Until You

by Melody Heck Gatto

  CHAPTER 3

  Sam hummed the song Trina has been singing as he jogged along the boardwalk. That girl was stuck in his head. Her hazel eyes and the way her hair fell down around her shoulders, flooded his thoughts. Her tattoos were hot. He liked a girl with ink, and her body was a beautiful canvas. The colorful flower designs swirled around in his mind, as his body ached to get close to her.

  She had looked so relaxed and innocent before she knew she had an audience. Even her name, Trina, was unique; everything about her was unique. Simply thinking about her made his palms sweaty and his dick hard.

  It had been a long time since had been in a relationship. Hockey kept him busy, and Morgan kept him even busier when he wasn't on the ice. He loved that little girl, and he was honored to help his sister, Amy raise her. He gave up his wild life for Morgan. He hated being teased in the locker room since the guys knew he wasn't going out with them after the games to pick up chicks. He always headed directly home to Morgan and Amy.

  Sam had not always been like that. He had plenty of puck bunnies to choose from on a daily basis. They used to stand outside of the arena and wait for him with their Morris shirts on, dressed in tiny skirts and high heels. Odd outfits for the game, but they always worked at catching his attention.

  These days the puck bunnies were wasting their time; he had no intentions of spending a night with one of them. He was afraid to get too close to them after the incident at his beach house.

  He shook his head remembering that day. He had walked out the door with Morgan when she was smaller. They were going to spend the day at the beach and then do some shopping. That was when he saw a girl sitting there in the sand waiting for them. He waved at her and smiled politely. She was cute - curly blonde hair, and bright red lips.

  He had offered to autograph something for her. They flirted a little. He noticed her bikini top exposed her large breasts. Boobs always made him go googly-eyed. If Morgan had not been there, he probably would have invited her inside at that point. None of this behavior was abnormal for the San Jose players. Living on the beach, the fans had easy access to the players' homes.

  What happened next is what changed his mind about letting fans near his family.

  Sam knew she had followed them down the street to the shops. That was his plan. He was going to invite her back to his place after he dropped Morgan off at home. Once at the gift shop, he had set Morgan down for just a minute while he paid for the sunglasses she wanted.

  When he turned around, Morgan was gone. Panic ran through him as he frantically looked around for her. It felt like forever before he finally spotted Morgan outside. She was standing across the sidewalk at the ice cream cart with that girl he had been flirting with.

  He rushed over to his niece and quickly scooped her up in his arms. Sam yelled at the young woman until she was in tears. He felt bad afterwards, but she had taken Morgan from his side and out of his sight to go get ice cream. What kind of person does something like that?

  He never did find out if she was just trying to get his attention or if she was trying to kidnap Morgan, but it didn't matter to him. Either way he was done letting anyone close to his family. He was supposed to be helping raise Morgan. He was supposed to protect her. He needed to be a role model. Not some irresponsible gigolo. He never would've been able to forgive himself if anything had happened to Morgan.

  After that incident, he had decided that Morgan was his first priority. She needed a father figure, not some slug who put pretty girls and his libido before her.

  Fast forward to three years later, and he was still on his own. Morgan and Amy were his life. Usually, being alone didn't bother him.

  However, Trina currently had his full attention, and she made him nervous. Nervous in a good way, like a seventh grade crush kind of way. He needed to know more about her. He had changed; he wasn't the old Sam anymore. He was more mature, and finally knew how to treat a woman. Trina didn't seem to recognize who he was, and he kind of liked that. It was a nice change from the puck bunnies.

  He paused to catch his breath, but Belle didn't look tired at all. She stopped alongside him, looking at him with her head tilted to the side, as if she was wondering why he had stopped running. "Crazy mutt," he said, laughing through heavy breaths. His hands resting on his thighs, he bent over to take a breather. His hair flopped in his eyes as sweat dripped down his forehead.

  That girl had him going in circles. She had beautiful eyes, and that tattoo on her arm was sexy as hell. He still wasn't sure what it was exactly; but it was colorful and he liked it. She had sass and he liked that too. His heart was racing as he wondered if it was her that intrigued him so much, or if it was the fact that it had been so long since he had gotten laid. Sure, he needed to get laid, badly. But it wasn't just her body he was after, however awesome she looked in that bikini top.

  Belle took off down the boardwalk. Sam took that as a hint that he had rested enough. He jogged at an easy speed until he caught up with her. "Belle baby, aren't you tired yet?" She did love to run. Sam thought maybe he should run more; there wasn't much training he could do at the beach, so running at least kept him in shape. But he was tired and his head was clouded with sexy thoughts of his new neighbor.

  "Belle, you want a treat?" he said, cooing to the fluffy dog, coaxing her towards the shops that lined the boardwalk. "How bout a hot dog?" Belle followed him to the counter.

  "Hi," he greeted the cashier. "One hot dog please."

  "Ketchup or mustard?" the woman asked.

  "No thanks, just plain."

  Sam paid the woman and turned away from the counter. Belle smelled the hot dog and was prancing around at his feet, hoping it was for her. Sam walked over to the side wall of the shops that faced the ocean. He broke the hot dog in half, tossing each to Belle. While she enjoyed her snack, he slid down the wall until he rested on his calves. Staring out at the waves, his mind drifted to Trina. He didn't even know her last name, and yet he still could not stop thinking about her.

  Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair, he didn't understand his attraction to her. But she made his heart race and he was sure that he wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight.

  ****

  Trina sat on the couch in her condo staring into space. The television was on, but she wasn't paying any attention to it. It was Sam. He was in her head. That blond surfer boy had her giddy as a schoolgirl. She hadn't felt this way in forever. Not since Marc. Mourning him was the easy part. The hard part was moving on. Sure, she had trust issues at first, and every couple she waited on at the restaurant brought tears to her eyes, and a rush of emotion. But she got through it, and was stronger for it.

  Toby was still sound asleep in the living room. Trina stepped over him on her way to the kitchen and he didn't even flinch. Chasing birds had really worn him out.

  She hadn't been here long and really didn't have much in the way of food. Tomorrow she would have to go to the store. She had no intentions of going out now, she wasn't ready to run into Sam. She needed some time to think. Trina grabbed a box of cereal and a bowl, that would have to do for now.

  While she ate, she thought about Sam. Maybe she should just have some fun and see where it all leads? Not necessarily a one night stand, but damn that sounded awesome right about now. Her naughty parts agreed wholeheartedly. She was afraid if she didn't use her girly parts soon they would shrivel up. They have been out of action since losing Marc.

  No one knew the secret pain that she went through. She felt like she deserved some fun. The thought of being impulsive with this guy intrigued her. This was the new and improved Trina. Being carefree again was the purpose of this little adventure to the beach.

  Surfer boy had her stomach all in knots and her pulse racing. She rinsed her bowl out and headed to the bedroom. She might as well settle in, even though her mind was on overdrive and she knew she wasn't going to get much sleep.

  CHAPTER 4

  Trina finished putting the groceries away while Toby lapped a
t his water. "You ready for some seagull chasing, boy?" Toby tilted his head up at her excitedly wagging his tail. Water from his snout dripped all over the floor.

  "You know, boy, this really is the life! I think we need to move to the coast." She pulled a cold beer from the fridge and took a big sip. She tugged at her cut off jeans shorts and adjusted her tiny black bikini top.

  One of the great things about the beach was that a girl could live in her bikini. This black one was her favorite. It had metal rings connecting the fabric on her breasts and smaller rings connected that fabric to the straps. The straps tied around her neck; needless to say, there was a lot of skin showing.

  She didn't put much makeup on today, just a small bit of black eyeliner. She liked how it accented her eyes and made them more cat-like. She always had an edgy, rocker chick kind of style, even at the beach.

  She gulped down the beer. Mmm, refreshing. She needed it after the night she had. She hadn't gotten much sleep and had been dragging since her mid morning nap. Her brain just wouldn't let her rest.

  Thoughts of her blond surfer boy neighbor kept her awake the first part of the night. His hard tan body kept dancing through her mind. If that was all that kept her awake she wouldn't complain. However, once she finally had fallen asleep, the nightmares started about Marc's accident. She didn't dream about it often, but when she did, the memories were so real. Occasionally she had woken up in tears.

  She dreamt of visions of the crash site and his over turned SUV. Where was he? She couldn't find Marc anywhere. It was his license plate on the unrecognizable vehicle that was now a mass of metal. She knew it was him, but where was he? Police were everywhere. The flashing lights and the noise left her feeling dizzy and confused. Screaming for him between her sobs left her throat raw. The policeman took her in his arm and told her the words she was terrified to hear, but somehow knew.

  Marc was dead.

  She woke up in a cold sweat, her heart pounding. Trina wiped the dampness off of her forehead. She was tired of reliving that night. Would she ever get past it all?

  She sat for a moment in her bed, in the dark and the silence. She looked around her room in order to convince herself it was all just a bad dream. The clock beside her bed read 3:30. There was no sleep to be had tonight. Toby was still sound asleep on the floor beside her. It was still dark outside as she slid out of bed.

  Grabbing her pillow and a blanket, she headed for the living room. After getting snuggled up on the couch and opening all the windows so she could hear the ocean, she turned on the television, if for nothing else but some light in the dark room. Keeping the volume low enough so she could still hear the relaxing waves, she occupied herself with movies and infomercials until dawn. Sleep was overrated anyways.

  Once the sun came up, Trina and Toby went out for a long run along the beach. Two coffees and one energy drink later, they had run five miles and got some grocery shopping done. She was not moving fast today, but that was the purpose of being at the beach, to relax. Her mind finally cleared from the hellish night. She admired the beautiful day.

  She had wasted enough of the day and wanted to get out in the sun for a while. "Alright, boy, let's hit the beach!" She grabbed her beach bag, hoping to get some sun and take a dip in the ocean while Toby played. "Time to go be beach bums! Say, how 'bout we grab some hot dogs for dinner on the boardwalk?" She had a habit of talking to Toby like a human. He danced around at the idea of hot dogs, his favorite snack.

  Locking up her condo, she took a quick glance towards surfer boy's place. Half hoping he was sitting there, she was disappointed that he was nowhere to be found. Just as well, that dream last night left her feeling raw. She needed a little alone time to recoup. She ran her hand over her stomach; it was tan and toned, not a stretch mark to be seen. You can't move forward while looking back, she thought. Got to keep moving forward.

  Forward was her only choice. "Trina, that is all in the past. Get your head out of your ass and keep looking ahead," she said out loud.

  Looking up at the bright sun, Trina knew that she was going to be fine. She had not made it through hell and back for nothing. She was stronger now. She took in a big breath. Her heart didn't feel heavy anymore. For the first time in a long time she was happy, and she wasn't going to let that damn dream rattle her.

  "Let's go!" she called to Toby as they jogged down to the beach. She dropped her bag on the sand, and spread out her blanket. The bright sun was high in the sky and the sand was warm. She took a handful of it, letting it pour through her fingers. The beach always calmed her. Looking out at the waves, she took a moment to soak it all in. She let out a deep, cleansing breath.

  Toby ran up behind her. "Whatcha got there, boy?" He was carrying a stick. "Okay, okay," she agreed as he nudged her arm with it. "Fetch, boy!" she yelled as she threw the stick as hard as she could. Toby loved to play fetch; she could see what a majority of her afternoon would be spent doing.

  She grabbed her sunscreen and massaged it into her skin, careful to cover all of her tattoos. She tossed the bottle back into her bag, and stood up just as Toby returned with the stick. She picked it up and tossed it again; this time he got a little distracted by some seagulls, but she knew he would be back with the stick eventually.

  She slid off her shorts, exposing her tiny, black bikini bottoms. The warm sand molded around her bare feet, burning her toes. Her hot pink toenails peeked out from the sand. Looking back only once to make sure her sandals were beside the blanket, she headed down to the water's edge, letting the waves ripple up onto her feet. She followed the tide out and braced herself for the strong waves coming back in as they smacked against her calves. Taking in a sharp breath, the chilly waves shocked her as they hit her skin.

  She paused when the water rose to her thighs, letting out a squeal as the next set of waves soaked her up to her shoulders. Trina waded out farther to calmer waters. Slimy seaweed tangled at her feet. Treading water and floating with the rippling waves, she closed her eyes. This was nice. The sun warmed her face. She floated listening to the sound of the waves and the seagulls squawking.

  Toby's bark broke through the silence; turning, she saw him waiting for her at the edge of the water with his stick. "Alright, boy, be there in a second." Her moment of solitude with the ocean was over, but not before she held her nose and took a dunk underwater. Resurfacing, she shook off the chill that now ran through her and slicked her blonde hair back against her head. Slowly she trudged back to the dry sand, fighting the current that was trying its hardest to sweep her back out to sea.

  Picking up his stick, she threw it again as salt water dripped from her body. A small breeze chilled her wet skin. She watched Toby run around carefree as she made her way back to her blanket for some sun bathing.

  The sun warmed her body. She loved the feel of the warm sun on her skin. Toby panted beside her. Tired from playing, he plopped down in the sand and chewed on his new stick.

  Trina licked her lips, tasting the salty water. This was paradise. She listened to the seagulls and the breaking waves. All remnants of her nightmare the night before faded away. Closing her eyes her body relaxed. The breeze swept over her skin. Her breathing slowed. The sounds of the waves lapping against the sand lulled her to sleep.

  Toby's barking startled her, waking her up from her unplanned nap. She did her best to shake off the drowsiness. Her stomach growled, she had no idea how long she had been sleeping. She ran her fingers through her dry hair. "Dinnertime, boy?" she asked Toby. He tilted his head inquisitively and barked.

  Trina brushed the dried sand off of her bikini and slid on her shorts. Sliding her headphones around her neck, she fumbled with her iPod. The volume was high enough that she could hear it, the bass loud like she liked it. She grabbed her sandals and her wallet and they leisurely made their way to the boardwalk. "Hot dogs?" she asked Toby as they faced the fast food shacks. He stood by her wagging his tail. "Or chicken?"

  "Actually I was thinking a steak salad with a side of fries
," a male voice said.

  Trina turned, startled to see Sam there. Belle was at his side. In board shorts, sandals and a tank top, he looked delicious. She couldn't help but to stare at his arms, as his muscles rippled. How had she missed his tattoos last night?

  He had a tattoo of The Cup on his arm, and two hockey sticks on his chest, crossed with a hockey helmet in the middle, like a skull and crossbones. Damn he was sexy. Her eyes went back to the tattoos. "Oh, um, yeah, actually that sounds perfect." It did sound good, she had not had any junk food all week, and it seemed like a good cheat day. "But Toby likes his hot dogs."

  "Funny, Belle does too." He flashed that brilliant smile and turned to the man working the hot dog stand. "Two hot dogs to go, please, plain. Thanks." He looked down at the counter for a moment then up at Trina. His mouth tugged at the corner as his smile started small and shy, then growing large and confident before he spoke.

  "So, how about that steak salad and fries? There is a place just down the boardwalk here that is really good."

  "Um, but what about the dogs?" Trina was not about to lock Toby up in her condo.

  "There are tables outside that we can eat at, and tie the dog leashes up." He paid the cashier and took the bag of hot dogs. "C'mon," he urged.

  Before she had the chance to answer, he started walking down the boardwalk. Belle followed and Toby ran after her. "Guess I'm going," she said, mumbling to herself. She jogged to catch up with Sam and the dogs.

  "Toby made the right decision," Sam said, referring to Toby joining them for dinner.

  "Yeah, I think he was just after the hot dog though," she said, giggling. Her stomach growled again. She blushed. "Shit, guess I'm really hungry."

  Sam laughed as she stayed a step ahead of him. She felt his eyes on her, unsure if he was studying her tattoos or her ass. Trina dropped back a step, and she was wishing she had some make up on. Looking up at him, she caught him staring, and honestly, she kind of liked it.