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Sharon: No probably not
Well, DW is just far too slow for me so I'm going to give you all Chapter 11b now....if there are screw ups, she'll kick me in the head and make me fix 'em Thanks to my lovely Di. She loves me no matter how stupid I get.
CHAPTER 11b – Look Heart, No Hands
“Ugh! I think you broke me.”
Willow got up groaning from the fluffy feather bed and wandered about the room, stretching languidly in an attempt to unknot the muscles of her back from the afternoon’s exertions. She was rewarded with a massive washboard-sounding “thrrrrrp” as the vertebrae snapped back into place.
Tara giggled helplessly beneath the maroon silk sheets that only partially covered her lithe, perspiration-slick body. “Well it was your idea to use the ice cubes, after all. I have never EVER been with anyone who used ice that way before,” she replied, an arch smile spreading across her face.
“Hmph, little did I know that my technique would work too well. God, woman, you are insatiable!” Willow observed ruefully. “It’s a good thing that we’re going to something other than stay in bed all day. I’m not so sure that I’m a spring chicken anymore.”
“Don’t worry, I think you’ll like what I have planned for tonight. There is much fun to be had, ‘pon my word, milady.”
Willow gave Tara a sidelong glance. “Uh huh, that’s what you told me three hours ago,” she snorted. “Much fun indeed.”
Tara touched her chest daintily and batted her eyelashes. “But mah deah,” she mocked in a faux Southern accent, “didn’t mah ministrations give you pleasure?”
“Ok, Scarlett O’Hara, I get the point,” Willow smirked. “I guess we’d better get dressed sometime soon, though.” She looked around wistfully at the various articles of clothing that were discarded willy-nilly about the room. “What time did you say you made dinner reservations for?”
Tara picked up her watch from the nightstand beside the bed. “I didn’t. We have to be there at 6:30 sharp to get seated. At least, that’s what the reservations operator told me. Why?"
"Well, I was thinking that we might just have time for a nice hot shower as well as other things." Willow sauntered over to the vanity and grabbed a handful of ice from the ice bucket on the counter. She grabbed Tara's hand and hauled her up from the bed and into the spacious bathroom. Gripping her tightly about the waist, the lovers drew in to each other close enough so their breaths were like tiny whispers dancing on their lips. Their pulses quickened with the contact and their faces flushed with heat.
Tara ran her tongue lightly over her lips, tasting the salty beads of perspiration that had formed there. "And just w-what exactly did you have in mind for these 'other things'?" she inquired.
Willow leaned into her lover's ear, catching one baby-soft earlobe delicately between her teeth. "Oh, my dear, I have such sights to show you," she whispered.
A sensual, throaty chuckle escaped from deep within Tara's chest. "Well then," she murmured, "I think you'd better get cracking. We only have an hour."
************************************
They finally reached the Egg and I restaurant after dealing with the unbelievably knotty rush-hour traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard. Tara decided it was best that she take over the driving from Willow after a rather snarky cab driver cut them off at the corner of Sahara Avenue and then proceeded to rail at them in some incomprehensible language. Willow turned so red with rage that Tara could almost see the steam coming out of her ears.
"Maybe I should do this, honey," she said calmly, placing soothing hand on Willow's face. "You might spontaneously combust and I don't think a little pile of Willow-ashes would be much fun." Willow nodded curtly in agreement, her mouth set in a grim line.
The restaurant was surprising nondescript considering its reputation for fun and fine dining. A small crowd of diners was gathered alongside of the building, chatting amiably amongst themselves while they waited for the maitre'd to admit them inside.
A skeptical look crossed Willow's face as she waited patiently beside Tara. "Umm, baby? Are you sure this is the right place?" she commented, cocking an eyebrow skyward.
"Of course it is…just trust me. You'll enjoy it," Tara grinned, her eyes twinkling with mischief. Suddenly a tall woman in a blonde wig wearing a precipitously short skirt, tube top and the spikiest heels known to woman appeared by their side.
"Hi!" she greeted them brightly. "I'm D.D. We should be opening the doors for seating shortly. Do you have your tickets handy?"
Tara wordlessly handed the woman their tickets. D.D. compared them with a list that was on a podium beside the entrance, gave them back and motioned for a serving woman to show them to their seats.
"Think that skirt could get any tighter," Willow murmured.
"Shh! Willow behave yourself!" Tara giggled.
"I'm just sayin'…." Willow let her sentence hang unfinished.
A different server came to get their drink order and inform them of the menu for the evening. Other couples soon occupied the additional seats at their table and the dining room filled quite rapidly. Excited babble and chatter filtered throughout the restaurant so that it sounded more like a noisy schoolroom. Around 7pm, D.D. reappeared to announce that the show would be starting soon and give details about its purpose to the rest of the audience.
“Okay, a lot of you asked me at the door where the stage was. Well the answer to that is, ‘All around you.’ This is a murder mystery and the action takes place all through out the restaurant, and the people who are going to be murdering and murdered are seated among you. So shake the hand of a neighbor and say, “Goodbye” because they might not be there in half an hour.”
Willow's eyes brightened in excitement when she heard the words "murder mystery". Tara shook her head in amusement as she watched her lover frantically write down all the clues that were being presented by the cast members such as Anita Dedman (whose “My Barbies are Lesbian” T-shirt nearly caused Willow and Tara to fall out of their chairs with laughter) as they each came on and off in turn. D.D. and Lt. Post wandered about the room talking with diners and asking them questions about the "murder" they had all witnessed to help him "solve" the case. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the "interactive theater" experience, including a suddenly child-like Willow. After almost thirty minutes of watching the cast and even members of the audience being murdered and carted off, Lt. Post left to “examine the bodies” and D.D. stepped up to give additional instructions to the crowd.
“Now the next thing we need you to do is to go back out to where you came in tonight and spend a few minutes interrogating other audience members. This is your chance to find see if you can find someone involved here this evening. Ask the same things I asked earlier, name, where they’re from, occupation, why and what they’d use to kill someone. The reason for this is so that we can place your salads and hide a few clues. So everybody get up and head outside!!”
As fellow diners wandered about striking up conversations with total strangers as part of the “game”, Tara observed Willow unobtrusively from a darkened corner of restaurant patio. The soft orange-red glow of sunset bathed her face, which only served to enhance the green in her eyes. "If I wasn't in love with her before, I sure am now," Tara mused. She couldn't help but fixate on every feature, on every curve. "Here's to hoping she'll be my Forever Girl," she thought, raising her glass of zinfandel in a mock toast. Tara paused, searching for the right words for how she felt at that moment, as the emotions swirled about in her chest, expanding and flowing through her mercurially. What was that Randy Travis song she heard once?
Took a little time to get up to speed
To find the confidence and strength I need
To just let go and reach for the sky
You know sometimes I felt I could fly
No doubts, no fears
Just like when you are near
No chains, no strings
No fences, no walls
No net, just you, to catch me when I fall
Look heart, No hands
How odd that something simple as a song could summarize something so complex as feelings? Across the crowd Willow, who was flanked by two people attempting to get her attention, met Tara’s eyes. She slowly winked at her lover and continued to talk with fellow diners although, in truth, her mind was only partially concentrating on the conversation. She had to admit that Tara looked positively stunning, her blonde hair golden in the evening sunlight. Even though she stood in a very shaded part of the patio, the magical blue of her eyes seemed to leap out at Willow from the darkness, caressing her soul and stealing her heart. Excusing herself from the group that had gathered around her, she walked over to Tara and gripped her hand gently.
“Hey,” she whispered. “You ok?”
Tara nodded almost imperceptibly. “I-I’m fine. Just…you know…thinking.”
Willow was about to inquire about those thoughts when D.D. came outside to herd everyone back into the restaurant. The night moved rather quickly after that point. Tara remained rather silent for the most part, content to observe Willow and the heated debates she had with Lt. Post and the surrounding diners about who the real “killer” could be. When all was said and done, she had solved the crime and gave Tara a self-satisfied smirk when her name was announced as the winner of a special prize.
As they walked to the parking lot, Tara linked her arm in Willow’s and drew her close. “So…I take it you enjoyed yourself,” she remarked lightly.
“That was just soo cool!” Willow exclaimed. “Did you see that guy get all nervous when I stared him down? I just knew he was the real killer!”
Tara laughed out loud. “Well it’s good to see that you had fun. It’s good to hear you laugh again.”
“I had a lot of help,” Willow smiled softly. “Thanks, baby. For everything.” She kissed her lover on the cheek and got into the car. “I think you should drive. I don’t think I have enough energy to rant and rave.” The insistent buzz of the cell phone in her pocket caused her to groan in annoyance.
“Who the frilly heck could this be? I told Xander not to call unless it was really important,” she muttered irritatedly. “Hello?”
“Willow!” She recognized the voice at the end of the line as Cole Osbourne, the project manager for the software engineering section of Lockheed Martin in Philadelphia. “I have been trying to call you for hours! Listen, we have a crisis here in Philly. How quickly can you be on a plane back here?”
Closing her eyes, she ground her teeth in frustration. Not now! Not when things were just going so well.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Willow replied and closed the lid of the phone.
Tara took her attention off the road and glanced at her briefly. “Is everything ok, baby?”
The hacker took a deep breath, not knowing what to say or how to say it. “I’ve gotta go back to Philly. My boss is having a minor meltdown and says he needs me there.” She wiped away angry tears that sprang into her eyes. “Damn,” she said under her breath.
END CHAPTER 11b
(some editing done but I think the main edits will have to be done later...Sorry DW..I need to rethink that dialogue and rearrange some things. I'll have it changed before I post it to Extra Flamey or Wiccan Ways.)
Love is tricky. It is never mundane or daily. You can never get used to it. You have to walk with it, then let it walk with you. You can never balk. It moves you like the tide. It takes you out to sea then lays you on the beach again. Today's struggling pain is the foundation for a certain stride through the heavens. You can run from it but you can never say no. It includes everyone."--Amy Tan "The Hundred Secret Senses"
Edited by: Kieli at: 9/20/02 8:21:07 pm
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) I need to get this story out of my head because another project is knocking against my skull attempting to get out. Thanks for stopping by to get caught up!
Someone needs to bend a bit.
so it was just natural to me that they should go through the places I know and love so well. Philly may be the rudest city in the US, but it's my home and I love it. I'm happy, though, that you like the use of songs throughout. I knew that it wasn't going to be a songfic per se. I don't think any one song can do them justice...their romance is such a gemisch...I couldn't leave out anything! It's weird...it was like I had this movie playing in my head and there was a soundtrack intertwined within it. Thanks again for your feedback and for reading.
so mean! Thanks for the udpate! 