by Naomi Niles
Kami’s cheeks flushed scarlet at the compliment, but this time, her hazel eyes met mine and she looked delighted. “Thank you,” she said.
“Where did you learn to cook like that?” I asked.
“My mother,” Kami said, after a small hesitation. “She was a brilliant cook and loved experimenting with different flavors and cuisines. She hated using cookbooks and following recipes. I cooked with her a lot of the time. She was the inspiration behind my dream. That’s why our restaurant is named after her.”
“Natalie,” I said. “That was her name?”
Kami nodded. “She would have loved the idea of Haley and I running our own restaurant. She would have loved the idea of having an ever-changing menu, too.”
“That’s a beautiful story,” I said. “Is your mother…?"
I faltered as I wondered how best to phrase my question. The way that Kami spoke made it seem like she had lost her mother a long time ago. She sensed where I was going and saved me from having to finish the question.
“My mother passed away,” she replied.
I knew immediately that this was a topic she wasn’t keen on going into, so I quickly changed the subject. “When do you decide on the next week’s menu?”
Kami’s eyes brightened immediately. “It depends. Sometimes I get my inspiration from the ingredients I find in the markets. Other times, it’s just an idea in my head. The restaurant isn’t open all the time, though. We’re open Thursday through Sunday for lunch and dinner. Monday and Tuesday is just lunch, and Wednesday is our day off. So, I usually prepare the next week’s menu on Tuesday nights.”
“That must be interesting.”
“It’s my favorite thing to do,” she said, her face lighting up. “It’s so much fun.”
We spent the rest of the dinner talking about the restaurant, about her love of food, and her talent for creating new and interesting dishes. We spoke about my work a little, about life in general, and all the little nuances in between.
And slowly, as the night progressed, she lost the self-consciousness that had clung to her from the moment we’d met and I started to see another side of her, a side that wasn’t weighed down by insecurity. And suddenly, I felt a little blossom of hope bubble in the pit of my stomach.
Chapter Twelve
Kami
“Straight home?” JJ asked.
I could tell he didn’t want to overstep by assuming the night was continuing past dinner. He had been nothing but a gentleman the whole night, and he had actually succeeded in making me feel comfortable. Engulfed in that feeling, I felt myself unwilling to end our date just yet.
“Take a west on Pine Drive,” I said.
He smiled a little and took the first exit he came across. I directed him until we got to a long, lonely stretch of narrow road that had mountain on one side and sea on the other.
“Just keep driving,” I said. “You can park when we come to the Holloway Ridge. It’s about five miles from here.”
“I’m intrigued,” JJ said.
“I used to go there a lot when I was younger,” I admitted. “I wasn’t exactly running away from home; I just needed a quiet place to think. No one’s ever there and it was the perfect place to be alone with your thoughts.”
“Do you still go there?”
“Sometimes,” I nodded.
My most recent visit had been a few months ago, right after my breakup with Stuart. Haley had been on a tangent, infuriated with how Stuart had been treating me. And while I appreciated her anger on my behalf, I didn’t want to hear words. Somehow, they made me feel worse about everything, including myself.
Soon we came to the little fork that I recognized so well. “You can park here,” I directed JJ, and he came to stop a little ways off the road.
We got out together and took the little winding road down towards the beach. It was a beautiful night, and the distance from any major landmarks and buildings meant that the stars were shining more brightly than anywhere else in California.
“Wow,” JJ breathed, as they walked towards the water. “This place is amazing. But there’s no one around…”
“No, there never really is,” I said. “I’ve been coming here since I was a teenager, and I’ve never really come across too many people on this side of the beach. I think some might find it depressing.”
“Depressing?”
“Well, it’s quiet, it’s far removed from…anything really,” I explained. “I think people crave noise and color and excitement.”
JJ turned his head to the ocean standing in front of us. “There’s something to be said about peace and quiet,” he said. “I always had way too much noise at home, especially with four other brothers in the house.”
“I can imagine,” I smiled. “Are you close with your brothers?”
“Very much so,” he said, with a small nod. “I’m close with Peter and Sam. Alan, too, but I don’t get to see him as often as I’d like. He doesn’t live close by. I suppose Talen’s the only one that…is a little distant from the family.”
“Oh,” I said, not wanting to pry.
We spent a few minutes just staring out at the ocean, and I felt JJ move a little closer towards me. “Thanks for bringing me out here, Kami,” he said, and his voice was low with appreciation.
I didn’t know what it was. It was like my senses simply took leave of my body. JJ turned to me and his hazel eyes looked so beautiful under the muted starlight that I simply couldn’t help myself. I moved forward and kissed him on the lips.
He jerked slightly, obviously surprised by how unexpected the kiss had been. I broke apart and stared down at my feet, embarrassed and shocked by my own behavior.
“I… I’m sorry,” I stammered. “I don’t know what came over me.”
I didn’t look up at him, so I couldn’t see his face or his expression. He was silent for a moment, and then he took my hand gently into his. When I still refused to meet his gaze, a hitched a finger underneath my chin and pulled my face upwards.
His kind expression instantly put me at ease. He leaned down towards me for another kiss and this time, I was the one who jerked back. He paused for a moment, only to give me a moment to collect myself. Then he leaned in further and kissed me softly on the lips.
I knew he could feel how tense I was, but he didn’t let go of me. He pulled me to him until my body was pressed tight against his. The warmth of his body relaxed me, the pressure of his lips on mine was soothing, and I felt my body melt into his.
As the kiss deepened, I realized my body was heating up slowly. It was the same thing that had happened in his office the other day. I was responding to his touch, and I was completely unable to control it.
It helped that I didn’t need to think too hard. He was taking control. His hands were around my waist and on my hips, and I knew they wanted to travel still lower. After a moment, his tongue parted my mouth and our kiss deepened into something wilder and more passionate.
I felt the heat spread between my legs, and instantly, I started to get wet. I grabbed at him and suddenly we were toppling backwards onto the sand.
“Are you all right?” JJ asked, holding on to me.
I laughed. “I’m fine,” I said. “Covered in sand, but fine.”
He smiled. “Maybe I should put my coat down?”
“You don’t have a coat,” I pointed out.
“Damn it.”
I laughed again, amazed at how light my laughter sounded. “It doesn’t matter,” I said quickly. “I don’t care…”
His eyes twinkled brightly as he grabbed me suddenly, rolling me over so that I was straddling him and he was the one with his back to the sand. He had hoisted my dress up around my waist so that my naked thighs were fixed around his groin. I could feel the length of his erection, and that only turned me on further.
“We don’t have to do this,” he told me.
“I know,” I said, leaning in to kiss him hard on the lips.
He got my drift and pulled m
e closer to him so that it felt as though we were joined at the hip. He eased my panties down and discarded them completely. Then his fingers traveled up my inner thigh before he slid two fingers inside me. I moaned thrilled at the feeling that coursed through my body. It was like an electric shock, but much more pleasant.
He continued kissing me as he repositioned himself so that he could enter me. A moment later, he slid himself inside me, and I gasped at how unexpectedly large he was.
“Are you all right?” he asked again.
“Yes,” I said, clinging onto him as my eyes rolled back in their sockets. “This feels amazing.”
He grabbed my hips and ground them against him. The sand nipped at my knees, but I barely even noticed. All I wanted was for him to fuck me. He leaned back against the beach, pulling his feet up so that I had some support, then pumped hard at me, sending me into spirals of pleasure.
When he eased back into gentle strokes, I knew it was because he needed to take it easy or he would cum too soon. Feeling more confident, I started to move gently on top of him. He stared up at me, his hands exploring my upper body until they landed on my breasts.
It was thrilling to be lying under the stars, fucking a man I barely knew. I understood suddenly why Haley did it. There was a freedom and a fierce sense of independence involved.
I moved slowly at first, and then encouraged by the rare beauty of the moment, I rode him more forcefully until he was the one gasping and clinging to me.
“Are you close?” he asked.
And strangely enough, I actually believed I was. The sad truth was that I had never actually experienced a fully fledged orgasm. I had been with a handful of men, but none of them had ever lasted long enough to give me that kind of pleasure. I could feel a building sense of elation overcome me, and I suspected that an orgasm was on the horizon. I dug in my heels greedily, desperate to have that experience.
“I…think so,” I gasped.
JJ pushed himself upwards, grabbed me around the waist, and started pounding into me. Taken aback and amazed by his strength and stamina, I gave myself over to him until my body was the only thing I was aware of. I came suddenly, with my eyes closed, quivering all over.
After the magnitude of the feeling had subsided slightly, I breathed a sigh and opened my eyes.
JJ had one hand on my thigh and the other on my hip. He was stroking me slowly, his eyes fixed on my face. There was a small smile playing on the corner of his lips. He reached for me and kissed me slowly. Then we broke apart, and he helped me to my feet. Sand clung to both of us, and the minute we were standing, it fell from our clothes, our tangled hair, and the folds of our skin.
I looked around in the sand, trying to part it with my feet.
“Looking for something?” JJ asked.
“My underwear,” I replied, coloring slightly.
He smiled and helped me search. We found it buried under a layer of sand that must have formed when we were in the midst of sex. He pulled it out and handed it to me. “I wouldn’t recommend wearing it,” he said.
“No, I don’t think they’d be very comfortable,” I laughed.
We walked back up the narrow pathway and got into the car. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to do an internal cleanup of the car,” I said, looking down at the sand that had collected on the vehicle floor.
“Don’t worry about it,” JJ laughed. “This night was well worth the cleanup.”
By the time he dropped me off at home, it was ten past one in the morning. He walked me to the door like a true gentleman and kissed me softly on the lips.
“I’d like to take you out again,” he said as I turned the key in the lock and opened the door.
I smiled. “I’d like that,” I nodded.
“Okay,” JJ said, as though he were surprised by my response. “I’ll call you.”
I nodded and watched as he turned and walked back to his car. I waited till he had driven off before I stepped back inside and closed the door. Instantly, light flooded the living room and Haley was in my face.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed excitedly. “I got home half an hour ago, and you still weren’t here. How was it?”
I laughed. “It was…pretty amazing actually.”
“Tell me everything!” she demanded. “I want to know every little detail.”
“That’s going to take all night.”
“I don’t care,” she said firmly. “I’ll close the restaurant tomorrow, too, if I have to.”
“Before I launch into the details,” I said. “There’s just one thing that I want to say.”
“Yes?” she said, expectantly.
I grabbed Haley and hugged her hard. “Thank you for forcing me into this!”
There was a second of silence, and then Haley laughed hard and returned my hug.
Chapter Thirteen
JJ
“How are you feeling today, Mrs. Grammar?” I asked.
“A little nervous,” she admitted.
Lucille Grammar was a petite woman in her early fifties. She was blonde, skinny, and trying desperately to reverse the effects of age. She had already been through a nose job, facial rejuvenation treatments, and a number of Botox injections. Now she was back for the one thing she wanted most of all: breast implants.
Danny fluttered around on the periphery, keenly observing everything. I could tell that he was excited about assisting me today.
“Don’t be nervous,” I said reassuringly. “Everything’s going to go smoothly.”
“It’s just… I’ve had a bad experience with my previous doctor,” she said. “I had an allergic reaction to the lip fillers he injected into my lips.”
“I can assure you, I will do my utmost to make sure you come out of this surgery with exactly what you asked for.”
Mrs. Grammar smiled, and I could see the relief there. “You did come highly recommended,” she said, giving me a small wink.
“Well, I hope to prove to you that that recommendation is deserved,” I said. “Now, why don’t you follow Marla here to get prepared for the surgery?”
She nodded and followed Marla out the door. I was looking through her file when I noticed Danny’s eyes on me. I looked up at him. “What?” I asked, with raised eyebrows.
“Why haven’t you been able to stop smiling all day?” he asked pointedly.
“Umm… I’m not smiling,” I said, having not realized how transparent I was being.
“You’re smiling right now,” he pointed out. “If you weren’t so damn good looking, you’d look like the joker.”
I laughed. “I’m just…in a good mood. That’s not a crime, is it?”
“It’s not,” Danny said, with a shrug. “It’s not just not exactly…you.”
“Huh,” I said, trying to change the topic.
“You got laid last night didn’t you?” he asked bluntly.
I tried to keep the truth from my face. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready for our surgery?”
“I knew it!” he said, clapping his hands together. “You did get laid last night.”
“Will you stop it,” I demanded. “Nothing happened.”
“Bullshit.”
“I don’t think this conversation is appropriate for the workplace,” I said. “Plus, I’m your mentor.”
Danny found this hilarious. He held his stomach as he laughed, and when he finally subsided, he had to wipe away tears.
I shot a glare in his direction. “Some would find that reaction offensive.”
“Ah, but I know you know better,” he said, with a wink. “Who was the girl?”
“Nobody,” I said shortly.
“Was she hot?”
“Shut up,” I said, trying to avoid him. No matter how hard I tried, he seemed to pop up in front of me. I ended up walking out of the office, towards the surgical ward on the lower floor. Danny grabbed the file and followed me through the corridors, but his questions never stopped.
“Come on,” Danny pleaded. “Give me something
. Where did you take her?”
“None of your business.”
“So… how good was the sex? Did it blow your mind?”
I glared at him.
“I can’t tell if that’s a yes or a no?” Danny asked with a confused expression.
I grinned and didn’t say a word. I headed into the elevator and pressed the button that would take me to the surgical unit.
“Did you at least get to feel her up?” Danny asked.
“Okay,” I said, walking out of the elevator and then coming to a crashing halt. “Another word out of you and I’m kicking you out of this surgery.”
“Seriously?” Danny asked.
“Seriously,” I said, smiling sweetly.
“That’s an abuse of power.”
“I know,” I said. “Convenient, right?”
“Damn it,” Danny said, admitting defeat and falling silent.
We headed into the surgical lab and proceeded to get ready for the surgery. Danny cast away his playful personality and donned the mask of a real surgeon. I couldn’t fault him the entire time we were in the theater. He listened carefully, watched closely, and did exactly as I told him. Afterwards, as we washed our hands clean, Zackary walked in.
“Hi,” I greeted him. “What brings you here?”
“I came to see how the operation went,” Zackary replied. “Do you mind if I take a look at your work?”
“Not at all,” I said, pointing him towards the theater.
A few minutes later, and Zackary walked back into the room. Danny glanced at him nervously, but I was a little more confident. I had performed the procedure so many times that it was like second nature to me.
“You’ve done an excellent job,” Zackary said approvingly.
I bowed my head humbly. “Thank you,” I said.
“Just the kind of skillset I need for a new partner,” he said pointedly.
I smiled, but refused to answer. I knew he was eager for me to accept his offer and join him in the expansion of his private plastic surgery clinics, but it was a big commitment and I needed more time to think about it.