Fools "Rush" In

Chapter 13 - Spreading Seed

In the early morning light, Norman blinked his eyes and tried to get his bearings. The first thing he registered was the warmth against his back and the memory of the night before came rushing in. He felt a smile creep up his face... Elaina Blackhawk had continued her streak of surprising the hell out of him. The sex had been phenomenal, mostly because she was completely confident in herself and knew exactly what she wanted and wasn't afraid to ask for it. In return, she'd asked all the right questions and delivered any request he'd had. Unlike most of the women he'd been with, she wasn't even slightly self-conscious of her body or her reactions.

Thinking about the previous night caused a distinct reaction from his body and so he turned to her and was surprised to see that she was awake and watching him.

She grinned and whispered, "I was wondering if you'd feel me staring at you."

"If I'd known you were awake I'd have turned over sooner. I was just thinking about last night."

"I'd ask you what you thought, but I can feel your answer against my belly button." She said with a laugh and then quickly covered her mouth with a hand. "Oh god, morning breath!"

"You got some mouthwash? Because I'm about 3 seconds from jumping your bones," he said, running a hand up her thigh. She nodded and they both jumped up out of the bed and raced to the bathroom, laughing and bumping into one another the whole way.

After some fun and another nap, Elaina drug Norman out of bed and kicked him out to go shower in his cabin next door.

"Why can't I shower in here... with you?" He said with what she was starting to think of as his signature pout.

"Because, we won't just shower," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "If you're going to make your flight you need to leave here in just about an hour."

"What if I don't make my flight?"

Elaina turned towards him, having been in the process of filling her coffee mug. "What'd'ya mean? There's plenty of time."

"No... I mean, what if I just stayed another day or two?"

In response she dropped her chin towards her chest and cocked an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting that we have a hedonistic, mature-content, stay naked all day kind of weekend?"

"I'm not sure I would have put it quite like that... but yeah, that's exactly what I mean."

She gave him one of those stares and then sighed. "Well... you're asking an awful lot of me, so I'll make you a deal. If you'll help me get the last 8 rows of squash and zucchini planted, then I'll bring you to my little love shack in New Orleans. That way we won't be responsible for corrupting any innocent ears that might be passing by."

Norman struggled to keep his face straight. Inside he felt like a kid who'd just woke up on Christmas morning. He walked over to her and ran his hand up her back, through her thick mane of hair, and cupped the back of her head. He pulled her mouth to his and just before he made contact with those soft lips he whispered, "Deal."

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"8 rows she said, it'll be fun she said," Norman grumbled under his breath as he followed behind Elaina dropping seeds into the holes she opened and then tamped back down when he was done. He was sweating like a politician taking a polygraph test and could feel his skin baking. He understood now why Elaina was as tan as she was, if this was part of her normal routine.

"Quit your whining, you big baby. I'd think you'd be used to this if you do most of your filming in Georgia."

"How can you ever get used to this? It's like saying you can acclimate to hell."

That made her laugh out loud, and even though he tried to put on a show of pouting, soon enough he was laughing with her. They were on the last row and they were both hurrying as much as they could without getting too sloppy. The sight of working muscles glistening in the early afternoon sun was working up more than one kind of appetite.

When they finally had the last seed in the ground, they raced back to the shed next to the greenhouse to put away their tools. On their way back out, they found Tess standing with her arms crossed and a stern look on her face.

"Elaina, may I have a word with you... alone?" She asked.

Elaina looked from Tess to Norman and then told him that she'd meet him back at his cabin. "Okay Tess, let's hear it. I can't wait to find out just how irresponsible and rash you think I'm being." She said, having planted her hands on her hips in anticipation of the fight that was surely coming. Tess, even though only a decade or so older than Elaina, had become something of a pseudo-mom to her. She'd been expecting a lecture after the dinner the night before, knowing that Tess hadn't missed how she and Norman had flirted – no matter how surreptitiously.

Tess rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I can see you got your back up... posturing for a fight, are ya?"

Elaina raised her chin slightly and nodded. "I am a grown-ass woman, Tess. I know you think you're looking out for me, but I have a right to have a good time on occasion; a time to feel like a woman in every sense of the word. I told you a long time ago that I do this kind of thing from time to time."

"Oh, honey child, I understand all about your 'itches'. Hell, why do you think I keep ol' Frank's sorry ass around like I do? But... this isn't any old scratch and you and I both know it."

"What are you talking about? Of course it is... I mean, have you looked at him? He's about as sexy as a man gets and damn, girlfriend... I haven't had an itch scratched like that since I was a much younger woman."

Tess couldn't help it, her face softened and she let out a cackle. She raised her eyebrow and regained control. "Is that right now? I may need some details from you later, then. But, I wouldn't be your best friend if I didn't say out loud what worries me with this one." She stepped closer to Elaina and laid a hand on her arm. "I've seen you with a 'scratch' a time or two and this is different. Not just you, either. When you two look at each other it's like you disappear into your own dimension, and it ain't sparks you're throwing, it's out and out flames."

"It's just lust, Tess. Really... we're going to spend another couple of days getting each other out of our systems and he'll go back to his Celebrity lifestyle, and I'll come back here. My only hope is that he'll help spread the word about our charity and more lives will be changed across the country."

The older, taller woman looked at this woman that she admired the hell out of. A woman that at one time she would have considered a 'white privileged' woman, but had come to realize was the most caring and giving and smart woman she knew – no matter her color or background. She loved Elaina with a fierceness that surprised her occasionally, and it stunned her that Elaina felt the same. But right now all she could do was shake her damn head at the blindness that she had towards her own feelings. Elaina guarded her heart and mind like a mama bear guarded her cubs, but she couldn't fool Tess... this man had already made a crack and damned if Tess didn't believe he was going to make his way in like a bull in a china shop.