A Dozen Dates (10 page)

“Absolutely... That would be great!” Sam replied.

“Miranda made a platter of sandwiches...” Nathan informed her.

“Even better..! So how about you guys show me around this virgin house of yours?”

They all walked off talking and by the sounds of it, catching up on some very good old times. Michael sure did seem thrilled to see her... They had obviously shared quite a history, and Gemma couldn’t help but wonder just how passionate, and how recent a history it was...

She swam for another five minute before getting out, curious to see how Michael and Sam interacted. She finished redressing, pulling her light blue singlet over her head, tied her long sleeved work shirt, which she wore to protect herself from sunburn, around her waist, and proceeded inside.

Gemma timidly poked her head around the corner to peer into the bathroom. To her disappointment, she saw Sam standing in there and Michael standing behind her with one powerful arm wrapped completely around her neck – almost strangling her... obviously not wanting to let her go; which he didn’t, even when he knew Gemma was present. Well, she guessed, that’s it... Her romance with Michael was done! “Coffee?” she asked.

“Yes please Gem,” Michael replied as did Nathan.

“Sam?” Gemma inquired of the stunning, apparently huggable brunette.

“Oh, I would love one, thank you Gemma,” Sam answered, and Gemma couldn’t help but notice how very vibrant she was – like a rainbow during a sun shower.

“How do you have it?” Gemma noted her preference and then went to the make the beverages. Michael followed her to the kitchen and grabbed the platter of fresh sandwiches out of the fridge, taking them to the table before coming back to assist her in carrying the caffeinated brews. They sat down, and all of them thoroughly enjoyed Miranda’s tasty little triangular sandwiches as well as the up-beat conversations had during lunch, even Gemma, despite the fact she was feeling a tad intimidated by the popular, city-wise and radiant guest.

After lunch, Gemma gladly returned to toiling the gardens, this time in the front yard. She tore through the wretched compacted earth and it wasn’t long before she broke out in another sweat, occasionally having to stop to lift her broad-brimmed hat and wipe her brow. But she didn’t mind... In actual fact, she loved the physical exertion her vocation demanded almost as much as she enjoyed the design side.

An hour passed when Gemma heard her name being called and when she turned around she saw it was Sam who was addressing her, so she turned off the rotary hoe so she could hear what the young woman was saying. “Good bye Gemma... It was lovely meeting you.”

“Oh! Bye Sam,” Gemma replied. Sam was so cheery and polite... Truly, she was hard not to like.

“No doubt, I will see you again,” Sam stated. She was so confident yet delightful and friendly, and Gemma wished she was more like her. Michael smiled pleasantly at her as he passed and then continued accompanying the attractive and obviously successful woman to her car and Gemma started up the motor again. She couldn’t possibly however, concentrate on her work, instead, she incessantly checked to see what Michael was doing. She watched firstly as he opened the door to sporty little Mazda MX5 while Sam climbed lady-like into the driver’s seat – not like Gemma who just jumps and piles herself into her ute like a sack of grain... And then she observed how Michael lent on her window with his arms crossed and talked to her – minutes passed... Long minutes... And then her heart stopped, as she witnessed him lean in the window and kiss the woman on her cheek... Sam smiled, her eyes dancing, and then she sped off.

Gemma turned quickly and tried to look as though she had been engrossed in her work the whole time. “Gemma!” Michael’s voice boomed over the sound of the rotary hoe, and she again turned it off. “When does the hoe have to go back?”

“I was going to take it back in the morning... Why?”

“When you finish with it, do you mind if I use it to dig out the drive and path and under the close line. It’ll make it a lot easier to shift the dirt.”

“Sure, good idea...” Gemma confirmed, and then offered, “Would you like me to do it?”

“No, that’s okay... I will do it!” Michael said and he smiled at her cheekily, “You can get to playing in your dirt!”

“Oh, you mean my organic soil...”

“Yeah...” Michael grinned before continuing, “Sam likes you...”

“Yeah, she’s great...” Gemma conceded.

“She is, isn’t she..?” Michael said. He was clearly radiant when he spoke of her and Gemma couldn’t help but to feel a sudden pang of jealousy. She wasn’t used to these... feelings! Could Michael tell – she hoped not... She had to say something to affirm her mock comfort with the situation.

“Yes, and I think it is no coincidence that she should return to your life a day after we stopped dating...” Gemma blurted out the words, trying to sound chuffed for his pending happy-ever-after.

Caterpillars wriggled in a state of confusion, “What?”

Gemma tried to remove the sting from her voice when she spoke, but partially successful as she was with this challenge, the incessant quavering would not subside, “Well, it’s like it was meant to be...” Michael studied her expression, and watched how her gaze kept plummeting downwards, her pretty grey eyes dulling. Was she jealous..? Was Gemma jealous? Wow... She was! This was a curve-ball... This would translate to her having feelings for him... This was great!

Michael snickered, “Well, it doesn’t hurt for a man to have options...” Gemma paled... He had seen through to the little green monster inside of her, standing rigid and gnawing its teeth, and he leant in and whispered her name into her ear, “Gemma...”

His low voice and hot breath made her dizzy as it tickled her ear and neck, and the word - her own name spoken with sexy intimidation, completely disarmed her and she felt as vulnerable as the day she was born. Gemma trembled and stuttered, “I want to get this toiling finished before afternoon tea.” She started up the rotary hoe and pushed it into the ground and walked off, her eyes planted firmly on the path she was walking.

Michael couldn’t get the smile off his face, even as he re-joined Nathan in the house, and as if he had somehow contracted it, Nathan grinned back at him, “You look like the cat that swallowed the canary! What gives?”

“Gem’s jealous of my affection for Sam..!” Michael eluded, his eyes both humoured and scheming.

Gemma worked until the toiling was finished, then she joined the men for afternoon tea, where she informed them that she would provide lunch for the next day. After their break, she began wheel barrowing loads of soil to place on top of the garden beds, making trip after trip passed Michael as he slugged it out ripping up the compacted and rocky earth of the driveway. God he was gorgeous! But in this heat he should be wearing a shirt... Oh, but that would be such a shame... She could offer to put sunscreen on him – he was exhibiting a slightly reddish tint. She shouldn’t be dreaming of such things – it was terribly distracting. But, she had a point – Michael really should be adopting a more protective barrier between his beautiful tanned form and the sun. Damn! She couldn’t let him fry to a crisp. Stupid sun-ignorant Michael..!

On Gemma’s next barrow trip to the back she stopped by her knapsack and got out her sunscreen, then she hesitantly approached the god himself. “Michael!” she yelled over the noise of the rotary hoe, and when he turned to look at her she held it out so he could understand what she was trying to communicate.

Michael turned off the motor and conceded, “I suppose I should be more careful...”

Gemma was still holding the sun cream out towards him, not sure what to do or say next, so Michael just giggled at her before turning around and placing his hands on his hips. She moved in behind him and dribbled some cream onto his back before poking the tube down the front of her shorts and commencing the much anticipated rub-down. She spread the cream with big sweeps of her open palms and then began to extend it and rub it in with her thumbs and fingers, his muscles and contours catching her attention and imagination, his burly scent dancing around her senses like a witchdoctor. Then when she finished his back she set out to protect his strong, shapely arms from the damaging rays of Australia’s harsh summer sun.

By the time Gemma finished to her satisfaction she was intoxicated and trembling, blushing and stuttering. “O-okay,” she stammered. Michael turned around but she couldn’t look at him – his eyes too scrutinising, his chest to tempting, his torso – too close to his...

“Well?” he said.

“Well what?” she asked, briefly meeting his gaze.

“Are you going to finish?” Michael was smiling and she knew he could sense her... lust! Gemma pulled the cream from her shorts and held it out for him to take. “No...” He stated, shaking his head, “I don’t want to get my hands all greasy... Yours are already greasy...”

Damn him! It made sense. Gemma looked into his playful, possessing light blue eyes and she began to hear her heart pounding inside her head. Her breaths became deeper, shakier, and then she lowered her eyes to his chest. She reached up and dribbled some sun cream onto her canvass before poking it into her shorts and then she hesitantly placed her hands onto his chest. She could feel Michael smiling at her, but she just tried to concentrate on her task. Just spread the damn sun cream... It’s not that hard! His pectorals bulged and filled her hands and as she moved them, his hard little nipples tickled her palms. She quickly made large sweeping motions and spread the cream hastily as far as she could and then again she used her fingers and thumbs to both spread it further and rub it in. Suddenly she felt an isolated breeze on her earlobe, and startled, she jumped back, her chest noticeably rising and falling... He smiled at her and her eyelids instantly became heavy. What was he doing? Gemma reached in and quickly rubbed some cream down over his upper torso, and then she got the tube, squirted a little on her fingers and coloured his nose white before spreading it into a butterfly, her eyes hopelessly returning to his lips as she did so.

Suddenly Michael grabbed her by the wrist and kissed the back of her hand. “Thank you...” he said, and then he boldly leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

Gemma walked unsteadily around the back to put the sunscreen away and then into the bathroom to wash her hands. She could hardly believe how her hands were trembling, and how the tingling sensation would not be washed away with soap – like the greasy sunscreen. She hated him! Or at least she wished she hated him...

The next day, Gemma returned and completed piling soil up on all the gardens and then used the rest to top-dress the whole front yard. They enjoyed the chicken hotpot that she had cooked for them which she proudly served with a carved up French stick. “This is beautiful, Gem,” Michael complimented her and her heart melted as she dreamed of cooking all his meals for him... and their children.

That afternoon Michael casually asked Gemma if she wanted to go on another date, but she somehow resisted his invitation. “Well, I might see if Sam wants to join me for dinner...” he had stated, it seemed more to himself than to her. After this, Gemma was glad she had nothing to do the next day, and Monday she had college; hopefully by Tuesday any Sam-installed rosy afterglow would have disappeared from Michael’s face.

Gemma’s stomach was ill all that night, and she didn’t know whether to scold herself or praise herself for declining Michael’s invitation. On one hand, she really liked Michael, and would love nothing more than to be the idol of his adoration... but she wasn’t... And she didn’t need to be dating him and getting more attached to him only to be cut loose after the ninth date. That would be simply unbearable.

On Sunday, she finally decided to bleach the ebony underside of her hair and then put a toner through it, changing the colour from stark platinum to a very light ash blonde. She was pleased with how it looked, however, she did find a need to apply a good quality protein pack, and on Monday afternoon after college, she went and got her ends trimmed.

On Tuesday, Gemma went around the various local Nurseries comparing the sizes, quality and price of the various plants she needed to complete her picturesque design. Although the trip was mainly for collecting data, she did purchase eight foxtail palms and afterwards drove to the house to plant them in the garden.

When Gemma pulled up outside the house she saw Sam’s car there. She reminded herself that she was supposed to be there – she did have a job to do there... And so did Gemma... When all is said and done, Gemma was there to do a job. A job which was one she wanted to make a career of, unlike the cleaning she did in the past, out of necessity, and she was gaining valuable experience!

She got out of her vehicle and walked around the back to collect the wheel barrow. “Gem, come have coffee with us...” Michael invited.

“I have to get the palms out of the Ute,” she said.

“Well, come and have coffee first and afterwards I will give you a hand,” Michael insisted.

“Okay...”

“Gemma, you’ve changed your hair... It looks beautiful,” Sam offered. Gemma gave up that day... Samantha was impossible to dislike – she had such a vibrant and generous nature. Even she, who was about to have her once lover stolen from her by this woman, could not bring herself to dislike her.

Gemma smiled, “Thank you.”

“Gemma always looks beautiful,” Michael commented and Gemma felt herself tingle.