Free Blooming by Peyton Fletcher Page A

Lily asked.               
    “Kind of,” Todd
smiled. “You’re pretty astute you know Lily?”
    “What can I
say,” she said, “I rock!”
    Todd laughed,
“I should call Sean; he definitely needs a reminder to look elsewhere for his
inspiration unfortunately.”
    Upstairs a
short phone conversation later, Sebastian caught Sean looking contemplative.
    “Bad news
babe?” he asked.
    “Intriguing
really, it’s kind of given me some ideas. Are you finishing work early today?”
    “Yeah I
should be done by three, why?”
    “Because you
and I need to go visit my muse.”
    ****
    Jen was deep
in work designing the layout for one of her new clients, a jewellery designer,
when somebody knocked at her door.
    Her heart
raced before she checked her watch and realised it was only 4 o’clock, and
anyway it shouldn’t be Todd because they hadn’t arranged another date when
she’d last seen him.
    She opened
the door cautiously to find an overexcited Sean and a slightly sheepish looking
Sebastian lingering there.
    “Darling,
have you got glasses, I know it’s a little early but Seb and I are really in
need of doing a shot or two,” he thrust a bottle of tequila and a plastic bag
full of limes at her.
    “Have you had
a bad day?” she asked, her face creasing in confusion.
    “Oh my angel,
I’m about to have a fantastic day, where are your condiments?”
    Sean hurried
through to her kitchen, searching in her cupboards until he found what he was
looking for. “You haven’t any shot glasses Jennifer, these will have to do,” he
admonished while brandishing her high ball glasses at her.
    He bustled
about, locating a sharp knife and chopping board and set about slicing up
limes.
    “Er it’s a
little early for me to be drinking Sean; I’ve still got some work I need to
finish, and I don’t even know if I like tequila.”
    “Oh bull – I
won’t take no for an answer.”
    Jen looked at
Sebastian for back-up but got an apologetic shrug in return.
    “Jennifer my
angel,” Sean said – “a little birdie has been fluttering in my ear that you
have something to hide.”
    Jen’s heart
sank, Todd was responsible for this.
    “So then you
know I can’t be any kind of model for you, so why are you here?”
    “Can I see
it?”
    “No!” she
said vehemently.
    “Have you
done shots before Jen?”
    “No,” she
said with a degree of trepidation.
    “Right lick
just here,” he indicated the back of her hand between thumb and index finger,
she did it and laughed when he used her sea salt grinder to season the wet
spot. “Right now shove this lime between your fingers, take a breath and let it
out and before you breathe in again your gonna lick your hand, drink this straight
back, and then suck the lime OK?”
    She went with
it and licked her hand, he pushed the shot towards her, oh what the hell she
thought, try a new experience why not - except she forgot the breathing and
accidentally snorted tequila through her nose and in the eye watering seconds
that followed forgot all about the fruit.
    “Seriously
why do people do this for fun?” she coughed spattering the front of Sean’s
exquisite shirt.
    “You’ll have
to have another go, you totally messed that up. That was the worst attempt I’ve
ever seen!”
    “Not before
you two do it.”                                                               
    “Hurrah,”
Sean said, “no arguments there.”
    Fifteen short
minutes later all three of them were feeling the party mood and grinning like
idiots.
    Todd got back
from the store and started unpacking his groceries, a burst of music from
upstairs made him look up. Motown was blasting through the floorboards, funny
it was the first time he’d heard any kind of music coming from Jen’s, she had
great taste he thought smiling to himself.
    The next
second he registered that it was Sean’s voice belting out the Temptations
“Ain’t too Proud