He Loves Lucy (11 page)

“Oh, fuck off!” Lucy leaned down, gripped the exercise ball in her arms, and threw it at him.

Theo caught the ball and stared at her. She was glistening and her hair was a mess and her breasts heaved from exertion and her lips were red and her eyes wild-and he suddenly needed to kiss her mouth hard, rip off her pink sweatpants, and throw her down on the dewy grass before the
WakeUp Miami camera
crew got there.

Theo felt himself go numb.

Lucy blew the hair out of her face. “What is
wrong
with you?” she spit out. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Theo threw the ball down. “I happen to be flipping out a bit myself today.”

Lucy let out a loud snort of a laugh. “Oh, really? And what could possibly be bothering
you
! Did they discontinue your favorite brand of hair gel or something?”

Theo stared at her, letting her comment sink in. “You don’t think very much of me, do you?”

She sighed. “You didn’t deserve that.”

“Damn right, Cunningham.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” She bit her lip. “Is everything OK with your brother? Your cat?”

Theo shook his head slowly, wondering once again if a hundred grand was worth the loss of his sanity. She insulted him. He lusted after her. There was something very wrong with that picture. “My brother and cat are excellent. My hair is excellent, too.”

“Yeah. OK.” Lucy moved a little closer to him, trying to gauge his expression. “I’m sorry, Theo. I can get real ugly with self-pity sometimes. But I’m a good listener. Let me make it up to you.”

She reached for his hand, and the soft touch of her fingers sent a bolt of awareness through him. This was nuts. It was almost like Lucy’s outburst had opened something in him that he was now unable to close. Theo suddenly ached with desire for that fiery, passionate, angry woman he’d just seen revealed in all her glory.

He looked down at their joined hands. “You said no touching.”

Her gray eyes searched his face. “I take it back.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Now tell me-why are you having a bad day?”

Theo opened his fingers and entwined them with Lucy’s. “My ex stopped by to tell me she’s engaged,” Theo said. “She’s marrying the middle-aged dude she dumped me for seven months ago. It took me off guard, I guess.”

Lucy took a step back.
Someone actually dumped Theo Redmond
? “What a complete idiot!”

Theo shrugged. “He’s a jerk, but an extremely smart one, as it turns out.”

“No, I meant your ex-girlfriend! She’s obviously not the brightest crayon in the box if she left you for someone else.”

Theo shot her a smile so full of mischief that it stunned Lucy. She was suddenly burning up, and she knew it wasn’t because she’d just run a mile for the first time in a decade. It was because Theo’s smile acted like gasoline thrown on that secret little flame inside her, the one he’d ignited the day she met him.

He grabbed her other hand in his.

She had to be imagining this. Theo was holding both her hands in his, and it had nothing to do with adjusting her grip on a fitness machine. All she could think was,
Don’t blow it, Cunningham
!

“I thought Gia Altamonte was your girlfriend at first. Did I ever tell you that?”
Oh great
-
bring up the most gorgeous woman on the planet while he’s holding your hands
.

“Gia?” Theo’s eyebrows shot high on his forehead. “She’s not exactly my type.”

“Of course. Homely creature that she is.”

Theo laughed a little and noticed how the exercise ball had come to a stop near Lucy’s feet. He gave it a tap with his toe until it was directly behind her.

“Gia is a live wire, Lucy. She has the attention span of a gerbil. She’s great, but I prefer my women a little more predictable. Besides, I don’t date clients.”

“Why not?” He gave her a gentle nudge and Lucy found herself lowering her bottom onto the huge ball, Theo still holding her hands.

“Palm Club policy.”

“Of course.” Lucy bounced a few times, getting the feel of the weight of her body balanced on the curved surface, anchored by her widely spread feet. When she let go of Theo’s hands, the ball felt like a life raft on choppy seas.

“Now it’s your turn. Tell me what just happened back there.”

Lucy tried to get up from her perch but should have rearranged her legs first, because once her butt cleared the ball, her center of gravity pulled her backward. “Uh-oh…”

Theo grabbed her, and in an instant she was standing in his arms, his nose up against hers and his lips not two microns away from her own. She feared her beating heart would punch a hole through her damp T-shirt.

Theo whispered, “A kiss is not dating. Just so we’re clear on that.” His lips brushed hers even as he spoke.

“Of course.” Her lips grazed his.

“I don’t want to violate company policy.”

‘Then just violate
me
.“

Theo pressed his mouth full against hers while he gripped her hard by the upper arms. Lucy closed her eyes and swayed. OK, perhaps she vaguely remembered kissing as a concept, but she’d never felt a kiss like this in her whole life.

His mouth seemed to know exactly what it wanted, and took it. Theo’s kiss had a unique rhythm. Its own language. Theo’s kiss was like visiting an exotic foreign land that she’d only seen in travel brochures. It felt so strange. So perfect. And she thought to herself,
So this is a kiss
.

Lucy let herself sink into it, the heat and the connection and the soft, sweet questions Theo seemed to ask her. And at that instant, her answer to everything was,
Hell yes
.

Theo found it difficult to kiss and smile at the same time, but he found he had no choice with Lucy. He
knew
it would be like this. He knew she’d be soft and delicious and responsive and he’d get one taste of her and not be able to stop himself-so why had he started? Now all that mattered was that he feel every inch of her body, kiss her until they both couldn’t breathe, until he knew her down to her very last secret.

His hands roamed around her back, down her sides, and they were just about to grab onto the full globes under those pink sweatpants when the camera crew pulled into the parking lot.

“I kissed her.”

Tyson crammed a handful of popcorn in his mouth and dragged his gaze from the basketball game to Theo. “Kissed who?” he mumbled.

Before Theo could answer, Tyson’s focus wandered back to the TV screen. The room erupted in hoots and jeers, and Buddy and his Special Olympic teammates gave one another high fives and pranced around the family room. The noise was deafening.

“Lucy.” Theo said it in a near whisper.

Tyson jumped to his feet, dumping the bowl of popcorn on the floor.

“Hey! We were eating that!” somebody complained.

“We got to have a talk, boy.” Tyson grabbed Theo’s forearm and herded him through the dining room just as Buddy tossed the empty bowl their way and asked for a refill.

“So when did
that
happen?” Tyson leaned up against the kitchen counter, crossing his arms across his big chest. He found a stray kernel of popcorn on the front of his polo shirt and popped it in his mouth. “And does this mean I can’t ask her out?”

Theo laughed. He’d always appreciated how Tyson cut to the chase. That’s probably why the athletes enjoyed his help as an assistant coach-he gave it to them straight. “It is what it is,” had become the unofficial slogan of the Special Olympics of Miami-Dade track-and-field team, thanks to Tyson’s all-purpose application of the saying.

“Yesterday at the high school track. I’m not sure what happened.”

Tyson laughed loudly. “What do you mean, you’re not sure what happened? Your lips don’t go running around smacking into women without your knowledge, do they? Where’s the popcorn?”

“Second cabinet to the right. Set the microwave on three minutes or it’ll fry.”

“Gotcha.”

“I will come after you if you hit on her.”

Tyson tapped the buttons on the microwave and chewed on the inside of his cheek, clearly trying not to laugh again.

“Lucy is more than one of your flavors-of-the-week.”

Tyson shook his head. “Ramona doesn’t want us dating anyone on our own roster.”

“I’m not dating her.”

“But you’re kissing her.”

“I kissed her
once
. And it would be a lot simpler for both of us if it doesn’t happen again.”

Tyson spun around. “So your plan is to kiss the woman one time, Walk away, and then forbid anyone one else to date her?”

“I knew you’d catch on.”

“Dayum, bro. That’s just not right.” Tyson grabbed the big plastic popcorn bowl out of Theo’s hands. “It’s plain selfish, in fact.”

Theo sank down onto a kitchen chair. “Yeah? Well, I think there’s something going on with Lucy that she won’t talk about-maybe some unresolved issues about men. I feel like I should… I don’t know… look out for her.”

Tyson frowned. “You mean she’s got sex hangups?” He smiled. “I have experience working through those things. I even got references.”

Theo laughed softly. “Exactly what I was afraid of.”

“You know, it’s not your job to fix everything about her, Theo-just help her get in shape.” The microwave dinged and Tyson got up from the table. “You don’t have to go around carrying everyone’s burden like it’s your own.”

“I know.”

“Well, sometimes you don’t act like you know. You’ve got to learn to
del-e-gate
.” An explosion of cheers came from the living room. “I’ll be right back.”

Theo listened as the popcorn was met with great enthusiasm in the other room. As Tyson chatted with the kids about basketball, Theo realized his friend had a valid point. Theo’s only responsibility toward Lucy was getting her to lose the weight-what she did or didn’t do with her issues after the fact was her own affair.

Of course he and Lucy should keep it strictly business. He shuddered at the thought that come December, she’d be completely in love with him, right as he went back to medical school. She’d expect to keep seeing him every day, which would be a scheduling nightmare. Maybe she’d even want a commitment, which would be impossible-not when he was about to immerse himself in the pursuit of his dream. Medical school and residency was hell on even the strongest established relationships. He’d only end up disappointing her. He’d only end up not being enough for her.

Theo rested his chin in his palm and slumped. The immediate problem was that kiss. Oh God, he’d never felt anything so good in his life. She was so hot and sexual, and if the camera van hadn’t pulled up in the parking lot there was no telling what would have happened! Since when did a single kiss make him lose it completely like that? What was his problem?

He needed to think. He needed to stop remembering how it felt and start developing a plan for damage control. If he simply pretended the kiss had never happened, it would come off as rejection, which would mess with Lucy’s head, chip away at her confidence, and possibly set her back. Which made it his problem, too.

“Now what was I saying?” Tyson returned to the kitchen chair.

Theo stared at his friend for a moment. Then smiled. “I believe you were saying that you’d take Lucy out every once in a while, give her a lot of attention, make her feel special and make sure she has a great time but not do anything to make her uncomfortable.”

Tyson’s eye twitched. “I don’t remember saying any of that shit.” “Ah, but you were going to.”

“I was?”

“Yeah.” Theo laughed. “I will come after you if you don’t hit on her within the next week.”

Tyson shook his head. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you have just
del-e-gated
my ass.”

Office of Doris Lehman, MSW, PhD

“Have there been more kisses?”

“No.” Lucy couldn’t sit still that morning. She paced in front of the love seat, her hands fidgeting, her teeth digging into her bottom lip. She stared at the kimono girls for advice, but their small red mouths remained closed.

The little bitches.

“Have you talked about the kiss?”

“He apologized right after, when the camera crew arrived. Then last week he said I was wonderful and special but that we needed to stay focused on our goal. He hasn’t said another word about it since.”

“Do you want to kiss him again?”

“I’ve thought about it, and I’ve come to see that Theo kissed me because he didn’t know what else to do. You know how men hate it when women flip out- they feel kind of helpless.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Lucy stared at her therapist. “Sure. I’d kiss him again if need be.”

“Hmm. As I recall, you once referred to Theo as…” Doris flipped through the chart balanced on her knee. “Hot.” She looked up at Lucy. “Was the kiss hot, too?”

Lucy’s mouth fell open in astonishment. “You want his phone number or something?”

“I have his number and he has mine. What do you find most attractive about him?”

Lucy cocked her head and stared at Doris, wondering about her therapist’s personal life, about Mr. Doris. She hoped to God Doris wasn’t getting her ya-yas out by asking these questions.

“If you must know, Theo Redmond is downright biscuit-worthy,” Lucy said.

Doris hitched up her left eyebrow. “Care to elaborate on that?”

“Sure.” Lucy grinned. “Have you ever met a man who looked so damn delicious that you wanted to sop him up with a hot buttermilk biscuit and inhale him in one gulp?”

“Why, yes, I have,” Doris said.

That was a shocker. “Really? What happened?”

“I married him.”

The angle of incline on this particular machine had always annoyed Lucy. She didn’t like the way her legs fell open a little too lewdly and how her boobs seemed to stick out like boulders, and she really didn’t like the way Theo always put his fingers just under her upper arms.