Pieces For You (7 page)

“Griffin?” I accused more than asked.

“Hello Sam, good to see you too,” he returned wryly.  “Shall I turn so you can get the 360-degree show?”

I reached up to unlatch the security chain, allowing the door to swing open.

“Since I’ve been busted eye-fondling you already, I don’t see the harm,” I called his bluff.

Surprise registered on his face before he slowly turned, stopping when his ass was perfectly presented, going so far as to put his hands on his hips, emphasizing his biceps and back too.  I suspected he may have even clenched his glutes for maximum impact.  Never one to look a gift-butt in the mouth, I took my time perusing every inch of him.  Once again wildfire devoured my previously dormant netherworld, scorching me with need.  What the hell had happened to him over the past five months?  Griffin had always been hot, six feet four inches of toned muscle, with a halo of light blonde hair and pale grey eyes—but this man would inspire legends.  Women would whisper his name reverently for decades, never exaggerating because the reality needed no embellishment.  And here he was, standing in my doorway, wreaking havoc on my body.  Damn, damn, damn—he could
not
be the man to light me up.  He was my friend and a very, very close friend to Ev and Hunter.  Why was I even considering the possibility?  I wasn’t ready to ride the bucking bronco just yet.

I heard the slightest chuckle and watched massive shoulders shake.  Instinctively, I swatted his butt in retaliation.  Rock. Freakin’. Solid.

“Get in here, you Neanderthal.”

“Bossy little thing, aren’t you?” he teased, as he turned to face me once again.  He stepped forward then hesitated, clearly analyzing his method of approach.  Sometimes I felt like a skittish mare everyone was afraid to spook by approaching too quickly or touching too soon.  I hated that those who knew what had happened treated me differently, as if I was fragile and damaged.  As if he could read my mind, he leaned down and swept me into a hug that engulfed my whole being.  My feet were dangling at least a foot off the ground, and I could have very easily felt like a ragdoll flailing in a child’s arms, but Griffin cradled me carefully, bracing an arm across my lower back for support and cupping the back of my head in his enormous palm.  He squeezed me tightly for several seconds as if reassuring himself I was real, before returning me to the ground.  His tenderness and concern surprised me.  I knew he cared about me, we were friends after all and he was one of the good ones, but we had never had a “touchy-feely” friendship.  I knew he had been spending time with Ev and Hunter outside of the apartment, but they had kept most of our friends away since I returned, giving me time to adjust and settle in.

“Some things never change—but some do.  Have you been eating your Wheaties while I was gone?  Geeze dude, are you planning to dress up as Thor for Halloween?”

“I’ve been working out more frequently.  It helps to relieve stress and frustration.  You can mock to your heart’s content, but don’t forget I was there a few minutes ago when you were appreciating my efforts.  Not my original goal, but a very welcome by-product,” he said with a smirk.

I slapped his chest in punishment for speaking the truth, but his warm hand trapped mine against his rock hard body.

“I’m glad you’re back, Sam.  I missed you,” he ended the unexpected confession with an equally unexpected kiss on the top of my head.

After he freed me, he entered the apartment and shut the door.  We stared at each other and I tried to puzzle out what was different.  I was on the verge of placing the missing piece when Ev exited her bedroom and another knock sounded on the front door.

“That has to be Hunter with the food.  Griff, can you get the door?  Sam, can you get drinks while I set the table?” Ev directed without waiting for acknowledgement.  The girl was a force to be reckoned with. 

“Griff, good to see you, man,” Hunter greeted while giving a one-armed man-hug complete with the required back slap.

Hunter walked by and ruffled my hair with a smile, “Good day?”

“Yes, productive.”

He nodded his approval before continuing into the kitchen to slip behind Ev, wrapping one arm around her waist and using his other hand to turn her head until he gained access to her mouth, which he proceeded to kiss as if he was a soldier returning from war.  Ev was helpless to resist, hands loaded with dishes and silverware; not that she would have put up a fight.  She was content to play her role as the long-separated newlywed elated by her hero’s return.  When she placed the tableware on the counter and spun in Hunter’s arms to face him, I took my cue to avert my eyes.

“You’ll have to forgive them.  Months of pent-up orgasms before they got their shit sorted out really did a number on them.  It’s like living with rabbits…or teenagers,” I offered the obligatory apology to Griffin that Hunter and Ev’s mouths were too occupied to supply.

“If you knew the effort I invested in forcing those two to acknowledge their feelings, you’d understand how happy this peep-show makes me.  Besides, I’ve been around them enough that I don’t even notice anymore.”

“That’s right; I forgot you and Hunter have reached BFF status in my absence.  If they keep turning me into an unwilling voyeur, I’m afraid I may actually become one.  Do you think they will learn any impulse control in the near future?”

“Doubtful,” he said.  “How are you, girl?  I wanted to come by as soon as you got home, but knew you needed space.  Hunter finally gave me the ‘okay’ this week to come for Thursday night dinners again.”

“I’m doing really well, happy to be home where I belong,” I answered, my standard response to anyone other than Ev, Hunter, or my therapist.

Griffin grunted, a short quick dismissal.  “I don’t believe a single word that just left your pretty little mouth, but I’ll leave it be…for now.”

“Is that a threat?” I joked, slightly off-balance by his ability to see through the image I projected.

“No, just a statement of fact.  I’ve been accused of not letting a matter rest until I am satisfied I have the truth—or my desired outcome.”  He nodded toward the kitchen, letting me know exactly who had made the accusation.

“Funny enough, I recall hearing that about you.  Ev calls you Mr. Neosporin behind your back because you are always picking at her scabs.”

“If you don’t flush the wound thoroughly, it’ll become infected and the scab will only serve to trap the infection and prevent healing.”

“Aren’t you a well of wisdom?  Have you considered writing fortune cookies for extra spending money?”

“Nah, those little slips of paper are too small to fit my wealth of wisdom.  Besides, the pressure to make sure each insight could have ‘in bed’ added to the end and still make sense would drive me insane.”

I laughed at his unexpected joke.  I had never seen this funny side of Griffin before.  I liked it.

“Okay Hugh Hefner and Bunny #1,378, get in here before I throw cold water at you and break up your fun,” I warned, not at all kidding.

Hunter and Ev groaned in unison, displeased with my interruption and the reminder of their audience.

“Come on, lovebirds—” Griffin began, but I cut him off. 

“I think you mean horn toads.”

“The pretty lady has a point. Come on, horn toads.  I’m hungry.”

They finally peeled apart and joined us at the dining table.  Griff and I sat on one side, while Ev sat across from me and Hunter across from Griffin.

“What did you get tonight, Hunter?” I asked.

“Sushi,” he replied, and all three broke out into fits of laughter.

Sushi was not innately funny; clearly there was a backstory I hadn’t heard yet.  They exchanged a few more barbs, which made no sense to me, before dissolving into hysterics.  It was obvious that Griffin had officially become a member of our clan.  I embraced the addition, but I wished I wasn’t left on the outside of their inside joke—I had missed so much while I was gone.

Griffin looked at me and quickly composed himself.  He leaned in close, closer than I had been to any man other than Hunter since the attack.  I tensed momentarily but relaxed as he whispered into my ear.

“I hate fish, completely and totally despise it.  I usually bring the take-out to our Thursday night dinners, but one week Hunter did the honors and brought sushi.  I didn’t want to be a pain in the ass, so I tried to eat around the fish…but it was freaking sushi.  I spent the meal picking rice off the inside-out rolls with chopsticks—I am useless with those things, so I ended up stabbing more than anything else—and guzzling miso soup.  When Ev and Hunter noticed my pile of naked seaweed-wrapped fish, they blew a gasket.  I received a ten-minute lecture on the sanctity of Osh Sushi and how my waste was an abomination.  Ev stormed into the kitchen and threw a frozen pizza at me before announcing that it was more than I deserved.  After the two devoured my massacred sushi, they forgave me, but they still love to torture me about it.”

I could picture the whole scene perfectly, the tiny wooden sticks in Griff’s hands as he abused Ev and Hunter’s favorite food.  Ev verbally spanking Griff for said abuse.  Her subsequent pizza Frisbee.  I am sorry I missed it, but at least now I felt like I was there and was
in
on the joke.  Griffin smiled down at me and I knew he understood.  He had recognized my moment of loneliness and reached out to pull me into the circle.  I leaned my head into him, taking the comfort he offered until silence registered.

Griff and I broke from our private moment and were trapped by Huntleigh’s (yes, I gave them a cheesy couple name in my mind) astute gaze.  Not interested in being the Petri dish sample under their microscope, I took evasive action to distract them. 

“I had my first session with Dr. Veritus today,” I cast my bait, knowing Huntleigh would bite.

“How’d it go?” they asked in stereo.

It was like shooting fish in a barrel.

“Good…I think.  She was different than any of the therapists at The Phoenix Centre, almost rude.”

“She was rude to you?” Ev demanded, ready to head into battle for me.

“Rude isn’t the right word.  She was sarcastic and dismissive, but not in a bad way.”

Ev looked at me skeptically, not ready to lay down her sword.

“For example, she didn’t want to talk about the attack or my mini-breakdown afterward.  When I told her about my parents she listened and then didn’t explore it further.  It was just…different,” I said weakly, aware my explanation did little to clarify my point, but how could I explain what I didn’t understand?

“That sounds completely unprofessional.  When I spoke to her on the phone after your attack, she was so nice and dedicated.  She even recommended TPC, which was incredibly helpful,” Ev said.

“That’s what you needed, Ev.  Sam’s needs may require a different approach.  Treating her as if she is fragile could be more harm than help,” Griffin said, shocking Ev and I both.  “Think of it as triage; she needs to address the most pressing issues that are still open sores and hindering her ability to heal.  The portions that are already scarred over may not be pretty, but they are not a danger to her.  At some point she may want to revisit those scars, see what can be done to remove them or reduce their impact, but they are not the primary concern.”

“I never said she was fragile,” Ev said, barely above a whisper.

“No, you didn’t say it,” Griffin returned, his implication clear but free of accusation.

“Is that how you think I’m treating you?  Like you are damaged and fragile?” Ev asked me, voice full of concern.

“A lot of the time, yes—but I know it’s because you care.  I’m not 100% and I still have a ton of work to do, but I am not going to resort back to the catatonic mess I was before—I promise, Ev.  I am going to be okay, you don’t need to hover and worry.  You’re going to drive yourself nuts.”

“I know,” she groaned, “but I just want to fix it, make everything better.  I hate what happened to you; it killed me to watch you suffer.  I don’t want either of us to have to go through that again.”

I reached across the table and grabbed her hand in mine as Hunter threaded his arm around her shoulders, kissing the side of her head sweetly.

“You won’t have to—nothing like that will ever happen to me again.  It’s like being hit by lightning, shit luck but the odds of repeating the experience are infinitesimal.”

“I hear what you are saying, Sam, and I agree, but be patient with Ev.  You have no idea how much she missed you and worried every day you were gone,” Hunter added.

I sighed, regretting all the pain they too had suffered alongside me.  “I know.  I’m not complaining, but it is a tiny bit discouraging to feel like you are on suicide watch—I am not, nor have I ever been in danger of hurting myself.  Look how far I’ve come already…I use words and everything,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.  “I do have one complaint.”

“What?” Huntleigh asked in unison, eager to accommodate me.

“You two haven’t read to me once since I’ve been back.  Do I have to be in the hospital to get your dramatic performances of my favorite smexy books?”

Griffin burst into laughter while Hunter and Ev both blushed.

“At least we found our after-dinner entertainment.  I was worried I was going to have to sit through another one of Ev’s girlie shows,” Griffin teased.

“For the last time, Grey’s Anatomy is not a freaking girlie show.  It is riveting entertainment and a study of human behavior.  You should love it, psych-boy.”

Griff turned to Hunter, “What concerns me is that she actually believes that load of crap.  If the doctors in a real hospital spent as much time as the TV ones do getting down in on-call rooms, the death-rate in this country would be through the roof.”

“They need to blow off steam somehow; it’s a very stressful job.  Besides, how do you know?  You don’t work in a hospital!” Ev said emphatically.

I leaned into Griffin and he lowered his head so I could whisper in his ear.  “You are about to enter the red-zone.  I suggest a strategic retreat before she goes thermo-nuclear…even
I
am not allowed to criticize Grey’s Anatomy.”

He nodded and shot me a smile I am sure was meant to look grateful but instead was sexy as hell.  My body tingled in response and I nearly jumped out of my chair from the long-lost sensation.  What was this man doing to me?