Rebound (35 page)

“
Yeah. That’s definitely
from the Irish side of the family. My grandmother, our father’s
mother, had red hair, but by the time we knew her she was
completely gray. Clearly, Craig contributed.” I laughed.

“
She’s a very sweet baby,
and it’s obvious that she adores you.”

“
I try to visit as often
as possible because she’s growing up so fast. I also like to give
them a break sometimes. Hey, maybe we can babysit one Saturday for
them. It’ll be fun.”

A smile broke out on my face, “I’d
really like that.” He returned the smile and continued setting the
charger plates. When we were done, we walked back to the kitchen
and found Stella plating each dish.

“
Matt, take Leona’s high
chair to the dining room. And put it beside my usual
seat.”

“
What’s the magic
word?”

“
What are you, five? Go do
it!” She commanded. I chuckled at their banter. Despite being the
youngest, Stella clearly was in charge, and I loved how Matt
responded to her.

I must’ve giggled because Stella
asked, “What’s so funny?” With a giggle of her own.

“
I love your interactions.
You’re the bossy baby sister. It reminds me of me and my
brother.”

“
Oh, what’s his
name.”

“
His name was Tomas. We
called him Tommy.”

“
Oh, I’m
sorry.”

“
Oh. Thank you. It was a
while ago. I’ve made peace with his passing a long time ago. I’ll
just live vicariously through you bossing Matt around.” She
laughed, and I joined her. Once she finished plating the food, I
helped her set them on the table. Dinner with Stella and Craig was
comfortable. They talked about a variety of subjects: work, Leona,
Matt and Stella’s parents whom I’ve yet to meet, and their
childhood. Craig was as animated and as good of a storyteller. He
shared his stories of growing up in Maine where they met one
summer. They’ve been together since they were seventeen-years-old
and even enjoy working together, which I found really special. I
never had that experience, and I reveled in their story.

As we talked throughout dinner, Matt
was affectionate with me; holding my hand, stroking my back,
squeezing my thigh and knee. It was a very intimate expression. I
took a moment to silently pray that we would have many more
occasions to spend with Stella and Craig. Leona was such a good
baby, eating diced food from Stella’s plate. She’d laugh when we’d
laugh. She’d scream when we were silent, encouraging us to talk and
laugh, which we obliged. I could see why Matt was in love with this
little girl. Somewhere in my mind, I wondered what it would be like
to have Matt’s baby; a little girl like Leona. Leona would smile at
me, point and laugh, looking between me and Stella, encouraging her
to get in on the joke. She appeared to have a nonverbal
conversation with Stella. I was impressed that Leona knew some sign
language to express her emotions and needs.

When everyone was done with dinner,
Stella rose from her seat and removed Leona from the highchair. “I
have to get Leona to bed, so it’s time for a bath. Matt, give Perla
a tour of the house.”

Craig rose from the table. “If you’ll
excuse me, I have a couple of things to do in my office for a
project that’s rolling within a couple of months. I have one tough
boss.” He winked and smiled. “I shouldn’t be more than twenty
minutes.” With that statement, I presumed Stella was a supervisor.
Matt’s look was impassive.

“
Are you ready for the
tour?” He extended his hand to mine.

“
Yes, but first let’s get
these dishes to the kitchen and clean up a bit for
Stella.”

“
Oh. Sure. Yeah. Great
idea.” We collected all the dishes and flatware and brought them to
the kitchen. I told Matt to wipe down the table and high chair and
sweep up because he knew where to find everything.

I loaded the dishes in the dishwasher,
soaked the pans with caked on food, and cleaned the things that
couldn’t fit or go in the dishwasher. I wiped down the counters and
the range. When Matt was done, I took the sweeper and swept the
floor. Matt put away all the cleaning materials. I loved working
together. I had a vision of us in a large, open concept home like
this, cooking and cleaning beside each other. I dismissed the
thought. It was too soon for me to think about a domestic future
between us.

“
Why don’t we go outside
and walk the grounds. They have a spectacular piece of land and
they’ve brought in some friends who are landscape architects, who
made it really beautiful.”

He opened the French doors in the
kitchen and we walked out to see a completely lit up backyard.
Everything twinkled from strategically placed lights. To the left
was a pool enclosed by black wrought iron fencing, which was
ensconced with lights. Straight down and to the right was a large
white Gazebo. Matt walked us to the Gazebo.

“
In the Summer, this is
the best spot to sit and relax.”

“
Doesn’t it get buggy out
here with all the landscaping? I’d be eaten alive by
mosquitos.”

“
They have a machine that
attracts and traps the mosquitos. They’ve thought of every creature
comfort for outdoor living.”

“
It’s beautiful.” I
remarked as I looked around. He had me take a seat on the
bench.

“
If you like this
property, I should take you to see mine. I live about five minutes
from here.”

“
Did you live there with
your ex-wife?”

“
Yep. I kept the house . .
. I haven’t been back for several weeks. We’ll stop over. I want to
switch cars. The weather is better, so it’ll be good to drive
something different.” I smiled up at him.

“
I’ve had a great night
with your sister and her family. Thank you for bringing me.” I
leaned into his body and held his bicep as we looked out at the
lights surrounding the property.

“
I’m curious. You didn’t
tell your sister that we met in your office. Why?”

“
Well, you’re my patient.
I can’t even confirm with anyone else that you’re a patient . . .
to protect your privacy.”

“
Well, I’d rather you tell
people we met at your office, or better yet, the gym. It sounds a
bit cliché to have met at the club. Those relationships are
predestined to fail.”

“
I’d rather not tell
people that I met my girl in the examining room. It doesn’t make me
look professional.” He stroked my arms, keeping the night chill
from reaching my bones.

“
Then we met at the gym on
the day you actually met me in the office, and you didn’t ask me
out until after you saw me at the club. Acuerdo?” I extend my hand
in a handshake.

He shook my hand in agreement and
responded, “Acuerdo.” He pulled me in for a kiss. I breathed in his
amazing scent. His arms snaked around my arms, covering me with his
body and bringing me close. I pulled away.

“
We aren’t going to make
out in your sister’s gazebo. That’s just wrong.”

“
Yes, we can.” He leaned
in for another kiss. “I think my sister likes you. She’s a pretty
tough cookie, but she seems to be cutting you some slack
tonight.”

“
Well, she isn’t cutting
you any slack and I gotta say, I like it.”

“
That’s because you like
bossing me around.” My eyes widened.

“
That’s not true. I resent
that.” I blushed.

“
You know you do. You like
to control me in bed.” I gasped, my cheeks burned with
embarrassment. “I like controlling my pleasure. My needs come
first, but I don’t boss you.” I explained.

“
Well, I like it.” He
kissed me. “I like you. I knew I’d like you when my nurse, Annie,
said that you were great. When she spent about ten minutes with
you, asking questions about your history, you made her laugh. She
came out of the room smiling when she’d been having an awful time
during that period. The first thing she said to me before I walked
into the room, ‘She’s a keeper’. I didn’t know what she meant by
that, but when I entered the room and saw you and your smile. I
instantly understood. Because you’re my patient, I didn’t think
anything of it at first. But then I couldn’t get you out of my
mind. I couldn’t get Annie’s statement out of my mind.” He sighed.
I touched his forearm and snaked my other arm under his, reaching
for his fingers. He opened up his fingers, allowing me to interlock
mine with his. I gave his hand a little squeeze.

“
I’ve been wondering, were
all our encounters happenstance, or did you actively pursue
me?”

“
See what I said about
inquisitive?

“
Seriously!”

“
All of our encounters
weren’t coincidence. I returned to the gym just because I found out
you work there. An appointment was cancelled by a patient, so I had
a free afternoon to go to the club and I hoped to see you again. I
wanted to see if we could make a connection, but I was too nervous
to approach you, having just examined your hip.” I smiled at his
revelation. He liked me, and actively pursued me.

He continued, “I don’t even like
working out on machines. I found you at Lumiere because I heard you
tell your friend the day, time and location of your night out. I
asked Paul, and he told me you would be there with some of the
girls from the gym. I asked a few of my buddies to go out. Brady’s
an investor of Lumiere, so it was easy to get on the list and get a
lounge. Where we were seated is his table, which is always reserved
for his use. I wanted to run into you. However, I didn’t think you
would give me a show.” I bumped my shoulder into his and
smiled.

“
I saw you on the
dreadmill.” He laughed at my little joke. “I didn’t think you were
paying attention. You were wearing ear buds. It’s such a loud
machine and the background noises and music. How could you possibly
have heard me?”

“
I turned it down so I
could hear your voice. I have great hearing. I didn’t have the
courage to talk to you. I couldn’t find a reason to talk to you
since I’d seen you that morning. I haven’t actively pursued a woman
in years.” My heart melted at his candor.

“
Even after your divorce,
you didn’t pick up women?”

“
No. I wasn’t ready to
date for a long time. My friends and family would try to set me up
on dates. It never progressed beyond dinner. Don’t get me wrong, I
had plenty of relationships and dates before I got married, but I
just wasn’t ready to start over when it was over.”

“
I know what you mean. I
didn’t really date before Ben. I was too insecure.”

“
What? But your
beautiful.” He interrupted.

I smiled, “Thank you.” I gave him a
peck on the cheek. “I married him when I was twenty-two-years-old.
He was my one and only. Once our marriage was over, I didn’t think
I’d ever date again. I built this impenetrable fort around myself.
I was done with love. I was done relying on a man. I’ve been single
for two years, and you are the only man that I’ve had an interest
in dating. And if this doesn’t work out between us, I’m joining a
convent, ‘cause I’m done with men. You’re all pains in the
asses.”

He released a guttural laugh, “Another
thing I like about you, your honesty. You don’t hold back.” He
lifted my hand and kissed it.

“
I don’t like games.
Dating would be a lot easier if couples were honest. I’d rather a
guy say, ‘No, I just want to fuck you and don’t have an interest in
seeing you past the three minutes it takes for me to
come.’

“
I’m definitely not that
guy. I last a lot longer than three minutes.” He joked.

“
I know you do, baby.” I
took his jaw in my hand and kissed him. “I know you’re not that
guy. I got that from the beginning. My friends always have to
excuse the guy and the games that are played—‘he’s busy with work’,
‘he’s tired’, ‘he’ll call me on Wednesday because the rules say
that he can’t call me sooner’. You’ve not done that at all. You’ve
made this easy.” I squeezed his strong hand. “I just hate the
game-play so much that I’d rather not date. And if we, me and
you-not hypothetically speaking, can’t speak truthfully to each
other, then we shouldn’t waste each other’s time.”

He bowed his head for a few seconds in
thought, and looked away. I bumped his side trying to elicit a
response. I took a deep breath and summoned the courage to speak
again.

“
I’m going to ask the
question that women are taught to never ask a man for months and
years on end. Where do you see this going? I know a man needs the
chase to keep him interested, but if you say, let’s have fun and
see how it unfolds, I’m fine with that. However, I want to know if
you’re in and that you’ll be honest with me. I don’t want to get
hurt because I’ve been burned before If you can’t be real and tell
me how you feel about me and about us, then that’s a deal breaker.”
My heart fluttered hoping he would agree to my offer. He was silent
for much longer than I’d hoped.

“
I’m in. I’ve been in
since I took you home with me. I was in when you stayed. When I
found you sleeping on the couch, looking so beautiful and at home,
in my home, I was in.” He smiled and continued, “I wanted to take
you home and do unspeakable things to you. It was the first time in
a long time that I felt like that. But you got hurt and passed out.
I couldn’t do anything to you until you were conscious. It was nice
to just lie next to you, hearing you breath, feeling the warmth of
your body. I didn’t dare touch you because I didn’t think I could
have controlled myself.”