Intercepted (6 page)

Chapter 9:
Natalia
:

Dani and Zack have already set up our station when I barge into the
lounge. Zack raises his eyebrows. I am never late. Dani gives me a wicked grin
and nods.

“You look a bit ruffled up. Was he good?” She winks.

I ignore her and pull my hair up in a ponytail, catching my breath. “I
’
m pooped. Who knew learning how to swim could be
this exhausting.”

“
Well.
”
Dani chuckles.
“You were probably distracted by your instructor
’
s yummy looks. How did you get the hottest guy in
the lodge to give you private swimming lessons?”

“I did not
get
him to do anything. He offered.” I frown.

“Right. Lucky you.” She laughs. Zack shakes his head and says nothing. I
am
lucky last night resulted in big winnings for both of us, so I
’
m hoping he
’
ll give
me a pass for being late.

The lounge is packed with the morning skiers. Even though it
’
s only Wednesday, the lodge is filling up quickly
with the weekend crowd. This means good tips, so everyone
’
s mood is up. Dani and I attend to our respective
stations. As we wait for Zack to fill our drink orders, she quizzes me about my
morning lesson with Jake. I keep it vague, but she is relentless and tries to
make everything I say sound dirty.

“I told you. It
’
s not like
that. He
’s just
… really nice. Will you
give that rotten brain of yours a break?”

She gives me a smug smile. “If you don
’
t want him, I
’
ll take him. Would that be weird?” She scrunches
her nose. “I can get over it, if you can.”

“
Dani
.” I sigh. “Just… stop, okay?” I whip around and storm to my
section, doing my best to ignore her grilling the rest of our shift.

Jake is already waiting when I hurry out to the pool. As I approach, I
frown at the three swimmers occupying the lanes. Jake catches the change in my
expression and laughs, shaking his head. The Jacuzzi is also taken by two girls
that look tipsy and frankly, are being way too loud. They are giggling at two
guys that are sitting on the edge with their feet in the water and the rest of
their ski clothes still on.

“I thought you bailed on me.” Jake greets me with a genuine smile that
makes me feel instantly warm. I don
’
t even
want to admit to myself how much I
’
ve been
looking forward to our session. I made several mistakes in my orders at lunch
because I was too distracted thinking about the way Jake was holding me in the
water this morning. It was as if a swarm of butterflies had invaded me, their
wings thrumming frantically inside my stomach. Then those dreams last night…
After the horrid nightmares where Tango saves me from drowning over and over, I
had this erotic dreams about Jake. My mouth is dry as flashbacks cross through
my mind, unbidden. Jake pressing me against the Jacuzzi wall, our faces covered
in sweat as he grips my hair at the nape and his tongue thrusts into my mouth.

“Hey.” He smiles and I blush furiously.

“Sorry. My shift ran long.”

“You okay? You look a bit tired.”

I pull my hair up in a knot. “I
’
m fine.
Just had a late poker game last night.” I look up at him. “It was a favor I
owed Zack, before you say anything. Then I had nightmares the rest of the
night.”

He frowns. “
Nightmares?
”

“Yes. About the water.” I keep the rest of the dreams to myself.

“Do you want to tell me?” He looks concerned and it
’
s endearing.

“No.” I shake my head. “
I don’
t
want to think about it. Let
’
s get started.
”

“Okay,” he nods, eyeing me warily. “How do you feel about the progress we
’
ve made so far?”

I smile. “I am not going to lie. It still makes me very, very nervous to
get into the pool, but the panic is much less.”

“Okay,” he says, and I think he
’
s
pleased with my response. “Today I
’
m going
to teach you to
not
drown.”

“
Helpful.
” I nod and he chuckles.

“I
’
m glad your sarcasm is intact.
Get in the water.”

I stifle a smile at his bossy tone and obey. Anxiety expands in my chest
with every step. He watches me patiently until the water is up to my waist and
I look up, letting him know this is as far as I am willing to go. He pulls his
robe off and I look away because I don
’
t want
to look at him in that speedo. It is amazing how someone like Jake can make a
skimpy scrap of fabric look so… hot. He quickly gets into the water and reaches
for something on the edge of the pool.

“Here. Put these on.” He hands me a pair of goggles and I raise my
eyebrows.
No way
. He shakes his head. “Just put them on. I want you to
be able to see my legs under water. I
’
m going
to teach you how to egg-beat.”

“Egg
what
?”

“You
’
ll learn the egg-beater
movement. It
’
s what water polo players do to
stay above water. Treading.”

I eye him skeptically and slip the goggles on. He takes me deeper into
the pool until the water is up to my shoulders. He is much taller than me,
about six feet four, I guess, so he has to go in deeper than me. Then he moves
a bit farther and instructs me to dip my face in the water and just watch his
legs. This morning he made me put my head all the way underwater several times.
I hated it at first and needed him to hold my hand, but I want to show him he
isn
’
t wasting his time, so even though my heart is
kicking the hell out of my chest, I push myself and do it on my own.
Underwater, he is swirling his lower legs at the knees in a movement that
resembles the whisks of a hand mixer. Exactly like he described. It looks like
he is egg-beating with his legs. I come up for air, then dip my face in and
watch him again. While he does this, his hands go up and down in a flying-like
movement that allows him to keep his head and even his shoulders above water.
My attention is temporarily derailed by the way his muscles flex underwater. I
watch him for a long while, knowing he can
’
t see me. It
’
s beautiful. I scold myself and come up for air.
I am impressed because above the surface, he is almost immobile.

“Now you try,” he says. I feel the panic rise and I think he sees it on
my face because he holds my forearms as I try the movement he just explained.
It takes me several attempts. My legs are not cooperating and the fact that our
bodies are so close is a major distraction. I try to focus and not gape at the
work of art that are his arms and shoulders. Every single muscle is outlined as
if someone just Photoshopped him for a swimsuit ad. His hair is wet and beads
of water trickle down his forehead. Steam rises from the pool surface, giving
him this God-like aura.

He is
very
distracting.

I frown and coerce my mind to concentrate and finally I think I get it
because he slowly slides his hands down my arms until he is holding only my
fingers. I am ecstatic and want to scream that I did it, but I don
’
t want to let go of him. He then holds only one
of my hands and tells me to do the flying movement with the other. When he
thinks I
’
ve got it, he tells me he
’
s going to let go. I look at him with wide eyes
and he smiles.

“You can do it, Natalia.” The way he says my name causes me to lose my
coordination and I panic, whipping my limbs in every direction, splashing him
as I flap my arms and gasp for air. He immediately wraps his arms around me and
tells me it
’
s okay.

“You did great,” he says to my ear and a surge of electricity travels
through me. I am holding on to his neck for my life, panting, but the soothing
tone of his voice relaxes me and I slowly loosen my grip. The group at the
Jacuzzi is staring in our direction and the girls are laughing out loud. I
scowl at them and want to tell them to fuck off.

“They
’
re just some stupid drunks. Don
’
t worry about them,” he says, and I have to fight
the urge to kiss him. Nobody has made me feel this safe in years. Not even
Marc. Marc is attentive, but patience is not his suit. I can
’
t imagine him doing what Jake is doing for me
right now. The only person that made me feel something close to this was…
Tango, an eternity ago.

I shake off the thought and look up at Jake. He is watching me with those
warm eyes that remind me of the way cognac feels as it slides down your throat
on a cold day.
Shit
. I push away my day-fantasy with this almost
stranger and offer him a small, apologetic smile.

“Should we try again?” I say, and I think he
’
s pleased because his answering smile is dazzling.
In an effort to break the spell from that smile I try to think of Marc, but I
really don
’
t want to think of Marc right
now. Jake
’
s presence is so strong there
is no room for anything else. So I go with it.

By the end of the lesson, I
’
ve got
the egg-beater thing down and Jake praises me for my progress.

“Wanna have a drink? You
’
ve
earned it.”

I look up at the lodge. Fraternizing with the guests is not encouraged
and I am already pushing my luck with the swimming lessons. The only reason I
got away with it was because Sarah, our manager, likes me and thinks I am her
pet project, so she was eager to help.

“Natalia, it
’
s just a drink. Not a
proposition. But it
’
s cool if you
don
’
t feel like it.” He smiles.

“It
’
s not that. This place likes
gossip, and I
’
m already bending the rules
with the lessons.”

He laughs. “We can go into town. I wouldn
’
t mind having my last dinner out.”

My breath catches when he says that, reminding me this will be his last
night here. I can
’
t help the feeling of emptiness
that washes through me, and I already know I want to have more time with him. I
know it
’
s wrong, but I tell myself we
are just friends and he is not interested in me in a romantic way. I am a
pretty lousy liar.

I tell him I prefer to take a cab and we make arrangements to meet at a
restaurant downtown. Drinks just turned into dinner.

In my room, I try on every outfit I brought, which adds up to a grand
total of five. Nothing seems right. I sigh out loud.

Dani storms in from the gym and takes in the mess of clothes on my bed. “
Hot date?
”

“I
’
m meeting Jake for a drink. It
’
s
not
a date.”

She rolls her eyes. “Right.”

“
Dani
,” I snap.

She raises her palms up. “Hey, I
’
m not
judging. You need to venture out and that
’
s a good
thing.”

“Why don
’
t you like Marc? You are always
telling me to venture out. I
’
m not going
to cheat on him.”

“It
’
s not that I don
’
t like him. I am just not as convinced as you are
that he is the right match for you.”

“
Why
?” I whip around.

“
I don’
t know.” She plops down on
the bed. “Too self-absorbed, I guess. I actually think he loves himself more
than he loves you. Sorry.” She shrugs. “I get the money thing and all that, but
I
’
m not sold on the guy. I don
’
t trust him doing the long distance thing,
either. He seems way too cool about it.”

“Dani. Marc would
never
cheat on me. Jesus. And you know I am not
with him because he has money. Can you give it a rest? I
’
m going to marry him and I don
’
t want things between you and me to be weird.”