Week 8 Finalist – 3rd Place Winner

TITLE: Building Magic
AUTHOR: Lilly Cain
CATEGORY: Paranormal Erotica (Novella)

“You are one sick puppy, Tina Moreland.” Maryanne teased as she slammed the lid on her lunchbox and stood to leave.

Tina ignored her and the laughter that trailed away as her one friend began the short stepping gait that everyone used on the high-rise ironworks. They were working the 5th floor now – high enough up in construction that a fall would likely kill you, but Tina and Marianne had both been in construction long enough that the height and the walk that came with it were natural. Marianne was the only other woman on the job this summer. It was hard work for women and it came with a lot of flack from the men on the ironworks.

Tina sat on the newly constructed platform floor covering the skeleton of ironworks. The platform was about half down on this level but the side-rails weren’t – it was a great place to hang your feet over the edge and have lunch, and of course, to enjoy the view.

Marianne’s joke made light of Tina’s latest hobby, but she was getting tired of the taunts from the guys. She deserved respect. Not only was she a woman doing a man’s job, she was a masters student in architecture studying buildings from the inside out. But add that to her red curly hair and her pale grey eyes and freckles and she was a natural target for her less than tolerant co-workers. They looked for reasons to make fun of her. Now that she had taken to using her binoculars on her lunch hours, she’d been dubbed a Peeping Tom.

The worst of it was, they were right. Initially the binoculars had come in handy as she studied the architecture of the nearby buildings, the details that had been built long ago high into the walls and roofs of the structures surrounding the one she now worked on. Her hi-rise was going to be taller, but the old buildings had style. She’d been studying the elaborate stonework of the offices directly across from where she now sat two weeks ago when she’d seen him.

From her vantage point on the ironworks, Tina could see right into the corner office, but binoculars made it so much clearer. Her heart beat as she raised them again to her eyes. Are you in today, you gorgeous man? The tall windows let in so much light. He seemed to enjoy that, and in the afternoons, on a bright day like today, he took a break from his bean-counting job, locked his office door, and stripped.

A shudder of excitement slipped down Tina’s back as she looked for him and found his lean body exactly as she had hoped for, slowly shedding his clothes. Oh baby! You are so hot; yes…take off that shirt…

“Tina-Tom! Let’s go little lady, quit being a perv and get to work.” A laughing male voice called to her.

Without looking away, she shouted back. “I’m on lunch asshole, and I’ve got seven minutes left.”

Slowly, almost as if he were aware he was being watched, the bean-counter let his pants slide down his hips. Tina reached blindly for her water bottle. His long lean body did amazing things to hers. Her mouth felt so dry, her skin feverish. Electric current seemed to be zinging its way from her taut nipples to her very wet pussy. She fine tuned the focus, shutting out the noise of construction around her. Crisp dark hair sprinkled across his chest – matching his short hairstyle and pointing an arrow through his six-pack abs and straight toward the object of her desire.

Come on man, that’s it, show it all to me…the litany ran through her mind. Yes! The pants had hit the floor. As usual he had no underpants. Tina swallowed hard. This was the best view she’d had yet and she was nearly creaming in her panties.

“Yer minutes are up, Tina-Tom. Get back to work.” The smoke roughened voice of her supervisor cut into her wet daydreams. She lowered the binoculars and closed her eyes for a minute. Why again did I take this job? Oh yeah, the dream of building something spectacular, from design to nails to sliding glass doors. She sighed and gathered her lunch before standing up on the platform. Regulations said she should be having her lunch on the ground but she, like most of the Irondogs, ignored the rules for expedience and love of the heights.

She made her way to the corner of the platform and stepped onto bare rail. She would have to re-secure her safety straps here, no one avoided that rule for long. For the hell of it, raised her binoculars to have another look and the studly bean-counter before she had to stash her stuff and get back to welding on the seventh level. By now he’ll be stretching out his glorious muscles, or perhaps, just perhaps today he’d give in to a little hedonism and stroke that majestic cock for me…

Instead, she frowned as she focused on something strange. It took her a moment to recognize it. Fire! The man’s office is on fire! Then she realized that wasn’t quite what she was seeing. It wasn’t natural. The fire seemed to be following his gestures, moving with him, no, she realized, it was flowing from his fingertips. He was drawing a rectangle in the air with flames. He finished the last corner. She couldn’t help it, she couldn’t look away. Inside the rectangle a picture was forming.

“Holy shit,” she said aloud. Her mind reeled. As she watched, he reached into the burning picture and pulled…something…through. “What is that?” she breathed. All awareness of where she was and what she was doing fled from her mind. He’s a fucking Harry Potter. She leaned forward, trying to focus, finally stepping just a little closer. Unfortunately, there was nothing there to step on.

RACHELLE SAYS:

One of the things I liked about your entry, Lilly, was all of the unexepected twists.  From Maryanne’s comment, I’m thinking they’re at a park, eating, only to discover they’re up on ironworks. Now, I’m intrigued — not only by the location, but the non-traditional occupation you’ve given your heroine.

Then, I’m thinking Tina’s hobby is something mundane, only to be surprised by the fact that she’s a Tina-Tom (cute!) – and totally out-of-the-closet with it, despite the ribbing from her co-workers. Another unique trait for a heroine — and, despite the negative taste that peeping Tom behaivor could leave in my mouth for the heroine, surprisingly, it doesn’t.

Then, I’m thinking it’s going to be a hot scene (which it is!!) of a guy stripping, only to be surprised by the fire — and Tina’s step into nothingness.

So, all this is to say, you’ve done a great job of suprising the reader – me, anyway — and replacing the ordinary with something original. I love Tina’s confidence, unconventional attitude/life and really want to know more about her. The balance of sensuality and action is great, teasing me into wanting to experience more. And, I can’t wait to see how Tina survives the drop into thin air.  🙂

Great job!