Corner of Sight

•May 23, 2008 • Leave a Comment

It’s so hard to ignore it.  That little flash of dark or light out of the corner of your eye.  Something moved or was there and now is not. 

You know what I’m talking about.  That little tingle up your spine, the tap on your shoulder, the whisper in your ear…that unaccountable feeling that something or someone else is there.

Watching you.

They may not mean you harm or any interference at all.  They may simply be watching out of curiosity or an inability to understand whatever strange thing it is you’re doing at the moment.  They may be listening to you talk about them or the possibility of “them”.

Whatever the cause, they’re there.  They are.  You may feel it, you may not.  Or, like a friend of mine, you may even get other senses involved.  Touch, taste, smell…

It’s all electrical signals to the brain translated into perception.  So if you believe that energy, once created, never dies…well, then it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that “they” are an energy signature left on the fabric of time.

It’s only a matter of time until you deny they exist, you go crazy, or you accept them.  It’s rather hard to accept them.  I’m always afraid that I’ll not be able to turn it off.  It intrigues me to be able to communicate with the “other” in this reality, but it scares the hell out of me, too!  There are some things that I just might be better off NOT knowing!

All this thought is actually starting to hurt my brain this early in the morning, and I’m tired, so I’ll part…but just think about it.  What should my reaction be when I see/touch/taste/feel/smell these “others”?  So far, I’ve politely asked them to leave on the grounds that it was impolite to stay at the house when I wasn’t there, and that when I came back, I wanted to get ready for bed and that was entirely improper to have them there for that.  :D  I think it worked, at least on three of the four.  I think the fourth may be a little stubborn, but that’s okay. 

He spawned an amazing son whom I love very dearly. (boyfriend’s deceased dad!)

So I’m going to go now, and if you read this, no matter if you’re a stranger or not, it’s okay.  I’d appreciate your input.  Should I tolerate THAT ghost?  his dad.  We shall see. :D

If you’re looking for a good story…

•May 17, 2008 • Leave a Comment

I know it’s been a while since I posted to my (1) fan, and perhaps there are a few more of you out there, checking in from a link on fanfiction.net.  If you’re looking for a really different story from my normal, and perhaps a glimpse into my little crazy mind, then check out my story Prime’s Number at fanfiction.  If you want a crackfic, check out Ironhide: Meet Master Chief! there as well.  I’m planning another crackfic later on (perhaps for my 4000th hit) tentatively titled Ratchetricity, where we delve into a night in the life of a transformer who’s obsessed with human electricity!  And it’s not for the kiddies! LOL  Oh, that will be fun.  I don’t have it written yet, but we’ll see.  At the rate I’m cracking out Prime’s Number, I’ll have more written work on fanfiction than I have on my computer.  I’m on Chapter 16 and 29,000+ words!  And I’ve only been writing a month! 

GAH!

Twist8of8f8 has been helping me with the story line on PN and it’s really shaping up into something interesting.  It’s basically a Transformers fanfiction exploring reasons for Megatron’s betrayal and enmity with Optimus Prime, as well as giving OP a love interest.  Some of it plays off of previous storylines from G1, but I’m trying to contain it within what’s possible after the 2007 movie.  I’ve come up with some things that some may not like because it’s not canon, but hey, it’s writing.  Who got anywhere good without bending the rules a bit?

10:09 pm:  So.  Here I am, waiting for my pizza to arrive after a long and grueling day of boredom and familial politics (think Golden Girls meets the Sopranos).  My dog is laying on the floor, pissed at me for not playing with her.  I’ve got doggie-do on the kitchen floor because I tracked it in from watering the plants and forgot to check my shoes before coming inside.  That may have to wait until morning because I just can’t muster enough interest in that part of my house tonight.  And I’m off tomorrow, so that gives me the excuse I need to wait and mop it in the morning.

It’s times like these that life feels stagnant, like a pool of water caught on the beach, heating up and cooking the poor little fish unfortunate enough to be caught in it before the tide ran out on them.  I feel like one of those little fish.  Or at least a crab.  I won’t boil quite as quickly, but damn!  it’s still hot! 

12:30 am:  What I’m trying to say is that I feel stuck, pressured, irritated, and stifled in the life I have at this moment.  I feel like Anne Elliot from Jane Austen’s Persuasion (which I just persuaded myself to watch now that I’ve eaten my pizza).  I identify very much with that character, always feeling like family looks past me and takes advantage of me.  People say I should be grateful to have a family.

They know me NOT.  One could not be more grateful to have a family than I.  I, who know very well what each of my parents gave up just to adopt me.  I!  I know the value of family! 

Though they will always show me the tiny ripple in the pane of glass that separates me from my non-blood relatives, I still look through that glass.  Every damn day.

Yes, I know, I sound bitter right now. 

I would like, just for once, to not be the family diplomat, left to clean up others’ verbal mistakes and messes.  Just for once, I would like to watch a family member take care of their own problem on their own and be proud of them for it. 

Now, bitterness aside, I highly recommend reading fanfiction.  If only for a bit of escapism.  And if you feel up for some soul-wrenching epic stories, go to my profile on fanfiction.net and look up my favorites.  Look for Cyndi.  Anything by Cyndi involving Optimus Prime and Megatron, or Starscream and Unicron.  Unlikely as hell, but it will make you cry and take you out of your little world, if only for a lovely brief moment.

And lovely brief moments are like the typos of life.  Enjoyable as hell and sometimes great for a giggle!

Opening for Dryad…rough draft

•March 4, 2008 • 1 Comment

Dancing.  Dancing and twirling, singing, talking…mist…gavebh mo leishgel…faster, skirts kicking between her legs, boots scuffing the polished floor, twirling, twirling, now spinning and spinning and spinning…a flash of leafy green eyes.  The smell of leaves…a forest…decaying foliage…wind, growing stronger and stronger as they twirled and spun faster and faster, long dark hair tied back swinging in a turn. Not hers.  His. His hair. His eyes.  His smell…like the trees?  Like the dark in a forest, like the musky marsh.  She felt safe…exhilarated, but safe…home…mist, talking, mo pog, boideach, my heart, my elemental…She snapped her eyes open as soon as she realized it was a dream.  She woke to the same “man” for three mornings.  It would be nice if she could say that in reality.

Becca rolled over and punched her pillow.  Why was she dreaming about that…whoever or whatever?  Her cat purred her furry good-morning and sniffed at her face.  “Hey Mow-Mow.”  She automatically scratched the furry head behind the ears in her favorite spot.  Mow-Mow gently tapped Becca’s face with her paw and she opened her eyes again.  The sun was peeking in around the curtains, so it must be late.  Oh, crap.

A wave of inevitability swept in vague panic down her spine, disrupting her comfortable nest of a bed.  What would she see this morning when she looked over at the clocks on the nightstand? And the wall? And the dresser?  She was supposed to wake at six a-m.  She made sure she’d set all the settable clocks to alarm at zero-six-hundred-hours. 

Becca squeezed her eyes shut, scooted up to put her back at the wooden headboard so she could easily face the myriad of clocks around the room. 

“Sh-i-t.” the groan growled out from between clenched teeth as soon as she looked.  “Robbie’s gonna kill me.”  She scrambled out of bed and blanked her mind of the fifteen clocks scattered about her bedroom, all stopped at five-fifty-nine a-m.  Even the ones she’d set wrong.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” The only clock that never missed a beat over the past few dreams was the huge grandfather clock standing sentinel in the living room.  It bonged a single, doleful greeting at the quarter-hour past eight.  The problem was that the clock could bong all it wanted to, every quarter-hour in increasing number, but she almost never heard it.  Even the tick-tock of the pendulum folded away in the back of her mind like so much white noise.  Too bad she couldn’t set an alarm on it. 

And now she was going to be late because a dream stopped her clocks.  She checked her cell phone.  Crap.  That too.  How the hell could she explain that to Robbie?  The thoughts in her mind skid wickedly around as she whipped together an outfit.  How in the hell was she to tell Robbie that it wasn’t her fault she was late for the third time this week?  He’d probably blame Becca’s inadequacy at setting clocks if she told him she went out and spent her entire savings of two hundred dollars and change on every kind of clock she could find.

He wouldn’t only blame her but he’d laugh.  He’d laugh at her because he knew if he’d set the clocks, they would work fine.  Everything was always perfect for Robbie.

Perfect Robbie.  Robert Avery Beckam The Third.  And he never let her forget that he was The Third and she was just Becca.  It never mattered to him that she was his baby sister or that when they were kids, she worshiped the ground he walked on.  It never mattered to him that she blindly took the blame for any mischief he performed just because she wanted his acceptance.

Nope, it only mattered that Becca couldn’t hold down a job or a relationship.  It only mattered that she didn’t make it into college and was unmarried at the ungodly old age of twenty three.  It only mattered that HE’d graduated Suma-come-whatever from UGA, president of some three-letter fraternity that Robert Avery Beckam the First and Second legacied him into. 

Long Live Robbie THE THIRD.  The FUCKING THIRD!

Becca slammed the drawer shut and stumbled into her jeans.  They, at least, didn’t judge her for being perfection-challenged.  And what was so bad about being an assistant, or a go-to-girl?  That was a necessary job, too.  Necessary enough that Robbie offered the job to Becca when his last one quit in a fit of baklava.  Apparently the Greek festival is not the place to upbraid your assistant.  Too sticky by far.

Since Becca didn’t have the long list of credentials you needed to be a well-paid assistant, just experience and a smile, and since the tiny efficiency loft above a carriage house was part of the pay…well, a struggling girl couldn’t say no to the brother she hated hating.

Grrr.  Her hair was a mess.  She’d forgotten to braid it or put it up in a bun or something before going to bed last night.  She’d just been so tired from spending all day with Robbie, jumping at his every command, she just forgot.  She threw it back in a ponytail, grabbed her favorite Tobasco ballcap and ran out the door. 

Since she couldn’t really drive a car the four blocks necessary, she rode a bike to Robbie’s office as fast as she could.  Beckam Restorations was one of the few companies in town that did almost all of the work by hand so they—Robbie was in high demand.

Guilt huffed through her as she peddled down the alley and hung a left onto Drayton Street.  Her job was to “assist” him throughout the day.  She did all the little demeaning things, even the things he couldn’t get a paid employee to do.   He needed her and she’d let him down.  Again.

She locked her bike up at the meter beside the old gas station Robbie renovated to fit the company.  They didn’t make stations like this one anymore.  This was almost a house on it’s own, just with a ginormous awning that used to hover over gas pumps.  Odd that the windows weren’t lit from the inside like normal.  She should be able to see Gina and Sherry at the receptionist desk. 

She reached for the doors when a sneaking suspicion came over her.  The doors were locked?  There wasn’t much traffic for a Fri—oh, crap.  Oh holy crap, what day was it?!?

She got paid yesterday, so yesterday was Friday.  Oh how shitty was that!  She got herself all worked up and panicked over a Saturday. 

She kicked the heavy cement planter for good measure.

The littlest niggling thought said that she could have spent time in bed enjoying the man of her dreams.  A bigger, sledgehammer thought said that she shouldn’t spend time thinking about a dream when she should be looking for a real man to take care of her.

Yep, Mom’s conscience, loud and clear.  Good to know something was working normal.  Becca rolled her eyes and fished for the few coins jingling in her pocket.  A dollar twenty nine. 

That looked like a cup of coffee to her, so she unlocked her bike and pedaled down to a nearby coffee shop.  Might as well go someplace enjoyable since she was out already.

Protected: Moebius Dryad Theory

•February 17, 2008 • Enter your password to view comments

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Exploring my Dryad story

•February 16, 2008 • 4 Comments

funeral

fear

loss

grief

internment

down

dark

watching

pain

dirt

rain

smell

wood

lead

wet

umbrella

tears

hurt

heart

heavy

weight

pull

away

run

heels

stuck

kick

flat

hard

leaves

forest

nearby

separate

alone

trees

wind

groan

comfort

fall

kneel

cry

weep

wail

question

rail

beyond

hit

flail

beat

unknown

unexpected

impossible

trepidation

scramble

odd

call

speaking

crooning

soothing

tree?

solace

inanimate?

not

image

man

spirit

creature

reaching

limbs

literally

offer

thought

disbelief

suspended

animals

chatter

breeze

push

accept

belief

honored

infatuation

alive

touch

rough

texture

concern

unsure

assurance

story

curse

myth

reality

beauty

transformation

lovely

sexy

amazing

distracting

kiss

freedom

hands

arms

bodies

warm

welcome

thankful

binding

strange

creation

destruction

release

favor

alignment

foretelling

time

chosen

now

forever

together

want

always

astounding

lore

bedtime

or?

Secrets of Giants

•February 15, 2008 • Leave a Comment

What is the one thing we all hope to do, as writers?Get our stories straight and get published, right?  (Okay, so that’s two things, but bear with me)

I think that may be why I enjoy watching the “behind the scenes” documentaries of my favorite movies.  Which of you has popped in that second disc?  C’mon, be honest. ;D I think we’ve all done something similar, being writers.  We’re constantly asking the questions: What? Why? How?

How many of you turn on the director’s or writer’s commentary of your favorite movies that you’ve watched so many times?  My friends get irritated with me for being near obsessed with finding out every little tidbit of information, anything wrong, anything right, the what, the why, the how.  I’m constantly looking for symbolism and double meanings and foreshadowing, both in books and in movies. And it comes as no surprise when I’m the one they turn to when they don’t understand a part of a movie involving a deeper meaning or a twisted plot. ;D  How many of you are that person (the one they turn to for explanation).

I just watched a very intriguing documentary on the making of M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water.  Of course, the behind the scenes footage tells you about his characters and their development from script to storyboard to movie.  But one of the things that made this one different was that Mr. Shyamalan talked about his writing process. 

We all know his projects; The Sixth Sense, and Signs to name a couple.  But what I hadn’t heard before was his writing process.  This is one of the premiere storytellers in American cinema.  He is able to conjure such strange and unpredictable things that he has managed to do the one thing most modern moviemakers fail: to surprise the American audience. How does he do it?  What methods does he use?  What can we, as fledgling writers, learn from him? I was overwhelmed to hear about his process.  Read below and tell me what you think:

1. He gets an idea he wants to develop and buys a specific journal only for that story.
2. He makes notes on that story in that journal for up to a year, involving random details and rants.
3. After he is satisfied with his notes, he starts an outline, breaking it down into puzzle pieces and fitting it all together.  He now involves others’ opinions for the first time.
4. Once he has a viable outline, he starts the story or script, writing out the first rough draft.

Lady in the Water went through at least THIRTEEN drafts (!!!) before the final script.

Okay, I don’t know about you, but I’m kinda feeling a tad bit novice.   However, this does give me a swift kick in the pants, allowing me to see that while my story is taking forever and has been redone many times… as long as I stay true to the story and get it written down, then I can work and rework and rework and make it happen!

I can do this!

Show of hands: How many of you feel better now that you know that one of the best modern storytellers has to take a really, really long time and lots of drafts to get it right.

I remember watching a documentary on the making of Star Wars, where George Lucas walked into the studio with his first rough draft of Episode III.  Everyone was super excited, but he played it down by saying: There’s a lot of “they fight”.

Meaning he glossed over a lot of his story, not filling in mere physical fights and instead concentrating on plot and dialogue.  Honestly, how many of you have seen a Star Wars movie where there wasn’t a lot of fighting?  It doesn’t exist.  I daresay that fully 1/3 of all the Star Wars’ saga has fighting in it.  So he didn’t sweat the details at first, got the main idea down and worked from there.

Easy right? Yeah, especially if you’ve got a trillion dollars in the bank and can spend all day every day doing nothing but working on your MS. [insert rolling eyes here] Not to mention it took him twenty years to tell the entire story.

So my challenge to you is this:  When you feel down and out, write something—anything—as a descriptive phrase and work out the puzzle later.  Keep yourself positive, knowing that the right thing WILL come to you.  Obviously it’s what the professionals do. :D

I even remember Eloisa James mentioning this as a tactic of hers.  Only, I think her omissions read something like “they have sex.”

Chin up, Writers!

The Quest for Odd Places Begins…

•February 13, 2008 • Leave a Comment

Okay, dahlinks. I have vonted to come to visit you blog for quite some time now, but that Dena *turns aside and mutters something about a silly name* was just barring up my creativity. But! Here I am! *flaunts feather boa and cigarette on a long filter*

I have come to tell you about von of my favorite zitis *interrupted by laughter* Vhat. Vhat ah you laughing at? *Dena leans in to mention that ziti is a pasta, not a place*

*looking affronted* Te Toi, you leetle flower person vith the silly name. I am Travelling Trina! I have my own show! I am vorld-reknowned!

*crowd looks over to a kid with a cereal box cut up with paper towel tubes taped here and there to look like a video camera, holding a flashlight over his head. He peeps out from behind the cereal box with his hangbang and shrugs. A few, more serious stragglers shake their heads and return their attention to Trina, sputtering giggles*

Now. I am here to tell you vhat you should do when you visit Savannah, Georgia. She ees a small town, but she ees packed full of fun things to do!

1. You simply must, vith no exceptions, go to River Street. This street is packed full of knick-knaks and fortune telling and shopping and food and travelling minstrels and you cannot imagine the sweets! Fudge and caramel and brownies and every leetle fattening thing you can think of is down that street. Plus eet ees home to my favorite place, Wet Willie’s. I go there and zing Patsy Cline to the leetle people on their Karaoke machine and drink lots of daquiri’s.

2. You have to go to City Market, dahlinks! Art galleries, more shopping, bars, music and pizza! Yes, yes, even the beautiful Trina loves pizza. Vinnie Van Go Go’s is to DIE for! I almost did once and it was completely worth it.

3. Tybee Island. Who doesn’t love beetches, dahlinks? *another corrective interruption* Zat’s vhat I said. Beaches.

4. The Crab Shack. They say the Elite eat in their Bare Feet there, but I just had to wear shoes. It was out in the open on a deck near the vater, dear, and there ver leetle crabs running around! They serve this wonderful thing called Low Country Boil and they play Jeemy Boofet over the speakers all ze time. He’s a nice man. I dated him once, but he was more interested in leetle hula girls, the leetle grass-covered booty-swatting beasts. Bah! *she recovers from an obvious show of temper*

5. The Vorld-reknowned — like me, no? — Bonaventure Cemetery. Some of the most beautiful sculptures are there in the older section and they actually have tour buses that go through! Can you imagine? Even the living are dying to get in! *laughs cacklingly at her horrid pun*

Vell, that’s eet for now, dahlinks. Trina must run to another ziti and have fun and drink and dance and make merry vith the local men -however tribal they seem to be on the dance floor.

tahtah!

*the crowd sighs relief as a woman who looked alot like Lola Buzzard from Queer Duck, but sounded like Edna Mode from the Incredibles finally leaves*

Okay! Tell me things to do in your home town! Or wherever you live, for that matter. What’s the coolest thing to do there?

 

Parawhat?

•February 13, 2008 • Leave a Comment

What is our fascination with the paranormal?

 

Paranormal.  Other than normal.  And no, I’m not talking about Traveling Trina.

 

Okay, well, what is normal?  What we perceive on a daily basis?  What others tell us or show us?  Why is it we seem to accept more and more things as paranormal, that we once, as children, may have accepted as normal?  In first example:  Love.

 

You laugh, but overall, we may as well locate that word in the supernatural.  Especially a long-lasting, humane, enriching bond to which we are unswervingly loyal.  If you were to pull aside a random person off the street and ask them if they believe in love, they would most likely be skeptical about your mental capacity, but also of the emotion’s existence.  Children, on the other hand, believe in love without pause.  Why is that?  Is it the ever-increasing separation between yourself and others as you grow older?  Or simply the ever-increasing realization of the existence of that separation? (say that five times fast)

 

Is that why we gravitate toward fairy tales, happily-ever-afters, and romance?  If you think about it, most of our adult lives, when not spent enslaved to the almighty dollar for eight or more hours a day, is all about rekindling that connection between us and our acquaintances.  Sports, hobbies, cotillions, they all bring us together in a common bond, and for that brief moment, we’re connected to someone. 

 

In my mind, that’s paranormal.

 

In second example:  Religion.  Using that word in the loosest of ways, meaning a belief which is unfounded in physical logic.  Something you can’t touch, but have to believe in, purely through the greatness of your heart and/or mind.  Children will believe anything you say, as long as they trust you.  Adults are generally skeptical about anything that’s not proven through science and the O’Reilly Factor (or CNN, depending on their political bent). 

 

What’s really amazing about these two particular paranormalities is that despite this separation and skepticism, Religion and Love still exist, and are alive and living in nearly every family. 

 

Saying that, does it prove these notions to be Normal?  If everyone does it, does that make it normal?

 

So if men started having babies, would that soon become normal?  Being beyond the paranormal, now?

 

If Athena descended upon Oz and kicked the wizard to Landover, Dorothy booted Toto to Terabithia, Ariel decided she liked Paul Bunyon for his brawny muscles and threw Eric to the side so he could take up with Snow White… if it happened enough would it be normal?

 

Thank God stories are just stories…

 

They are just stories, right?

 

Because living in the paranormal pothole that is Savannah, I don’t always believe that those stories are just stories.  There’s always a grain of truth in every tale.

 

So when I read and hear about those things that are generally accepted as the normal definition of paranormal (ghosts and witches, especially) I get a chill down my spine because I see waaaaaay too much of it to give much credence to the “para” part. 

 

What about you?  What do you see as something paranormal that is generally yawned at nowadays or among a certain group?  I might see publication as paranormal, but I guarantee you that is something which will someday change ;D  Or maybe you see something as normal that most people might be afraid to acknowledge as real?  That’s your topic, so now talk amongst yourselves *g*

    

Fanfiction of a Man from Glasgow

•February 9, 2008 • Leave a Comment

“Omigod! It’s Gerry Butler!”

“What?! Where!”

“Right there across the street.”  Heather almost squealed her whisper.  God, Karen could be so blind! 

“Are you sure? I don’t see him.”

“He just went inside the Zoo.  We have to go there.  Right. Now.”

“Okay, okay, keep your dress on.”

Heather gave Karen a deadpan look that left the answer to that statement questionable and steered them both across the cobblestone street and into the line queing out the dance club. 

“Dammit, there’s a cover charge.  Do you think we could flirt our way in?”

Karen took a look at the bouncer. “I dunno…he seems a little limp to me.”

Heather rolled her eyes.  “Let me see.”  She sent out her gay-dar and came back empty. “Nah, look at the way he’s ogling the stripper up there.”

“That could easily be a transvestite.”

“Would you lighten up?  We came to this town to have some fun, a hot actor is just waiting inside to discover us, and you look positively mahvelous, dahlink!”  Heather gave her best Billy Crystal impression a push since it usually got Karen to laugh.  It worked.

“Okay, I’ll start the chat and you turn up the charm.”

“Eee!  Great.  You’re the best, K.”

“Would you stop jumping up and down?  We’re almost to the front of the line.”

And then they were.

“How much is it to get in?”

“Ten dollahs.”

Karen rustled around in her purse until Heather bounced up.  “No. Freakin’. Way.  Charlie?!?”

“Yeah…”

“It’s me, it’s Heather!  We were in 10th grade Geometry together.  I let you cheat off my final.”

The dawn of recognition broke over his granite face.  “Yeah, yeah, yeah!”  He reached forward and grabbed her hands in both of his.  “How you doin?”

“Great!  Just great!  We’re just visiting for a bit before heading back Monday.”

“C’mon through.  On me.”  He ushered them both through the turnstile, but kept hold of Heather’s hand.  “You save a dance for me, okay?”

“Got it!  I’d love to!”

“Why didn’t you tell me you knew him?  I was afraid I’d have to pay for a second there.”

“I didn’t remember his face until I was right there and heard that accent.  His family moved here in the 10th grade and he had kind of a hard time adjusting.  I guess being nice does pay off.”

“Well, I don’t know about that.  Seems like no good deed goes unpunished.  You are stuck dancing with him later and he doesn’t look like the casual type now that I think about it.”

“Shut up.  You’re too serious tonight.  It’ll be fine.  Plus, once we locate the Luscious Butler, who knows what wonders this night might bring?”

“God, Heather, it’s not like he’s gonna pick you up.  He’s a moviestar for Pete’s sake.  He could have any woman here.”

“So why wouldn’t he want me?”

“Oh, I don’t know.  Maybe it’s the fact that you’re plush and he seems to lean to svelte.”

“You have no faith in my charisma.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is.  You didn’t even completely trust me to get us in for free.”

“I did too.”

“Did not!  You just said you were afraid you’d have to pay.”

“I was exaggerating.”

“You were dead serious!”

“Just—let’s get a drink and shut up.”

“Fine by me.  I’ll have a Tall Scot, Straight UP!”

“Oh God.  She’ll have a scotch, neat, and I’ll have a white wine spritzer.”

“No no no  no.”

“What?”

“You really need to rethink your choice of drink.  Guys don’t want to talk to a woman who’s so…so…bleh with her drink.”

“Bleh?”

“Yes.  Bleh.”

“Is this a new language?  I’m not quite sure what the exact definition of ‘bleh’ is.”

“Bleh is when you don’t know what you’re doing, so you just do the bare minimum.”

“Is that right?”

“Erm… pretty much.  Oh, thank you!”  Heather took a sip of her scotch.  “Yummy in my tummy! Woo!”

“What are you, auditioning for “Girls Gone Wild”?”

“Ha!  Maybe ‘Girls Gone Wild for Gerry Butler’!  Oh!  There he is!”

“And what did I tell you?  He’s surrounded by teensy tiny brunettes.  If he fell over, he’d break three of them.”

“I know.  He needs a woman more his size.  Someone who can take all that hot Scottish ass.”

“Good God, why did I agree to this?”

“Because you’re my best friend and you only want what’s best for me.  And that would be Gerry Butler.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.  He’s probably nothing at all like what they show him to be on YouTube.”

“You can learn a lot from that website!”

“I still don’t think you’re gonna get within three feet of him.  He’s at least that deep in teeny-boppers.”

“Exactly.  He needs someone more…mature.”

“No!  Heather! Wait!”  Karen watched her friend navigate and gravitate towards the movie star.  She’d better head to the bathroom and gang up on the tissues.

*

“Hi.”

“Hello.”

“I’m Heather.”

“Heather.  I’m Gerry.”  She shivered.

“Verrry pleased to meet you.” She held out her drink-free hand. 

He shook it with a twinkle in his eye.  “Come and have a dance.”  Yay!

“…Yeahokay.”  She giggled and downed her drink.  “Woo!”

“Was that what I think it was?”

“Lovely, lovely scot—I mean scotch.”

“Do you down that much often, then?”

“Ha! Oh no!  No, I just didn’t want to spill it dancing and I didn’t want to waste it.”

“Ah.  No use wasting a good scot, then, eh?”

She laughed, deep and throaty.  “My point exactly.”

She started to gyrate to the pounding music.  He followed suit and placed his hand on her waist to bring them closer.  She smiled and brushed her leg against his.  “What brings you to –?”

“Just thought I’d try it out.  Never been here before.”

“How do you like it so far?”

“I think it just got better.”  He pulled her in closer with both hands.  She wiggled and danced against him, bringing her arms around his neck.  That was when she smelled him.  It was some lovely, manly scent and it drove her crazy.  She leaned in for a better whiff.

“Good. Night.  You smell fantastic!”  he laughed and she felt the scuff of his beard against her cheek.  “You do.  It’s like grass and soap and…and…something else really yummy.”

He laughed deeper.  “Well, that’s just me, darlin’.”

His voice sent a sexually electric jolt through her body from her ears to her stomach.  “Are you always this sexy?”

He laughed louder.  “No.  I’m sure I’m not sexy when I sneeze.”

“Ha!  I bet you are.  You’d get that look on your face like you’re about to explode and then you do and it’s totally mind blowing.  It’s the closest thing a person can do to an orgasm in public and not be arrested.”

“You’re an odd bird.  You think sneezing is sexy?”

“You’re an actor.  What’s the look that comes over your face right before you…you know?” 

He smiled wolfishly and backed her up against the mirrored wall nearby.  “Like this.”

“…Okay, you can stop now.  Stop? Please?”

“Why?  You asked for it.”

“I know, but I’m proving a point here and I can’t follow through if you end up seducing me.”

“Okay, so what face would you like me to have?”

“Pretend you’re about to sneeze.”

He did, stopped, and looked at her incredulously. “My God.  You’re right.  Sneezing does look like you’re having sex.”

“So, you see, I’d think you were sexy if you sneezed.”

He barked out a laugh, but held her against the wall. “Next, you’re going to tell me other bodily functions are sexy.”

“No, that would be crass!”

They both laughed.  “Why don’t you come over to my table and sit for a bit?”

“Sure, I’d love to.”

*

“So what do you do for a living, Heather?”

“Lahr….Um…I’m a Deterior Insigner—I mean Interior Designer.”

“Really, now?  For homes or commercial…?”

“Residential.  I’m working on my Masters in Interior Architecture so I can teach.”

“Design?”

“Mmhmm.  I’ve always wanted to.”

“Always?  Even when you were small?”

“Well, ever since I knew what it all was, yeah.  Probably about seventh grade.”

“Hmm.  So you’re artistic?  Do you draw?”

“Yes.  I could draw you, if you want.”

“What…right here? Now?”

“If you like.”

“I think I would.”  They scrounge for drawing implements and she begins to draw.

“Just find a pose you’re comfortable in and relax.  Good.  So what do you like best about __, so far?”

“The people are great.  Friendly.  But then, I tend to see that side a lot.”

“I imagine so.  Who’d want to be rude to you?”

“Yeah.  It’s kind of annoying, really.  You can’t get to know a person.”

“So what do you do?”

“To get to know someone?”

“Mmhmm.”

“You learn to look at their mannerisms.  What they don’t say as much as what they do.  How they treat others.”

“Go on.”

“For instance, you volunteering to draw me a portrait could easily be a ploy to stick around and heighten your chances for more interaction with me.”

“But?”

“But you honestly seem to enjoy the art.”

A smile twitched her lips. “The subject is quite fascinating.”

“Ah, now that’s fascinating.”

“What is?”

“Someone who is so obviously involved with what they’re doing who can hold their own in a conversation and come back with a double entendre so easily.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“What kind of car do you drive?”

“Beamer. Why?”

“Well, you talk of things that describe a person other than their façade…a man’s car says volumes about him.”

“Ha.  All that crap about how a sportscar is an extension of something lacking?”

“Well, that depends on the sportscar.  If you drove a new corvette, I’d say yes.  Or maybe a Ferrari or even perhaps a Viper.  But a BMW speaks of a bit more.  It speaks of control, power, an appreciation for fine machinery…I’d think you’re also possibly an antique VW fan?”

“Now that’s interesting.  I am.  How did you guess that?”

“Well, if you know a bit about cars, then you can figure out which are similar.  The first cars I mentioned are toys.  A BMW or a Volkswagen, even a Porsche, is more…serious.  Even the ones that look like toys.”

“What if I told you I didn’t choose the vehicle?”

“Do you like it?  Do you feel comfortable driving it?”

“Yes.”

“Then it doesn’t matter.”

“Hmm.” Silence, then, “What do you drive?”

“Ah, now that’s an altogether different subject.  What I drive may or may not be indicative of my personality.”

“How so?”

“I don’t have readily disposable income where I can have any car I want.”

“Ah.  Well, then, what kind of car would you drive if you did?”

“A Porsche Cayman.”

“And why is that?”

“It’s pretty in Arctic Gray.”

He laughed out loud.  “After the lecture you just gave me, I highly doubt that.”

She grinned.

“So, Gerry,” Her first use of his name out loud to him felt strange and she blushed. “What do you think?”

“You’re done?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say a bar napkin and a ball point pen is the greatest media to work with, but yes, I’m done.”

She held it out for him to see.  He took it and stared at it.  “It’s not what I expected.”

“What did you expect?”

“Something a little more…”

 more what?! 

“…elementary.  This is fantastic.  Can I keep this?”

She blushed again.  “Oh, absolutely.  Please.  Just, let me sign it.”

“How about you add on some contact information as well?”

 “Oh.  Okay.” 

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_____________________________

Yeeeeah, I got a bit carried away with the fanfic here, but hey, I needed something to add to my Scottish category.  :D

Narcissus in Paint

•February 9, 2008 • Leave a Comment

“You can do this,” Alyssa chanted to herself as she opened the door to the art gallery. Thomas’ work was vivid and sensual and he always managed to paint that moment of a woman’s reckless desire. Thomas’ ability was the very thing that brought her here.

She swallowed nervously as she scanned the room for him.

“Hey, Ally,” a sexy baritone greeted her. Deep breath, turn around.

“Hi, Thomas.” 

“Are you okay?” the concern in his pale blue eyes made her knees weak.

“Yes, I’m fine. I wanted to ask you a favor.”

“Sure, what can I do for you?”
 

Father my children, “I’ve got an idea for a painting.” She pulled at her pinky nervously. “You know that series of mythology I’ve been working on…” deep breath, “I want to do Narcissus.” Swallow, “as a nude.”

“You want me to find you a model?”

“Yes.”

“Is that all?” He smiled, “No problem, I have just the fellow in mind.”

They discussed when and where. Alyssa went home to prepare for Narcissus to arrive at sunset so she could photograph him to make it easier to paint.

She gasped, startled, as the doorbell rang. “Never should have done this.” She chanted quietly to herself. Alyssa opened the door, but there was only Thomas… She poked her head out and looked around. “Isn’t he coming?”

He laughed, endearingly. “No, I thought I’d take a stab at being your Narcissus.” He winked at her, “Do you mind?”

“Uh, no, just –” She turned away, nervous. “I’ll get you a robe.” She walked back to him with a robe in hand. “Here, you can undress in the bathroom. I’ll just be in the bedroom if you need me.” He nodded and went in the direction she’d pointed. She chanted quietly to herself, “I’ll just be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I don’t exist.” She was mortified. He obviously thought she wanted to see him naked, which she did, but that wasn’t the point. A hand landed warmly on her shoulder.

She turned around with a lost look on her face. She wanted him so badly it was like acid in her veins. He was dressed in the robe. Even his feet were bare.

She pushed her eyes back up to meet his as he murmured, “Are you sure you want me outside? I’d be happy to oblige you… inside.” He breathed the last word an inch from her face. The acid turned to boiling oil. She tilted her face and met his kiss. He cupped her head in his hands as he opened his mouth to hers. She twined her arms around him, allowing herself to feel his perfect musculature.

He broke the kiss and tipped his forehead to hers. He took a deep, shaking breath and let it out slowly. “I’ve wanted to do that for so long. You have no idea.”

“Yes – yes I do.” He smiled, searching her eyes for the truth and finding it.