Animate Me

But luckily I don’t have to worry about jumping the gun because her erotic dance suddenly becomes a powerful force. Watching her orgasm is like taking an advanced course in the power of female sexuality. The look on her face alone could make me come.

“Nathan,” she cries, her eyes fluttering, her body electrifying.

Oh man, I’ve never seen or felt anything like this. I just hold on tight and give her everything I have. I’m so focused on Brooke that my climax sideswipes me, hitting me with sudden impact. I gasp and surrender, as the wave hits me with astounding force.

I’m in the final moments of settling when I feel her lips against mine. The kiss is sensuous as her breasts graze against my chest.

“Good?” she whispers as she runs her fingers through my hair.

I grin. “Oh, yeah. You?” I’m so comfortable with her now that I’m not even embarrassed.

“Really great. I feel amazing.”

“You do?” I ask, knowing, but wanting to hear it again anyway.

She takes my face in her hands and looks into my eyes. “You make me feel amazing.”

She kisses me again, and as much as I don’t want to delude myself, I know I feel something else, another feeling in that kiss—something sweet and tender.

When I go into the bathroom to clean up I’m so happy that I don’t even care what a mess I’ve made getting off with my clothes on. I wipe up as best I can before I wash my hands and return to the living room.

Brooke is sprawled across the couch, and I smile at her. “Sorry about this, but I really need to take a shower and change. I can’t work on the website like this.”

“All messy from our fun?” she says, looking blissful.

“Yeah, pretty much,” I admit gri

“Don’t worry, I’m too relaxed and happy to focus on work anyway. I’m going to take a long hot bubble bath and go to bed. Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

She takes my hand and leads me to the door before hugging me.

With my hand in hers I realize that Arnold’s lingering presence from earlier has completely faded.

“I’m sorry we made you messy.”

“I’m not,” I insist. “It was worth it.”

“You are really something Nathan Evans. I hope you know that there’s nothing more sexy than a man who makes a woman feel beautiful.” She gently pushes my messy hair out of my eyes and off my face.

“So I’m sexy now?” I tease.

“You’re a sex God, and I’m honored to be in your good graces.”

“Gee Brooke, you sure know how to make a guy feel great.” I grin. “So I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Feeling entitled with my sex God crowning, I lean down and gently kiss her, savoring one more taste of her sweetness. When we part she smiles up at me. “Okay, tomorrow…I’ll be waiting.”

Between my thrill of pleasuring Brooke and anticipation of my meeting with Sharper Edge Comics tomorrow I can barely sleep. I pull out my iTouch and listen to Wayne, reliving every perfect moment with Brooke until I finally doze off.

• • •

There’s a mile stretch on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City where just about every fifth storefront is a sushi restaurant. I get so confused by their similar names that I’m almost late for my meeting with Chris from Sharper Edge Comics. It doesn’t even matter to me than I had sushi for di

Luckily when I get there Chris seems cool and laid back, not one of the “suits” who make a sport out of raking artists over the coals. He’s even wearing jeans without his shirt tucked in, so I immediately feel more at ease.

After we’ve ordered and gone through formalities, he asks me what my long range plans are for both my career and the B-Girl Series.

“The thing is, Nathan, you’re unique. You have a distinct, modern style with your art, combined with a very strong story sense and great character development. There’s a need for people who can create compelling characters and story lines….it’s a rare talent; where there are lots of ‘hands’ that can draw.”

He’s repeating what several of my Cal Arts professors told me, when they assured me that story and character development were my greatest strengths.

“But I like to draw,” I insist.

“You haven’t jobbed out any of the B-Girl pages yet to other artists?”

I shake my head. It seems sacrilege to have someone else draw B-Girl besides me.

“Well, that’s impressive, but you’ll have to when we pick up publication. It’ll be impossible for you to keep up with the schedule otherwise.”

“You’re going to test it first for a while, aren’t you, to see how it sells?” I ask, still tentative.

“Oh, it’s going to sell. We’ve done our research. We’re great at marketing and finding the book’s audience. I think you’ll be happy with what we can do for you.”

All the way back to the office I allow myself to imagine what the future could be, huge B-Girl ba

• • •

That afternoon on the way to Starbucks, Nick breaks away from the group and walks with me. I’m wondering if he’s going to say something nasty about the caricature that Andy did of Dani and I with Nick scowling in the background. But he surprises me instead with a compliment.

“You look happy, dude,” he comments.

“Yeah,” I agree. “I’m having a good day.”

“Is it true you missed Kevin’s birthday lunch because you had a meeting with a company about your comic book?”

“Uh huh, Sharper Edge Comics. I can’t believe it but unless the lawyers get stupid, I think this deal can work out.”

“Wow,” he says slapping me on the back. “That’s great, I hope it happens for you.”

“Thanks.” I say quietly as I smile at him. I know it means a lot for him to say this considering he’s still not sure what to make about Dani and me.

His face suddenly looks troubled. “But does this mean you’ll be leaving us?”

“I doubt it, and definitely not for now. It’s going to take a while to see if the story has the potential in the market they think it does. But printing and distributing them myself has been tough for me to do. I’ll never reach a broad audience unless I do a deal like this so I want to try it.”

He nods and gets quiet, so I try to continue the conversation.

“Hey, how did it go with Dani after we all went out? She was so happy when you offered to take her home.”

“We talked a little but she still seems very unsure about me. Maybe she thinks she can’t trust my intentions.”

“Well, then you’ll have to prove to her that she can,” I suggest.

“So, when did you get so fucking wise about women?” he teases.

“If I were wise about women, believe me, my situation would be a lot different right now.”

“Really?” he asks, curiosity written all over his face. “Hey, has Brooke been helping you with your B-Girl comics? You’ve been spending time with her. I notice that you always bring her coffee now, and you’re taking her to the Emmys and everything.”

“No, she hasn’t even seen one,” I admit nervously.

“Really?” he asks, too shocked for my comfort level. “I almost called her B-Girl the other day cause she looks so much like your main character.”

“Ahhh, please don’t do that. I don’t want her to get the wrong idea…I mean, it’s just a weird coincidence.” I don’t even look him in the eye, fearful that I’ll give myself away.

“Yeah, sure…coincidence.” He laughs. “Well, good luck explaining that one.”

Later when I walk into Brooke’s office and see her dressed in a pretty navy dress that wraps all around her and shows off her curves, all the B-Girl panic is forgotten.

“Hey, you’re dressed up. You look really pretty,” I say as I set the macchiato down on her desk.

“Thanks.” She smiles sweetly. “Arnauld took me to a nice restaurant for lunch. He’s still trying to make up for the Vegas thing…and guess what?”