Overcoming Fear (Growing Pains #2)

by K. F. Breene

  “Actually, I was going to go over the whole gamut with you girls and Ben. Hopefully, that’ll answer the question.” Krista called Ben from her cell, not wanting to get up to use the office phone, and not caring that Kate gave Jasmine an “I told you so” look.

  Ben answered on the first ring, “Hello?”

  “Ben?”

  “Oh, yes. Hi Krista. I forgot I was supposed to say my name when answering. I’m not used to people calling me.”

  “Tell her we got more ideas!” Krista heard in the background.

  “I heard,” she answered before Ben could repeat it. “Listen, I’m going to go over how an idea goes from you to the client. Do you want to pop up into K-Jaz’s office?”

  “Now?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Okay.”

  The phone clicked off. Krista needed to remind him to say goodbye when he was done talking.

  Ray happened to be passing by when the girls were waiting for Ben and stopped in to inquire if they needed anything; that was Ray’s way of asking why they weren’t working. As soon as he heard what was going on, he called Sean. In ten minutes the whole team minus the leader were assembled in K-Jaz’s office, including a harried-looking Judy who was half-dragged into the elevator.

  When Sean finally made it in, everyone was talking and laughing, having a good time with a few minutes of idle chat. He was sporting bags under his eyes, a rumpled shirt and blue jeans. He scanned the faces, meeting Krista’s eyes last. They shared a moment, this being the first time they’d seen each other since Ray’s party. Sean gave Krista a small smile and a wink before half-collapsing into the nearest chair.

  In that moment, they both knew that what they had in the friend realm was for keeps. There were hurt feelings on both sides, but the part of the relationship that had always worked would always work. Without the sexual element, and the attraction, they could meet in the middle comfortably.

  It was nice to know.

  “You look like shit, Captain,” Kate said as he shifted to get comfortable.

  “Speak for yourself. What’s Krista got you girls doing?” Sean asked, leaning back.

  “All her work, obviously,” Jasmine retorted.

  As Krista looked over her notes, she said, “Alright, let’s settle down. We’ve got a lot of work to do—thank you Captain—so let’s get to it.” Then she silenced the still-giggling Kate and Marcus with a look.

  Into that look everyone nodded, including Sean, who looked happy that someone else was taking the reins.

  “Okay,” Krista said, getting down to business now that everyone was paying attention. “Let’s start with Marcus’s latest idea that is actually worth our time.”

  “I got more crap then gold in this brain, girl, I told you that.” Marcus laughed.

  Krista speared him with a glance, “Are you planning to remember everything I say, or do you think it wise to write a few things down?”

  Marcus shut his mouth with a click. He was handed a notepad and pen from a silent Ray. Everyone else, learning the lesson from Marcus, got pen and paper at the ready. Except for Sean, who could have given the lecture, and was therefore excused.

  “Oh, before we begin, I should point out,” Ben said as he angled his head to look at his notes. “Marcus had some holes, so I patched them up. Also, the idea was one of the best so far, so I did a few embellishments and added a few intricacies. One or two more angles as well. I didn’t think you would mind, Marcus.“

  Marcus laughed in glee and patted Ben on the back. Ben smiled with the wordless praise.

  “Yes, you two are the masters of the universe. Also time wasters,” Jasmine said in a bored voice.

  Marcus settled down again.

  “Thank you, Jasmine,” Krista said, then launched into the idea, how it started, what was tweaked and how it was translated for the poor research schmucks. After that she explained what she did to it, and in which stage it was passed on to Jasmine and Kate. Finally she went over the assembly line she wanted to create, getting Sean’s nod that it was the most efficient approach that would also work for him.

  When she was done, she looked at Jasmine and Kate in turn as she said, “In the future, I want you two to get familiar dealing with Ben, Judy and Marcus on your own. Less hands in the pot means the less muddled the logical brain can make creative thinking.”

  “If we decide to stay and work this hard forever,” Jasmine said, shaking her head.

  “You will,” Krista replied, turning a page on her note pad. “Sean will talk you into it. And if he fails, Ray will.”

  Krista looked up again, noticing Sean’s eyes glued to her. She got an unexpected jolt of pleasure before she turned red and looked away. His gaze stuck.

  “And if he fails we will torture and possibly kill you unless you change your minds,” Marcus finished.

  “Finally,” Krista continued, staring at Jasmine to stop an oncoming joke, “the result goes to the Captain, where he and Ray pitch the idea to John. John tells the Captain he is all wrong, at which point Ray steps in with a rope-a-dope. The saga ends with John telling our fearless Captain to make the pitch to the client. The end. Any questions?”

  There were. A lot, actually. Even Sean had a few, wanting to better understand how Research got all their data. He was no doubt thinking about future projects, intending to demand a change in the way the information was acquired. Throughout the entire question-and-answer segment, Krista had to silence the jokes and stop the chatter. With Marcus and the girls teaming up, there was no end to their fun.

  Correction: there was an end to the fun; her name was Krista.

  When everyone was finally satisfied, Krista looked to Sean for any last comments. She was surprised to see him and Ray staring with open mouths. Sean recovered first, shook his head to clear it, and said that was good, everyone go back to what they were doing.

  “Look at all the notes I took!” Marcus exclaimed. He tilted his notepad to Krista like a child showing off his drawing.

  “Now what will you do with them?” Judy asked in mock wonder.

  “Frame everything, probably,” Jasmine said dryly.

  “I just might,” Marcus walked out with Ben and Judy.

  Krista followed suit, her mind on half a dozen things she still needed to do. When she got back to her desk, she realized she was being followed. Sean was taking a seat in one of her visitor chairs.

  “You stalking me?” she asked as she checked her email.

  “Yeah. I was hoping to catch you naked.”

  “You gotta drill a hole in the bathroom for that. I’ll show you the one I did in yours.”

  He smiled and rubbed his eyes. “Where did you learn to hold meetings like that?”

  “That is the standard procedure when dealing with Jasmine and Kate. And now Marcus. You give them an inch, they will never get anything done. You tell them what to do with a firm hand, they will work their asses off.”

  “It was impressive.”

  “Thanks. I learned early, as you heard, that A’s meant calming the beasts.”

  “I see. How would you feel if I made you second in charge? People listen to you where they don’t listen to Ray. Hell, even Ray looks to your lead when I’m not talking.”

  “Do I have to?”

  “Yes. But I thought asking was nicer.”

  “Ugh! Fine. Hey, what are you doing after work?”

  A brief look of wariness and confusion crossed his face. “Is there an after?” he asked.

  “Yeah, and it’s right before bed. You wanna go for a run? I have a great way to relieve stress and regenerate energy. Plus, you can give me a ride home so I don’t have to brave public transportation. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but public transportation in San Francisco is the pits.”

  “Hmmm. I’ll probably be here for another couple hours.” It was already 6. Sean was trying to get out of it nicely. Krista should have let him, but the only thing waiting for her at home was Abbey and an empty room. She wasn’t seeing
Paul anymore and the lonely nights were starting to wear on her. She needed the friend he said he would be.

  She shrugged, “That’s fine. I can work on the never ending list you gave me.”

  He looked up, seemed half-dead then looked at his watch, “Get your stuff, let’s go. We’ll do your thing then order dinner. We can talk about my list. We need to figure out a way to divide it up better.”

  Surprised, Krista reached down, grabbed her handbag and jacket, turned off her computer, and stood up. “Ready.”

  “Christ, you don’t mess around when it’s time to go home.”

  “I hate the train.”

  “Don’t blame you. C’mon.”

  Chapter Five

  Krista was dropped off at her house to change. She was worried and excited and anxious and energized. She even had nervous pee, which she took care of before she left the house.

  They met on the beach, halfway between their houses. Sean was waiting for her down by the ocean, watching the cresting waves as she walked up next to him. The setting sun was highlighting his features, outlining his body and tussled hair. He turned to her, and his eyes turned luminescent.

  Krista was struck by his look. It held such tender longing her throat constricted. His eyes were searching as they looked at her, into her. He was in a place of comfort, and he was sharing it with her. He was opening up and inviting her in.

  She sighed like a lovesick girl, meeting his eyes and being swept away.

  “I’m going to tell Jasmine,” he said quietly, a smile flickering.

  “I introduced her to Mr. Montgomery. Within the meeting she got three different sighs. It nearly killed her. Poor Marcus got a ton of Thump Birds after that.”

  Sean laughed, back to his relaxed self, “Okay, what’s up first?”

  Krista threw him a jump rope, “Get to it.”

  “I hate jumping rope. I had to do it for boxing all the time.”

  “You box?” Krista stepped away from him, looking for a hard patch of sand. It didn’t exist.

  Sean, seeing the predicament, flicked his head in the direction of the sidewalk. As they started walking he said, “I did. When I was younger. My dad thought it’d make a man of me.”

  “What did he say when he realized it failed?”

  Sean laughed and pushed her lightly. They got to the sidewalk and went for it. Krista, seeing she was outdone, moved away to go at her own pace. Sean rarely got tangled up and he was jumping really fast. He was nowhere near Krista’s caliber of clumsy.

  When they were done they went for a jog. Krista was obviously more in shape so she kept the pace light—light for her, anyway. Which Sean realized. He hated every minute of it, but being that he couldn’t speed up without dying, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and get beat by a girl.

  They finished with some yoga. Krista still hadn’t been to a class, but she had looked some things up online and worked on those. The little she knew was great for focus, stretching and relaxation. Also for breathing. She didn’t dare try the moves that looked like a contortionist at the circus—she figured she needed an instructor and an emergency brake for that.

  They went back down to the waterline so it would be more tranquil. Even so, Sean wasn’t feeling it.

  “I don’t…bend this way,” Sean said in a grunt.

  “Is that code for you sucking at something?” Krista said with a laugh as she inspected his pose from behind.

  He was supposed to have his left leg in front with his right behind, both legs in line as his hips faced forward. It was a sort of lunge, with the front leg bent and the back leg straight. The arms were supposed to be high up overhead with the shoulders as far away from the ears as they could go.

  Sean had the lunge easily. It was getting his hips and torso to twist that was the problem. It flat-out wasn’t happening. He couldn’t turn his hips and body enough to get the pose right. He was twisted all catawampus and having a hard time with his balance. If he couldn’t get the pose, which was Warrior 1, there was no way he’d go onto Warrior 2.

  Krista walked to the side of him, keeping her laughter to herself. She put one hand on his shoulder and one on his side, thinking that if London Bridge fell down, it wouldn’t be directly on top of her. Not that it was a terrible thought, but the sand was cold and wet.

  As her hands made contact, Sean flinched before he caught himself, then stilled.

  “Easy now, big fella,” Krista said with a snicker. She put her palms on him again and felt his deep rumble of a chuckle.

  Ah, heaven. His body was pure paradise. Hard, cut, oh-so-masculine—she couldn’t stop herself from pausing there for a minute, her hands resting on his warm, broad, glorious lateral muscles.

  Pulling herself out of her lust daze, she cleared her throat and got her business face on. This sucker would bend if she had to bend him herself!

  “Okay, now, go with it,” she said as she pushed with her right hand and pulled with her left. She was trying to show him how to move to get the pose.

  “Not working,” he said stiffly. “You are going to push me over.”

  Krista could feel his muscles flexing under her palms. His back arched and bowed, trying to stay poised. The muscles rippled.

  “Work with me, dumb-dumb, not against me!”

  Desperately trying for self-control, she kept her left hand on his back and reached around his torso with her right to push on his chest gradually. The play of muscle on his front was equally as marvelous as his back. He was hard everywhere, no ounce of fat on his body what-so-ever.

  Krista gulped against the sudden hot flash.

  “Are you helping or trying to make it worse?” Sean asked, cutting through Krista’s mental picture of his bare chest.

  “Cripes, Sean, have you ever stretched in your life?”

  “I have muscle, darling. Yoga dudes don’t.”

  “Yoga dudes certainly do,” Krista replied, removing her hands regretfully and circling him, looking for the malfunction. “They are just more flexible with it. Get back in pose. I’m going to try and help you from the front. Maybe you’ll bend better if you can see what I’m trying to do.”

  Sean gave an irritated sigh and tried to contort his body again, this time getting a little closer to what they were going for.

  “Breathe, Sean, that’s part of it.”

  The breath he took wasn’t exactly what Krista was thinking. She had a feeling there might’ve been a swear word mixed up in there somewhere.

  Krista stood in front of him, the sun nearly gone now. Orange light splashed across his face and hair, illuminating his eyes and highlighting the peaks and valleys of his face. He looked like the statue of David in repose. Here, on the beach, he gave off more radiance then she had ever seen. He was at home here where elsewhere he was just on loan.

  “Right,” she inspected him. Then she met his eyes. The sinking sun lent a glow that made them look otherworldly. He was focusing on her with a wary expression.

  She probably should have been wary, too, but she couldn’t think that far ahead.

  “Let’s…see.” She stepped up to him slowly, dropping her eyes to see which parts of his torso she would guide. As she neared the hairs stood up on her arms.

  “Okay,” she breathed softly. “I am going to put one hand on your torso, right here...” She moved her right hand to the area just above his pec. This time he didn’t flinch. She looked up to meet his eyes. They were looking down intently, a softness in them she hadn’t seen before overlaying a familiar hunger.

  “I am going to put my other hand on the back of you, right...” She reached around him slowly, not breaking eye contact, having to step closer to get her arm around his big body. Their chests were almost touching as she softly put her other hand on his back. “…here,” she whispered.

  She leaned closer to his face, to his parted lips. His eyes watched her approach, heavy-lidded, wariness gone. Krista felt light all over. The lighting, the waves crashing behind them, the calm and quiet of t
he beach, all cast a mystical quality on the moment.

  She moved slowly, as if through honey, their eyes and face so close. Her hand turned him to her, moving him closer rather than into the correct pose. His body lost all rigidity and molded to her palms like play dough, his eyes glued to hers like a drunk man clutching a cup of coffee. Even closer, his eyes dropping to her lips, her eyes nearly closed, waiting. Hoping.

  Within millimeters… his balance gave out.

  He sucked in a breath as he grabbed for her shoulders. In surprise she forgot to plant her feet. After a tiny fight for balance they tumbled, landing with a soft smack, his weight pressing her deeply into the packed sand, sandwiching her.

  She barely had time to say “Oh,” or “yes please,” before he rolled to the side and lay next to her, panting.

  “Are we done yet?” he asked to cover the moment.

  “You are a long way to getting that pose, but for today, yeah. I don’t want to stand any—“

  It was then that a wave washed further inland than expected--or maybe not, since the tide was coming in. The water washed up over them in a surge, dunking them, filling their mouths with freezing cold, salty ocean.

  Krista’s first reaction, and the one she went with, was to immediately panic! She wasn’t a sophisticated ocean goer. In fact, the ocean and all its power terrified her. In a world after Jim, where she craved control, the ocean was a power all its own. Untamable.

  She flailed immediately, submerged, scared, freezing water washing over her. She held her breath and closed her eyes, thinking she was being sucked out to sea. A second later she was hoisted up by familiar hands, the wave already receding.

  “Are you okay?”

  Krista opened her eyes, seeing Sean’s face close to hers, largely in shadow. “That wasn’t a part of my relaxation and energizing regime.”

  Sean smiled in relief, looking down on her.

  “You reacted quickly,” she said with appreciation, hugging her now-wet body.

  “All you had to do was stand up,” he laughed. “C’mon, let’s get somewhere warm.”