacob. Join me. The hot water will be good for those amazing muscles of yours. And besides, I want to learn more about you."

Jacob just stood there, though Sarina thought she saw him trying to get a glimpse of her body beneath the water line. It was difficult to be sure, with only the faint light of the sliver moon shining down on them.

"I won't look,” she chided him as she pivoted herself in the tub so that her back was to him. She strained to hear any movement behind her. Sarina strained to hear anything but the crickets in the field behind the house. Would he move?  Run Away? Or, something better… Then, she heard it, the unbuckle of a belt. The sound of cloth falling to the patio. She slowly exhaled, letting go of breathe she hadn't realized she was holding, and took another sip. Then, she heard the water splashing.

She slowly turned around to face him. He was in the tub. 

"Good. Now, relax," she said. She grabbed the bottle of whipping cream and put some on top of his chocolate mousse. 

She sat back again and said, "Enjoy the sensations of the night."

Sarina spent the next half an hour getting to know Jacob.  She learned why family is so important to him, what he would need to be happy, why going to church is important to him, and though she tried to avoid this, he eventually brought Platinum up too.

"I guess that is why I'm so sad and confused about Ellie right now. She was so supportive of me, in the first couple of years. She needed me, and appreciated the fact that I was there for her. But lately, she just doesn't seem to need me anymore.  She is making her own decisions and doing her own thing. It makes me feel like she doesn't love me anymore." Jacob downed the rest of his glass, and filled it again.

At first Sarina cringed at the mention of Platinum, but as he spoke, she began to recognize the opportunity.

Unhappy with Platinum and getting a buzz on. This could be a very good thing for me,
Sarina thought
.
 

Sarina moved to kneel in front of him and rested her forearms on his thighs. Her bare breasts floated near the surface of the water, just in front of his chest. 

"Jacob. You deserve happiness. You deserve a woman that will not only appreciate you, but give you everything you desire. Everything. Children too."

Jacob sighed heavily at this statement.