Second Chances: The Seahaven Series - Book One (16 page)

I see a hint of a smile in his eye and I have to look away so I don't laugh.

I pick up a piece of paper and point to it like I'm asking him an official question. I say quietly, “Doctor, have you ever had sex in water?”

He smiles, and looks around discreetly to make sure no one's in earshot. He takes the paper from me and studies it.

“I can't say I have. EMT Bacerra, is it?” He makes a show of looking at my badge, even though he's really looking at my body, my mouth. If this room were empty I know what I'd be doing right now.

“What do you think that would be like?” I ask him, both of us imagining it.

“I think it would be like...” he clears his throat and shifts positions. “I think it would be amazing, and also probably not something I should be thinking about right now.” He glances down quickly. I look and see the bulge in his pants.

I raise an eyebrow. “I think, Doctor, that you should have your condition checked out by a qualified professional. And I know just the right person.”

His eyes are a little lidded and glazey. A nurse joins us on the other side of the desk to sign my papers.

He clears his throat again. “Thanks, then. I'll be in contact for that recommendation.” He smiles a quick smile and leaves. The nurse in front of me watches him go.

“He is so hot,” she says. “I'm gonna get with him before he goes back to Australia or wherever he's from.”

I bypass the fact that she's just said she's going to sleep with Matt and go right to the part about Australia.

“What do you mean, 'goes back to Australia'?” I say. I must sound too interested because she gives me a look like what's it to me.

“I mean, he's a good doctor. He's doing a good job here,” I say.

She looks me over and decides to indulge my nosiness.

She shrugs. “I don't know much. He was talking to the HR director, and my girlfriend works in that office, and she knows I want to get with him, so she said they were talking about him leaving and going back.” She looks at me. “You don't think he's sleeping with anybody here, do you? I mean who cares anyway. How could he not be. Look at that ass.”

She stares openly at Matt, but I'm not even paying attention. I'm fighting through what feels like a hundred bricks landing on my shoulders.

I consider walking over to him right now and asking him about it so he can tell me it's just a rumor and I don't have to worry, but he's with a patient. He looks up and over at me and smiles. I smile back weakly. When he turns away, the nurse hits me on the arm.

“Ohmygod, did you see that? He smiled at me! Right at me.” She does a little happy dance behind her desk, and all I can think about is how devastated I feel at the thought of him leaving. It's official, I realize. I'm a goner. I am completely in love.

Chapter Twenty-Five

When my shift ends I ride the elevator to the fifth floor to check on Cesar. I'm trying to focus on my brother but the Matt leaving rumor keeps creeping into my head.

I get off the elevator and walk to Cesar's room. A single policeman is stationed outside his door, and he recognizes me and nods that it's okay to go in.

Cesar is sleeping peacefully, his monitors beeping calmly. It's good to see him serene and not agitated. I sit in the chair next to him and hold his hand. I watch him breathe.

“Mamá estaba mirando hacia fuera para usted,” I say quietly.
Mom was looking out for you
.

I kiss his forehead and leave the room. A different nurse is on duty, but I check in with her anyway.

“Are you Ellie?” she asks.

I nod. “How's he been?” I ask.

“Good. Janice said to tell you that the police didn't try to question him, and that he ate some food, and that he didn't yell at anybody. He's actually been really nice to the nurses.”

I smile. Smart move, Cesar.

I double-check that she has my number in case anything happens, and say goodnight.

I get home around 5:30, before the sun's up. I'm tired and hungry. For the past four hours I've been thinking about the possibility of Matt leaving, and it's wearing me out. And for all I know it could be a rumor, it could be a made-up story that the nurses's friend told her to push her into making a move on him.

I know he loves me, I mean I feel that he honestly does. So I'm going to let it be and treat it like a rumor unless he says something about it. If it's true, he'll tell me. It's not like he can just disappear.

I'm sitting on the couch playing tug-of-war with Buster and a chew toy rope when there's a knock on the door. Buster hops down, barking.

“Buster, shhh!” I say. Sometimes it's easy to forget that it's five in the morning and that most people who live in this apartment complex aren't even awake yet.

I look through the peephole. It's Matt. My heart does a flutter and I open the door. He's carrying a pizza and a six pack of beer. I laugh.

“5am beer,” I say. “Excellent.”

“Fine lager for a fine lady.”

He pushes the door closed behind him with his foot and puts everything down on the coffee table. Then he takes my face in his hands. He moves his lips to mine and kisses me softly, passionately. I feel my legs start to turn to jelly.

He pulls back and my eyes are still closed. “Come in here,” he says.

He takes me by the hand through my bedroom and into the bathroom. He puts the beer in the sink and the pizza on the counter. He takes off his jacket and throws it onto my bed. He turns on the water in the bathtub.

I laugh. “That tub's kind of small,” I say, “and you're a pretty big guy.”

“I don't care,” he says. “I've been thinking of nothing else for the past five hours. And the ocean's too cold.”

He pulls off my t-shirt, then pulls the drawstring on my sweatpants so they fall to the ground.

He stares at me standing in front of him naked.

“What?” I protest, laughing a little that I'm completely naked and he's fully clothed in my small bathroom. I cover my chest with my arms.

“No, don't,” he says. He's serious. “You are beautiful,” he says. “You take my breath away.”

He's being so serious that I don't feel like I should make a joke. I take a step towards him and kiss him. It's a slow, lingering kiss that I feel to my toes. The kind of kiss that's filled with meaning, but that turns you on like crazy, too. I move his hand lower and he kisses me a little harder.

“You're so wet,” he breathes. My own breathing is getting a little faster.

“It's what you do to me,” I say.

I unbutton his shirt while he steps out of his pants. As he kicks them off and then discards his boxers, I turn the water off and put my hair up. He steps into the bathtub, a giant man in a tiny space, and holds out his hand to me.

“I'm not sure where to go,” I say.

“Where you fit best,” he says, and pulls me onto him. I lay on him, the two of us face to face, the water around us, almost sloshing over the edge.

“Is this what you had in mind?” I laugh, thinking about how uncomfortable he must be in this tiny space, me squashing him and the water almost overflowing.

“It's exactly what I had in mind,” he says, and kisses me. His tongue is making me tingle.

In a minute I feel him growing between us, and I stop kissing him long enough to say, “We aren't going to get stuck, right?”

He laughs. “If we do, you can drive the ambulance and I'll administer the shot.”

And then I shift my body and feel him close to being in me, and I sit up on him. He runs his hands over my wet breasts and pulls my hairband out so my hair falls down around my shoulders.

I lean forward and put him inside me slowly. The water makes it different, more rubbery. I start to move up and down on him, the water moving everywhere around us and jumping outside the bathtub. I don't care. The tub could collapse through the floor into the downstairs neighbor's apartment and it would be worth it.

I arch my back and he gets deeper. He reaches back and pulls on my hair with one hand, and holds onto my hip with the other. I gasp. Then I watch him watching me, looking at my body, his eyes blazing. I move a little faster, wanting more.

He grabs both my hips with both hands and pushes hard into me. I cry out, and then he moves faster, both of us panting and moaning, and then I can't stop it, I clench and then come, the waves rushing through me. I keep moving and he comes right after me, pulling me into him. He thrusts a few more times for good measure, grunting and breathing hard. I put my hands on his chest, breathing hard too. He takes my hands and pulls me on top of him so we're laying on each other, him still inside me.

“Water is good,” he says.

“Water is great,” I say back. “But the jury's still out on whether we're stuck.”

“I don't care,” he says. “I'd be fine staying like this forever.” And he kisses me.

* * *

Twenty minutes later we're still in the bathtub, the hot water running at a trickle so we don't get cold. We're eating pizza and drinking beer, and they have never tasted so good.

His feet are hanging over the edge and I'd be surprised if at the end of this he doesn't need a chiropractor.

At the edge of the bathroom where my clothes are, I see my phone blinking and vibrating.

“What time is it?” I ask.

Matt looks around for a clock. “No idea,” he says. “Check it if you need to.”

I stand up from the bath, licking the pizza off my fingers. He slaps me on the butt. “Ow!” I say, not really meaning it.

“I'll show you ow,” he says, and swats at me again. I stick my tongue out at him and bend to get the phone. He wolf-whistles me.

“Nice view,” he smiles. I wiggle a little bit, smiling back.

I check it. “It's Danny,” I say. “And it's 7am.” I frown, looking at the readout, wondering what's going on.

“Call him,” he says.

I cock my head at him. “What happened to Mr. Jealousy?” I say. “Should I be worried?”

“The opposite,” he says, rising up out of the bathtub and taking a towel from the rack and wrapping it around me. “I'm feeling very secure in our...” He indicates the bathroom. “What is this we're doing?”

“Special bathtub time,” I offer.

“I feel very secure in our special bathtub time.”

He hugs me in the towel and kisses me. “Go on,” he says. “Call him.”

I hit Danny's name on my phone and wait. He answers right away. I can't even say hello before he starts talking.

“Ellie, thank God. I'm glad you're awake. Listen, I'm about a block away from your place. Can I come over?”

I look down at myself, naked and dripping except for a towel. I glance at Matt, totally naked and drinking a beer.

“Uhh,” I say.

“I know, it's late. Did I wake you up? It's important.”

All I want to do is go to sleep curled up in Matt's arms and get some rest before going back to work.

“How about later, Danny? We could meet before our shift,” I say.

“It's just that—it's just that I've got your brother.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Two minutes later I answer my front door and Danny and Cesar are standing in front of me. Thankfully I managed to throw on some sweats and put my hair up in time. Matt is in my room quickly pulling clothes on.

I hug my brother, and then pull away to scold him.

“You're supposed to be in the hospital, Cesar!” I half-yell.

“I know, I know,” he says, limping into my living room. Buster bounds over to him and Cesar picks him up to pet him.

“He was in the back of my car when I left work,” says Danny. “Behind the seat, hiding. This isn't a movie, bro. You've got to rest to get better.” Danny pushes Cesar lightly on the head.

“Ow, man,” complains Cesar.

Matt comes into the room, dressed in the clothes he wore here. But his hair is wet, and it isn't raining outside. Everybody looks at him, surprised. I feel a little bit bad, because now it's plain as day to Danny what's going on, there's no mistaking this. I'm so glad he and I had our conversation before he saw Matt here with bathtub hair.

Matt puts his hand out for Danny.

“Hi, mate. Matt,” he says, introducing himself.

“Danny,” says Danny, and they shake. The difference between how they're meeting now compared to how they first met over Danny's dog bites is night and day. It's hard to believe I ever thought Matt was a jerk.

Danny looks down at the floor, seeming uncomfortable but not devastated. Thank goodness.

“And you,” says Matt to Cesar. “The other day you almost breathed your last, man. You should be in the hospital where they can take care of you.”

“Plus you're under police watch,” I say. “Did they let you go or did you escape?”

Cesar concentrates on Buster, not answering.

“I think the answer to that is escaped,” says Danny. “Like I said he was in the back of my car and I didn't find him until I was almost home. Nearly gave me a heart attack. Then he made me promise to bring him here.”

Matt pulls a chair in from the dining room.

“How about we sit. Especially you, Cesar. You should be off your feet.” Cesar sits on the couch and winces.

Matt and Danny and I share a glance. We all watch him, worried. I'm pretty sure everybody's waiting for me to figure something out.

So I start. “First thing we need to do is to call the detectives and tell them where you are—”

Before I've even finished my sentence, Cesar is protesting.

“But I didn't do it, Ellie! I swear to you. I don't know why, but I got set up. How am I supposed to kill a guy when I've got a knife stuck in me?” he cries.

I put my hands on his knees and look him in the eye.

“Listen,” I say, “I believe you. But there's a way to do things right. If you don't tell them you're here, they're going to think you're guilty and they're going to come after you like you did it. If you turn yourself in, they'll see that you're the honest guy that we know you are.”

Cesar thinks about it, scratching Buster's ears.

“See how it looks, man. From their side,” says Danny.

Cesar looks up at Matt. “What do you think, Doc?”

Matt's face flickers a momentary flash of surprise that his opinion counts to my brother. He looks at Cesar, giving him his attention and taking him seriously, since that's what's being asked of him.