Elena looked out the lab window.  She was standing at the sink, scrubbing up tubes and flasks.  The ocean was calm today, after the storms of the last few days.  The sun would set in about two hours.  Her husband should be home soon.  If she hurried, she'd be in time to meet him for a walk along the beach, maybe a little dip in the surf.  The San Diego weather was fantastic right now.  

She had started her position at Scripps three months ago, after a leave of absence from the Biosphere. Already she was nicely settled in, eager to make a home of her new city.

*** 

Sometime in the early morning hours of that Saturday, Tiffany had entered the greenhouse.  It was she who first spied the pair, naked bodies lying nestled under the palms, limbs strewn over each other.  Their clothes long abandoned to a pile of sweat and dirt, their shoes discarded by their jumpsuits, and looking like they hadn't seen a shower in some days.  Each had streaks of brown and green along their legs and backs, dirt under their fingernails, and snarls of leaves in their hair.  Tiffany called Elena's name softly at first, then louder, until she stirred from her dreams.  The temperature was 92, the humidity over 80%.  She and Richard had been too weak to keep climbing the trees for fruits, and they hadn't eaten in about 24 hours.  Elena couldn't focus on her friend at first, and then let out a cry of relief.   Quickly followed by a cry of shame.  

Tiffany knew better than to say anything.  For one, she couldn't imagine the circumstances that led to this moment, and for another, Elena's thesis supervisor Dr Stansen was waiting in the lounge.  He had flown in from San Diego that morning, concerned that Elena hadn't returned emails and phonecalls for a week.  Tiffany and Hans had come home late the night before, and returned to their apartments rather than check in on things in the greenhouse.  Michael would be back from Florida Sunday.  She handed Elena and Richards some robes she found in the scuba tackle room, and recouped their shoes.  She had no idea what to do with the shreds of tshirt, socks and underwear that were scattered on the beach . Frankly, she had no idea where to begin.  She only knew that no matter what, Dr Stanson could not find out a thing about her discovery here.  She left the couple to escape the building out the side exit, fleeing to Elena's apartment to shower and change, and get some food inside them.  They were both looking a bit rangy, acting a little odd.  The stink of sex seem to trail behind them like a cloud.  

An hour later, Elena emerged cleaned, combed and reasonably dressed.  Shorts, tshirt, tevas, glasses.  Her hair pulled back in a low ponytail, like before, except the frame of tendrils that waved around her face.  She was about 6 pounds lighter on her already lean frame, chiseled in her arms and her dimples enhanced.  She had the sensuous glow of a woman who had recently enjoyed a lot of sex, orgasmic sex.  She walked differently, more softly, swaying her hips instead of thrusting her knees.  She strolled into her meeting with Derk a changed woman, more sensual, more calm, more confident.  Fortunately, Tiffany had had the presence of mind to order up some food for them, so they could concentrate on reuniting and discussing the upcoming thesis.  Tiffany knew of Elena's long held feelings for Derk, and wasn't going to say a thing to get in the way.  Personally, or professionally.  

Derk noticed the change in Elena right away, and felt a rustling in his pants as she walked in.  She was a very attractive woman, but had always been a science geek.  Rarely had she worn anything particularly flattering, or did something to attract attention to herself as a woman, unlike her colleague Tiffany.  Sure, he could tell she liked him when she worked as his assistant, but she had no game, as they would say.  Whoever walked in the meeting room that morning was a sex goddess in the body of a scientist.

"Elena, there you are.  I've been trying to reach you all week."  Elena hadn't yet had a chance to read her emails or check her phone.  She and Richard had awkwardly faced the light of civilization.  Under the duress of showering and changing and getting her thesis papers together, they struggled to find an appropriate way to part.  They settled on a kiss and, I'll call you tonight.  The tires of his Mustang squealed as he peeled out of the parking light.  She winced, as she watched his car kick off down the road.  She had no idea what was going to happen.  Then she saw Derk as she entered the room, and all her old feelings for him returned in a moment.  Except this time it was no longer the crush of a school girl.  It was the desire of a woman.  She knew he could be hers for the having, if she pursued. She smiled, having never understood this feeling before now.  

"Sorry Derk, I got tied up.  The project here was a lot more demanding than I thought.  And my email was down."  It was kind of true, right?  He needn't know.  She was glad he had decided to come anyway, maybe she had been lucky to be unavailable all week.  He seemed so earnest today, so concerned.  He stood up to embrace her, and landed a soft kiss on her cheek.  He was slow to pull away, her scent was somehow feral to him, and he felt his loins stirring again.  He sat down to hide his excitement, and turned towards the porfolios that lay in between them on the table.  Elena smiled coyly, more like a cat than a nervous doctoral candidate.

They spent the day walking the grounds of the campus, and discussing the finer points of her argument.  She needed no more data, just synthesis and discussion.  He asked to see her ocean, but she declined, citing a small fire that had occurred during the week that had damaged one of the structures.  There would be too much ash and debris.  Perhaps another time.  The greenhouse still smelled of smoke, and the air filtration system was being worked on.  Derk accepted her explanation, and instead suggested they drive into Tucson for a night of finer dining.  He was staying at the University condos, and reserved an extra room for her.   She often crashed there when she was in town.  Elena packed a little bag for the overnight, and said good bye and thank you to Tiffany.  Her cell phone showed no missed phone calls, no messages.  She turned off the ringer and tossed it in the bottom of her bag.  

Colleagues from the department joined them for margaritas at the Arroyo Seco Patio.  Elena laughed and smiled and downed a few without thinking of pacing herself.  Not eating for a few days had dampened her sense of hunger, and fueled her sense of risk.  The salt lingered on the crack in her lower lip, bruised from kissing Richard.  She rinsed it away with another swig of sweet and sour, then called for a round of shots.  She was going to be published!  She had been offered a generous starting salary at Scripps and a partnership with Derk.  They had acquired a hefty new grant funded, in part, by the Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Fisheries Association.  There would be no end of work in the near future.  The shots were delivered, the glasses raised, toasts declared and tumblers clinked.  Elena was drunk and didn't care.  The night was warm, Derk was beautiful.  The memories of this week were evaporating as a morning dew in the heat of the rising sun.  Richard was becoming a distant mirage faster than she imagined.  She checked her cell phone, again, but the screen was blank.  

Derk drove them back to the condos, and walked a teetering Elena up the stairs.  She had changed earlier into a long, sleeveless black dress, that draped her now more angular body in the ways men appreciate.  Especially when he had the rear view of her hips, swinging back and forth, as they climbed to the second floor.  She had the apartment next to his, but he insisted on walking her in, making sure she got into bed.  Perhaps they could discuss the other matter that suddenly felt so urgent for him to bring up.  Elena fumbled with the keys at the door, and dropped them with her bag.   A light flashed that a new message was being left, but she scooped up everything into the sac, and Derk knelt down to help her.  His hands grabbed hers after a moment, and he held onto them. 

"Elena, I have to confess, I have an ulterior motive for wanting you by my side in San Diego."  He could see she was having a hard time focusing, and balancing, and he steadied her while unlocking the door.  A loud squeal of tires tore through the parking lot, but he didn't see the car that made it.  He pushed open the door and led her into the living room.  

"What's that, Richard?"  she asked, as she kicked off the pumps she had barely managed to walk in.  She lay back across the couch, alcohol washing back into her brain like high tide, and the memories of the week came crashing back in waves of imagery.  Smells, sights, sounds, feelings, sensations, desires.... he sat on the couch next to her, and watched as she played with her hair, so unaware of how ravishing she looked at this moment.  He didn't know what had changed, but he was pleased.  

"Excuse me?"  He thought she had said another man's name.  She smiled and lolled her head to one side on the pillow, chewing on her lower lip.  Her eyes were half lidded, and her gaze was soft.  He had never seen her act this way, and they had had drinks together before.  He put his hand on her knee, and she didn't pull away.  He moved it up her thigh a little, and she leaned towards it.  

"What's that, Derk?  What's your ulterior motive?"  She let her hand mozy down to where his was resting, at the high part of her thigh, near the fold of her hip.  "Did you want to tell me something secret?"  She smiled, like she was in on a joke he hadn't told.  It was normal for doctoral supervisors and their advisees to get together.  It was part of the natural order of the research kingdom.  She had made her signals so clear, so obvious.  And now he was free from a long unhappy relationship with Christie.  Last weekend had been a nightmare, playing the hero rescuer once again for an ex girlfriend who never seemed to move on.  He had made his exit final, after driving her home from the hospital.  Derk was no longer available, he had a life to get on with.  Christie had seemed to get it, this time. Maybe it was the morphine, he wasn't really sure.  He really didn't care.

He had been unable to go to Elena when he had wanted, and then suddenly she wasn't returning his calls, his emails.  Unwilling to wait any longer, he was on a flight and driving up to Oracle.  Tiffany greeted him in the lounge, and said she'd go wake up Elena.  She'd had a hard week, and had been up late.  That must have been why she was so spaced out, he reasoned.  Mostly they had talked of life in San Diego, and the transition away from the Biosphere.  It would take some months to sort out, and for her to move.  He let her know that there was a place for her to stay when she arrived, she needn't worry about that now. 

"Elena, I don't think I'd be out of line to tell you that I hope there is more to our relationship than just professional goals.  I have felt for a while that you and I could perhaps share something more. " He went on to mumble about the famous husband and wife teams of science and research, working side by side, publishing landmark papers, travelling with a brood in tow.  How he had first realized how strong his feelings had been when she left San Diego last time, and how much he had wanted to blurt this all out every time they skyped over beers and discussed her project.  

He couldn't tell how much Elena had heard, but she hadn't moved his hand away, and instead pulled it up to her hip, around her waist.  His fingers caressed her softly, playing with the folds of her dress.  He longed to push it up, past her knees, her panties, her breasts, over her head.  He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, instead tucking her into the covers, and smoothing her hair.  He wanted to make love with her very much, but not when she was drunk.  Not for their first time together.  He had waited these many months, he could wait a little longer.  Derk leaned over and kissed her forehead, and left a soft kiss on her lips.  She stirred, and opened her eyes, letting out a little sigh.  

"I love you too, Ozzy."

***

Elena walked down the wooden stairs to the beach cove below.  There wasn't anyone else around today, which was nice.  A rare treat.  She scanned the sands for little shells, and walked over to the rocks where there was a tidal pool collected in the largest one.  She took off her shoes, and crawled her body over the big stones.  Her belly was large, and it took more and more to make the little jump these days.  Soon she would need to give up this climb altogether.  She sat with her back to the shore, and her face to the setting sun, bare feet dipped in the fresh water.  She spied a sand dollar and picked it up.  She cracked it into smaller pieces, then threw the fragments one by one into the waves.  Hands circled around her belly from behind, and she turned.  There stood Richard.  He leaned forward to kiss her, and she pulled back.  

"Hello Dr. Jessup," he purred.

"Dr. Reese....."  

"Oh, how I have missed you."  

"Richard, I..." she started but he didn't let her finish.  He pulled her towards him, kissing her eyes, her cheeks, her nose, her lips.  She was breathless and panting in seconds.  

"I know Elena, I know.  You like someone else," he said, and they both burst out laughing.  His hand rested on her blossoming belly, and his arm cradled her back.  "How is my lovely wife today?"

 ***

"This is Elena Jessup's cell phone.  I can't make it to the phone right now, so please leave a message after the beep.  BEEP."

"Elena, it's Richard.  I wanted to leave, to drive away, and I cannot.  I have burned you into my brain, my heart, my very soul.  I taste you on my lips, I breathe you in my air, I....... BEEP."

"This is Elena Jessup's cell phone.  I can't make it to the phone right now, so please leave a message after the beep.  BEEP."

"Elena, it's me, Richard.  I can't live without you.  I don't want to.  This week together was the most magical time of my life.  I know we are meant to be together, I....... BEEP."

"This is Elena Jessup's cell phone.  I can't make it to the phone right now, so please leave a message after the beep.  BEEP."

"Elena, I talked to Tiffany, she said you were at Arroyo Seco with Dr Stanson.  Derk.  I don't know what to say.  I realize I am going to have to do something, say something, .... BEEP."

"This is Elena Jessup's cell phone.  I can't make it to the phone right now, so please leave a message after the beep.  BEEP."

"I love you Harriet.  It's me, Ozzy." 

Photos courtesy of JohnKit, 2010 at Biosphere 2, Oracle, AZ