CHAPTER NINETEEN
My tongue’s stuck to the roof of my mouth, and I’m pretty sure I drooled all over Jake’s chest.
Not the best start.
“Oh jeez,” I groan, pulling myself up and away from him. “What hit me? What time is it?”
There’s a little bit of gray light coming in through the window, but that’s as much as I know.
Jake stirs, reaching blindly for the phone he left on my nightstand before we both passed out. A day in the ocean is like a sleeping pill for me—for both of us, it seems.
“Oh shit!” He jumps up before I’m even fully out of his way. “It’s five thirty!”
“In the morning?” I ask, horrified.
I don’t think either of us moved the entire time we were asleep. I drifted off with my head against his chest, and that’s how I was when I woke up.
“Yes! I have to be at the hospital in an hour, and I never got home to take care of the dogs. Damn it.” He thrusts his feet into his shoes while pulling a shirt over his head. “They probably pissed all over the apartment and tore the couch to shreds.”
I can’t help but wonder if he blames me for this. “I’m sorry,” I murmur, sitting in a nest of blankets on the bed. “I should’ve set an alarm.”
“No, no,” he grumbles. “It’s my fault. I didn’t expect to sleep for, what, ten hours? Is there some sort of gas leak in this apartment? Or did you drug me or something?”
I’m maybe seventy percent sure he’s only kidding as I scramble to follow him out of the room. “I’m really sorry. I was hoping—it doesn’t matter.” Now’s not the time to babble about the sex I was hoping we’d have.
“Yeah. Me too.” He kisses my forehead while unlocking the door. “I’ll call you when I can, as soon as I can. I’m sorry to run like this.”
He’s already down the hall by the time I say good-bye. I doubt he heard me.
But somebody else did. Matt opens his door—because of course he does—and takes in the sight of me in my oversize T-shirt with a smirk. He’s seen me in less—not that I’m proud of that or anything—so I don’t bother putting on a modest act even though he is well-groomed and has actual clothes on.
“Yes?” I ask with a smile.
“I heard the commotion out here and thought I’d check and make sure everything’s okay.” Yes, because he’s just sitting down to get his workday started, the busy little bee who lives across the hall.
“Everything’s fine. He overslept, is all.”
I can’t help myself. Should I do this? I’m doing this.
Stretching, I grin. “Guess I tired him out.”
He takes one look at me and lowers his brow. “Liar.”
“I’m not lying.”
“You didn’t do anything.”
“Who says?”
“Me and the wall between our apartments.”
If only I had something near my hand that I could throw in his general direction. “Oh? What, were you waiting all night, listening? Like a pervert?”
“No, but considering that there are times when I can actually hear you typing, I’d at least expect to hear bedsprings creaking. Something.”
“Maybe we did it on the floor.”
“Maybe he’s not as much of a superman as he looks,” he counters. “Because floor, bed, or otherwise, neither of you made a sound.”
“We’re discreet.”
“You’re lying.” He laughs. “So what? Why pretend? You didn’t fuck.”
“You’re disgusting.”
“Oh, I forgot who I was talking to.” He gasps, hands folded over his chest. “You didn’t make sweet, passionate love that, like, united your souls in an eternal bond.”
He’s still laughing as I close the door.
Jerk.
Now, I’m wide-awake after, frankly, sleeping like a log. I feel alert and ready to go now that my heart rate has already skyrocketed, thanks to Jake freaking out and running around like the place was on fire.
After yoga and a shower, I sit down with a smoothie and decide to get to work. I might as well, right? At this rate, I could hit my word count for the day before noon and spend the rest of the day not feeling guilty.
I have to write a scene where they’re at the beach. I just have to. What happened yesterday is too perfect to be left unexplored. Sure, some of the details need changing, but the general hero thing needs to be part of this book. It just does.
Maybe somebody almost drowns? Sure, and their family member or friend drags them out of the water, but they’re unresponsive. And my doctor hero, Jeff, has to perform CPR to save them.
Ooh, that sounds good. I can hardly keep myself from pounding away on the keys, building the scene.
A beach. A beautiful day. My heroine is too busy admiring her hero’s incredible, tanned body to notice somebody is flailing around in the water.
“What’s that?” Jeff stood, sunscreen forgotten.
Nikki jumped up behind him, still rubbing lotion into his skin.
“What’s what?” she asked, distracted.
Who wouldn’t be distracted with all this … Jeff in front of them? He was in a class of his own, a walking, talking fantasy. There could be a shark out in the water, and she wouldn’t notice.
He took a few steps toward the water’s edge, leaving her standing on her own. Now, she could see what he was talking about—and it was enough to nearly stop her heart.
Somebody was in trouble.
Jeff took off without a second thought, feet pounding the sand, running for the surf, and diving in. The drowning man wasn’t alone out there. Somebody was already pulling him in, waving an arm over their head to signal for help between strokes through the water.
Once Jeff reached them, the process went a lot faster.
Nikki watched, frozen in shock as Jeff dragged the man onto the sand.
He was unconscious, eyes closed, body limp.
People came from all directions, crying out in surprise, hands over their mouths.
A few of them turned their kids away, like they didn’t want them to see what might happen.
Jeff paid no attention. He tilted the man’s head back, pinched off his nose, and blew into his mouth before performing chest compressions.
Again. Again. He worked without looking around, without asking questions.
A man with a mission. Determined, just like she knew he could be once he set his mind on something.
Only this time, it didn’t seem like determination would be enough. Nikki wiped a tear from her eye with a hand that still smelled like sunscreen. What would it do to Jeff if this man didn’t—
Suddenly, the man coughed, water shooting up out of his mouth. Jeff rolled him onto his side, letting him cough it out while the crowd around him cheered.
Nikki didn’t cheer. All she could do was stand there, feet stuck in the sand, watching as the man she now knew she loved refused to accept thanks for saving a stranger’s life.
Okay, so I changed things up quite a bit. But that’s how it has to be. I can’t let the scenario reflect real life too closely. Jake inspired me, and that’s enough.
Another thing that will change: Nikki won’t faint like I did.
Instead, she’ll take Jeff back to the room they rented for the weekend and screw his brains out, the way I wanted to do with Jake.
The way I could’ve done if I hadn’t fallen dead asleep. Then again, so did he. I guess I have that effect on men.
How’d it go last night? Hayley’s text waits for me once I pull myself away from the scene to fill my water bottle. There are plenty of winky emojis, followed by a few eggplants and peaches.
Are you asking whether he put it in my butt? I text back.
Hey, it’s possible. Not probable, but possible.
I have to laugh. Not probable at all. There are certain things I’d need a lot of time and preparation for, and I still doubt I’d ever go through with it. But that’s what boundaries are for.
Try not to be too disappointed. We fell asleep and didn’t wake up until he had to leave for work.
She’s typing an instant later, the three dots blinking on her side of the screen. Oh boy, I’m in for it. It’s taking her much too long to come up with something.
Boo! What’s his problem? He can’t stay awake long enough to bone you? How old is he? Does he have grandkids?
You’ve seen his picture, I remind her, referring to a shot I snapped and shared with her when we were out with the dogs. You know that’s not a problem. We were gonna take a nap and do it after, but …
She sends me a cringing emoji. Big mistake. Never take the sex nap.
Well, I know that now.
I wish there’d been a reason for her to tell me before. Some things you can’t know until you’re in that situation. I know I’d never think to warn somebody against taking a pre-sex nap.
When the phone goes off again, I’m ready to tell Hayley to leave her opinions to herself, that I have the whole sex thing well in hand. I don’t have it well in hand, but I will. Soon. Just as soon as the stars align and nobody falls asleep and nobody calls at the wrong moment.
No biggie.
Only it’s not Hayley. It’s Jake. Good thing I’m not superstitious, or I’d think he knew we were talking about him. Just how he’d know that, I haven’t the first clue. But the coincidence is uncanny.
Sorry about this morning. Can I come by later today? Around six maybe?
Can he?
You’d better, I reply before doing a little happy dance. Yes. This is good. This is gonna happen. I’m gonna rock his world, just like I’ve imagined doing way too many times.
The promise of what’s coming later makes writing my next scene easier. The motel room sexathon, where Nikki throws her inhibitions to the wind. It’s easy to get super dirty in a place that’s not home. And this time, there’s no threat of patients or coworkers coming in to interrupt them.
I’m so into it that I hardly notice the way time flies by. When the doorbell rings, I’m stunned to find that it’s almost six o’clock.
Wow. If the thought of Jake coming over wasn’t enough to get me excited, imagining the two of us in a motel room where we broke the bed certainly did it. My engine is all kinds of revved up as I hurry to the door.
“Hi—” It’s all I manage to get out of my mouth before Jake’s all over me, closing the door with his foot while picking me up off the floor in those strong, firm arms of his.
“Now,” he growls between kisses, “let’s not make the mistake of falling asleep this time.”