Romancing the Runway

“Me, too. He complimented me today on not being hard to work with. I hated to tell him he just hadn’t caught me on a bad day. But I decided to enlighten him.” They laughed.

Inside the restaurant Xavier stepped up to the podium and gave his name to the hostess. He hadn’t made reservations because he hadn’t been sure when Kenney would finish up her job. However, the place didn’t look too crowded and only a few people were waiting to be seated. After requesting a window table for two, he joined Kennedy.

Kennedy looked up at Xavier as he drew near. “Think we could sit at the bar until they call your name? I’m thirsty.”

“Sure, let’s go.” Prepared to lead the way, he took her by the hand.

The couple stopped by the podium to tell the hostess their plans before proceeding to the large bar area, which was practically empty. It was well after the lunch-hour rush.

Kennedy ordered raspberry iced tea and Xavier had a taste for lemonade.

He looked right into her eyes. “What was your session like?”

“Mainly formal wear. I modeled several designer evening gowns for a specialty-wear catalogue. It was a pretty easy gig. Getting in and out of clothes and makeup are the most demanding parts for me. I’ve pretty much got all the different poses and faces down pat.”

“I know. I’ve been privileged to see you in action. How’re you feeling?”

“I’m flying high right now. Everything was so fast paced and exhilarating. In about an hour, I’ll start to bomb out.”

“I think that goes for all high-fashion models. Men don’t have to go through as much as you women, but we have our fair share of demanding jobs. Makeup is still a rough part for me to get through. I can’t wait to get it off my face afterward.”

“I can see how that’d be hard for any male, since you guys don’t normally wear the stuff.” Her eyes roved over his face. “You have gorgeous skin. What’s your secret?”

“Using a darn good moisturizer. A healthy diet and drinking plenty of water helps, too. This face has never been introduced to a razor, thank goodness. I shave with a light depilatory. For whatever reason, I don’t grow a lot of facial hair. Now my chest, that’s a different matter altogether,” he said, chuckling.

Kennedy recalled with crystal clarity the thick chest hair that eventually tapered off to run down into his shorts. She reined in her torrid thoughts as they began to get out of control. Xavier’s last name was then called out, which gave her more time to pull it together. This fine brother had a way of making her imagination go wild.

The couple was then seated at a window table and a waitress was sent right over.

Due to the heavy meal Kennedy had consumed the previous night, she chose a light garden salad with low-calorie dressing, along with a dish of seasonal fruit: strawberries, cantaloupe chunks, blackberries and a dollop of whipped cream. Xavier ordered a grilled chicken entrée, accompanied with his favorite veggie, asparagus.

The couple spoke on a variety of stimulating subjects as they waited for their meals to be delivered. Travel was a favorite pastime for both. Their profession gave them ample opportunity to journey to places they may’ve never otherwise gotten to. Kennedy and Xavier had already been to many exotic locations.

“How do you feel about us getting away together for a quiet mini-vacation?”

Kennedy couldn’t hide her surprise at the question. “I don’t know. It all depends on what you have in mind.”

“Just some time away from this bustling city. Separate rooms, of course. I thought it’d be nice if we could take a short vacation down to Mexico or possibly up north to the wine country.”

Kennedy looked Xavier dead in the eye, as if to test his resolve. When he didn’t so much as flinch, she felt relieved, actually liking the idea of getting away for a couple of days and doing absolutely nothing. The idea of being away with him had her heart jumping around. “Separate rooms are a must. Thanks for the invite. I’ll have to check my schedule to see what time frames are free. Weekdays are normally best for me.”

“I agree. Most of my weekends are crazy. But I’m willing to do whichever I can. Whatever days you come up with, I’ll try and match up our calendars.”

“We can see if we can work out something. I’ll check it out when I get home.”

“You’ll have no regrets, Kennedy. I promise.”

“I trust you to keep your promise. Here comes our food.” She had already made a promise to herself to finish all of her meal this time. For a mere second, she thought of offering to pick up the check. Something told her it wasn’t a good idea, at least not this soon. Xavier was a man with a lot of pride. She shouldn’t risk injuring it.

Xavier eagerly accepted Kennedy’s invitation to come into her home. She had said she’d like to show him around if he had time. She had also mentioned they could check her calendar to try and come up with a match, suggesting that he could write down the information to later compare it to his own busy schedule.

The blinding white decor of Kennedy’s three-bedroom ranch house took Xavier by surprise. Everything covered in fabric was fashioned in an array of white tones, both softer shades and the more dazzling ones. The dark wood accents relieved the stark whiteness to a small degree, but the rooms still had a white wonderland appearance.

Despite all the flashy whiteness, there wasn’t a sterile feel to the place. Kennedy was not the least bit neurotic about her space, either. She made sure her visitors always felt welcome and comfortable in her home. There were no specific rules about where people could eat and drink. Like most folks, she only wanted people to respect her home and not indulge in practices they wouldn’t perform inside their own residences. In many ways, both she and Xavier had the same goal in mind for their visitors’ total comfort.

It took Kennedy all of ten minutes to give Xavier a full tour since she hadn’t spent a lot of time in each room. The master bedroom was as white as the rest of the place, but at least she had pink and lavender designer pillows on her bed. The white comforter was also fringed in a soft shade of pink and a deep violet, with the master bath also done in the same shades. White wood shutters covered all the windows in the house.

Once the couple got into the office, she offered Xavier a seat on an overstuffed chair. Then she rifled through her desk, looking for her calendar, which wasn’t where it was normally kept. Kennedy finally spotted it on her computer table.

“Ah, here we go,” she said, picking up the large black calendar and an ink pen and writing pad. Walking over to where Xavier was seated, she sat down at his feet and held up the calendar for him to view. “It looks like this month is all filled. Maybe we should look at the next one.” She rapidly flipped over the page.

Xavier took the calendar from her hand and flipped it back to the page she’d turned away from. “Take a closer look at what you have written down in the blocks. Maybe there are a few dispensable items.”

“If I’ve already given my word on something, I couldn’t back out.”

“Just take a look at everything. You’d be surprised at what you can hack away. I thought you’d promised to start prioritizing your time.”

Kennedy closely studied the entries, giving each one her undivided attention. She pointed at the second Wednesday of the month. “This event has been canceled. Looks like I forgot to mark it off. Interesting, but the following two days are also free. You could look at your calendar to see how they work for you.”

Taking the pen and pad from her hand, he wrote down the dates. “Keep on looking. Maybe you’ll spot something else you forgot to cancel.”

After more scrutinizing, she didn’t see anything else she could hack off, causing her to flip over to the following month. “There are a couple of days in the first week of July. Wow, the Fourth of July is free. It’s in the middle of the week, but places are probably going to be pretty crowded then.”

“Maybe, maybe not. I’m sure we can find a resort hotel close by to book into.” He wrote those dates down, too, before spotting a couple of empty spaces at the end of July. After pointing the dates out to her, he jotted them down also. “Now we have a few things to work with. When I get back home, I’ll do the comparisons.”

Kennedy smiled brightly. “Assignment completed. Let’s go down to the family room and chat awhile. That is, if you have some time to hang out with me.”

“I’d like nothing more.” As he got to his feet, he handed her back the calendar.

Up front in the family room, Xavier sat as close to Kennedy on the sofa as he thought appropriate. The scent of her perfume drove him wild. The urge to run his fingers through her hair was unbearable. Kissing her thoroughly was his next tingling thought.

Kennedy felt the same kind of vibes as Xavier did. She couldn’t count how many times she’d wondered what his kiss might do to her. She had a good idea his mouth would set her entire body on fire. Everything about him turned on her inner flames.

The phone suddenly rang, pulling Kennedy away from her heated thoughts. “Excuse me.” Normally she didn’t answer calls when she had company, but she was expecting to hear from her best girlfriend, Martina Sellers.

“Hey, Marty, what’s up?”

“Everything is cool. A few of us are going out tonight to this new club called Caliente. Knowing how much you like the Latin scene, I thought I’d call to see if you wanted to join Mitchel and me. Bianca is also stopping by for a bit.”

“Sounds like fun. What time and where is the club?”

“Around eight-thirty or so, at Redondo Beach. You know nothing really pops off before eight or nine. Get a pen and I’ll give you the address.”

Using one of the pens and pads she kept next to the phone, Kennedy told Martina she was ready to copy. The beach cities pretty much ran one right after the other. Redondo was on the other side of Manhattan Beach, but it didn’t take long to get there. “Okay, Martina, I’ll see you guys later. I’ve got something interesting to tell you.”

“Any hints?”

“Not right now. Talk to you when I see you.”