Jamaican Night (FreeRead)

"I never wanted to cost you your job." Allie stared at the sea water as it washed across her painted toenails, trail of luminescent bubbles chasing the smooth liquid sheen of the wave as it slid down the gentle slope of white sand. She ran her fingertips along the cool damp surface of fine-grains next to her. The gentle abrasion against the soft sensitive pads of each finger tingled with the sensation.

"You didn't, love. It was time for me to exit. Nobody wants an employee whose heart is elsewhere." Geoff slid a sideways glance to her just as she raised her eyes to his. She smiled, returning his expression of melancholy sweetness. The fabric of his swim trunks clung about his thighs as he sat next to her in the indentation the gentle rise and fall of the waves had left surrounding them. They sat there together watching the sun dip beneath the horizon of the Caribbean Sea. The heat of the day clung to the ground disturbed only by the gentle breeze off the ocean. A distant sailboat cut a stark silhouette against the sanguine sky as it moved leisurely across their field of view.

She looked into his eyes, the colours of the deepening sunset refulgent in the liquid blue there. "You've worked so hard…come so far."

"All part of the plan, unfortunately." He covered her hand with his, entwining fingers in a silent dance. "But I never stopped to listen."

Shifting on the sand, she bent her legs to the side and leaned to embrace him. "What can I do to help?" she whispered, arms around the smooth sun warmed bronze of his shoulders.

"You've already done it…Just be with me." The deep mellow baritone of his voice was music in its sincerity. "If we hadn't already had this trip booked, I'd be in the west end right now pounding the pavement to each theater door."

She withdrew her arms from about him and rested a hand on his thigh. "They've already responded to some of your queries, no?"

"Yes, but that's not face to face contact. It's what a bloke looks like in the end that lands him a role."

"Well, no contest there." She sighed and squeezed the firm muscle above his knee. "I think they may want a bit of acting skill, as well."

He chuckled and took her hand in his. "Yeah, you're right. Unlike Hollywood, London stage does require a modicum of talent."

"You've got more than that. What director wouldn't jump at the chance to sign someone with your passion?"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Al, but I'm afraid I've got a little less of a resume than the other nearly thirty-somethings swarming to casting calls.

She straightened her posture as though a wooden dowel had just been inserted along her spine. "They aren't lawyers with minds sharp as a razor, wits and vocabulary to match."

Geoff rose from the sand, extending a hand of invitation to her. "I'm afraid that's not on the list of job requirements for being an actor these day, love." He pulled her to upright. "And once they've found I was dismissed from Davis and Clive with an unceremonious boot--"

She yanked at his wrist, stopping his forward motion before he'd gotten barely two feet down the beach. "It was mutual, was it not?"

"If you can call abysmal lack of enthusiasm mutual."

Allie's brows knit together in concern. "They didn't exactly play fair. When's the last time anyone at the firm checked to see how you felt about anything?"

"Didn't have to. It was blatantly clear I was unhappy."

She looked down at the compact surface of the sand and poked her big toe into the glassy sheen, squeezing the water from the spot. "Like I said…mutual."

He curved an arm around her shoulder, pulling her to him. "Come on, darlin'. Let's walk to the hotel and see what all that flickering candle light is about." She raised an arm to hook at his waist as they started down the beach toward the sprinkle of round tables that dotted the waterfront along the shore in back of the Beachcomber Resort. Shadowy figures occupied a few of the chairs, wait staff moving amongst the tables at irregular intervals. The purples and indigoes left along the horizon were fading to black as the winking jewel box of stars spread across the ebony mantel above. Only a trail of moonlight on the water gave testimony to the power of the absent sun now reflected in its distant cousin's silvery surface and back to the upturned eyes of lovers as they drank in the beauty of the approaching night.

"You know I'll always love you…no matter what." Allie said in low tones, almost a prayer.

Geoff stopped and turned toward her. "That's the beauty of it…of you. You, my dear, know the power of the heart. It doesn't matter what I do, where I go or how much money I make. As long as I follow my passion."

She looked up into the soft shadows of his face, eyes reflecting the silver light of the night sky. "I'm just glad you're finally taking the plunge. Acting has always been your heart."

He lowered his lips to graze lightly against hers. "That…and you."

She laced her arms around his neck as he kissed her. Swept from her feet, she felt his arms at her back and behind her knees, scooping her into the safe harbor of his chest.

Their thatched roof hut laid just beyond the edge of the sand, the whisper of the palm trees the only serenade as he carried her through the open door.

"Dinner will have to wait," he rumbled in her ear as he lowered her to the round surface of the bed. It was as in a dream that they made love. The moonlight sliced in through the open windows, catching dust motes in a trail of shimmering radiance magical as any sorcerer's spell. They tumbled and rolled, one to the other in a hypnotic ballet of movement, fluid, simple ancient in its rhythms.

And for that moment in time, the world stopped, time stood still and the music of the night soothed their souls.

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