Pursuit For Lucidity (Crashing Waves)

by Marie Jem

  “Yeah, I’m aware of that now, Alex. I’m just going to take a shower now if that’s okay,” I replied.

  “Sure, I will be here, baby. You can even take a bath if you’d like. I know you like taking baths, so make yourself at home,” he said.

  “A shower will do. Thanks, Alex,” I replied.

  I took a long shower that night and it felt incredible. I was so tired that I only towel dried my hair and put on my nightie and crawled into bed next to Alex. He had already fallen asleep, most likely exhausted from a long day at work and our date. When he realized I was next to him, he wrapped his arms around me as we both succumbed to sleep.

  <><><>

  When I opened my eyes the next morning, the first thing I saw was the beautiful view of the ocean. Alex was already awake and in the kitchen. I smelled pancakes as I made my way to the kitchen. He had set a romantic table for two with pancakes, waffles, and French toast.

  “Good morning, beautiful. How would you like your eggs this morning?” he asked as he pulled the chair out for me to sit and poured two glasses of orange juice.

  “Scrambled is fine. Thank you, Alex. You’re very sweet. I keep pinching myself to ensure that I am not dreaming. Are you real?” I asked.

  He laughed, “Yes, I’m real and I’m all yours, if you’d like me to stick around, that is,” he added.

  “Of course,” I replied.

  “So, the plan for today is to just lounge by the pool and relax. I hope you brought your swimsuit, baby,” he noted.

  “Yes, I did and I love lounging by the pool. I couldn’t have thought of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon. And to be spending it with a very handsome doctor, I mean surgeon, is even more appealing,” I winked.

  The afternoon was very nice. Alex and I went swimming in his beautiful infinity pool overlooking the beach. We had a few drinks, sunbathed, and even went up to the rooftop lounge area and talked for hours. I asked Alex a lot of questions about his childhood, friends, and high school. It turned out Alex had graduated high school ahead of schedule, which gave him a good head start in college and made him a much younger surgeon than others on his team.

  “That’s so impressive, Alex. Not only are you amazingly handsome, but you’re extremely smart as well. Very impressive,” I repeated.

  The time had flown by so quickly, we hadn’t realized it was time to shower and get ready for the evening. Alex still hadn’t told me where we were going exactly, but he said it involved dancing. I showered, did my hair and makeup, and put on the sexy tan dress with black lace stitching that my mother had picked out for me. I put on the sparkly Jimmy Choo pumps I had borrowed from my mother and it came together quite well.

  Alex walked in when I had just finished putting on the shoes and his jaw seemed to have dropped. He began walking towards me very slowly, examining every inch of my body. His eyes seemed even bluer when he was excited. He looked handsome in his tight black button up tight shirt, black pants, black Prada belt and matching shoes.

  “Look at you, baby,” his eyes glowed. “You can’t even begin to imagine how difficult tonight is going to be for me. I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off of you for a second,” he confessed, making me spin around for him a couple times, so he could see all angles of me in that dress.

  “You look very handsome yourself, Alex. I love this look on you. It’s so appealing. Who knows, maybe I will be the one unable to keep my hands off of you tonight,” I replied.

  “I will pray for that,” he laughed. “Come, let’s head out,” he said, holding out his elbow. I started walking towards the Porsche, but Alex directed me to the far side of the garage where a covered car was parked. He uncovered a red Ferrari.

  “We will be taking this car tonight,” he said as he opened the door for me. I sat in the car, which was very low to the ground, and waited for Alex to get seated and start driving.

  “How many cars do you have, Alex?” I asked.

  “Just these three. This Ferrari, the Porsche, and the truck,” he said nonchalantly. “Do I need a fourth one,” he asked.

  “Uh…no, I was thinking one would be enough, maybe two, you know in case of emergency when one needs service,” I replied. He just smiled.

  “Do you want to know where we are going?” he asked.

  “Yes, please tell me,” I pleaded.

  “We are going to a club called Vibe, in Hollywood. It’s very new and owned by a friend of mine. It’s salsa night tonight. I hope you like to salsa,” he grinned.

  “I love to salsa. I’m so excited, Alex,” I smiled big at him.

  “Good, then we’re going to have a blast because I love to salsa too,” he replied.

  Alex’s Ferrari was a big head turner. The men seemed to be in awe of the car and the women seemed to be in awe of Alex. There was a very long line wrapped around the outside of the club, but we used a separate VIP entrance, since his friend was the club owner. Alex took my hand and led me inside. There was a dining area on the first level of the club where we had really good seafood.

  A tall blonde man approached us as we were dining, “Hey, buddy! I’m so glad you made it. This must be Claire, the girl who’s put a hop in your step,” he said, looking at me. “I can see why,” he added.

  “Colin, this is Claire. Claire, this is Colin. He owns this night club,” Alex noted.

  “Hello, Colin, very nice to meet you. This place looks really hip. I can’t wait to get to the dance floor,” I said.

  “Why don’t you guys finish up eating here and I will escort you to your VIP section. It’s much better, you won’t bump into sweaty people while you’re dancing,” he laughed.

  Alex and I finished eating and followed Colin up the stairs to the main dancing area. It was crowded with so many people I wondered how they made any room to dance. Our VIP area was amazing and off to the side where no one could bother us. The music sounded great and the DJ played great salsa music. Alex took my hand and we began to dance. He took me by complete surprise. I thought I was a good dancer, but Alex was a great dancer. We danced and drank and danced some more. Before we knew it, it was three o’clock in the morning.

  “You ready to head home, baby?” he asked.

  “Oh yeah, for sure. It’s been a very long time since I’ve danced for so many hours. I think I’m going to be very sore tomorrow,” I replied.

  Alex laughed, “Yeah, me too, and I have a few years on you, remember?” he joked.

  We headed out of the club and to the valet to pick up Alex’s very hot, red Ferrari. On our way home, Alex couldn’t stop talking about what a great night he had.

  “This was one of the most enjoyable nights of my life, Claire. You make me so happy. I don’t remember the last time I was this happy, or maybe I was never this happy,” he said, kissing my hand. “You just know how to raise my spirits, baby,” he added, genuinely.

  “I had the time of my life too. Tell me, Alex, where did you learn to dance like that? You’re like a professional. You made me look like I didn’t know how to dance and I went to dance school for many years,” I noted.

  “My mother made me go to dance school when I was in high school. I danced for a few years since I was fourteen years old and stopped when I started college,” he explained.

  “You had a head start and I had to take at least a year off college due to the attack. I would’ve finished sooner, but I had too much therapy required to get me through my stress. My mother also sent me to school a year later when I was a child. I was always the oldest student in class. She believed that the later children started school, the more mature they would be and it wouldn’t be as difficult socially or developmentally,” I explained.

  Alex looked over at me and said, “Well, she was right about that. Look how well you turned out, so smart and career oriented. So career oriented that you don’t want any outside relations with a colleague,” he said as we both laughed.

  When Alex pulled his Ferrari into the garage, an idea came to his mind, “Let’s change
into our comfortable clothes and watch the sunrise from the roof. We can sit on the sofa and I’ll even light the fireplace and we will enjoy one another’s company until sunrise. What do you say, baby?” he asked.

  “I would love that,” I replied. We changed out of our clothes and took the elevator to the roof. Alex brought out champagne and strawberries and poured each one of us a glass of champagne.

  “To us,” he cheered. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore was taking my breath away. It was such a relaxing sound, something I would love to do yoga to. Alex took my glass from my hand and set it down next to his on the coffee table. He took both of my hands into his.

  “Claire, I’ve been wanting to say something all week, but was unable to get through the nerves to say it,” he began nervously. “Claire, I’m falling in love with you. You have cast a spell on me and I don’t know what is going on, but I do know that I love you. I can’t recall the last time I’ve felt this way about anyone. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this strongly about anyone before you. You don’t have to say it in return. Please don’t, because I’m not saying it to hear it back. I just want you to know how I feel. I love you, Claire,” he added almost in a whisper.

  I was completely taken by surprise. My heart skipped a beat. Alex loved me. The butterflies in my stomach were fluttering. I wanted to say it back, but was too afraid to.

  “Alex, I uh, I didn’t know you felt this way. I’m taken by surprise and very honored that you would say that to me. I have such strong feelings for you and I think it’s something that’s going to lead to love,” I replied, but Alex cut me off.

  “Don’t say it. I don’t want you to say anything until you really feel it, like I do. I feel so much better getting that off my chest,” he said as he started kissing me with his warm lips.

  We talked and talked until the sun started to appear. The sunrise was breathtaking from the roof, as the ocean began to glisten from the birth of the sun.

  “I think we can go to sleep now. What do you say?” asked Alex.

  We took the elevator back down and went to his bedroom, crawled into bed and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  “Sweet dreams baby. I love you,” were the last words I heard from Alex before I drifted off into sleep.

  <><><>

  My cell phone buzzed around ten in the morning. It was a text message from Katherine asking if Alex and I would like to meet her and John somewhere for lunch. Alex seemed interested, so I returned her text asking her where to meet them. We got out of bed and took our showers and got dressed. Alex packed his bag for the evening, since the restaurant was closer to my place and he would be staying the night.

  We met Katherine and John at Paul’s Italian Cuisine on Ventura Boulevard around one in the afternoon. Katherine gave me a big hug as usual and John was excited to see Alex. They had really hit it off at my housewarming party.

  “Ugh, my bladder is so small,” complained Katherine. “Claire, do you need to use the restroom?” she asked. The look on her face told me that I’d better say yes.

  “Uh, yeah, don’t go alone. I will go with you,” I replied.

  We walked to the restroom and once we were inside, Katherine couldn’t wait, “So, how was it, where did you go, what did you do? Did you do anything I should really know about?” she asked.

  I laughed, “Oh, Kathy, you’re so funny. We went to Vibe, the new nightclub in Hollywood. Alex’s friend owns it. It was salsa night, so you can imagine all the dancing we did. It was so fun! Then, we went to his place and admired the sunrise together and he told me that he loves me,” I added casually.

  “What? Did you say he told you that he loves you? And you guys haven’t, uh, you know?” she asked.

  “Yes, he did and no, we haven’t had sex, if that’s what you’re asking,” I replied, blushing.

  Katherine was jumping up and down, so excited for me. I told her to hurry up and use the restroom, so we could go back to the boys.

  “I don’t have to pee, silly. I just said that to have a few minutes alone with you for girl talk,” she replied as we both laughed. When we headed back to our table, the boys were talking about sports. Their conversation was so intense that they hardly noticed we had returned. I sat next to Alex and took his hand, as he gave me a big smile.

  Katherine and John couldn’t stay much longer after lunch, since they were invited to John’s brother’s house. Alex and I took a walk on Ventura Boulevard to pass time and digest our food before heading to my place.

  “I’m going to miss you when I’m away for two weeks, Claire,” his face turned serious again.

  “I will miss you too, Alex. I’ve gotten really used to you being around, so it’s going to be an adjustment for me. Who’s going to help me through my nightmares?” I asked.

  “Let’s make a deal, anytime you have a nightmare, you have to Skype me, okay?” he said.

  “It’s a deal,” I confirmed.

  When we arrived at my condo, we noticed my flowers had wilted. Alex said he would get me new flowers to keep the vase and me happy. We changed into comfortable clothes and sat outside on the verandah, enjoying the city view. Alex’s phone rang just as we were getting comfortable.

  “Hey, Melissa, how is everything? I missed you too. Yeah, that would be great. I’m going to Guatemala for a couple of weeks. I leave this Wednesday, but when I’m back, we will definitely do dinner with you guys. I can’t wait for you to meet Claire. You’re going to love her. Sounds good. I’ll call you then. Bye,” he turned to me after he hung up the phone. “That was Melissa, my sister. She lives in Santa Monica with her boyfriend and wants to meet us for dinner one day,” he explained.

  “That sounds nice, can’t wait to meet her,” I replied. I wondered if Melissa would like me, or if she was one of those sisters who thought no girl was good enough for her brother. I guess I would have to wait and see.

  Alex and I had a drink on the verandah and talked until it was late enough to go to bed to face another week at work.

  <><><>

  His alarm went off before five in the morning, startling me. He jumped out of bed and into the shower. It was going to be another busy day in the operating room for him. He kissed me goodbye and I slept for another hour, showered, and dressed for work.

  I logged on to my computer at work and opened my email and calendar to see what the day had in store for me. There was a new email from Mark Kohler.

  Hello Claire,

  I was just wondering if you could join me for a bite to eat after work today.

  Mark

  Was this jerk for real? I thought my last email response would have set him straight, but apparently it hadn’t even made a dent. I needed to respond to his email immediately.

  Dr. Kohler,

  I have already made prior arrangements.

  Claire Morgan, MHA

  Administrative Assistant to

  Walter Wells (CEO)

  Downtown Memorial Hospital

  I hoped that email sent the correct message. I continued to work, booking meetings for Walter and assisting Laura with work she was overloaded with. I received a response from Mark.

  Dear Claire,

  Have you made arrangements for every night this week? Maybe we can go out on a night you are available. Please let me know your availability. Thanks.

  Mark

  He was really pushing my buttons now. Maybe it was time to tell him that I was seeing someone. He didn’t need to know whom I was seeing, for it was none of his business, anyway.

  Dr. Kohler,

  I’m afraid I won’t be available any night of the week, since I do have a boyfriend. Please discontinue sending such personal emails.

  Thank you,

  Claire Morgan, MHA

  Administrative Assistant to

  Walter Wells, CEO

  Downtown Memorial Hospital

  That should set him straight, I thought. If he didn’t get the message after that email, then he lacked comprehension. Th
e remainder of the day was very quiet. I didn’t receive a response from Mark and hadn’t heard from Alex either. I knew he was going to have a very busy day. Alex called me as I was driving home to tell me he was on his way, but would like to stop by at the gym if it was all right with me. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for a good hour of yoga.

  The thought of Alex leaving for Guatemala for two weeks made me feel down. I hoped those two weeks would pass very quickly. When he came over, I threw my arms around his neck and did not want to let go. I decided to let him settle in for a while before I told him the story about Mark and the recent emails. He headed for the shower as I cut some fruit for us to eat, since it was too late to eat a meal.

  “Guess who I received an email from today?” I asked Alex.

  “Don’t tell me it was from Mark,” he replied.

  “That’s correct,” I replied. “He had a dinner date in mind, but don’t worry, when he didn’t seem to get the message that I had other arrangements, I told him I have a boyfriend. He doesn’t need to know it’s you, but now he knows that I have absolutely no interest in him whatsoever,” I told Alex. Alex rolled up his eyes and looked very annoyed.

  “Claire, please don’t be surprised if he doesn’t get the message. I will bet my Ferrari on it that he continues the pursuit,” he replied. I couldn’t help but laugh. Alex really didn’t think very highly of Mark, but I was confident he would stop sending those emails.

  “I can’t wait for the day that prick finds out you’re mine, all mine and he will not even be allowed to glance at you,” he confessed. That was a side of Alex that I had not seen and found quite interesting. He didn’t care that I was not interested in Mark Kohler. He just hated the fact that Mark liked me and was pursuing me. I assured Alex that there was no way in hell I would go out with someone like Mark.