Sweet but Sexy Boxed Set (87 page)

“
Mine and Janie’s. She’s asleep in your office.”

“
Uh-oh. What happened?”

“
What do you mean?”

“
She usually shows up when she’s upset about something.”

“
She’s…umm… She has a new boyfriend, and she doesn’t think she’s good enough for him.”

“
Hmmm.”

“
I found her at her studio. She completely trashed it.”

Geoff shook his head.
“I hope the new boyfriend is a step up from Bobby.”

“
The new boyfriend is about forty stories up from Bobby.”

“
Good. Have you seen much of the campus? I’d love to show you around.”

Two hours later Cheris stood in the middle of a massive field staring at a series of white iron bars which formed a large dome high above her head. It was supported by a perfectly circular base with numbers stenciled on it.

Geoff lifted his arm and pointed. “These trace the path of the sun. This one is the line across the sky of the Summer solstice, that one the Winter solstice, and the middle one is the equinox path.”

“
Hmm,” Cheris said pursing her lips. “I always thought the sun just moved from east to west.”

“
Generally, that’s true, but depending on the season of the year, the sun’s path is a few degrees north or south of due east to west.”

“
Did you build this?”

“
Mostly.” He stood with hands resting on one of the bars above his head. “I did have some help from an Astronomy for Educators class and several shop students. What do you think?”

“
I think it’s pretty cool. Will you be sorry to leave it when you move?”

Geoff shook his head as his gaze rested on her face.
“It’ll give me a chance to build a new one in Cullsbaeir.”

“
Speaking of Cullsbaeir. I don’t really appreciate being bullied into living in the pool house.”

Geoff dropped his arms.
“What are you talking about? Who’s bullying you?”

“
You or your parents. Larry Preston was pulling a Godfather act with me trying to get me to move in.”

“
An offer you couldn’t refuse, huh? He did call me yesterday wanting to meet with us. I told him I was here. He said, ‘My business is really with your wife anyway. Can I have her number?’ I gave it to him. I’m sorry about that. I should have asked you first. As far as Mom and Dad are concerned, I don’t think they’ve spoken with him since the party. Mom’s not a big fan of his.”

“
Really?”

“
Yeah. He divorced one of her friends and married a much younger woman.”

Cheris ducked beneath the rim supporting the iron beams and strolled toward a large circle paved with white rocks. As she neared the display, she studied the neatly painted numbers on the stones.

“This looks like a clock.”

“
It is.”

“
What happened to the hands?”

“
We’re the hands.” Geoff who had joined her caught her fingers and tugged her toward the middle of the circle. “It’s a sun dial actually, and luckily it’s a sunny day.” Sliding his hands to her shoulders, he nudged her to the left and pointed to the ground.

Cheris
’s skin tingled where he touched her. She watched their melded shadow where he pointed. Behind her his breath stirred her hair as he spoke.

“
We’re nearing eleven now. See?”

Eleven o
’clock on the rock.

“
This is really neat. Did you do this too?”

“
Not exactly.” His shadow broke away from hers. “I give most of my classes a group project assignment to benefit the community.”

Cheris turned to watch him stride over to rock seven. He knelt down and repositioned it.

“Who will take care of this after you leave?”

Straightening, he stepped back as he studied the rock then approached it again to move it. He nodded briefly.
“All of this belongs to the Institute so they’ll mow the grass, and there’s a pretty active astronomy club here so they’ll keep it up at least for a while.”

Cheris covered her mouth as she yawned.

“Tired or bored?”

“
Tired. Sorry. Janie drove the whole way, but it’s hard to get good sleep in the car.”

“
Come on then.” Geoff stood with hands in pockets. The sun glinted on his glasses making it hard to see his expression. “We’ll go by the office and get Janie, then you two can go on to the house and take a nap if you want.”

“
I’m sorry,” Cheris said as they walked toward the science building.

“
Don’t be. I’m glad you’re here. Both of you.”

****

Geoff treated Janie and Cheris to a quick lunch before they headed to his house. The modern one story gray shuttered house barely registered as Cheris climbed the five stairs to the front porch. She followed Janie into what the woman had deemed ‘my room’, a neat space with a double bed, a cabinet, and an easel propped in the corner. Wild, colorful pictures of people on a main street setting dominated one wall of the room with another wall depicting a graphic scene of corpses in various states of decay.

Cheris didn
’t think she could sleep in here with the grotesque figures, but Janie pointed her to the other side of the bed which faced a blank wall with the cabinet and a window. They lay down, and to her surprise, Cheris fell asleep almost immediately.

When she awoke later that afternoon, Janie was gone. Cheris sat on the edge of the bed orienting herself to where she was.

Oh, right. Georgia. Geoff’s house. Janie’s room.

Cheris glanced back at the skeleton wall.

Ick.

She stood and walked out of the room closing the door softly behind her. Hearing jazzy music, she followed the sound to Geoff
’s living room where Janie sprawled across a leather recliner and Geoff sat at an oak desk in the corner typing at a computer.

She was about to speak when a framed painting on the wall caught her eye. Drawn to the yellow and golden hues she approached the picture.

Her jaw dropped as she recognized the woman lying in a suggestive pose on the wheat-painted field.

She turned accusing eyes to Janie who had risen from her chair and shifted from one foot to the other refusing to meet her stare. Beyond her Geoff had joined them as well. With crossed arms he gazed at the framed print with a satisfied smile on his face.

“What is this, Janie?” Cheris demanded.

“
It’s just a picture I did last year.”

“
Of me asleep?”

“
It’s not exactly you. The face is—”

“
Geoff, do you think this looks like me?”

“
Yes.”

Janie glared at her brother.
“How about helping me out here, Bro?”

Geoff shrugged.
“I’m not going to lie. It looks exactly like her.”

“
I’ve never been asleep in a field. When did you do it?”

“
It…it…” Janie sighed. “You were at the apartment one night, and you fell asleep on the couch. You were so cute all curled up that I took a few pictures then converted them in this painting program I was fooling around with. Geoff saw it at the studio and really liked it so I gave it to him for Christmas.”

“
How could you?”

“
Well, I didn’t mean for anybody to really have it. I just needed a subject, and it’s your fault for falling asleep with that yellow shirt on and your red hair. The colors were too good, and the curves of your boobs against the—

“
Janie!”

“
Well, not like that. The curves and lines worked really well. It’s not like a painted you naked or anything. If I’d done that, it really wouldn’t have been you since I’ve never seen—”

Cheris smacked her friend on the arm.
“Don’t you even think about painting me without clothes on. I will kill you.”

“
Oww.”

“
It is beautiful.”

Cheris
’ face burned at Geoff’s comment. “Didn’t you think you should have told me, asked me for permission?”

“
It’s not you. Not really.” Janie placed her hand over the eyes and nose of the picture. “See? Your face is not this narrow. And that mouth? So not yours. I had to redo it because you were drooling in your sleep.”

“
It’s my mouth only closed.”

“
You think?” Janie squinted at the painting then shook her head. Turning to Cheris, she grasped the woman’s face between her fingers. “Relax your mouth and let me see.”

Cheris shook off her friends hands.
“Stop it. I am so mad at you right now.”

“
And you.” She turned to Geoff. “Why didn’t you tell me Janie… Wait a minute. Last Christmas? You’ve had this since last Christmas?”

Geoff nodded.

“But you…you didn’t even know me then.”

“
It’s one of Janie’s best, I think. I didn’t really know it was a real person until I recognized you on
Hip Granny
.”

Cheris shook her head in astonishment.
“But it just seems too much of a coincidence.”

“
It is too much of one. She was always talking about
Cheris this
and
Cheris that
. One day Janie was bragging about you being a computer guru, that Hip Granny had just posted a podcast of you. I got on there, watched it, and there was Woman in Gold.”

“
Woman in Gold?”

“
The name of the painting,” Janie supplied.

“
Oh.” Cheris sighed. “When you saw me at the gala, you knew exactly who I was.”

“
Yes.”

She waved her arm at the wall before turning her back on it and glared at Janie.
“You set me up.”

“
I didn’t make you eat that Alice in Wonderland crap then twist your arm to go all wedding bell crazy with my brother. That was your doing.”

“
Promise me you’ll never use my likeness again without asking me.”

“
Okay.”

“
Really promise. Pinky swear.”

“
What are we in fourth grade?”

Cheris held out her hand.
“Do it.”

Janie huffed but hooked her finger through her friend
’s. “Okay. Pinky swear.”

****

The light clicked on waking Cheris up with its brightness.

“
What are you doing?” Cheris groused as she squinted at her wrist watch. “It’s the middle of the night.”

“
Sorry. I needed the light,” Janie said without a smidgeon of repentance as she stood in the room and stared at the door.

“
What’s wrong?”

“
Nothing’s wrong. I’m going to paint.” She opened the cabinet revealing shelves of tubes of paint, brushes, and jars.

“
Right now?”

“
Yeah.” Taking a charcoal pencil, she sketched a long flowing line across the white wall.

“
How am I supposed to sleep?”

“
Get in Geoff’s bed.” Sitting on the floor, Janie quickly drew a clawed foot resting on the baseboard.

“
I’m not sleeping with him.”

“
He’s not here. He left about an hour ago.”

Cheris sat up.
“Why?”

“
He’s a geek. He spends most nights with his eye stuck to a telescope. He’ll never know you’re using his bed.” Another claw and a reptilian leg.

“
What if he comes back?”

“
Then keep it down when you jump him. I don’t want any distractions.” A second leg with a disturbingly large dewclaw.

Cheris threw back the covers. Why couldn
’t Geoff have a couch? Who owns a house and not a couch? It was absurd. She could stretch out on his recliner, she supposed.

“
Do you know where he keeps his blankets?”

Janie exhaled in exasperation. She stomped over to the bed, grabbed the comforter and a pillow and shoved it in Cheris
’ hands. “Here, though I don’t know why you need it. Geoff’s bed is plenty warm, I bet.” She returned to the wall scraping the charcoal up in a graceful mark against the white paint.

“
Why am I friends with you?”

“
Because you’ve got very bad taste in friends. Now quit bugging me before I lose this picture.”