by S. E. Lund
“Thank you,” she said and went over to kiss Drake on the cheek. “I’ll look up a recipe and use it one night soon.” She handed it to my father, who looked at it closely through his half-eye reading glasses.
We talked for close to an hour about the last month we spent in Nairobi, about my father’s rehab program and about my plans for finishing my Masters. Drake yawned and seeing him made me yawn as well, but I hid it behind a hand.
My father must have caught it for he turned to me, a frown on his face.
“You two go to bed if you’re so tired,” he said. “Good Lord, don’t feel a need to entertain us. We can talk tomorrow over breakfast.”
“I don’t know about you,” Drake said and turned to me, “but I could use a nice warm bath and then right to bed to sleep.”
“Sounds like heaven,” I replied. “I’ll go start the bath.” I stood up and kissed my father on the cheek and then gave Elaine a hug when she stood up. “Good night.”
We all said our goodnights and I went back to my bedroom and into the ensuite bathroom to run a bath for us. I poured some bubble bath into the water and soon the tub was filled with nice aloe scented bubbles.
I stripped off my clothes and got in after Drake did and lay back in his arms, the warm water rising up around us. We sat in a pleasant silence for a few moments and then decided on a plan of action for the first week.
“We’ll stay here for a few days, get the apartments aired out and then we can move to my place in Chelsea while we renovate 8th Avenue. The tenant downstairs has given notice so now’s as good a time as any to convert the two apartments into a single two story unit. I’ll contact an engineer I know to come out and draw up plans.”
“That sounds wonderful,” I said and yawned once more. I got out of the tub and pulled a bathrobe on that Elaine had been nice enough to have ready. One for each of us hung on the back of the bathroom door. “I don’t know if I can even keep my eyes open long enough to brush my teeth,” I said when I turned to the vanity and opened my makeup bag.
“Me either,” Drake said, and wrapped his own bathrobe around him. He caught my eye in the mirror and he looked as bleary eyed as I did. Then we both brushed our teeth and I slipped on my nightgown and crawled into bed after Drake.
He was naked, of course, and I almost thought about making love before we fell asleep, but not quite. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me and then I rolled over. He spooned against me.
I fell asleep practically the moment my head hit the pillow.
The next week was a blur of recovering at the Park Avenue apartment, my trips to Columbia to register and meet with my advisor, then moving our stuff to Drake’s Chelsea apartment and settling in there. As for Drake, he was just as busy, getting settled back into his office at NYP and then meeting with people at New York University where he was doing his Fellowship in Pediatric Neurosurgery.
I barely had time to think, let alone waste time. On top of it all, I went with my father to a couple of his rehab sessions in Elaine’s place so she could do some personal business, and visit with some friends that she had been kept from because she’d been so busy with my father. I was happy to do it, since she had been so good to my father and had worked with him tirelessly to get him back into shape.
It was late one Friday night in the second week we were back, after a particularly busy day with me on campus doing research and Drake at NYU getting orientation to the program there, that Drake and I finally sat down together after dinner and did absolutely nothing.
“Ms. Bennet, I’m going to rub your feet and vegetate tonight.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said and sighed when he picked up one of my feet and removed my sock, before rubbing the sole and heel.
“I never did ask you how your practice session went with the band,” I said while he worked away on my foot.
“Great. Like old times. We’ve been playing the same music for so long, even six months away and it’s all still up here,” he said and pointed to his head. “We have a practice gig at O’Riley’s tomorrow night. Mrs. O wants you to come for Sunday dinner and they’ll be sad if you say no.”
“Do you want to go?” I asked lightly, trying not to sound too eager in case Drake wanted to take it slow with the food touching.
“It’s going to happen sooner than later. I’m more worried about you having to face the inquisition. You’ll be the first woman they’ve met so naturally, you’ll be an object of significant interest.” Drake grinned at me while he massaged my foot.
“I’ll be happy to go. The O’Rileys sound like your second family.””
“Good,” he said and patted my other foot, indicating I should offer it up for a massage. “When they see you, they’ll be so incredibly jealous and happy for me that I got such a pretty young thing.”
I smiled and imagined the family fawning over me, smiling and winking at Drake. I must be a curiosity if I was the first woman Drake brought around since his divorce.
If it made Drake happy to take me to Sunday dinner, I wanted to go. Besides, I was damn curious about Ken and the family.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Drake
I woke early and left Kate snuggled up in the blankets, her head almost under the covers and went to the bathroom for a quick shower. When I finished and stood drying off, I watched Kate sleep and wondered how she’d do that night. She’d be under unabashed scrutiny, with the whole family watching her every move, wanting to talk to her, tease her and extract information about me from her.
Kate was an introvert who was a deep thinker and on the serious side. I hoped Ken and his siblings would pick up on that and not give her too hard of a ride. Mrs. O would treat her like a member of the family, hugging her, kissing her and generally welcoming her with open arms. Sarah would welcome her like a sister.
I hoped Ken and Colin went easy on her. If not, I’d step in and straighten them out. I felt incredibly protective of Kate. She was resilient but sensitive. I didn’t want her to feel overwhelmed by the attention but at the same time, I had always looked on the family dinners with envy, secretly longing for the day that I’d be there for dinner with my wife instead of the lone bachelor. Of course, I could have brought women to the O'Riley family dinners, but until Kate, I had never loved any of the women in my life. I’d never wanted to bring anyone there with me.
I wanted to do everything with Kate, take her everywhere. I wanted everyone to know she was mine.
I went to the kitchen and made coffee, then poured myself a bowl of granola and milk. While I stood at the kitchen window and looked out over the street below, I thought about my meeting on Monday with the head of the Pediatric Neurosurgery program at New York University, where I was doing a Fellowship. I was going to check with Fred Parker to get started on the research side of my Fellowship. I was excited about the program, where I’d be overseeing neurosurgery residents, doing surgeries and conducting original research. It would be a great year.
I had decided to meet Dave Mills for an early game of racquetball, and afterwards we'd go over some details regarding the foundation and funding for the Fall over coffee, and so I left Kate in bed. I leaned over her and pushed her hair off her forehead, kissing her gently.
She wriggled down into the blankets and smiled. “Mmm,” she said and cracked open her eyes. “Are you already dressed?”
“Going to meet Dave for a game of racquetball.”
She frowned. “Oh, that’s right. I forgot.” Then she snuggled deeper into the covers. “Have a great time and say hello from me.”
I stuffed my shorts and t-shirt into my gym bag. Kate watched me from the bed.
When I was done, I stopped and frowned, wondering if I should ask Dave about Kurt and Dawn.
“What is it?” Kate asked.
“Do you want me to ask Dave about Dawn and Kurt?”
“If you don’t mind,” she said. “I’m worried about her. For her to be with Kurt, well, I don’t know what to think about it, considering how she
felt about me being with you.”
I went over and sat on the bed beside her. “You really are worried about her?”
She nodded. “At first I was kind of happy because if she could see her way to being with Kurt, maybe she could accept you and me. But now…”
I sighed and brushed hair from her forehead. “What do you want to know?”
“Don’t make a big deal about it,” Kate said, as if she’d reconsidered. “I don’t want to get too involved with Dawn. Just casually ask him about them.”
“I’ll be the epitome of discretion,” I said.
“Thanks,” Kate said. “I didn’t want to pry when she wrote me so whatever he knows.”
“I’ll do some sleuthing,” I said with a smile. “I have my little birds who like to sing, both at the hospitals and Doctors Without Borders, if you want me to find out more.”
“You do, do you?” she said, her eyes narrowing. “I’ll keep that in mind if I ever decide to misbehave.”
I laughed at the expression of mischief on her face and the leaned down one more time to kiss her, unable to resist her when her hair was mussed and her eyes sleepy.
“Later,” I said and ran my fingers along her jaw. “We can laze around and drink coffee and read the papers.”
“I can mentally steel myself for tonight’s interrogation.”
“I’ll prepare you,” I said with a laugh. “Go over your speaking points, give you some sound bites.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she replied with a grin and lay back down.
I stopped at the doorway. “Seriously, don’t worry about dinner tonight. Everyone will love you because I do. And because you’re lovable. They’re all so happy I found someone, you’ll be treated like a princess.”
“If you say so,” she said, her voice doubtful. “I still think I should go over my speaking notes, as you say.”
I shook my head. “Just be yourself.” Then I blew her a kiss and left.
Dave was waiting for me at the health club, already in his shorts and t-shirt, and was lacing up his shoes.
“There you are,” he said and glanced meaningfully at his watch. I was running a few minutes late. “Couple of guys wanted to use our court when we weren’t in it right away.”
“Sorry,” I said and made a face. “I’ll be quick.” I tried to strip and get dressed as quickly as possible. While I was lacing up my own shoes, I decided to broach the subject of Kurt and Dawn. “So what do you know about Kurt and Dawn?” I kept my voice light, watching him out of the corner of my eye.
“You mean the chick he was with at the fundraiser? Kate’s friend?”
I nodded and slipped on the other shoe. “Yes,” I said. “Kate was surprised that they were together.”
Dave pursed his lips. “I know she’s really cute. She’s a nurse. Kurt’s a medivac pilot. Sounds like the two of them are made for each other. Didn’t she tell Kate? I mean, if they’re friends…”
“They used to be friends, but haven’t seen much of each other for a while. I wondered what was up.”
Dave nodded and examined his racket. “All I know is that they went to the fundraiser together. They seemed quite into each other, by the way they were talking and holding hands.”
I finished tying my shoes and grabbed my racket. “Let’s go,” I said. I didn’t want to push Dave for any more gossip, preferring him to volunteer information.
Dave nodded, and that was that.
I hadn’t played a game of racquetball for ages, and I was out of shape and rusty so he won every game.
“Hey, old man,” he said when we were finished. He laughed and slapped me good-naturedly on the back. “I whooped your ass. Usually, I have some competition.”
“I’m still your boss,” I said with a grin.
When we were on our way out of the health club, and on our way to our favorite diner for breakfast, he turned to me when we were at a stoplight.
“So, you want me to do some digging about Kurt and Dawn?”
I nodded. “Discreetly. I don’t want to cause any more problems between Dawn and Kate.”
“Is there a reason Kate’s concerned about this?” Dave asked as we found a parking spot a block away from the diner. “I thought she and Kurt had a thing once. Is Kate upset?”
“Kate’s worried about her mental state,” I said and shrugged, trying to decide how truthful I could be with Dave. We’d been friends for a while but I liked to maintain some kind of business relationship with him. “Dawn tried to break us up back when I first started to see Kate. Dawn’s slightly unstable emotionally. Kate’s worried that Kurt’s the wrong kind of guy for her. He’s pretty wild, from what I’ve heard, which was why Kate and Kurt broke up…”
“Okay,” Dave said. “I’ll make certain inquiries…” Then he grinned at me. “Discreetly.”
“Discreetly,” I said and nodded. I didn’t smile back. I wouldn’t put it past Dawn to do something irrational. I didn’t know Dawn personally, but everything told me that she was rigid and overly-involved in Kate’s life, even for a best friend.
We had brunch and talked about foundation business and then I said goodbye and drove back to the apartment. When I entered the foyer, I saw Kate in the living room with a cup of coffee, the paper in her hand.
“Hey,” I said and went over to her.
“Hey,” she replied and lifted her face up to me. We kissed and I stroked her cheek, smiling at her. She looked so comfortable with her feet tucked under her, the paper in her hand, a cup in the other. “Did you eat?”
“A bagel and cream cheese. You and Dave did brunch?”
I plopped down on the sofa beside her. “Yes, and we talked foundation stuff and he beat me very soundly at racquetball.”
“Poor Drake,” she said and made a pouty face before leaning over to kiss my cheek. “You’re out of practice. I’ve kept you away from your usual pastimes.”
“I chose to stay away from them,” I said. “I felt bad saying no to Dave again, so I felt I had to go today.”
She nodded and then hesitated, frowning.
“What?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Nothing.” She turned back to her newspaper.
Then I realized she probably wanted to know whether I spoke with Dave about Kurt and Dawn.
“I asked Dave about Kurt and Dawn.”
She turned to me, her eyes wide. “You did? What did he say?”
“He didn’t know much, except that Kurt and Dawn were together at the fundraiser. I asked him to discreetly make certain inquiries…”
She made a face of uncertainty. “What did he say to that?”
“He said he’d ask around, but do it carefully. I told him you were worried about her because Kurt was pretty wild. I think he understands.”
“Good,” she said and sighed, as if it had been weighing on her mind. “I don’t understand why she’d be with him, considering the way she felt about you.”
“Epiphany?”
“More like conversion on the road to Damascus, except on the road to BDSM…”
“Dave will be careful,” I said, hoping I was right. He could be direct at times, but he was smart. I hoped he understood that this was delicate. I didn’t want Kate to be friends with Dawn again, because I didn’t trust Dawn. I thought she was too unstable and judgmental. But I didn’t want Kate to worry, either. I wanted to be there for her, be her shoulder, her sounding board.
We spent the rest of the afternoon exactly as we wanted, lounging on the couch, reading the paper and drinking coffee and talking about our dinner with the O’Rileys. When it came time to get ready for dinner, Kate looked reluctant.
“Don’t worry,” I said, as I brushed my teeth while we stood in the bathroom together . “They’ll love you. They already do because I do.”
Kate adjusted her dress, a pretty black lace sheath with no sleeves. It hugged her curves very nicely, but had a high neck and was just to her knee so it wasn’t too revealing. Still, with her hair up and makeup on, she lo
oked like a million dollars.
“You, Ms. Bennet, are gorgeous,” I said and pulled her into my arms.
“Am I overdressed? Is this appropriate?” she asked when I bent down to kiss her.
“Not at all,” I said, although I was dressed in jeans and a button down shirt. I enjoyed how good she looked and felt proud of her. She was young, beautiful, intelligent, talented… and she was mine.
“What will the other women be wearing?” she asked and squirmed around in my arms so she could check herself out in the mirror once more.
“Clothes,” I said, grinning at her.
She caught my eye in the mirror and frowned. “You’re no help. I mean, how dressy do they usually get? Should I put on jeans instead?”
“Not at all,” I said and came up behind her, my arms on her hips, pulling her back against me. “You look perfect the way you are. I’ll look at you all night and feel proud. In fact, I’ll find it hard to wait to get you home so we can fuck.”
She smiled and bent forward to check her eyes. “It’s very sly of you to suggest that. Now I’ll be thinking about it all night.”
“Then my work here is done,” I said and ran my hands down her back to her buttocks, which I squeezed.
She pushed her ass back against me and I smiled.
We drove to O’Riley’s and I parked the car, opened Kate's door and helped her out of the car. In the East Village, O’Riley’s was located in the middle of the block, on the first floor of an old red brick building on 3rd Avenue. It was the perfect Irish Pub, with dark woods, a huge bar that spanned half the length of the building in the back of the pub, while the dining room was in the front.
“I’m nervous,” Kate said as we walked down the block to the pub.
I took her hand, squeezing it to encourage her. “Don’t be,” I said and led her to the back alley so we could use the rear door. “Just be yourself. Have a drink and loosen up. They’re really a very nice family. They talk so much that you’ll probably sit and listen to them argue and debate. At least, that’s what I always did when I went for Sunday dinner.”
