Only Yours

0.1

Brandon

To Tamina: Head home after work, spend some time for yourself to get ready. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night.

There isn't a reply, and I can't help but be amused by her.

When the stakes roll, she hides under her covers.

I scrub my jaw with a small smile.

Reclining in the chair, the leather creaks against my weight. Drumming my fingers against the expanse of glass, I stare out the window at the lonely road just outside the small city. Six miles away, Tamina will be asleep in her bed. Thirty minutes into the city, Florentina will be up flicking through photos from a shoot, expecting a reply from me.

Closing down the conversation between Tamina and me, I open the one with Florentina from the past hour.

From Florentina: Hey, handsome. How's your project coming along? I hope the emails aren't too pressing. Maybe I can give you a massage x

I chuckle, feeling a familiar throb at the notion of her massage. Shifting in my seat, I drop a short text in response.

To Florentina: It is going well, thank you. I think it will be wrapped up in a few days; by then, I reckon I'll be in desperate need of your care. Maybe I can return the favour and soothe some of your aches x

My lip twitches when my screen lights up.

From Florentina: I would say we could find time tomorrow, but the shoots are being demanding for the next week, and I don't want to interrupt you while you work so hard. But I can't say I'll let you go when I have you x

I've heard that before, and she's good to her word. I don't think I crawled out of her sheets until midday at one point, slick with sweat and spent.

She is a vigorous woman.

A twinge of guilt runs through me. I care for her deeply, but I can't bring myself to commit to the engagement to her, not yet. Not when I've glimpsed the other side of our world—I want to see the lighter side where Tamina resides. Peace, no trickery, and simplicity.

I need to know if playing it safe is as nice, as addictive, as being impulsive. With years of knowing nothing but money, business, pleasures, and playing the upper hand, I want a slice of plain reality.

Tamina can show me that.

I just need to reel her in long enough to see it.

If I let her have the lead, I can gently tug the end of it so she comes to me.

To Florentina: I know, thank you. Email me your shots; I want to see how they turned out x

Setting the device down on the desk, the glass clinks against the surface. Running my fingers through my hair, I release a tired breath. A new notification flashes across the email tab on my laptop. Florentina's name sits at the top of all the proposals. Titles after titles.

Opening the contact, I'm greeted with linked photographs. My chest aches as I run through each slide. Even though the ones shot without saturation are beautiful, her beauty brings life of its own to them. The ones with colour have been tampered with, making her sultry brown eyes bright like burning wood.