JE owns the rights to anything familiar. All mistakes are mine.
Thanks highlands girl and LilyGhost for allowing me to collaborate with you again. It's so much fun!
The intoxicating aroma of jasmine permeated my senses as I slid open the glass door separating my hotel room from the small balcony overlooking the pool. The whole city seemed to be covered with the shrubbery and the scent had my eyes involuntarily closing as the memory of the last time I saw her washed over me like the warm summer rain currently cascading from the dusky sky.
She always smelled like the ubiquitous flower. Her hair, her perfume. Or maybe it was her lotion. I was never sure but she invariably emanated the soft floral fragrance and that night was no exception.
Weeks had gone by and I could still recall every detail as if no time had passed. The light hint of jasmine on her skin, the soft tickle of her unruly curls across my cheek. The quick inhale of breath just before my lips touched hers.
That last kiss was...unexpected. Don't get me wrong, I'd been lucky enough to taste her on multiple occasions yet that time there was something different. Something...more. Things with Stephanie had always been ambiguous, mostly by my design, so realizing I no longer wished them to be so opaque came as a surprise. I very much wanted to explore the feeling further, but as always seems to be the case with us, work intervened.
For the first time in a long time I really wanted to ignore the vibrating phone at my hip but of course I didn't and was on a plane an hour later.
It was supposed to be a quick trip to the west coast yet close to seven weeks later I was still in California and she was still on my mind the better part of every day. More times than I cared to admit I found myself contemplating what could have, or what should have happened had I not left that night.
I leaned against the railing and let out a sigh as the showers drifted into a light misting of moisture. Rain was rare in Southern California, especially this time of year but the drought ravaged state desperately needed it so there wouldn't be any complaints, especially from me. I preferred a wetter climate and was anxious to get home to the humid Jersey air.
When I eventually went back inside and crawled beneath the sheets I was no closer to sleep than I'd been when I'd first attempted to go to bed. I lay there as time marched on with only thoughts of a lingering kiss keeping much needed slumber at bay.
The digital clock on the nightstand inched it's way past one in the morning and I gave up the ghost. I wanted to be where I could fall asleep and wake up with her beside me. I wanted to stop running from the one thing in my life that's ever been right.
I snatched my phone from its spot next to the clock and ignoring the unfortunate time difference, hit the correct speed dial number.
It took one ring longer than I anticipated for an answer and Tank's unmistakable baritone sounded annoyed.
"Someone better be dead."
"Only you if you don't get me on the next flight out of here."
A long pause where I imagined multiple curse words were being silently shouted followed my reply.
"Is the job done?"
"Enough so I feel comfortable leaving."
"I'll see what I can do."
I wasn't even mad when he disconnected, knowing I'd have an itinerary before my first scheduled meeting. And with the knowledge I would soon be able to have her in my arms again, sleep claimed me moments later.