Exquisite Perspective Ch. 01

"She's attractive, a business owner, and a writer. She's got her shit together. Way to go, sis," Allison cheered, grinning wildly.

With a chuckle and a slight roll of her eyes, Morgan nodded, "Thanks."

Allison stood with a stretch as she stared at her phone before looking up at Morgan. "I'm happy for you and I hope it works out. I really do. Doug is all done with his mystery task, so I'll see you later," her sister said with a smirk, squeezing Morgan's shoulder before heading back into the hotel room to let herself out.

A short while later, Morgan sat on the edge of the bed, her foot bouncing nervously on the plush carpet as she chewed her lip. What kind of sick fate is this, she wondered as she reread the documents she had to hand out the next day. "God damn it," she muttered aloud, nearly crumpling the paper in her hand.

Amelia's eyes came to mind and the intricate dimple that adorned her freckled cheek when she smiled, but only the right side. She was not only beautiful, but witty, intelligent, humorous and quite talented.

Morgan couldn't think of another woman as enthralling as Amelia in recent memory. Her written works were phenomenal and her sacrifice to her mother was beyond honorable. Why the hell was the flower shop one of the locations she had to drop the news on?

****

Amelia gathered the dying bundles of flowers and threw them in the large compost bin behind the shop. She had suggested the idea to her mother a few years prior, urging her to put the dead flowers to use rather than tossing them in the garbage. One of the local farmers on the mainland paid a decent amount for the discarded flowers, which was an added bonus to being environmentally conscious.

As she rounded the doorway back to the front of the shop, Morgan stood beside the counter, awkwardly twisting her hands together. Amelia's lips curled into a grin as she took in the sight of her new lover. "Hey! Are you leaving already?" she asked. It was only nine in the morning and remembered Morgan explaining she had things she had to do before taking off.

Morgan's expression was one of apprehension as she took a step toward Amelia. Her eyebrows were scrunched and her lips a thin line. "Hey, Amelia. I was wondering if we could talk somewhere private," she stated in a professional tone Amelia had yet to hear her use.

"Okay," she replied slowly, gesturing for Morgan to follow her back to the small office.

She shut the door behind them, pulling out the chair for Morgan before taking her own behind the desk. "What's up?"

Morgan sighed, placing a packet of about four or five pages on Amelia's desk. "I don't know how to put this and not sound awful, because it is," she gritted her teeth, her brows still pulled together, "The new owners of this building are clients of our company and they've decided to go a different route. They want to completely redo the buildings and make the structures stronger, to fend off future natural disasters. I think they've got the right idea, but," Amelia was already flipping through the paperwork.

The lease for the flower shop was due to end in August and it stated there would be no offer of another lease during construction or the foreseeable future. She swallowed the giant lump in her throat before her eyes met Morgan's, her glare reproachful.

She laughed without humor, tossing the papers back to the desk. "You wine and dine me, take me to bed just to throw this in my face? When were you planning to tell me?" she knew her tone was cold and knew she wasn't being fair, but she couldn't help the anger that flooded her.

"I would've told you sooner if I'd known. I took the envelope from my partner at the office on Thursday and didn't open it until today. It's the whole building. I'm so sorry, Amelia," she lamented.

Amelia took a deep breath and sighed, her fingers nervously braiding her hair. "No, no, I'm sorry. That was so childish. I just...I knew this was going to happen when we were notified of the sale."

Morgan's face was drawn and she leaned forward. "I can try to help you find another space. Please, it's the least I can do."

Amelia let her hands fall from her finished braid before shaking her head. "No, it's okay. I can figure things out," she said flatly before standing. She couldn't allow herself to accept the help. "Thank you, Morgan," her tone was edged with finality and Morgan watched her carefully as she stood.

Amelia ushered her out of her office and headed toward the front of the store.

"I'm sure you've got other business to attend to. I hope the traffic isn't too bad on your way out," Amelia spoke formally.

Morgan's face was stricken with something, something Amelia didn't let herself analyze until Morgan touched her hand and left without another word.

Amelia watched her as she left, chiding herself for pushing Morgan away.

****

"I'm not sure what you're asking for, Morgan. I doubt the new owners would do something like that," her business partner, Greg Kaper, gave her an incredulous look before glancing down at the paperwork again. It had been nearly two weeks since she'd left Ocean City and she couldn't stop thinking about Amelia and her plight. Morgan had reached out to the woman numerous times with little to no response aside from cordiality. She was helplessly smitten with the woman, but understood she was under pressure.

Disheartened, she pressed, "The company has been in business in that location for over two decades. Surely, the construction will be complete before next summer. There has to be a way they could offer the flower shop a provisional lease, contingent on the buyer's terms, of course."

Greg quirked a dark eyebrow at her. "Why are you so interested in saving a flower shop in Jersey? Do you have some stake on it or something?" Greg's probe was friendly, but Morgan felt herself blush.

She shook her head, trying to dispel her thoughts of Amelia, but she knew her friend could see through her. "I...uh, no. When I was there, Ally and I looked around for the wedding. She's dead set on getting her flowers from that florist," she answered, nervously shuffling papers on her desk.

Turning to her computer, she absently opened her email. When she couldn't stand the feeling of Greg's eyes on her, she whirled around in her chair to meet them. "Quit staring at me."

His lips curled into a smirk and he sat back in his chair. "You met someone," it was not a question. "Come on, tell me all about her."

She groaned with a roll of her eyes. They'd known each other since college and he truly could see through her blatant evasion. "Damn it, Greg," she grumbled. "There's not much to tell. We met, we had dinner, then I opened your shitty envelope Monday night and dropped the news on her the next day. Way to be a cockblock."

"Hey, my bad. I didn't know I was screwing up your game," he held his hands up in surrender.

Morgan sighed, tossing the papers she had shuffled into a recycling bin beneath her desk to be shredded. "I really like her. We had such a great connection and now, she'll hardly talk to me," she pulled her phone out and then put it on her desk when she saw no new messages.

Greg cleared his throat. "Tell you what: I'll propose it to the new owner and see what she thinks."

Morgan smiled. "Thanks, man. I appreciate any effort. She deserves a break."

Grabbing her phone once more, she decided to send Amelia another message.

Writing anything new? I haven't read anything intriguing lately and thought I could offer to be your sounding board. What do you say?

She hoped the offer wasn't bothersome or too forward as she placed her phone on the surface of her desk. It vibrated against the wood and she tried to hide her anticipation from Greg as she opened the message.

What's your email?

Morgan grinned.

****

The tapping sound of her fingers across the keyboard was the only sound audible in Amelia's condo as she finished the last bit of her work in progress. Her agent hadn't been able to coerce her an extension for the anthology but, had secured her another submission option.

She was determined to complete the manuscript earlier than the due date, more for herself than the publisher. Her mother's good friend, Kathy, was keeping the shop up and running during her working respite and Amelia couldn't thank the woman enough for her efforts. If Amelia was being honest with herself, she wished her Mom would have left the business to Kathy; the woman knew as much as her mother had about running a flower shop and had been there from the start.

Amelia sat back and reread what she wrote, massaging one of her sore palms with her thumb. It took quite a deal of work for her to be satisfied with an edited version of her manuscript, but she found it acceptable. It was complete. She scrolled through the document, ensuring it met the formatting criteria one last time before she saved it and sent it on its way.

With a prolonged sigh, she shut the laptop and stood. She stepped into the kitchen, starting a pot of coffee and nibbling on a granola bar. It was a strange feeling that overcame her after completing a writing task. Behind the happiness of achievement and the sense of accomplishing her deadline lay an emptiness akin to a reader coming to the end of a good book. A touch of loneliness mixed with loss.

Pouring a cup of coffee, her mind wandered to the woman she met a month and a half prior. They'd chatted frequently through text messages and phone calls, both women avoiding the topic of what would become of the shop and focusing on the bits of writing she shared with her.

Amelia had scoped out different locations, many of them too far from the heavy traffic of tourists and the others not even located on the boardwalk. It was frustrating Amelia to no end, the prospect of losing the business altogether looming over her. If she couldn't find a new location soon, she wasn't sure how she would keep it afloat. She couldn't run a business without a building for it.

She had yet to see the new owners, only having limited interactions with the contractor they hired to gather an estimate on the reconstruction.

Another long sigh, but this time it was tinged with longing. She still had to apologize for the way she reacted. She knew Morgan hadn't meant for their spontaneous weekend to end in such a way and Amelia hadn't meant to be so brusque with her. The night they spent together caused Amelia to yearn for more. The feeling had only grown over the course of their time apart, steadily gaining speed each time they spoke.

After Morgan invited her to dinner a handful of times and Amelia declining each time for one reason or another, she stopped asking. It wasn't as though she purposefully told Morgan no, she was stuck in her reclusive writing mode.

Amelia hoped she hadn't eradicated her chances of building something with Morgan. They talked everyday but, as with the possible deterioration of the shop, any hint of a discussion regarding the state of their relationship seemed to be a taboo topic. Amelia figured it may be her fault for pushing away Morgan's advances.

She knew she'd shared so much more with Morgan than anyone in her life by simply allowing her to see the raw scenes of her drafts, Morgan's input and feedback proving to be irreplaceable. With a smile, she pulled her phone from her pocket to tell Morgan she'd completed the manuscript.

Hey stranger, it's done. I'll send it to your email in a min.

They hadn't talked since the day before and Amelia missed her voice but didn't want to call in case Morgan was with a client. She pushed her glasses up her nose and sighed, stomach demanding attention. Figuring she should eat something other than a bite of granola, Amelia found her stack of take-out menus and ordered some Italian. Then, she did something she normally didn't have time for: she sat on the couch and turned on the television.

It was about thirty minutes later when her phone chimed with a text message.

I want you to see my face when I read the ending.

Amelia stared at her phone, perplexed. The doorbell rang, stopping her from over analyzing the text message. Wallet in hand, she opened the door expecting the delivery person but instead met steady hazel eyes. Morgan smiled, beautiful as ever in tight jeans and an even tighter tank top, her breasts well defined beneath the fabric.

Amelia's lips curled into a wide grin, her hand dropping her wallet from surprise. She couldn't stop herself from wrapping her arms around Morgan and hugging her tightly.

She let go and stepped back, letting Morgan in.

Her cheeks were flushed, wondering if her hug was wanted as Morgan followed. "What are you doing here?" Amelia asked as she turned from the now closed door. Her cheeks flared even more at the thought of what she was wearing: a wrinkled tee, yoga pants, her glasses in lieu of her contacts, wild hair and not a trace of make-up.

Morgan erased the space between them, cornering Amelia against the door. Her eyes were heavy lidded, a faint pink beneath her tanned cheeks. "I've wanted to see you since I left the flower shop that morning," Morgan declared before they met in a heated kiss.

Their lips parted and tongues claimed each other, Amelia sighing as Morgan's body pressed into hers. She was effectively pinned against the door and it only increased Amelia's lust for the woman ravishing her.

She pulled back and Amelia giggled, her glasses fogged. "This is a surprise. I'm sorry I've been such a recluse. I...God, I feel like such a jerk. I promise I haven't been purposely avoiding you," Amelia lamented.

Morgan ran her fingers through Amelia's hair, her hand lingering at her neck. "What do you want, Amelia?" she asked softly, her obsidian eyes searching hers. Amelia bit her lip, thinking she wanted to feel Morgan's skin against her own. She didn't think her cheeks could burn any hotter, yet they were. "You," she uttered.

Morgan claimed her lips again, this time with staunch fervency. She caressed Amelia's hip, her thumb dipping behind the stretchy material of her yoga pants. Amelia moaned into her open mouth, desire consuming her thoughts and dampening her with need. "I need you to touch me," she murmured. Morgan's tongue caressed Amelia's as her hands tenderly slipped her yoga pants and panties down to her knees.

Amelia drew a sharp breath as Morgan's fingers brushed her swollen desire. "Oh, Morgan," she panted, Morgan's finger running over her clit under the soft hood before drifting lower.

"God, you're so wet," Morgan groaned. The digit dipped into her wet center, Amelia moaning and head going back against the door. Morgan's free hand reached around and held her back, pressing her further to Morgan as she added another digit. The heel of her hand grazed Amelia's clit with each thrust, causing Amelia's pleasure to swiftly accelerate.

Her arms came up around Morgan's neck, her head laying on the taller woman's chest as she nearly crested her summit. "Harder," she whimpered, wanting the pressure on her bundle of nerves to increase. Morgan slipped a third finger into Amelia, causing her to gasp and an animalistic groan to escape her lips.

The swirling fire of her arousal peaked, her thoughts numbed by the raging whirlwind. Her body shuddered and trembled in Morgan's arms and she allowed herself to be carried away by the sensation. Her muscles tightened around Morgan's fingers, her entire body electrified.

She'd wanted this, needed this release since she last saw Morgan, unable to achieve the same level at her own hand that Morgan brought her to in minutes. Amelia tried to stifle the cry that followed her ecstasy but, it was futile and Morgan held her through the aftershocks.

Morgan kissed Amelia's cheek, disregarding the layer of damp perspiration she had caused. "Oh, my God," Amelia whispered, tilting her head to capture Morgan's lips.

The doorbell rang, giving both women a jolt. Amelia felt her cheeks redden as Morgan stepped back, her eyes wide. "Damn it, I totally forgot I ordered lunch," Amelia explained, yanking up her pants and pulling her messy hair into a bun, her cheeks ablaze.

Morgan chuckled, pulling Amelia toward her and kissing the top of her head. "I'll take care of it," she offered. Reluctantly, Amelia nodded and headed to her bathroom to clean herself up as much as possible.

A few minutes later, the two sat at the tiny table, Amelia scooping penne and chicken Parmesan onto two plates.

Morgan watched her with a smile as Amelia passed her a plate.

She thanked her and cleared her throat, "Amelia, I came down here to see you, but also to tell you something face to face," she started. Amelia nodded, waiting for her to continue. "My business partner let me know the new owners of the building have decided to offer the current tenants a preliminary term for when the construction is done. The cost of rent will go up due to the renovations, but it isn't substantial."

Amelia's eyes widened as she attempted to comprehend what Morgan just told her. If she didn't have to find a new location for the shop, Amelia would be able to breathe. "Did you have anything to do with this?" She asked suspiciously.

Morgan scratched her head, "Uh, well, not exactly. I may have mentioned it to my associate your shop has been in business in the location for a long while and has done well in that time."

"I should be mad at you because I'm an independent woman and all but, I'm not," Amelia voiced as she stood and wrapped her arms around Morgan, snuggling her head in the crook of her neck. "Thank you," she mused against Morgan, cherishing the feeling of her being so close.

As they gazed at each other, Amelia was filled with a brimming ardency and she knew without a doubt she was falling head over heels for Morgan.

******

Thank you for the read and I hope you enjoyed it! I sincerely appreciate feedback, constructive or otherwise.