A Fine Line

by E. Ayers

  While she waited for that first pot of morning coffee to finish brewing, she thought back over the last twelve days at the beach. She didn’t want this time together to end. She couldn’t remember any time in her life that was this enjoyable.

  Normally, she dreaded rising early in the morning, but since she had been at the beach she loved it. Each day seemed extra special, and she didn’t want to sleep through any of it. The sound of his footsteps on the staircase made her smile.

  He entered the kitchen and kissed her good morning. Her arms slid around his neck. She returned the kiss. Her tongue skimmed his mint-flavored lips before pushing past them to be captured. Heat rippled to her groin and her body twitched with anticipation.

  He reached under her thin shirt. His fingers found the tie of her bikini top at the back of her neck. She felt it loosen. Then further down, he unlatched her bikini top.

  “I’m stealing first base,” he whispered in her ear.

  She didn’t care. The heat from his fingers warmed her very core. Slowly, he undid the buttons on her shirt and slipped it off her shoulders. Her bikini top fell to the floor exposing her breasts to him. She inhaled. Her body trembled with anticipation.

  He smiled and then covered her mouth with his.

  Her back arched as she pressed her breasts to his chest. His chest hair tickled, fueling a need inside of her. His hands cupped her breasts. Fire blazed. The only thing keeping her from collapsing into a puddle was her arms around his neck. Her knees had long since turned to jelly. She wanted to remind him that he was breaking the rules, but she would have to disengage her mouth from his, and she had no desire to do so.

  She wanted him. She wanted all of him. She wanted to feel him inside of her. Her hips pressed against his.

  He grabbed her butt lifting her off her feet.

  Her legs wrapped around him, holding her tight to the rock that had formed in his trunks. They ground and rocked like teens until a gasp from him sent her over the edge. He held her tight and followed suit. She clung to him, exhausted and exhilarated. Her cheek rested on his damp shoulder as little mews escaped with every breath she exhaled.

  “Good morning,” he said. His voice laced with his breath.

  “That was one amazing morning kiss.”

  “I’ll agree.” His words fluttered over her hair. “I can’t think of a better way to start the day.” He lifted her off of him and returned her to the floor. “Please, excuse me. I need to take a quick shower and change.”

  She grinned up at him. “It certainly was very explosive.”

  He took the stairs two at a time and she heard the water run in his bathroom. She headed for her own bathroom.

  He had moved all his toiletries from the bathroom she was using, but she could tell from what was still there that he had given her his bedroom and bath. Any of the bedrooms would have been fine, but he made sure she had the nicest one. That was the way he was. He always seemed to put her first. She liked that.

  She washed up, then found another bathing suit and shorts set to wear. A few minutes later, she went downstairs and poured her first cup of coffee. He was waiting for her.

  Rich came up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I owe you an apology for breaking my own rule.”

  She cocked her head and looked at him. “What rule did you break?”

  “The one about no sex.”

  She grinned and put her fingers to his lips. “That was quite a morning kiss. I’m not sure if that would work every morning, considering we both have jobs.”

  He removed her fingers and kissed them. “Ah, but we could try.”

  She lifted her cup of coffee to her lips as he took her hand. It had become a morning ritual, a barefoot walk along the almost deserted beach. A few surfers braved the cold water in the morning light. Their shouts mingled with the roar of the crashing waves and the calls of the seagulls and sand pipers that played along the wet sand. Her arm circled the back of his waist. She leaned against him as he tucked her closer to him. The rising sun coated her in warmth, but it was no match for Rich’s tender embrace.

  Further down the beach a man played Frisbee with three large dogs. A lifeguard walked out to his station with a clipboard and began to prepare for a day in the hot sun. Now she wished she had brought her camera. She wanted to capture the overwhelming incredible beauty of it all. If there were only a way to preserve the euphoria of… Pain shot through her foot. She stumbled. Air squeaked into her lungs and didn’t want to leave.

  “What? What happened? Are you okay?”

  Words stuck in her throat. He lifted her into his arms.

  “My foot,” she breathed out.

  Gently, Rich lowered her to the sand and inspected her foot. It was covered in wet sand and a small spot grew red with blood. With Rich keeping her balance, she drew her foot across her other knee and inspected the spot. A small piece of broken shell protruded from the skin near her arch. She pulled it out, and then it really began to bleed.

  He picked her back up. “Rinse your foot in the salt water. It might burn, but I’ve heard it was good for cuts.”

  “I need pressure on it, not dirty ocean water.” The sight of that much blood scared her more than she wanted him to know.

  “I doubt the water is dirty.”

  He waded into the water, and she allowed him to put her down on her one foot.

  She clung to him as the waves tugged on her one-footed balance. His arm was holding her steady as she lifted her bloody foot from the water. “Thanks. Stick me in the water so I can feed the sharks.”

  She could feel rumble through his chest before he chuckled.

  Blood flowed freely from her wound. She was such a chicken. Even a paper cut made her sick to her stomach. How could she explain her insane fear?

  He took her foot into his hand and lightly ran his thumb over her cut. “Did you get all the shell out?”

  “I don’t know.” Her blood was now on his hand. Her head swam.

  Rich pressed against the slice and she whimpered. “This needs to be checked out.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Oh, I’ve heard that line before.” He scooped her up into his arms.

  She protested, but wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “You’re going to the doctor.”

  “No, it’s only a minor cut. I’m not dying. It just hurts.”

  He looked down at her foot. “I’m sure it does.”

  He carried her back to the house and when he looked at the stairs leading up to the kitchen, he hesitated.

  “You are not carrying me up a flight of steps. Put me down before we both fall and get hurt.”

  Small grin spread across his face. “I wasn’t planning on dropping you.”

  She wiggled in his arms. “Just put me down. I’d rather hobble by myself, thank you very much.”

  “Are we going to argue about this?”

  “No, because you will put me down.”

  He gave into her protest and carefully lowered her to her feet. She leaned against the railing and looked at her foot again. It was still slightly bloody. She swallowed hard. “See it’s fine.”

  “Hardly.”

  Maybe I need to convince myself. “Really, I don’t want to go near a hospital, ever.”

  He took her empty coffee cup from her hand. “There’s a walk-in clinic a few blocks from here. You don’t have to go to the hospital.”

  Panic rose up her throat. “No, I’ll be fine.”

  He put both coffee cups down and helped her up the steps. Then he swooped her into his arms until he could deposit her in a kitchen chair. “Let me see what I’ve got in the first aid kit.”

  She watched as he vanished into the small half bath behind the kitchen. When he returned, he had a small red box.

  “Alcohol, peroxide, antibiotic cream, insect spray, hmm…” he emptied half the contents on the kitchen table. “We need to wash it and make certain there’s nothing left in the cut.”

  She swa
llowed hard.

  He grabbed the roll of paper towels and began to doctor her foot.

  “Where did you learn first aid?” She gritted her teeth and tried hard not to act like the chicken she was.

  “Same place you did, health class. Weren’t you paying attention?”

  She wanted to laugh at him, but what he was doing hurt. “Not exactly. If I liked blood and guts I would have gone into medicine. I barely managed biology class. I don’t like yucky things.”

  He laughed heartily. “I should have known. That’s why you made me dissect everything?”

  “You got it.”

  “That’s the only time I ever remember that you were actually nice to me.”

  “Ow!” Her foot jerked. “What are you doing?”

  ~~~ Nine ~~~

  “I’m done. You still had sand in there.” Rich stood and filled a basin with warm water. “Now you need to soak it.”

  “I probably would have kissed you back then, if that’s what it would have taken to get you to cut stuff up. At least, I had you as a lab partner.” Chloe lowered her foot into water and then quickly pulled it out. “That hurts!”

  His frown told her that she’d better put her foot back into the water. She hissed as she returned it to soak.

  “It shouldn’t hurt.”

  “Well, it does.”

  “Keep it there until that water cools off.”

  She made a face at him.

  He laughed at her and made breakfast.

  It was after breakfast that they sat at their computers. Rich was working intently, but her mind was barely focused on her job. She forced herself to answer emails and eventually she gave up. The only thoughts in her head were about Rich.

  Even Muffin seemed to love him. Chloe thought about how the feline snuggled into his lap every chance she had and how Rich seemed to adore the furry attention. The image of Muffin on her back made Chloe smile. Can’t fool animals.

  Snippets of her time in the cabin floated through her. She remembered she had given him such a hard time, and apparently he had only tried to take care of her. Guilt ran through her veins.

  She had not seen Rich naked since that day he was sick. He’s a man and men have manly parts. She giggled to herself. Yes, she had noticed his equipment and it was a fine package. She admired what she had seen, but she hadn’t purposely looked. It was what he had done for her.

  Fragments of their conversations, and her teenage stupidity and prejudices all whirled through her brain. She’d been an idiot. How could she have been that rotten to him? Why did she allow all those childish things color her feelings towards him as an adult?

  She looked at him working diligently. It wouldn’t matter to her if his ears still stuck out. A smile tugged at her cheeks. She liked him the way he looked now. Sitting there in a pair of shorts and a tee shirt, he looked average, but in a suit, he looked...Mighty fine.

  Her thoughts drifted to his family’s financial and emotional struggles because they had a sick child. What if it had been her little sis? How would her mom have coped? She shook her head. Her mom worked hard to keep her children nicely clothed, and Chloe learned to take care of what she had.

  She spun forward to her marriage and then her divorce. Her anger over her husband’s infidelity and the feeling she could never trust another man made her steer clear of men. Yet there she was with Rich. His views on cheating spouses matched hers. They had the same values and shared the same work ethic. They were more alike than they were different.

  “Daydreaming?”

  She realized he was standing. “Huh? Oh, thinking.”

  He his eyebrows shot up. “Some new concept for Dunhurst?”

  “It had almost nothing to do with NUAgra. Are you going to make more coffee?”

  “I can.”

  “Don’t do it for me. I’m coffee’d out. Want iced tea?” She put her foot on the floor and tested it for pain before she put her full weight on it.

  “Your foot?” he asked.

  “Tender but fine.”

  He shook his head. “You’re limping.”

  “I’m not limping. I’m favoring it.”

  He chuckled as he took her in his arms. “Sure?”

  “Yes. It’s just a tiny cut.”

  He reached down, lifted her foot, and inspected it.

  “Are you always this protective?” She liked his compassion towards her.

  A grin split his face as he gave her back her foot. “No.”

  She giggled. He was in man-speak mode. Men seemed to have perfected it. It was useful drop-the-emotion, cut-to-the-chase communication tool, especially in the workplace. She had effectively used it herself in many situations.

  “Can’t take you dancing.” His voice was matter-of-fact.

  “You dance?”

  His lips narrowed to a thin line. He shook his head.

  “Neither do I.”

  He leaned into her, drawing her to him. Her eyes closed as his magnetism pulled her spirit into his warm embrace. Her body tingled from his electrical charge. When his lips left hers she felt invincible and euphoric. It overwhelmed her.

  Was it passion? Was this love? She clung to his arms. She didn’t swoon like some regency heroine, instead she felt invigorated with energy.

  Thoughts spun. When she married her ex, she believed she was in love. He had been the big man, and she was the little woman. He had almost destroyed her confidence.

  Her hand ran down Rich’s tee shirt covered chest. He brought out the best in her. She wondered how she could have ever hated him. His hand tenderly rubbed her back. He didn’t need to say anything. She knew he loved her.

  ***

  Chloe sat on the blanket and snuggled into Rich’s arms. “I can’t believe it’s almost over. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a wonderful vacation in my life. You’ve been wonderful and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

  “I’m glad. I wanted you to relax.”

  She looked out over the pounding surf. “It’s almost chilly out here.”

  “Are you cold?” He wrapped his arms a little tighter around her.

  “Not yet, besides I don’t want to leave.”

  “There’s probably a storm brewing from the looks of the clouds. Maybe we should go inside.”

  She slipped down and laid her head in his lap. A little sliver of moon peeked out from between the swift clouds. “I don’t want what we’ve had here to end.”

  “It doesn’t have to. We can come here any weekend.”

  “You’re inviting me back?” She toyed with the soft hair on his forearms.

  “Of course. What did we discuss before we came down here?”

  “The fact that it would give us a chance to get to know each other, and it did. The no sex was a bit awkward, but in a way, it made it nice. It took some pressure off.” She loved being with him, the contact of his body to hers, and his wonderful manly scent.