Sand and Clay by Sarah Robinson

reminded him of the Gina he had first dated. He
looked at his painting of Caroline, almost entirely complete. He felt his heart
warm just at the thought of her, but then he looked towards the doorway that
Gina had walked through and he felt the guilt to be just overwhelming. He
headed over to find her.
    “Gina?” Logan called out, walking
into the kitchen. She was standing at the island counter typing on a laptop
computer. Logan walked up behind her and circled his arms around her, pulling
her close to him. She breathed out a sigh of relief and leaned back into him.
    “Logan.” Gina said softly, “This is
a nice surprise.”
    He didn’t say anything but just
held her and kissed her neck. They rocked slightly back and forth together and
quietly spent a few moments just relishing the feeling of being themselves
again. It was like they were the old Logan and Gina again, feeling that warmth
together and being a couple instead of business partners.
    “What happened to us, Gina?” Logan
whispered softly. She didn’t respond. She just closed her eyes and continued to
stay wrapped in his arms. She didn’t have an answer for him, she didn’t know
what had happened either. She knew that business had become more important than
the romance. They weren’t themselves anymore.
    She wasn’t sure why he couldn’t
just be okay with the way things were now because they were pulling in eight,
nine, sometimes ten figures a year with the combination of his talent and her
business sense.  She felt a heaviness in her heart at the feeling of his arms
around her, like even though he was there with her, he still was somewhere
else.
    “She isn’t just a painting to me.”
Logan said softly. Gina breathed deeply and nodded, pulling away from him.
    “I know.” She said and then went
back to typing on her computer, completely disconnecting from him. He stood
there behind her for a few moments, then dropped his head and walked out of the
room. He didn’t know what to think right now, or how to feel.
    ~**~
    Aralia was rummaging around
Caroline’s kitchen, tossing through each drawer.
    “What are you looking for?”
Caroline asked, walking into the kitchen hearing all the clattering.
    “A wine opener, of course. Where is
it? Mine is kept hanging right next to the fridge so it’s always in sight. I
don’t know why anyone would hide theirs away, no respect for the wine!” Aralia
joked. Caroline rolled her eyes and then pulled open a drawer that Aralia
hadn’t gotten to yet and pulled out her wine opener.
    “Here you go, diva.” Caroline
laughed and then walked back to the living room. She was still in her skirt and
blouse from work, minus the high heels. She plopped down on the couch and
grabbed one of the magazines that Aralia had brought with her. The two girls
were spending the night just relaxing and chatting for a few hours.
    They both agreed that last weekend
had been more partying than it should have been so they decided this weekend
was going to be only relaxing. However, that didn’t mean wine was off limits. You
had to have wine. It just goes without saying.
    Aralia waltzed into the room a few
moments later and handed Caroline a cold wine glass filled with pinot grigio. She
took a sip and closed her eyes with pleasure just enjoying the taste after such
a long week at work. Aralia walked over to the television and slipped a DVD
into the player, getting the movie started. It was a recent romantic comedy
released onto DVD that they hadn’t seen yet and so they decided it would be
perfect for a girls night. Aralia plopped down on the couch and took a big gulp
of her wine.
    Just as the movie credits were
beginning to start, Caroline’s doorbell rang. She hopped up to go answer it.
    “Jackie finally made it!” Caroline
said to Aralia as she went to open the door. When she pulled open the door
though, she was surprised to see that Jackie wasn’t alone. Logan was standing
there next to her, holding a brown packaged