And as he did, with a warm look in his beautiful eyes, Vincent brought Catherine to him, and huskily whispered, "I missed you Catherine."
To which, since she felt completely opened to him, she replied, "I missed you too."
And then she asked, "Shall we sit by the fire?"
To which Vincent softly answered, "Yes..."
As memories of the last time they spent with one another, still lingered, and dominated their thoughts, they both felt lifted and closer than ever before. And so together they sat holding one another feeling devoted and committed to this bond they shared.
As they talked about their day, Catherine fiddled with Vincent's Friendship Charm Natalie gave him, and asked, "May I see?"
As he slipped it off of his belt, he handed it to Catherine, and said, "It touches me still, to think Natalie wanted me to have this."
Sweetly Catherine noted, "I can see why. The meaning behind such a token, says so much. Look at these beads. To think Little Natalie did this. I mean I know she had help, but still, you can tell she did much of it."
To which Vincent said, "Indeed."
As Vincent took a deep breath, he then changed the subject as he asked, "Hmmm...what is that delicious aroma? Is something cooking?"
To which Catherine proudly replied, "I followed my favorite lasagna recipe, and made it from scratch! Have you eaten?"
Though he had, Vincent answered, "I am always hungry Catherine. I would very much like to share some with you."
And so Catherine happily said, "Oh wonderful, I will fix our plates then."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, at Jessica's party, she literally had to pull on Jacob's arm to take him away from Blanche, an overly flirtatious widow lady, that lived up the beach!
And as she tugged, Jessica smiled as she said, "The lobsters are ready!"
To which Jacob happily allowed himself to be whisked away, and as he followed her, he said, "Ah Jessica, this is a lovely party. And it looks as if Peter and Charles are having a good time as well!"
And then both Jessica and Jacob, started to laugh as they approached the bonfire, where Peter and Charles were dancing away in the sand with a few of Jessica's good friends.
Peter had on a hula skirt, and Charles, a straw hat, and both were donning floral leis, all fun party garb, which Jessica had at the ready for each of her guests!
And needless to say, the party was a hit, mainly because of the attendance of the three new bachelors! And though it was a blast, it did end early, as everyone knew Jessica had an 8:00 a.m. Plane to catch.
However, all was not lost, because before it was over, both Charles and Peter made a dinner double date with the women they had met.
And so as the last of the dinner guest said goodbye to Jessica, only the three silver stallions were left. To which Peter and Charles thanked Jessica, and bade her goodbye, and wished her a safe trip.
Jacob then too stepped up to say goodbye, and was taken aback as Jessica placed her hand on his arm, and discreetly asked him to stay, and to have one last drink.
Passionately, she asked, "Jacob must you go? Won't you stay for a nightcap...after all you don't have to drive...all you have to do is saunter down the beach a short way."
To which Jacob chuckled, as he repeated, "Saunter uh, one more drink and I am fearful that it may be more of a waddle!"
But then as he saw the look in Jessica's eyes, Jacob without breaking her gaze, called out to the other two studs, telling them he would be home directly.
Upon hearing Jacob telling his pals to go on ahead, Jessica happily stated, "Then you will stay..."
In reply, Jacob softly said, "Yes I would love to Jessica."
As their time together picked up where it had left off, they nearly found themselves talking of how much they missed one another, and grew intimate once again.
However, Jacob held back as he recalled the discontentment that stirred within him the last time he entertained the idea of a life with Jessica. It took him a long time to be able to put his focus back on his real life...on his reality and find peace within his lonely heart.
With a voice full of regret, he told Jessica, "We both know this will not go anywhere. Knowing tomorrow you will be gone on another photo assignment, and I...I in a few days will be back home below in my world. My heart took a long time to heal when I finally accepted the way things are...the way they must be...at least for now. I hope you understand."
Jessica lovingly said, "I do understand Jacob, I understand completely. So at least for now my Dearest..."
Jessica lightened the mood of their goodbye by adding, "...however I hope you understand how disappointed I am."
Feeling the same way, Jacob softly answered, "Indeed..."
He then touched Jessica's cheek, as he longingly said, "And I shall miss watching you, as you sleep. Have a safe trip Dear Jessica."
Jessica kissed Jacob, and sadly said, "Until we meet again Jacob."
And so Jacob departed, and as he walked back to Peter's, he pondered his decision to leave Jessica tonight. He and Jessica did have a love for one another, but he knew it would have made it twice as painful to say goodbye.
So there they left their relationship, fully intact lying in wait, until they meet again.
And so as Peter and Charles were sitting at the table, they were shocked to see Jacob back so soon!
To which Peter teased, "Hey, your home before your curfew! Well, I ah, well I just figured you'd be back much later."
In reply, Jacob looked at Peter, as he said, "Please...you are assuming too much...Jessica and I said our good-byes."
Seeing Jacob looked a bit saddened, Charles tried to lighten the mood by saying, "I was just getting ready to call Cathy."
To which Jacob perked up, and said, "Jolly good, hopefully she will have an update for me from Vincent."
And then a thought struck Charles, and he suggested, "Hmm, why don't you place the call Jacob? I think Cathy would get a kick out of getting a call from you instead of her doting old Dad."
To which Jacob smiled, and said, "Oh yes, may I? I think you are right, Catherine just might get a kick out of getting a call from me."