Rock My Body

by Lee Piper

  This guy can’t be for real. I mean, he’s way too attractive for his own good. He knows it too, oh yes, he knows exactly what he’s doing. He’d probably take me right here in this car park if I let him. Would I let him? Focus, Riley.

  I scanned Dominic up and down. Yep, the man had player written all over him, from the tips of his unruly light brown hair, all the way down to… I had to stop staring at his junk.

  I shook my head. Well, I wasn’t going to be distracted, and I certainly wasn’t going to become the latest notch in his bedpost. Besides, Doctor Powell explained months ago how unhealthy relationships were a trigger for my anxiety and she was right of course, now that I think back. So there was no way this conversation was heading anywhere good, even if it was with someone as obscenely gorgeous as Dominic.

  Sigh.

  “What? Why are you looking at me like I just ran over your puppy?”

  I ignored him. “Thanks for walking me to my car but I’ve gotta go, I’ve got stuff to do.”

  Like removing sand out of every orifice and with any luck, the memory of his fingers touching my skin.

  Fun times ahead.

  “Wait, you’re leaving? Just like that?”

  I heard fits of giggles and frantic whispers in the background.

  “Uh, yeah.”

  “So that’s all the thanks I get?” His gaze turned incredulous.

  I stared at him.

  He stepped in close, his voice dropping to a husky murmur. “I’d like to get to know you better, Riley.”

  I consciously ignored the heat that pooled in my stomach and instead narrowed my eyes at him. “Really? And are you talking intellectually, emotionally, or physically?”

  “Definitely physically.”

  I bit back a laugh. Damn he was forward, wish I didn’t like it so much. But, shaking my head, I murmured, “Not gonna happen, Dominic. I’m not that kind of girl.”

  He stepped closer again, his eyes trained on my mouth. “You sure about that?”

  Once again I forgot to breathe. This was going to become a real issue if I didn’t get it under control ASAP. So, taking a deep breath I squared my shoulders. “Look, unless you’ve planned a romantic dinner for two, got some scented candles handy, and quite possibly an engagement ring…”

  The man actually blanched. “Fuck no.”

  I laughed. “Exactly. But I’m sure one of your admirers over there,” I gestured to the bikini brigade, “will be more than willing to, ah, help you out.”

  He glanced over at the twittering women before scrunching up his nose in distaste. “I never go back for seconds.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  He turned back to me, his stare unwavering. “I never sleep with the same woman twice.”

  “Please tell me you’re kidding.”

  “Nope.” He looked over at them again. “The redhead was last weekend, the brunette two days before that, and the sisters…” He whistled. “Let’s just say I had my hands full on Monday night.”

  I stared heavenward, desperately trying to rid the image of Dominic naked and in the throes of passion out of my head.

  He chuckled and my stupid knees turned weak. “I’m joking, Riley.” I glared at him. “Kind of. Look, I’m not gonna lie to you, I love women.” He paused for a moment. “And it really was a fuckin’ awesome Monday night.”

  Right, then. That’s my cue to leave.

  Turning to my car, I opened the driver door before settling myself inside. “Goodbye, Dominic.”

  “You’re missing out on the best sex of your life.”

  Be still my beating heart.

  Shaking my head, I shut the door before lowering the automated windows. “See you around.”

  “When?” He bent forward, his arms resting on the side panel. Once again I was hit with a wave of his masculine scent mixed with … mint? I closed my eyes, desperately trying not to breathe him in.

  This man is definitely trying to kill me. Doesn’t he know mint is my favorite scent in the whole world? I’m in serious trouble here.

  When I opened them again, his face was only inches away from mine and those full, kissable lips hovered so temptingly close. My breathing turned erratic as I tried to ignore the pulse which jumped at the base of his throat.

  Dominic’s smile turned wicked, plain and simple. “Same time tomorrow?”

  “Okay,” I whispered.

  Hang on, what? That was not what I meant to say. Dominic was the type of guy to steer clear of, not agree to see again. What the heck am I doing?

  I shook my head. There was no way I wanted to become yet another random name in his little black book. The blasted thing was probably full.

  His eyes promised everything I told myself I didn’t want, but so help me, I couldn’t look away. Grinning, he slowly stood and thumped the canvas roof of my convertible before stepping back. “Looking forward to it.”

  I drove home in a haze.

  “No. Do it again.”

  I sighed, before staring down at the endless row of shining silver cutlery in front of me. We were dining at the fanciest restaurant Geographe Bay had to offer but I just wanted to hide under the table, not sit at the head of it while Mum kept telling me off for stuff I didn’t know.

  I tentatively reached for the largest fork.

  “No, no, and no.” Mum rapped my knuckles with a spoon.

  I wanted to yank it out of her hand and hit her over the head with it, though my life wouldn’t be worth living if I did.

  “How many times do I have to tell you, Riley Jayne?” I flinched, hating it when she called me by my first and middle name. “Always start from the outside.”

  She groaned dramatically. “How are we ever going to get through tomorrow night’s dinner if you don’t even remember which fork to choose first?”

  I wanted to remind her that I was only twelve. I wanted to remind her that I didn’t even want the stupid dinner or the table full of people who cared about what type of silverware I ate with. I wanted to remind her that this was an awful way to spend my birthday and I wasn’t enjoying myself at all. But as usual, I kept quiet. As usual, I did my best to please her. And as usual, I failed spectacularly.

  ****

  “You gonna eat that?”

  I blinked. “Huh? Oh, yeah, of course.”

  Grace eyed me from across the kitchen countertop. We were seated on two bar stools, eating dinner in our shared apartment, and normally the conversation flowed seamlessly. I mean, she was my best friend and we’d known each other most of our lives so there was always plenty to chat about. However, tonight I couldn’t stop thinking about my parents. For some reason my birthday always coincided with an unhealthy side-helping of despondency, probably because ‘dysfunctional’ didn’t even begin to cover the breadth or width of our relationship. Anyway, I wasn’t exactly Ms. Conversationalist and Grace being who she was, picked up on my silence straight away.

  “Where’d you go just then?”

  I sighed. “Nowhere good.”

  “Your mum?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You know she’ll want to see you for your birthday, right?”

  I sighed again. “I know, I’ll head over there tomorrow night for a bit.”

  Grace nodded. “You’re a brave woman.” Then changing the subject, she asked, “So, what do you think?”

  I stared at her, confused.

  “Of your birthday dinner,” she said slowly. “You know, the one I’ve been slaving over for hours.”

  “It’s a salad.”

  “It’s not just any salad, it’s a falafel salad.” She looked down at her plate grumbling, “Didn’t even know what a fucking falafel was until this afternoon.”

  My eyes softened. “It’s an awesome dinner, G, really.” I took another bite, pausing thoughtfully. “The dressing is, um, interesting.”

  Grace’s eyes turned mischievous. “My own special recipe.”

  I rolled the food around in my mouth before swallowing. “Can’t put my fi
nger on it exactly but—” I stopped, staring at her. “You didn’t.”

  She grinned.

  “Oh, for God’s sake. You put whiskey in a salad dressing?”

  “It adds a little something, don’t you think?”

  I groaned, dropping my head onto the top. “You’re seriously unhinged, you know that?”

  “Come on, Riley, I haven’t had a single drop all day. And do you wanna know why?”

  “Not particularly.”

  “Because I drove halfway across the fucking country to a health food store run by a guy named Rainbow freakin’ Storm Cloud, buying you goddamn organic chickpeas and scallions which, I might add, you’re not even eating.”

  I raised my head and dutifully took another mouthful. After a slight pause, I grudgingly muttered, “It actually tastes really good.”

  “I know, right?”

  “Thank you.”

  “Save the groveling for after dessert.”

  My eyes lit up. “G, don’t mess with me now. You know my poor heart can’t take it.”

  “How much do you love me?”

  I jumped up and ran to the fridge, squealing in delight when my eyes found heaven … in mud cake form. “No way, it’s—”

  “Triple chocolate, just like you not-so-subtly asked.”

  I ran back to the table and threw my arms around her. “G, you’re amazing. That thing is huge.”

  “Happy birthday.”

  Best. Friend. Ever.

  Not long afterward, Grace and I migrated to the lounge room where we sat cross-legged on the couch while stuffing our faces with a cake so sweet it actually gave me a headache. Win. On the whole, I was actually pretty healthy. I ate cleanly, exercised regularly, and even meditated when the time called for it. But chocolate anything was my Achilles’ heel—along with smokin’ hot bad boys going by the name of Dominic, it would seem.

  I shook my head.

  Grace licked her spoon, eyeing me. “Okay, who is he?”

  “Who?”

  “The guy you’re thinking about right now. Who is he?”

  “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  She snorted. “Cut the bullshit, Riley. How long have we known each other?”

  After a quick mental calculation, I mumbled, “Seventeen years.”

  “Exactly. You were a terrible liar when you were five and you’re a horrible one now.” She smiled. “Your ears turn pink.”

  Of course they do. Is there any body part that doesn’t?

  I swore under my breath and Grace smirked. “My smart mouth is rubbing off on you.” But then she sobered. “Come on, out with it.”

  “In all honesty, I don’t really know.”

  She raised a questioning eyebrow but said nothing, waiting for me to elaborate. After a moment’s pause, I took a deep breath and then told her about my disastrous day at the hospital that culminated in a desperate need to escape to the beach for a run and then literally running into Dominic’s ridiculously ripped pecs.

  She was silent for a moment before asking, “Are you going to meet him tomorrow?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  Grace’s emerald green eyes softened. My best friend was beautiful, there was no doubt about it. She was a petite, raven-haired bombshell with gorgeous curves, a heart-shaped face and a sprinkling of freckles to boot. When Grace lowered her defenses and opened up to those around her—like she was doing right now—some might even call her breathtaking. However, Grace refused to open herself up to anyone except me. Needless to say, to pretty much everyone else in existence she was a … bitch. I hate to admit it but it was true. Let’s just say she sported one very tough exterior—she had a short fuse, was blunt to the point of rudeness, and often selfish. There were many reasons for this of course, but recently she’d been dealing with the unexpected death of her beloved father and the betrayal of an ex-boyfriend. Grace was presently struggling with a deep sense of bitterness, and I’m talking uncharted-chasm-in-the-ocean deep. She never took it out on me though, oh no; my best friend had only ever been loyal, kind-hearted and loving… In her own way.

  “Be careful, Riley. You have a way of letting guys get so far under your skin you can’t differentiate where they end and you begin.”

  I looked down.

  Ain’t that the truth.

  She grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Just be careful, okay? Don’t give your heart away to someone who’s just going to fuck you over, it’s happened way too many times already.”

  “You’re right.”

  “You deserve the world, love, don’t settle for anything less.”

  I stared at the gooey remains of my chocolate cake. There was no way I regretted eating so much as a bite of it, it was too damn delicious. But Dominic on the other hand? Well. A dark part of me knew I would definitely regret meeting him.

  Chapter Two

  I can’t find the reason,

  Looking through confusion,

  Can’t divide illusion.

  —MONDEZ, “Distance”

  “Riley, this cake is so good I’d actually consider sacrificing my firstborn for another slice.”

  “No, you wouldn’t.” I smiled at Mae. “Annabelle is too adorable.”

  “True. But I’d seriously think about it for a good ten seconds before saying no.” She thought for a moment. “Does that make me a horrible mother?”

  “No, just a hungry one.”

  We were both sitting in the cramped office behind the nurse’s station of the maternity ward. It had been a busy morning in our part of Castillo Hospital. Both our patients delivered healthy babies within half an hour of each other, so we’d left the respective families to acquaint themselves with their new arrivals and took a well-deserved break.

  As much as Grace and I tried to finish off what was in all seriousness the best thing I’d had in my mouth in a very long time, we’d hardly made a dent in the cake. So I decided to bring it to work to share with everyone. Sharing was caring, after all.

  After swallowing another mouthful, Mae spun around on her office chair, moaning in delight. That woman enjoyed chocolate almost as much as I did. Suddenly, her eyes popped open. “Hey, Riley.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Remember how we were talking about health and fitness plans the other day?”

  I glanced down at my cake, refusing to feel guilty. “Yep.”

  “Could you write one up for me?”

  I squealed. “Of course. Now, do you want to focus on general toning, muscle development, aerobic endurance, anaerobic stamina…” My voice trailed away when I noticed her shocked expression.

  “Whoa. You just got way too excited about inflicting physical pain on someone. You might wanna get that checked out.”

  “You asked.”

  Mae took another bite of her cake. “That I did. Reckon it’s time to get moving again, shake what my mamma gave me and all that.” She wiggled her hips and I laughed because sitting down, she looked like a constipated penguin.

  “How about I put together an introductory program for you? We could even meet up and I’ll walk you through it?”

  “There’ll be walking involved?” Mae’s dark eyes were hopeful.

  “Hell no. There’ll be running, jumping, squatting, pushing—”

  “Shouldn’t have opened my big mouth,” she muttered.

  “Someone told me there was cake?”

  Both Mae and I looked to the open doorway. Robin peeked his head through and after spying the dessert, moved deeper into the room.

  “Help yourself.” I smiled. “There’s plenty to go around.”

  “Love your work, Riley.” Robin started cutting himself a healthy slice while Mae mouthed, He’s so hot, behind his back. I stifled a laugh.

  She was right, of course. Robin was hot. At thirty-one, he was tall, lean, blond-haired and had the most expressive hazel eyes I’d ever seen. He was an obstetrician who ran his own private practice across the road and because of that, chose to send his patients to Cast
illo Hospital, much to everyone’s delight. I didn’t know how he managed it, but even after pulling an all-nighter and delivering God knows how many babies since yesterday, he still looked fresh. And I mean, just-stepped-out-of-the-ocean-and-onto-the-sand fresh.

  On closer inspection, however, there was no mistaking the expensive designer labels or the fact that his unkempt hairstyle would have cost a month’s rent. He never flaunted his wealth, though, and was remarkably good-natured, so I’d warmed to him instantly. Funnily enough, so had every other woman in the hospital. Patients included.

  Robin took a mouthful, groaned, and I grinned as Mae started fanning herself.

  “What are you girls up to after your shift?”

  “I’m picking Annabelle up from child care and then we’re hitting the park. She’s gonna lose her mind when I tell her where we’re headed.”

  As a single mum, Mae had done amazingly well for herself. She got pregnant at a young age and despite being thrown out of home and no longer having any contact with her daughter’s father, somehow managed to score top marks at university. From there, she earned the position of midwife at Castillo and has been going from strength to strength ever since. She was positive, driven, and had a wicked sense of humor. In other words, she was an awesome woman.

  “Sounds fun.” Robin turned to me. “What about you?”

  “Oh, um…” I could feel my cheeks heat and noticed Mae’s suspiciously narrowed eyes.

  That girl doesn’t miss a thing.

  “I’m just heading to the beach for a run and then have dinner with my parents afterward.” I sighed.

  Robin’s eyes gleamed. “How are Daniella and Stuart?”

  I was momentarily taken aback before remembering that of course Robin knew my family. Despite the nine-year age gap, he’d grown up in the same privileged neighborhood as I had. He’d attended the same prestigious schools and even accepted invitations to the same charity fundraisers. Poor guy.

  So I tried to keep my face neutral as I replied, “They’re still the same.”

  He laughed, it was a nice sound, not deep and throaty like another one I’d recently heard—

  Stop it, Riley.

  I sighed again.