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Sage ambled over to front door. Her bare feet were silent as she traveled across the highly polished, hard wood floor. The journey was marked by tiny squeaks from the appliance holding her left arm together. Just as she reached for the door knob, the buzzer buzzed, again. Then again.
"Patience is a virtue, Ms. Ayer," Sage announced while swinging the door open.
Tristan look slightly confused, "How'd you know it was me?"
"Perhaps, it's my uncanny sense of smell detecting the subtle hint of Samsara behind each of your earlobes. Or, it might be my new found ESP abilities alerting me to trouble on my doorstep. Some might say, a witch foretold your coming but I ignored the warning until it was too late." Sage smiled brightly, "I, however, believe it's the fact that security called to tell me you were on your way up."
Tristan stepped past the chuckling Sage. "Nice to see you're so cheerful this morning. Maybe your good humor will keep you from molesting me today."
"No, I'm in a particularly randy mood. Predawn sex is best," Sage gave a wink. "So, you'll have to rely on your own personality to keep you safe from my nefarious advances. I'm sure you'll be 110% safe."
Tristan rolled her eyes but didn't voice the snarling come back waiting on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she began to unzip her jacket. Half way down it snagged the bib of her overalls.
"Fuckin' A!" She shouted in frustration when her tug upward to free the zipper resulted in effectively jamming it.
Tristan's pent up anger at the physical and emotional trap she was currently caged in finally snapped. Her fury was unleashed on the unmoving metal closure. Tears and swears fell in equal parts as her struggle threatened to rend the jacket's seams. Her one armed wrestling match was ended when her hand was captured by a larger, stronger hand.
"Hey, easy," Sage hushed while she pried Tristan's fingers free of the maddening fastener. "Fury will get you nowhere. Trust me; I've learned that much for sure."
Tristan hung her head and let Sage help her. With delicate and gentle advances and retreats, Sage was able to pull the zipper loose. She lifted the lapel and let Tristan shrug it off. Once free jacket, Tristan trudged away leaving Sage holding the coat. Sage watched as the other woman seemed to melt before her eyes. Tristan slid down the length of the windowed wall and huddled on the floor sobbing.
Sage felt the weight of her guilt lodge in her throat. She wanted to run away like she had always done. But, she knew it would be wrong to turn her back on this moment. Beside, Sage was weary of running away.
Today was different than all those times before. Today she was in her own home confronting a hurt she alone had caused. Her next actions would prove out if she was a good woman or a bad woman. As she moved toward Tristan, she was still not sure which kind of person she would be when she finished talking but she, at least, was willing to try.
Morning was breaking over the ocean. Streams of sunlight poured into the loft chasing back the shadows of darkness which had ruled the space all night long. Tristan was haloed in the glow of sun's radiance. Sage was acutely aware it was herself emerging from the darkness and entering into Tristan's daylight.
She knelt down before Tristan and said the first thing she could think of, "Stop crying."
"Please," Tristan begged. "Just give me a couple of minutes. Let me pull myself together before I try to walk out of here. Don't shame me more than I've already shamed myself. You were right all along. This was a stupid idea. All my ideas are stupid. I'm just a shit sensationalist blogger pretending to be a hotshot reporter."
"My brother said you wrote the best article on wine he's ever read," Sage offered quietly.
"Cade?" Tristan asked suspiciously as she glanced up.
Sage gave half a grin, "No. Child-Hassam. And, he should know, he owns a winery. Although, Cade has drunk his way thru more than one winery."
Tristan actually laughed.
Sage allowed a bigger smile.
"Look, why don't we try to do some chiseling?" Sage began. "I'll let you hammer if you want."
"Um, no. I already broke one of your arms. I'm not about to start on the other," Tristan shook her head grimly.
Sage puckered her lips in distaste. "I almost got both of us killed. We should never have been out on the scaffold. It was too windy. The foreman told me to wait until late April or early May but I had to get my way. You were right; I'm a spoiled rich kid."
There was silence between them.
"Ah…you know…you could disagree with me…," Sage said with some hesitation.
Tristan laughed again.
"Okay, let's do some chiseling. You do the hammer part. Only one of us should have fingers this bruised," Tristan stated as she held up the black and blue finger tips.
Sage nodded as they both got to their feet.
"Wait," Sage called as Tristan walked over to the slab of stone awaiting them, "you haven't disagreed with me yet about being spoiled."
Tristan laughed again.
Sage was awe struck as Tristan moved the chisel head exactly where Sage wanted it to be. Over the course of the week since their sunrise truce, the pair had gotten better at anticipating each others subtle movements. The rock before them was slowly chipping away revealing the pyramid below.
"Wait a second," Tristan's whispered command stopped Sage in mid swing. "I felt something."
"Huh?"
"No, don't pull away," Tristan pleaded when she felt Sage begin to back up. "In my shoulder, I felt a muscle twitch."
"I'm no physical therapist but I think that's how arms move," Sage teased but stayed firmly behind Tristan.
A light shake of her head indicated Tristan's disagreement. "Not my shoulder. Your shoulder."
Sage swallowed hard to keep from weeping.
"Give me a second," Tristan ducked out from between Sage and the stone.
"What, what are you doing?" Sage sounded panicked even to her own ears when Tristan started to pull her t-shirt off. "Wait, wait, oh God, you're not even wearing a bra."
Tristan stood topless with a small frown, "Don't be lame! I know for a fact you've seen hundreds of women naked. One more isn't going to make a difference."
"No, no, no, no, I've always been a serial monogamist. Four, maybe five, girlfriends at the most. No way hundreds," Sage defended as her blush deepened.
"Porno, kid. You've watch hours and hours of that crap. Ten girls every ninety minutes means hundreds over the course of year," Tristan smirked as she repositioned herself in front of Sage.
Sage allowed Tristan to back firmly up against her chest. "I wasn't watching it actually. It was foreplay. You know, trying to keep it fresh. Spice up the bedroom scene a little."
Tristan chuckled hard but stopped when she felt Sage's nipples harden to points.
"You must have been with the wrong women if they needed movies to warm up for you," Tristan muttered.
"What?" Sage almost dropped her hammer at the come on line.
"Nothing. Let's try this again. See if I get the same results."
Sage waited while Tristan placed her chisel against the stone. Sage leaned in to tap the well warn head.
"I can feel you," Tristan hushed. "Right here," Tristan continued as she turned around to face Sage and traced her index finger along Sage's wounded shoulder.
Sage did indeed drop her hammer then. Her hand moved as if under its own will. She cupped Tristan's cheek. Holding her steady, Sage moved in for a kiss which was greeted with much more enthusiasm than the first one so many days ago.
"Can you feel me here?" Sage asked as she trailed her hand down to cover Tristan's heart.
Tristan bit her lip and nodded as she took Sage's hand and guided it down, "But, I really want to feel you here."
Sage sighed as her fingers cradled Tristan's jean clad sex, "I'm willing but I might be a bit awkward."
"Virgin?" Tristan teased as she popped her button fly open.
Sage accepted the invitation and stroked the newly exposed shaved skin.
"We might find being in bed easier than leaning against the pyramid," Tristan said before capturing Sage's mouth.
Tristan's tongue was forceful as it pushed its way in. Her desire was so strong Sage could almost taste the need.
Sage responded by shoving two fingers inside Tristan's soaking center, "Nah, you're already ready to come. Here will have to do." Sage snickered, "Pyramid building must be better foreplay than porno."
Tristan wrapped her good arm around Sage's neck as her body road the fingers impaling her, "Works for me."