Rough Drafts (10 page)

“No
one,” Jameson said. “I don’t think.”

“Who
is pregnant?” Candace asked.

“No
one you don’t already know
about
unless
you know something I don’t,” Jameson said.

“OH!
I know…the Republicans want to endorse me!” Candace cheered. Dana looked at her
boss from the sofa and rolled her eyes.

“Candace?”
Jameson began. “Are you already drinking?”

“Yes,”
Candace said.

“Oh,
no. Bad news on the hill?” Jameson asked.

“Don’t
change the subject, Jameson. What is it that I need to sit down and drink
scotch to hear?” Candace asked.

“Umm…
Well… See… Here is the thing…”

“Jameson!”

“What?”

“Just
tell me already! The suspense is killing me,” Candace said.

“Are
you drunk?” Jameson asked.

“Not
yet,” Candace replied honestly.

“Maybe
this should wait until tomorrow.”

“Oh,
no. I am not having two perfectly good days ruined. Now, what the hell is going
on?”

“Okay.
Here it is: Jonah’s girlfriend’s dad is some
FVI
guru… and I don’t mean he makes funny videos,” Jameson said. Candace burst out
laughing. “You’re laughing,” Jameson said in amazement. “You must be drunk. Is
Dana there?”

“No.
Yes, Dana is here, and no I am not drunk, although if you call me in a couple
of hours the answers might be different to those questions,” Candace admitted.
“I’m laughing because I already know.”

“You
already know that you are getting drunk?”

Candace
laughed harder. “No, you lunatic. I already know about Laura’s father.”

“Oh…You
do? How?” Jameson asked.

“I
could ask you the same question,” Candace pointed out.

“Jonah
told me,” Jameson said.

“He
did, huh?” Candace asked.

“Yeah.
He’s pretty worried about it,” Jameson told Candace. “How did you know?”

“Jeffrey
stopped by. Longer story. Long story made short? Jonah mentioned Laura’s last
name, Jeffrey put two and two together, well with a little digging.”

“How
bad is this?” Jameson asked. “Could it derail you?”

“No,
I don’t think so. I’m more worried about Jonah,” Candace said. “Lawson Klein is
one mean son-of-a-bitch.”

“Maybe
you could call him,” Jameson suggested.

“Call
Lawson Klein? I don’t think that…”

“No!
Call Jonah,” Jameson laughed.

“Oh.
I’ll give him a call tomorrow before he leaves. What time are you leaving?” she
asked Jameson.

“About
seven-thirty.”

“In
that case, I will call him tonight. What are your plans after that?” Candace
asked. “Headed back to the clinic?”

“No.
I got what I needed to start the project. I won’t be going back for a while,”
Jameson said. She heard Candace sigh. “I’ll explain when I see you.”

“Jameson,
I won’t be home until Thursday night.”

“I
know. I will be in Washington tomorrow.”

“You’re
coming here?” Candace was surprised.

“Unless
you don’t want me to,” Jameson answered.

Candace
closed her eyes. “No, of course, I want you to.”

“Good.
I’ll see you tomorrow night. Do me a favor?”

“What?”

“Go
home and worry about this tomorrow,” Jameson suggested. Candace groaned.
“Candace, let Dana do her job. Go
home
and get some rest.”

“Worried
about me?” Candace asked lightly.

“Yes,”
Jameson said seriously. “I love you,” she said.

“I
love you too,” Candace replied.

“Promise
me?”

“I
promise,” Candace said. “See you tomorrow.”

Dana
looked at Candace. “What was that all about?”

“Sounds
like Jonah had a heart to heart with Jameson,” Candace said.

“You’re
kidding?” Dana responded with genuine surprise.

“No.”

“You
don’t sound surprised. I mean, I know Shell and J.D. are close, but Jonah has
always been…”

“Quiet?”
Candace said. “He still is,” she said with a smile.

“Maybe
J.D. can convince Shell to take the job. She seems to have a way with your
kids.”

Candace
grinned. “She does. But, don’t get your hopes up on that one.”

“Why
not? You don’t think she can?”

“No,
I’m sure she could. I’m also sure that Shell will reach out to her. She won’t
push Shell either way. That’s why they go to her,” Candace said proudly.

“That
doesn’t bother you?”

“Not
at all. It’s kind of nice to not have to do it all alone for a change,” Candace
said.

Dana
nodded. “I always said J.D. would make a good parent.”

“She
would,” Candace agreed.

Dana
looked at Candace curiously. Candace had a faraway look in her eye. “Do I
detect something in that statement?” Dana wondered.

“No.
Only that I know she would be. That makes me love her all the more,” Candace
confessed. “I know she says she doesn’t want that. I just can’t help but wonder
if she knows what she is missing.”

“I
don’t think she is missing anything,” Dana said.

“I
hope you’re right,” Candace replied.

“I
am.”

Candace walked into
her townhouse and immediately kicked off her shoes. “I hate these
goddamned
things,” she groaned. It was already
nine o’clock. She hadn’t eaten since noon, and she was dog tired.

Jameson
leaned in the
doorframe
that stood
between the foyer and the spacious living room. “Long day?”

Candace
looked at her wife and smiled. “Too long,” she said.

“I
have the perfect remedy,” Jameson promised.

“What’s
that?” Candace raised her brow.

“A
touch of home,” Jameson said. Candace was curious. Jameson held out her hand.
“Hungry?” Jameson asked.

“Starving.”

“Chinese
food sound good?” Jameson wondered.

“Perfect,”
Candace replied as she followed Jameson through the
townhouse
to the kitchen. She
startled
slightly and stopped abruptly when she felt something brush against her leg.
“Jinx?”

“Yeah,
he missed you too,” Jameson said.

“You
flew Jinx here?”

“No,
I drove Jinx here.”

“You…Wait…Where’s…”

“My
car is in the garage you never use,” Jameson laughed. “I figured we could drive
back Friday, or we can stay the weekend here. Whatever you want.”

“Don’t
you have to work?” Candace asked suspiciously.

“Yes.
I am meeting with a client in Virginia tomorrow. In fact, Melanie is meeting me
there. Other than that? I can work here.”

“Jameson,
I am all right,” Candace said.

“I
know you are,” Jameson said. She moved to take Candace in her arms.

“You
do?”

“Yeah,
I do. The last week has been…”

“Crazy?”
Candace said.

“Emotional,”
Jameson admitted.

Candace
stroked Jameson’s cheek and Jameson closed her eyes as she leaned into
Candace’s touch. Jameson was not always comfortable expressing her emotions
verbally. Candace contemplated her wife’s expression. “Jameson?” Jameson shook
her head. “Did something else happen?”

“I
talked to Scott,” Jameson said.

“And?”

“I
don’t know. Just…there’s so much. I just want to sit and watch you open your
fortune cookies with a glass of wine. Then, I want to take you to bed and make
love to you slowly,” Jameson told Candace.

“I
see only one flaw in that plan,” Candace commented.

“There’s
a flaw?”

“Mm.
Let’s take the wine and fortune cookies to bed,” Candace suggested.

“Candace
Reid, you are kinky,” Jameson teased.

“If
all it takes to qualify as
kinky
is wine
and fortune cookies, we need to talk,” Candace laughed.

“Hey!
I can be creative,” Jameson said.

Candace
raised her brow. “Oh? Good. Then grab the wine and the fortune cookies and meet
me upstairs.”

“I
thought you were hungry?” Jameson called after her.

“I
am,” Candace called back.

Jameson
looked down at Jinx. “She calls me a lunatic?”

“Quit
filling Jinx’s head with your jabbering and get that wine!” Candace called from
the hallway.

Jameson
shook her head and laughed. “Let’s see what my fortune says,” she whispered to
Jinx. Jameson grabbed a fortune cookie and cracked it open. She read the
message and grinned like a Cheshire Cat. “Ha!
You will soon be the center of
attention –
In bed!” Jameson
laughed. “Gotta
go,
Jinx!”

“Jameson?
Are you coming?” Candace called from upstairs.

Jameson snorted. “Well, according to my fortune…”
                                             

***

“What
are you thinking about?” Candace asked Jameson as she caressed Jameson’s back
gently.

“How
much I love fortune cookies,” Jameson replied.

“I’m
sure,” Candace chuckled.

“I
told you that I could be creative,” Jameson gloated.

Candace
laughed softly. “And, I
told you
that I
had no doubt. Now, come on…I am thrilled that you are here, believe me.”

“But?”

“But,
I know when something is on your mind,” Candace said.

Jameson
closed her eyes and enjoyed Candace’s arms around her. “Sometimes, I wish we
could just stay like this.”

“I
know the feeling,” Candace agreed. “What happened with Scott?” Candace asked
gently.

“We
talked,” Jameson said. “Well, I might have yelled a bit,” she admitted.

Candace
listened without interrupting for almost an hour as Jameson recapped her
conversation with her cousin. Jameson would grow quiet for long moments before
launching into a myriad of thoughts and questions about Scott and Craig.
Jameson admitted that she remained conflicted. She wanted Scott back in her
life. That much she knew. She wasn’t sure how she could make that happen.

“It
still hurts to be with him,” Jameson confessed.

Candace
kissed Jameson’s head and held her close. “I know it does. Give it some time,”
she suggested. “You can’t expect the last sixteen years to just disappear.”

“I
know. I wish they would, though,” Jameson said. Jameson pulled herself up to
look at Candace.

“What
is it?” Candace asked.

“Jonah.”

“Jonah?”
Candace shook her head in confusion.

“He’s
a lot like you,” Jameson said with a smile.

“Oh?
Just what did you two talk about after I left?” Candace inquired.

“A
lot, actually,” Jameson answered honestly. Candace smiled. “Does that bother
you?”

“No.
Not at all. I’m just curious,” Candace said. Jameson leaned in and kissed
Candace gently. “What was that for?”

“I
just wanted to kiss you,” Jameson said.

“Are
you sure you didn’t just want to change the subject?” Candace lifted her brow.

Jameson
chuckled. “You know, he does that too.”

“Huh?”

“Jonah.
He lifts his eyebrow like that,” Jameson said.

“Does
he?”

“Yeah.
He’s so quiet usually. I mean, he looks like you, but I never realized how much
he
is
like you.”

“How
so?” Candace wondered.

“He
worries about everyone else first,” Jameson said. “He’s worried about Laura.
He’s worried about you. Hell, he’s even worried about my mother!” Jameson shook
her head in affectionate disbelief.

“How
is that like me?”

“You’re
joking.
Candace, you worry about the kids,
Pearl, me, my family, Dana, Steve, your staff, the state of New York, for God’s
sake—before you ever think of you in the equation,” Jameson said.

“That’s
not true, Jameson. I wish I
were
as
selfless as you make me out to be.”

“Candace,
you are the most selfless person I know,” Jameson said.

“Looked
in the mirror lately?” Candace returned.

“Oh,
no. We are not talking about me.”

“Maybe
we should be,” Candace said.

“What
do you mean?”

“Jameson…I
don’t know what I would do without you,” Candace admitted softly.

“Hey,”
Jameson lifted Candace’s chin with two fingers. “Where is that coming from?”

“You
just…Look at you with Jonah and Shell. God, Spencer is attached to you like you
were his umbilical cord. You just have so much to give.”

Jameson
smiled and kissed Candace’s lips. Candace still worried from time to time about
the age difference between them. Jameson suspected that might always be the
case to some degree. She was
positive
that Candace felt secure in their commitment, but Jameson also understood that
Candace sometimes feared she might be holding Jameson back in some way. No
matter how many times Jameson reassured her wife, some small fragment of doubt
lingered. “Candace,” Jameson directed Candace to look at her. “Do you know why
I love Jonah and Shell…Hell, why I love Marianne for that matter, or Spencer
and Maddie, even why I love Pearl so much? Because, I do. I do love them.”

“I
know you do.”

“That’s
because I see you in each of them. Sometimes it’s in little ways. Sometimes,
Shell or Jonah…or Spencer, they remind me so much of you, I almost want to
cry.”

“Jameson…”

Jameson’s
only reply was a tender kiss that swiftly deepened. “It’s true,” Jameson
whispered in Candace’s ear. She kissed a trail down Candace’s neck to her
throat. Her hands fell to Candace’s hips and she pulled Candace closer. With
each touch, each taste of the flesh beneath her, Jameson lost herself a little
more in the woman she loved. Candace was helpless to resist. She threaded her
fingers in Jameson’s hair, delighting in the soft waves as they fell through
her fingers.

Jameson’s
lips captured Candace’s again in a demanding kiss. Jameson’s body pressed
deliberately against Candace’s, gliding against Candace’s softly yet
insistently. Her fingers raked over Candace’s skin lightly, causing goosebumps
in their wake. Jameson had no intention of releasing Candace from her
possessive hold. She needed to convey to Candace that her life would never be
complete without the woman beneath her. Loving Candace had brought Jameson
home. This was Jameson’s home—Candace’s embrace. Steadily, Jameson’s lips began
to meander over Candace’s throat in a descent that’s pace was torturous for
them both. Jameson longed to taste Candace. She craved the spiraling sensations
that Candace’s release always caused within them both. She felt Candace’s hands
pull her closer in a silent, desperate plea to relieve a familiar ache.

Without
any words, Jameson’s lips encircled Candace’s taut nipple. Her tongue circled
and teased the tip. Candace’s back arched and her lips parted. Jameson’s heart
thrummed in her chest at the sight. Candace was not
only
beautiful,
she possessed
a charisma that was both powerful and at the same time yielding. It was an
intoxicating contradiction that aroused Jameson beyond description. Jameson’s
hands traveled delicately over Candace’s skin, her fingers tracing the outline
of Candace’s thighs before greeting a familiar softness that always left
Jameson breathless. Candace pulled Jameson up to meet her eyes and enveloped
her in a heated kiss. No words. There were no words to be spoken now.

Jameson’s
touch brushed across Candace’s center lightly, just enough to send shivers
through them both. She teased Candace until Candace’s body was writhing with
desperate need beneath her. Candace’s eyes implored Jameson. Jameson’s fingers
delved inside Candace tenderly, soliciting a deep moan from Candace. Candace’s
eyes never left Jameson’s as Jameson’s fingers met Candace’s rocking hips in a
steady, sensual rhythm.

Candace
struggled to breathe against the wave of pleasure that was steadily building
deep within her. Jameson’s breasts pressed against her, her nipples brushing
over Candace’s repeatedly. Jameson let her forehead fall onto Candace’s. She
sucked in a shaky breath when she felt Candace shift slightly beneath her.
Jameson’s only intention was to make love to Candace. Candace sensed Jameson’s
need as it swelled. Jameson was helpless to resist and hovered over Candace’s
thigh until Candace deliberately pulled her lower. “Candace,” Jameson barely
managed to speak her wife’s name. She thrust deeper into Candace as her own
body began to tremble. Jameson felt a series of cold shivers travel over her
skin at the same instant she felt a pleasant warmth grip her fingers. Candace’s
body lifted against her will and began to quiver in ecstasy beneath Jameson.
Jameson’s body erupted in a tingling sensation that quickly transformed into a
series of violent shudders. “Candace!” she screamed.

Jameson
felt as if she had entered a tunnel. She was encircled by Candace. She needed more.
Without warning, Jameson slid down Candace’s body. Her fingers left their
exploration and grasped Candace’s
hips
as
her tongue swirled around Candace’s center. “Oh, God!” Candace cried out at the
unexpected assault. Candace was still in the throes their passion. Jameson
clearly had no intention of releasing her anytime soon. “Jameson,” Candace
grabbed hold of the headboard to steady herself. Jameson’s reply was a
tantalizing
nip
followed by a persistent
licking that drove Candace into a frenzy. Jameson pulled back and let her
breath caress Candace’s center. Candace lifted her head and met Jameson’s
lustful gaze. “Jameson…God!” Candace implored her wife.

Jameson
lowered herself again and drank in Candace. She pulled Candace as close as she
could and replaced her teasing with a deliberate stroking until she felt
Candace’s hips rise to greet her. Without warning, Candace’s body submitted to
Jameson’s demands. Candace’s grip on the headboard behind her tightened. Her
body hummed with energy. Her muscles clenched almost painfully before erupting
into violent shaking. Jameson drew out Candace’s release, savoring every
second, every shudder, every taste and subtle sound that Candace offered.
Gradually and tenderly, Jameson
released
Candace from the onslaught of pleasure and emotion that had enveloped them. She
pulled herself up and looked at Candace lovingly.