Strawberry Wine (8 page)

Doug looked confused. “So what’s the problem here? Hit it while it’s here, and by the time you start getting bored with her, she’ll be out of your hair.”

Jason was fast losing patience with Doug. “Jesus Doug, I pity you. Can you honestly tell me you’ve never connected with a woman on any other level than a sexual one?”

Doug didn’t like Jason’s tone. “Dude, calm down. You’ve known this chick, what, a month? It’s not like you’re talking to me about problems with your wife.”

Jason got quiet for a moment. He was startled by the realization that he had only known Alli for a little over two weeks. It felt like so much longer than that. How was he already so worked up over this girl? How was he so
besotted
. He heaved a frustrated sigh. Maybe Doug was right. Maybe he should just enjoy Alli’s company while he had the chance, and worry about the new school year when the time came.

Jason picked at the label on his beer bottle. If he was being honest with himself he would acknowledge that it was more than just Alli’s age that was giving him pause. He was scared at how deeply he was falling for her.

This was the first time since Rebecca that he had felt this way about a woman.

Rebecca. Jason braced himself for the bitterness that usually accompanied the thought of his ex-girlfriend, but it didn’t come. Instead he felt... nothing.

He rubbed vigorously over his tired eyes and shook his head to clear his mind. Turning back to Doug he flashed him a shy smile. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I guess I’m just a little sensitive tonight.”

Doug relaxed at Jason’s apology. “Is it P.M.S.? Do you want some chocolate?”

Jason closed his eyes in annoyance. How had they managed to stay close all these years?

He was saved coming up with a retort by a skinny blond woman with perfectly spherical globes attached to her chest where breasts should be. Jason studied her, not like a man studies a woman, but more like a bird watcher studies tropical parrots. Between her bleached blond hair, the orange hue of her spray on tan, the electric shades of eyeshadow painted across her eyelids, and her very pink lipstick, Jason couldn’t find a single natural color on her.

Doug was in love.

“Buy me a drink?” She leaned her back against the bar, resting her weight on her elbows and not so subtly thrusting out her silicone accessories. She was staring hungrily at Jason.

Doug was quite used to this scenario, and completely undaunted. Having a wing man with the face and build of an underwear model usually meant having to be content with the less attractive friend of whichever hot chick managed to win Jason’s attention. But lady luck was smiling on Doug tonight.

Jason was attracted to a very specific type of woman. He liked them natural, classy, and able to hold an intelligent conversation. In short, he liked the opposite of everything this bar fly had to offer. Doug nodded to Jason. He knew the drill.

Jason smiled sheepishly at the woman, and Doug leaned across him to wink at the bar fly. “Hi darlin’. My friend here forgot his wallet, but I’d be happy to buy you a drink.”

She didn’t bother to hide her disappointment, but she shrugged and repositioned herself on Doug’s end of the bar. Doug was an attractive man in his own right, and he knew it. He didn’t let Jason’s popularity with the female of the species affect his confidence. He couldn’t blame them. If he were a chick, he’d be panting after Jason too.

Jason finished off his second beer and grabbed Doug’s shoulder as he stood. “Thanks for the beers, brau. I’ll get ya next time.” With a polite nod to Doug’s new friend, he excused himself and headed home.

Alli thought she would be embarrassed to see Jason again so soon after their impromptu swim, but the next morning found her eager to go to the barn.

She laughed to herself as she made her way down the trail to the Taylor’s, remembering the Skype conversation she had had with Margot the night before. They had both been watching Dirty Dancing on a classic movie channel, Margot in the city, Alli on the farm. It was a ritual they had started the year before when Margot had gone off to college. A way to stay close, and have some sister time. Margot had given Alli a wireless internet card for just such occasions, knowing the farm house probably still used dial up.

When it got to the part with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey trying to master the lift in the river, Alli had choked on a kernel of popcorn, coughing and wheezing into the camera.

“Jeeze Alli. You okay?” Asked Margot.

“Sorry.”
Cough, cough
- “Wrong pipe.” She wheezed. When her breathing had returned to normal, she smiled shyly at the computer screen and spoke softly in the direction of the mic.

“Margot? How did you know that you wanted Brian to be your first?”

Margot shot to attention and pulled her laptop into her lap. “Why do you ask? Are you thinking about going all the way with your college boy?”

Alli grimaced. “‘Going all the way’? What is this, an eighties coming of age movie? I’m just wondering how you knew he was the one.”

Margot gifted her with suspicious squinty eyes. “Mmm hmm.” She tilted the computer screen to a more comfortable angle. “Well, I wouldn’t say I
knew
he was the one, and that’s why we did it. It was more of an ‘it just happened’ kind of thing. I felt like I was the only virgin in the world, and I wanted to know what all the hype was about.”

Alli frowned. “That’s actually really sad.”

Margot looked non-plussed. “I know. I don’t recommend losing it out of curiosity. Frankly, it wasn’t that great.”

Alli raised her brows.

“Don’t get me wrong, it got better. It just wasn’t the way I imagined my first time would go, you know? I wish it had been a result of being overcome with passion. Does that sound cheesy?”

Alli gave a heartfelt, wistful smile. “Not at all. That sounds perfect.”

Margot cleared her throat. “So, have you been overcome with passion lately Alli?”

Alli blushed crimson. “He kissed me. Twice.”

“Aaand?” Margot prompted. “I’m guessing it was better than the Josh Saunders incident of last summer?”

“Oh God yes! It was straight out of a romance novel, Go-go.” Margot smiled at Alli’s use of her childhood pet name. “He kisses me, and it’s like everything else in the world ceases to matter. Suddenly all I know are his lips, and his hands are everywhere at once, making everything tingly and alive.” Alli stopped, embarrassed by her enthusiasm.

“Wow. Sounds like college boy has skills.”

Alli laughed. “He’s amazing.”

Margot gave Alli that look that only well-intentioned big sisters can pull off without looking patronizing. “It sounds like it’s too late for me to caution you against falling for this guy, but try to keep in mind that he’ll be going back to school come September, and you will too for that matter. Oh, and get on the pill.”

“Really? You think I’m ready for sex?”

“Well, only you know if you’re ready for sex Alli, but you don’t have to have sex just because you’re on the pill. As your big sister, it’s my duty to remind you that it’s better to have something and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”

“Margot? You would have made an excellent girl scout.”

Margot gave a humorless snort. “Oh, and Alli? It’s probably a good idea to tell him you’re really seventeen. Sex is a big deal. Do you really want your first time to be with a guy - albeit a hot guy - that doesn’t even know your age? I mean, flirting is one thing, but sex is a game changer, you know?”

Alli chewed on her lower lip, nodding in seeming agreement. “I’ll take that under advisement.”

* * * * *

Alli’s heart skipped a beat as the barn came into view. Jason had finished the goat pen the previous Friday with the intention of bringing home goats last Saturday, but Alli’s poison oak had way-laid their trip to the auction. Not dissuaded by the emptiness of the barn, she made her way down the drive toward some out buildings. Mr. Taylor was now able to walk short distances, but Alli didn’t think he had the strength to venture this far away from his house. Just in case she was underestimating Jason’s father, she held back a moment to be sure Jason was alone when she spotted him milling around near the back shop.

He was loading large, wrapped canvasses onto a trailer.

“You paint?” She asked.

He had seen her coming across the yard, but still wasn’t prepared for the little jolt of adrenalin he felt at seeing her close up.

“As a matter of fact I do, but these are my mom’s. She’s displaying them at the Gardening Club’s annual art show.”

Alli was delighted to learn yet another interesting thing about this renaissance man she was infatuated with. “What sort of stuff do you paint?”

Jason looked her over suggestively. “Nudes. Why? You interested in doing some modeling?” He cringed inwardly. Why was lewd innuendo his immediate go-to move with this girl?

Alli just smiled. “Of the two of us, you’re the one more likely to be found wandering about naked.”

“Touché.” He answered. In apology, he offered to show her inside. “Would you like to see the studio?”

The studio was really just a large shop lined with shelves and work benches.

There were vertical racks built into a corner to hold large canvasses. Natural light for painting was achieved by opening the massive rolling doors.

Alli noted a large easel angled toward the door. It was holding a half finished still life of a vase with wilted flowers inside. Glancing behind the easel revealed the still life scene set up on a small table. “Is this one of yours?” She asked.

Jason shook his head. “No, my mom is the one in to still life. I have a few in the rack somewhere, but they aren’t that great. It’s been a while since I painted.”

“Will you show me?” Alli’s eyes sparkled with interest.

Jason flipped through a few canvass frames in the rack, finally pulling out a large, four by six piece. It was a beautifully rendered oil nude of a woman in an advanced state of pregnancy. Her face was a mask of serenity, her attention focused on the life she held within. More than the technical skill and talent of the painter, you noticed the artist’s ability to capture a moment in time rather than just an image. Alli was speechless.

“You painted this?” She finally asked.

“Years ago. My sophomore year. I have several sketches of this particular model.” He glanced at Alli to judge her reaction. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I painted nudes. There’s incredible beauty in the human form, no?”

Alli nodded, not taking her eyes from the canvass.

“This model was one of my favorites. Her and another woman, a large woman. I loved the way the light played off their curves.”

He studied the painting intently for a moment longer, then slipped it back into the rack.

Eager to see more, Alli tugged gently at another canvass. “May I?” She asked.

Jason nodded, delighted that she was so interested in his work. He stiffened and stifled a gasp when he saw the painting she had pulled out. He was sure he had destroyed all of his Rebecca pieces, but there she was, mocking him stoically from the canvass. How had he missed this one? It was one of the last he had done of her. She had already been cheating on him for months when he had done this one. Knowing it was just his own psyche projecting things that weren’t actually there, he couldn’t help but see the cruelty in her eyes. He seemed to have captured it perfectly.

“She has a secret.” Alli said, hovering her fingers over Rebecca’s piercing blue eyes, but being careful not to touch the painting.

Jason barked a laugh, surprised that there was no pain behind it, just genuine amusement. “Yeah. She had a lot of secrets.”

“Jason, this is amazing. Why don’t you paint anymore?”

Jason shrugged. “I really don’t know. I lost the passion for it somewhere along the way.”

Alli studied him intently, as if weighing the truth of his words. He met her stare with one of his own. “Maybe I’ll dust off the ol’ palette again, now that I’m home.” He took her chin and gently nudged it upward so the light fell across her cheek bones. “Would you want to sit for me?” He asked again, this time in seriousness. “You wouldn’t have to be nude, of course.”

Alli was lost in his eyes again. “I would be honored.” she answered, softly.

Jason was surprised by the excitement that her answer spawned in him. For the first time in ages he genuinely wanted to pick up a brush. He dropped his hand and stepped back from her, giving himself a small shake. “I’m finished loading the art show pieces. Do you want to come with me to drop them off?”

Alli nodded, and followed him out of the shop.

* * * * *

Jason shrugged into his blazer and checked his reflection in the mirror. He gave a silent thanks to the “business casual” description on the invitation for his not having to wear a tie. His mother, Mary, came up behind him, beaming.

“Oh Jason, you’re so handsome.”

“You look amazing yourself, Mom. I’m sorry Dad has to miss your big night.”

Mary waved away the thought. “He gets so bored at these things anyway. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was planning another accident to coincide with next year’s art show. Besides, it’s not every day that a mother gets to go on a date with her son.”