Chapter Eight
For the next two weeks, I attacked my place with renewed energy. The cupboard doors came off and were given a light sanding and a paint job. As an interesting bonus, I’d found another inscription underneath a drawer. Dad sure loved leaving his mark on the place.
At first, on Beth’s suggestions, I swore she’d made a mistake in her colour choices, but once I had the doors back in place, I had to admit, it gave a brand-new look and feel to the place. With the table back in place, the kitchen had a modern and bright appearance, while at the same time suited the environment.
If I went forward with my plans to rent it out in the fall, I was sure it wouldn’t be long before I could find a suitable guest. If I went that way. I had the ad all drafted and ready, and selected the best site to host it on. However, the more time I spent fixing it up, the more I wanted to keep it all to myself, but on the flip side of that coin, I also knew I couldn’t live here full time. Not with the baby. Cheshire Bay wasn’t for raising families, just visiting with them.
Besides, while I was painting and sanding, menial work I originally despised, I found myself rather enjoying it. I was no interior decorator, and left those ideas to Beth, but I enjoyed running the little sander, and seeing the results from the effort I’d put into my work lit me up in a way I didn’t expect. Such a change from sitting in an office all day, typing away.
While the days kept me busy, the nights were a little quieter. Every so often, I’d sit on the back porch with my sexy as hell neighbour. Eric had a beer and talked about some of his more interesting passengers, and the places he visited on the island. It was a friendly environment, a safe space. No one brought up my past and it actually wasn’t given a whole lot of worry either. On the back deck, I was free to be me.
“Hey,” Eric called over his deck, across the small strip of space between us and into my kitchen. “It’s going to be a hot one, and I strongly suggest you keep cool today.”
“You just can’t wait to see me in a bikini, right?” Thank god it came out in a whisper. My hormones had no self-control.
“Why don’t you come in the water today?”
Because I’m a whale?
I gave my stretched-out skin a rub. I was thirty-three weeks pregnant, and my belly now sported its own zip code, even if the local family doctor assured me everything was okay. He wasn’t as sweet and kind as my doctor back home was, but since it was just a quick checkup, it was tolerable. However, the heat was pressing on me and even just dipping my toes in the ocean would be a welcome reprieve from the heat.
“You know what, maybe I’ll just get my feet wet.”
The humidity was rising rapidly, and the marine forecast predicted a doozy of a storm. Probably why all the surfers were back in town and riding the waves down at long beach, where the waves would be bigger. On our edge of the coastline, the swells were pretty decent here and a novice boarder could still have a good time.
“You don’t want to overheat, remember?” Eric had been a good friend to lean on when I overworked myself and gave the best back and shoulder massages.
“Fine.” The cooling down would help me focus, as I needed to start coming up with a business plan. With no job and a baby on the way, the buyout wasn’t going to last forever. As it was, I was still paying rent on an apartment I hadn’t seen in over a month. “I’ll be out there in a little bit.”
Eric nodded and disappeared back into his house.
I was heading up to my room when my phone rang, Beth’s face showing on the display.
“Hey.”
“Listen, I don’t have much time to talk.”
I rolled my eyes. Typical.
“I’m coming in for an overnight visit. Booked myself a little charter as the company’s paying for it, since we can do a shoot for the local magazine on beach house renovations. Should be there on Saturday. Does that work for you?”
“Your room’s been made up for some time just waiting for the perfect guest.” I sighed and rummaged through my drawer, finding a bikini bottom. I lifted it up wondering if it would even cover my hips anymore.
“Fine. Did you get the pano?”
“Yesterday. I hung it up and you’re right, it looks great.”
It was a sunset view from the water looking in towards the shore, the windows reflecting the orange of the sun – the pop of colour Beth said I needed. I’m positive if I could zoom in on it, the houses dotting the water’s edge were of my bay.
“Told you it would work.” Her nails clicked against her keyboard. “I got to run, meeting with one of the Jonas’ brothers at his rental in an hour. Saturday. Noon. Pick me up from the airport?”
“I’ll be there.”
“See you then.” She hung up without another word.
I got longer goodbyes from the hardware people than I did my best friend. I brushed off feelings niggling at the back of my head. Beth was busy, the quintessential city girl always on the run. Had I changed so much over the month that her clipped tones were grating my nerves? Nah, it had to be pregnancy induced. According to the book, I was at that stage where I was quickly agitated.
And also easily turned on.
I stood naked in my bedroom, running my hands over my filled-out body. My boobs were bigger and had a bit of weight to them as I cupped them. Just holding them caused the nipples to harden and pop out. But the biggest surprise was how thinking about Eric caused my lower body to tingle and ache. There would be nothing between us, as I’d pushed away his advances, but that didn’t stop the fantasy from playing out wildly in my head and ending with a little personal time.
There was something freeing about being naked, at least in the privacy of my own home. Eric was out on the water, so I was in no rush to get dressed and even walked out on to the newly finished floor on the balcony off my bedroom. The sun was nice, and the breeze cooled my body, but only on the surface. A mental image of my neighbour–topless–working on my cupboard doors floated through my mind and fired up the embers of desire. I needed to get into the water and cool down pronto.
I located a bikini top with enough coverage to not be considered slutty but with enough support that I didn’t get uniboob, threw my hair in a top knot, grabbed a towel, and made my way out to the beach. How crazy was it that despite how long I’d been here already, this would be my first dip in the water since my arrival? When I was a kid, it would’ve been fifteen minutes max before I was dripping wet.
I stretched out my towel and sat upon it, my hands supporting me as I leaned back soaking up the sunshine and watched the surfers from behind my oversized sunglasses while a deep ache still nestled between my legs. I should’ve taken care of business before coming down.
Eric lined up perfectly with me and rode the waves like he was an all-star surfing champ, and who knows, maybe he was. Since that first week, neither of us talked about the past, or the years in between my visits to the bay.
Board under his arm, he walked within a couple feet of my towel. Water ran in rivulets down his bright green wetsuit and made puddles as he stood along the edge of the wet sand.
“Hope you’re wearing sunscreen?”
“Nah. I tan well. Haven’t burnt yet.”
It was a genetic gift, and even though I was sporting more of a tank top tan than my teenage years of bikini straps would’ve liked, my skin was a decent bronzed colour. Aside from the sun-reflecting belly.
“You should regardless.”
And you could run it all over me.
I tore my gaze away. What was wrong with me? Eric and I were friends. I was leaving in a month to go home. There simply couldn’t be anything. He wasn’t likely interested in screwing a pregnant chick; there was too much belly in the way. Besides that, he said last time he simply read too much into situations, so he wasn’t interested, only reacting to the feelers I was putting out, which wasn’t much if I controlled myself.
I breathed in a long breath of salty sea air and listened to the waves lap against the beach.
“Tell you what, if I feel my skin warming up, I’ll take a dip.” But as I said it, I was feeling warm already.
Maybe it was the way Eric’s eyes roamed across me, taking in my partially covered body. Maybe it was because the sky was cloudless and the sun beat its energy, having no mercy. Whatever it was, my body was heating up, the ache between my legs intensified into a low throb, and the flicker of desire in Eric’s dark eyes didn’t help.
“You know what, maybe I will go for a swim now.” I rolled myself to a stand, and before I got on my feet, Eric extended his hand, which I gratefully took. “Can’t wait to see how much of a whale I’ll be when I’m due.”
“I’m sure you’ll still be beautiful.” He turned his head away quickly.
My heart thrummed in my chest, but I didn’t know how to respond to his statement. Instead, he let go of my hand and allowed me to lead the way into the water. The ocean was cool and sent an intense shiver of goosebumps over my body, but even though it was only my feet fully immersed, my body started to cool down. Thank goodness, now if it only worked to dull the ache. Slowly, I inched my way in, bending over and splashing the sea up my legs.
“Not too far.” A warning clicked on the edge of Eric’s tongue. “The undertow is quite strong this year.”
“Then I’ll sit here.” Gasping breathlessly as my fire-hot centre splashed into the cool water, I shuddered a breath.
The push and pull of the tide was mesmerizing, and I found myself leaning back further on my arms, the wet sand slowly enveloping them. Eventually, I was far enough back my head was floating. I smiled at Eric as he looked down on me. It was soul lifting to be back in the water.
As I lay there floating, I gauged the changing expression on his face. His eyes sailed over my body again but settled on the bald island poking above the water, just as my little one sent out a noticeable kick. His eyes grew large.
“Want to feel?” I sat up, watching as the belly island sunk back into the ocean.
“I… I…” He searched my face and I reached for his hand, hovering it above the last movement. “Yeah, sure.”
With that, I pressed his hand against the side of my belly and the little one responded with a karate chop.
“Wow, that’s really cool.”
I cherished watching his expression. For weeks now, I’d been feeling movement, and it made me happy to see someone other than me get a kick out of it. But it had been a bad idea. Just having his hand on me fired up the dormant butterflies, and the pounding of my heart had to have given a jolt of energy to the baby as it started step-dancing over my bladder.
“Does it do that all the time?” His eyes remained large and focused.
“Mostly at night. During the day, he’s pretty silent.”
“He?”
“It’s just what I call it. Seems wrong to me to address it as an it. Some days it’s she, today it’s he.”
“You have no idea?”
I shrugged. “None. And none of those dreams either. Some women get a strong idea about what they’re having, I haven’t had any thoughts one way or another.”
He left his hand on my belly, inching it a little to the left or right, presumable to chase down the movements, and I doubted I would’ve complained had he moved further south. “That’s really nifty.” He winked as he said the last word. “Thanks for sharing.”
I gazed into his eyes, noting for the first time how deep they were, the colour of wet sand under the moonlight, and try as I may, I couldn’t tear myself away. My gaze searched out the laugh lines on his face, and I lowered my gaze to study his full lips.
It had to be hormones, pure and simple. There was no other acceptable reason. The hormones made me horny, desperately horny, and Eric being the sweet, sexy guy he was had become my body’s focus. The truth was I was on my own for the pregnancy and the rest of my life, and I was prepared to fully take it on. I knew I could manage. But seeing Eric stare into my eyes, it had me wanting to rip his wetsuit off his body and take him right there on the beach.
Instead, I moved my lips closer to his while he slowly lowered his head.
In a heartbeat, our lips crashed together, at first, teasing the other out as if asking for permission, and then diving in fully, tongues intertwined as we locked our lips together.
It was a good thing I was in the water as his kiss was so powerful, it heated me to a level I never knew existed, and had I been standing it had the intensity to weaken my knees. Just before I was out of air, he pulled away, a heat and hunger yearning in his eyes I’d wanted to see for the rest of my life. He stared into my soul like no one had before. I’d just shared a deeper intimacy with him as he touched my belly and kissed the life out of my lips than I had with Parker. How did that even happen? How was that even possible?
I splashed some water over my chest and arms, unable to speak or utter a sound, but I couldn’t stop looking at him. And the smile on his face never faded. My heart skipped a beat as my brain sounded an alarm, warning me I was leaving in four weeks.