Chapter 21
Chapter twenty-one
Wednesday: Tabitha
“What’s this place called again?” Lark asked as she walked arm in arm with Tabitha along an alley off Front Street.
“Okay Poke,” Frankie called over her shoulder, leading the way to supposedly the best sushi in town for an early dinner.
“Cuz that’s not ominous,” Tabitha muttered under her breath.
The rest of the bouldering excursion the day before had been fine, if a little awkward.
After Zac dove into the water, insisted on carrying her out, then played doctor by checking her for injuries, they’d eaten lunch and climbed at a different boulder field along HWY 2.
There were a few tricky routes Tabitha hadn’t been able to send, but she wasn’t too worried about it.
To be honest, bouldering wasn’t her favorite variety of climbing, but the excursion did what it had needed to and she had plenty of material to include it in her article.
But what she wouldn’t be writing about was the way Zac looked after pulling her out of the water.
His shirt wet and clinging to his bulky shoulders and chest. She was a sucker for a climber’s body.
Always had been, and Zac was an absolutely perfect specimen.
But besides his soaked attire, the wild panic in his eyes when she had fallen off the boulder was .
. . intense. She’d been fine. Almost enjoyed the little rush of adrenaline she felt from the tumble.
And that icy splash as the river engulfed her.
She wasn’t in any danger, even as she floundered around to get her feet under her.
The water was shallow and there was barely a current to speak of in the area below the route.
She imagined that earlier in the summer the river would have been higher and possibly swifter from the spring snow melt.
The only risk to speak of was the risk of all out combustion she barely contained as Zac ran his calloused hands all over her body. While firm and exploratory, he’d run the tips of his fingers over every inch of exposed skin. Not to mention a few inches of unexposed skin.
Tabitha shuddered at the memory of his fingers pressing divots into her hip as he’d pinned her to the crash pad, insisting on making sure she wasn’t broken.
And thank god for Lark being there. She’d never been so grateful to have someone playing chaperone in her life.
Who knows what would have happened had it been just her and Zac.
Wet and riled.
And alone.
“You cold, babe?” Lark asked when Tabitha shivered. “We could run back and snag a sweater for you.”
“I’m fine.” Tabitha chuckled and warmed because of Lark’s concern. She hadn’t anticipated getting close with the woman, but she welcomed the developing friendship.
“Here we are,” Frankie said. She pulled open the door in one of the random alleys. A couple bags of garbage sat outside the entrance in a puddle of standing water while a cat sniffed at its contents.
“Oh yeah. This place seems entirely on the up and up,” Tabitha grumbled, failing to keep it positive.
Lark waved her hand. “It’s fine. Remember? It’s what's on the inside that counts.”
The three women entered the long and narrow establishment. There were only six tables, each with four chairs of varying colors and shapes, and every single one was full. A line of customers trailed behind the register, chattering excitedly over the almost too loud R even the fall into the river was fun in its own way. But then their guide had to go all panicked hero and “save” her when she clearly didn’t need it.
“Hello,” Lark interrupted. “You’re missing the best part. This leggy lady fell in and Zac dove in after her. He barreled into that water like a firefighter into a flaming building to save a little old lady and her fifteen cats. It was heroic.”
Tabitha added, “I didn’t need the heroics. The water was, like, four feet deep—”
“And then,” Lark cut her off and continued, chest heaving in excitement. The woman needed to take a breath or she’d pass out from lack of oxygen. “He scooped her up in his tree trunk arms and carried her to the shore to inspect her for injuries.”
“No!” Frankie stopped mid-bite, once again ignoring her not-so-fresh bowl.
“Yes! She was clearly fine, even I could see she was, but he went all caveman on her. ‘Woman, sit. Man check for injuries.’” She lowered her voice in imitation.
Tabitha chuckled. “That’s pretty accurate, actually.”
“So, he’s got his hands on her, right? Skimming over her body from the tips of her ears to the tips of her toes. And then he’s like, ‘lay down, I need to check your hips,’ and proceeds to push her knees apart and up against her chest.”
“It wasn’t as bad as that,” Tabitha groaned then looked to Frankie. “Really, it was all very clinical. He was acting like a first responder.”
“Yeah, a first responder in a porno, maybe.” Lark guffawed as she elbowed Tabitha in the ribs. “For a minute I thought they’d forgotten all about me and were going to throw down right then and there.”
Frankie barely blinked once through the entire story. “Awkward. What did you do?”
“I snapped a bunch of pictures.” Lark fired up her camera again and turned it to their new Leavenworth friend. “Naturally.”
“Lark,” Tabitha scolded with much exasperation.
Frankie leaned in, gasping and laughing as she scrolled through the pictures. Lark shrugged and said, “That’s journalism.”
Letting out a low whistle, Frankie turned the camera to Tabitha. “I’ve never been into Zac and never will, but this one of the two of you is hot.”
“Scalding,” Lark agreed.
Taking the camera to humor her friends, Tabitha peered down at the screen and sucked in a quick breath.
The shot was from the beach, when Zac was inspecting her for injuries.
She was leaning back on her elbows, hair a wet, disheveled mess.
Her back was arched in a way that almost looked purposeful.
Zac was knelt between her legs, one hand squeezing her hip the other gripping her ankle.
Water dripped from his clingy shirt and long hair, which had broken free of the bun he usually wore.
He leaned forward, almost hovering over her like he was moving in for a kiss.
Ready to ravish her there in the pebbles and sand.
The looks on both of their faces with their blown pupils and parted lips could only be described as intense.
Ok, fine.
Lark and Frankie were right.
The picture was fucking sexy.