by Maria Geraci
Afterward, they lay there spent and panting. “Wow,” she said. “Just…wow.”
He grinned. “I’m glad you liked it.”
Liked it? Was he serious?
He got up and went to the bathroom to discard the used condom. Lauren wanted to go to the bathroom to freshen up, as well, but she didn’t trust her legs at the moment. Every inch of her body felt like Jell-O. Nate came back to bed and pulled her against him. On a scale of one to ten, tonight had been epic. A one point one (only because one by itself belonged to Henry). She yawned, too tired to do anything but smile herself to sleep.
*~*~*
Lauren woke up in a strange bed. A very big strange bed. Then she saw a man’s broad back turned to her in sleep, and she remembered. She’d had sex with Nate last night and it had been like something from a fantasy or a dream. Lauren had always enjoyed sex. In that regard, she and Tom had had a healthy marriage. But she’d never experienced anything like last night.
Nate turned and looked at her with sleepy green eyes. “Good morning.” Was there anything more deliciously sexy than waking up to a man with a rough voice and a jawline shadowed with dark morning stubble? Lauren didn’t think so. She peeked under the sheet, wondering what she would look like to him. She was naked, and sometime in the night she’d taken off her heels.
She’d had sex in nothing but a pair of high heels. She’d writhed and moaned and carried on like some…porn star. Only there’d been no acting involved. She’d looked at Nate last night and wondered who he was, but this morning she looked within herself and wondered who she was. Certainly not some sex bunny who wore tight white dresses with flimsy underwear underneath. She hoped he knew last night was a fluke.
“Good morning right back,” she said, trying to sound like a little bit of her wasn’t freaking out. She had sex with Nate Miller! If only her old high school self could see her now.
“How are you?” he asked. “Not too sore, I hope?”
“I’m just peachy, thanks.” She couldn’t help herself, she grinned.
He studied her a moment. “So, last night was your first time in two years?” He seemed amazed by that.
She nodded.
He cleared his throat. “May I ask why?”
She thought about the best way to answer his question. “The last few months of my marriage weren’t particularly great. Not horrible, or anything,” she rushed to add. “But strained, because I knew for a while that I wanted a divorce, and I just can’t separate the two things—you know, sex and my emotions? And then after the divorce, I’ve just been so busy. I really haven’t had time to date or anything.”
He processed that. “But why me?” he asked. “There must be a whole slew of guys lining up to ask you out.”
“That’s flattering, but not exactly true. And you didn’t ask me out. I asked you out, remember?” she teased.
“Not at first.”
He looked like he truly wanted an answer. After last night, she felt compelled to be completely honest with him. “I had sex with you because I like you. I mean, obviously, yes, I like you. I told you that last night. But mostly, because I just really wanted to. More than…I’ve ever wanted to before. With anyone,” she added quietly.
His gaze darkened. She was positive he was about to respond to that, when something warm and wet licked her foot. “Um, I think we have a visitor in bed.”
“Hector,” he said firmly. “Stop trying to steal my girl.”
“Your girl?” She said, grateful for Hector’s playfulness. For a minute there, things had gotten a bit too…serious for a first real date. “Just how did he climb up on the bed anyway?”
“Step stool.”
“What?” Lauren leaned over the bed to find a small step stool wedged against the lower frame. “How did that get there?”
“Sometimes he whines. I put it there so I won’t have to get up to put him in bed with me.”
“Softie,” she said to Nate. She planted a kiss on Hector’s wet nose. “Does Lanie know Hector has his own step stool for your bed?” she teased.
“No. And please don’t tell her. I’ll never hear the end of it.” He got out of bed, naked, and stretched his arms over his head like some big cat. Men were always so much more at ease in their skin than women. At least, this woman. “What do you want to do this morning?” he asked.
“Hmmm…that’s kind of a loaded question, don’t you think?” She tried not to gawk at him, but could he not put some clothes on?
He saw the direction her mind was going. “I thought we’d get breakfast first. A man needs his energy.”
“Well, yeah, we could do that.” She cleared her throat. “But I usually meet Henry and Tom for brunch. After church.”
“Church.” Nate blinked. “I thought Tom had Henry for the weekend.”
“He does. It’s just we kind of do it as this family thing. You know, Tom’s dad is a minister, so Tom takes Henry to church service and sometimes, I go, and Allie joins us now that they’re engaged, so it’s not like it’s just Tom and me with Henry.” Why she added that last part, she didn’t know, except she didn’t want Nate to get the wrong idea. “What do you usually do on Sunday mornings?”
“I go for a run. Do the crossword puzzle. Relax. Sometimes I go to my mom’s later for dinner.”
“I don’t want to interfere with your regular routine,” she said.
“I could join you for brunch. If you wanted. No big deal.” He said it casually, like it really wasn’t a big thing. She wished she could read him better, but he had an uncanny way of keeping his face so perfectly composed that it was impossible to guess what he might be thinking. Of course, he always seemed to say exactly what he thought, so maybe Lauren was just reading too much into it.
“Oh, that would be lovely…it’s just, I think it would confuse Henry right now.”
“Because you don’t want him to know we’re sleeping together? I don’t think going out to brunch signals anything other than the fact we’re hungry.”
“Of course not,” she said. “It’s just, you come over sometimes with food, and I think he’s suspicious of our friendship. And of course, now he walks Hector for you, and everything is going at a nice pace. I just think it would be wrong to rush things.”
“All right.” Once again it was impossible for Lauren to tell whether or not he was disappointed. She hoped he understood where she was coming from. Taking him as her date to couples Bunco was one thing. So was having sex with him. But it was simply too soon to run around town acting like an old established couple in front of their families.
Now that they’d gotten that out of the way, she could lean back and appreciate the view. Nate opened his dresser drawer and took out some clean clothes. “By the way, you’re going to have to loan me something to wear this morning.” She pointed to the floor, where what remained of her white dress lay in shreds. An image of him cutting through her dress, and the feel of the cool scissors against her heated skin made her shiver.
He turned around and tossed her a shirt.
Lauren tried not to stare at him. But really, if you were going to parade around naked in front of someone, then you were asking for it. She started to laugh. She’d seen it last night, of course. She’d had it inside her, for Pete’s sake, but she hadn’t really taken note of it. No wonder she was sore this morning.
“What’s so funny?”
“Okay, so…you remember the night we had dinner at The Harbor House?”
“Of course. That was the night I knew we were going to sleep together.”
“What?” she asked, momentarily distracted. “How could you have known that?”
“It was the best first date I’ve ever had. I wasn’t completely sure you were feeling it like I was, not until I kissed you.” He shrugged. “Then I knew.”
“Because of our kiss, you knew we’d have sex?”
He seemed uncertain for a moment, then he shrugged and said, “Something like that.”
“Oh. So, that was complet
ely not what I thought you were going to say. Okay, back to that night at The Harbor House. Remember when I told that woman in the bathroom that you had a…you know, a big…” she made a motion with her hand.
“A big dick?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“You were drunk. What’s that got to do with anything?” he demanded.
She threw a pillow at him. He caught it and threw it back at her. “Nate! I’m trying to tell you… I’m happy to say I didn’t lie to the woman!” She started laughing again.
He shook his head, like he was embarrassed, then padded off to the bathroom. “Me and my big dick are taking a shower. As always, you’re welcome to join us.”
This time, Lauren was more than happy to accept his invitation.
Life was good, Nate decided. His mother was healthy and in less than two months she’d be taking her first cruise. Lanie seemed unusually happy, and Doc hadn’t pulled Nate in for another one of his “talks” since the Francis Kiefer incident. Even the office staff seemed friendlier.
Hector had been a factor in that. Nate still brought him to the office daily. There was never a lack of anyone to walk him or pay attention to him, and the staff almost seemed more cohesive because of him. With the exception of Lola, of course. But Nate didn’t think anything less than his canonization into sainthood would make Lola change her mind about him.
The patients seemed to be more accepting, as well. He even had a couple of Doc’s regulars switch over to him for their annuals, and Frances Kiefer had actually requested him to personally take her blood pressure when she came in. Eventually, he did have to put her on blood pressure medication, but she’d lost four pounds since her last visit and was exercising daily. He prided himself on thinking maybe he’d helped her make a lifestyle change.
The weekend after he delivered Kitty Pappas’ baby, Steve had invited Nate to join him and a few of his friends for their Sunday afternoon basketball pick-up game. One of those friends included Lauren’s ex, Tom. It had taken Nate a couple of Sundays’ worth of games to relax around the man. Not because Tom was anything other than friendly to him. But this guy had been married to Lauren. She had loved him. At least, in some kind of way. They had a son and they ate Sunday brunch together.
His own relationship with Lauren was crawling along at a snail’s pace. They’d continued their “friends” routine, mostly because Lauren said she wasn’t ready to tell Henry about them yet, and they’d only slept together once since the night of couples Bunco. He supposed he should be content. No pressure meant no strings. Most guys would be ecstatic with that kind of set up.
Bianca stuck her head in the open door. “Can I take Hector for a walk? Oh, and there’s someone here to see you. Allie Grant from the Whispering Bay Gazette? She says she has an appointment for an interview.”
Damn. Was that today? Last October, when Allie had still been working as a freelance journalist, she’d approached him about doing an interview. But he’d put her off so many times that he simply couldn’t anymore without being rude.
“Sure, tell Janie to send her on back.” He grabbed Hector, who was running around in circles chasing his newest squeaky toy, clipped on his leash then handed him over to Bianca. “Thanks for walking him. I appreciate it.”
A few minutes later Allie came into the office. She hugged him, then took a seat behind the desk. “So, it’s been almost eight months but I’m finally getting my interview,” she said shrewdly.
“I’ve been busy, sorry about that,” he mumbled.
“Don’t worry,” she said, sensing his reluctance. “This isn’t going to hurt. We’re just going to talk, like old friends, and then I’m going to write up this fabulous piece on you for the front page of the Gazette.”
“The front page? I don’t think I warrant that, do I?’
“The front page,” she repeated. “Roger will be by later to take your picture.” Roger Van Cleave was her partner at the paper and a top rate professional photojournalist. “I also took the liberty of inviting Kitty Pappas and her new baby here for a photo shoot. She was thrilled when I told her about the article. She had nothing but the best to say about you.”
“Kitty Pappas? Is that really necessary?”
“Don’t be so humble. Everyone in town knows how you delivered her baby. You’re practically a hero!” She took out a pen and opened up a yellow legal pad and laid it across her lap. “So, why don’t we start by you telling me what brought you back to Whispering Bay to practice medicine?”
“This is home,” he said simply.
Allie nodded. “And you always knew you’d come back here?”
“My family lives here. My mother and my sister, and I was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship from Dr. Morrison that allowed me to get through medical school with no debt.”
“Ah,” she said, scribbling in her legal pad. “So you have a contract with him?”
“You could say that.”
“What? Do you have a contract or not?”
“We have a contract,” Nate said.
Allie nodded and scribbled some more. “Tell me what you like best about practicing family medicine.”
He told her how he enjoyed treating patients of all ages, how he liked the problem solving aspect of diagnostics and the satisfaction of doing total care.
“What made you become a doctor in the first place?”
He hesitated. “I’ve always been good at math and science and I wanted to find a way to help other people. To give back to the community.”
“Great answer,” she said enthusiastically. “I might use that as the quote beneath your picture. So…here’s the rough part. Now, you don’t have to answer, but I’ll be honest, people want to know about that YouTube video. I know it got taken down, but not before it had like a couple hundred thousand hits. How are things between you and your girlfriend…” she glanced down at the pad, “Jessica Hart?”
“Jessica and I no longer see each other.”
Allie looked genuinely sad for him. “It must be tough, knowing that your proposal was publicly on display for so many people to watch.”
“I’ll be honest, I really don’t have time to sit around watching YouTube.” That came out more abruptly than he’d meant, but damn it, he was sick of people bringing up that ridiculous video like he was going to go off himself or something.
“Right. Great attitude.” Allie nodded sympathetically. “So, anyone special in your life now?”
Yes. But if he told Allie that, she’d want to know who, and Lauren wasn’t comfortable with them as a couple. “As a matter of fact, there is someone special,” he said. “And he’s right behind you.”
Allie whipped around to see Bianca leading Hector back into the office. “Oh! I saw this little guy when I came down the hallway.” Allie went down on her knees and scratched a grateful Hector behind the ears. “He’s yours? He’s absolutely adorable!”
“Isn’t he?” Bianca said. She let Hector off his leash. “Dr. Miller saved him from being euthanized at the pound. The whole staff adores him.”
“You mean you keep him here in your office while you work? We have to get a picture of you with Hector, as well,” Allie said.
“Sure? Why not?” Nate said.
“How long have you had him?”
Bianca took the liberty of answering for him. “Lanie, that’s Dr. Miller’s sister, brought him here a few weeks after the…you know,” she said, lowering her voice, “after that YouTube video went public. It’s really been very therapeutic. Um, for everyone of course.”
“Ah.” Allie glanced between him and Hector, then nodded like she understood.
What Bianca was implying by that therapeutic crap simply wasn’t true. Nate hadn’t needed Hector to get over losing Jessica. He’d gotten over her just fine.
He smiled and grit his teeth.
Allie stood. “I think I have everything I need. Thank you so much, Nate. I know the people of Whispering Bay are going to love getting to know their new doctor.”
She promised to get in touch with him and told him to be on the lookout for Roger this afternoon.
“Your next appointment is here,” Bianca said, before heading out the door.
“Okay, thanks, I’ll be right there.” He picked up Hector and put him back in his crate. “What do you think, boy? Did I answer all right?”
Hector licked his nose and wagged his tail.
“Yeah, okay, that’s what I thought, too.”
*~*~*
Lauren dropped Henry off at soccer practice then drove over to her parents. She was anxious to see what they thought of her newest designs—a maternity dress with an adjustable waist string and a pair of funky palazzo trousers. Both pieces could easily be used well into the months following pregnancy when most women still needed their clothing to be loose fitting. She’d designed them for Kitty, who had proclaimed both designs gorgeous.
Lauren had to admit, she wished she’d had something like this to wear after Henry had been born. She’d felt so frumpy, walking around campus with her post-pregnancy body still in need of losing those last ten pounds. The last thing any woman needed to be asked after giving birth was when she was due.
Momma had oohed and aahed over the pieces and Felicia had smiled her approval. “Where’s Daddy?” she asked.
“He’s out on the patio reading the paper,” Momma said. Lauren went to head out the back door but Momma stopped her. “Darling, you haven’t filled me in on the Nate Miller situation.”
“There’s no situation.”
“But everyone in town knows he was your date for couples Bunco!” Momma gave her a sly smile. “And of course, now he’s practically a hero after delivering Kitty Pappas’ baby. I can’t believe you were there to assist him! Not that I heard the story from you. No, I had to hear about it from Lanie Miller.”
“When did you talk to Lanie Miller?”
Momma waved a negligent hand in the air. “We had lunch together the other day.” She leaned in close. “I hear you had to stop on the side of the road and Nate had to deliver the baby with his own bare hands. No anesthesia or pain killers! Poor girl. She must be traumatized.”
