Perfectly Able (9 page)

“And what’s that?” she asked.

“Could be anything. Going out on a date. Watching a movie. Laying around in my boxers eating cereal out of the box while I’m watching reruns.”

She smiled, and it actually made me feel better.

“What do you want to do for fun?” I asked.

Her smile widened
. “I don’t know. I want to do something I’ve never done before. We should be spontaneous.”

“We should,” I agreed.

“So you’re agreeing to ignore your plans and your calendar for the rest of the day?” she asked, a sparkle of mischief glowing in her eyes.

“Well, technically, I’ve already completed my training today, which was my main goal.”

“Then you’ll have no problem being spontaneous for the rest of the day. Is that what you’re saying?” she asked.

“Spontaneous is my middle name,” I confirmed.

“What should we do?” She looked at me expectantly.

“What’s something you’ve never done that you want to do?” I asked, answering her question with another question.

“Body shots,” she said without hesitation.

That definitely sounded interesting
. “We have no alcohol and no way to get any.”

“Oh, that’s right.”
Her face pulled into a frown.

“Unless you want to use
whatever we have in the kitchen,” I suggested.

“We could do that?”

“We can do whatever we want. It’s our day to be spontaneous, remember?” I grinned at her. “Go put on your bathing suit. I’ll put on mine, grab some stuff from the kitchen, and meet you back out here.”

I gathered up the dishes while she went to change
. After donning a fresh pair of swimming trunks, I grabbed a few items out of the kitchen and met her at the picnic table.

“So what do we do?” she asked.

“Do you want to take a shot first?

“
I’m not sure how. You do it first,” she said, wringing her hands.

“All right.
Lay down on the picnic table.” I held her steady while she climbed upon the table and lay down.

“Instead of tequila, we’re going to use milk, and instead of limes, we’ll use oranges.” I sliced the orange into
sections, set them down on the bench, and poured a small shot of milk. “Okay, there’s all kinds of variations, but we’ll do basic body shots.”

“Okay.”

Squeezing the orange slice, I rubbed a little juice along her slender abdomen so the salt would stick and then handed the slice to her. “When we get ready, put this in your mouth. After I take the shot, I’ll get it from you using nothing but my mouth.”

I
poured out a thin trail of salt on her abdomen, and she put the orange slice in her mouth.

As I licked
the salt from her stomach, I felt her muscles clench as I worked my way up. I downed the milk and my lips touched hers as I took the orange from her. Despite the fact that I was attracted to Ava and wanted to make the entire process more sensual, I decided that given her current frame of mind, it would be better for her if I stuck to the basics.

“You want to try it now?” I asked.

I traded spots with her, and she poured herself a shot of milk and handed me an orange slice. Setting the milk down, she copied my lead and poured a trail of salt on my upper abdomen. When she was finished, she hesitated, and I could see her facial expressions change as her thoughts funneled through her mind.

Her brow furrowed
. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but it’ll be fine
. Be spontaneous, Ava. Isn’t that what you told me?”

She pursed her lips and nodded
. “You don’t mind?”

“Mind? I consider myself fortunate.”

A small smile cracked her serious demeanor.

“
I got one word for you—spontaneous,” I said, hoping to bolster her confidence.

The minute her warm tongue hit my skin, I closed my eyes, focusing on the sensation
. She started slow, but then she licked the remaining salt quickly as if she couldn’t be finished with the task fast enough. I cracked my eyelids open and watched as she guzzled the shot of milk. When her lips neared mine, I kept my eyes open, watching her and enjoying the feel of her lips on my skin, but it was over as soon as it started. I couldn’t help but feel disappointed when she pulled away.

“So you survived your first body shot,”
I teased, rising to a seated position. “It wasn’t so bad, was it?”

She shook her head.

“The next time’ll be better, though.”

“
How so?” she asked, looking at me as if she were waiting for some big revelation.

“The next time we’ll use real tequila.”

Chapter 6

Ava

Next time? Did he just insinuate that we would do body shots again in the future?

Every time I feared that I’d made a fool of myself by being too forward, maybe a little too spontaneous, Ridge had a way of making me feel comfortable again.

Last night, I was afraid that I’d been too bold when I kissed him. I was terribly embarrassed after dumping both of us in the lake, but I hadn’t stopped there. I’d actually had the gumption to ask to finish the kiss. But it had been dark, and I had been having fun. In the light of day, my actions seemed brazen. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to kiss me, but he was too nice to say “no”. All morning, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he had only agreed to it because I was the only other person here. Maybe when we were back in the real world, he’d want nothing to do with me, like Jack. Maybe in the real world, he’d prefer someone who was whole, perfect, unlike me.

But now he had just insinuated that we’d see each other again
. In my mind, I tried to add up how many times he had referred to us seeing each other once we left the cabin. He had invited me to his Halloween party; although, I hadn’t been convinced that he would follow through with it. He’d also talked about using me as his real estate agent. But now he suggested that we’d do body shots with real liquor.

I liked Ridge Sutherland
. Maybe if I had both my legs, I’d have the confidence to show it more, but my self-image had taken a beating after Jack. Every time I got the nerve up to do something daring, something I wouldn’t have thought twice about before I lost my leg, I’d start having second thoughts, thoughts that he would find me unattractive or inadequate.

I cursed myself
. It’d been five years since I lost my leg. I’d thought that I’d gotten past this point long ago. Trying to remember how I’d felt immediately after the accident, I started to wonder if I was having more trouble with the fact that I’d lost my leg now than I did then. And it all led back to the night that Jack had rejected me.

Why
did I struggle with this? Most people dealt with rejection at some point or another. Why did I let him affect me so deeply?

Screw him.
If Jack couldn’t accept the way I was, then he didn’t deserve me.

“Ava, have you been listening to anything I’ve said?” Ridge asked, snapping his fingers in front of my face.

“I’m sorry. I was just….”

“Thinking?” he supplied.

“Yeah, something like that.”

“The moonlight washed it away last night,” he said, rubbing his warm palms over my shoulders.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“Whatever’s had you off-kilter today, whatever’s on your mind right now, the moon washed away
. The sun rose on a new day.”

I squinted as my gaze flicked toward the sun before falling to the glittering lake
. “You know what? You’re right.” I felt as though heavy chains had fallen from my wrists and ankles and maybe even my heart. “It’s a new day, a new Ava.”

Ridge squeezed my shoulders in silent agreement
. “Does the new Ava want to take a canoe ride?”

I nodded, eager to see the beautiful s
cenery in the full light of day and to spend more time getting to know Ridge.

***

Over the next three days, Ridge and I spent a lot of time together, mostly canoeing and swimming. He went for a run every morning, and when he got back to the cabin, we’d practice our swimming techniques for the triathlon, each of us learning something useful from the other. We hadn’t kissed again, but we had joked and laughed and talked. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had so much fun or the last time that I’d been so comfortable around a guy, especially one who knew about my leg.

He was adept at putting me at ease, and it was nice to not worry when I was around him.
Part of me couldn’t help but wonder if the magic would disappear once we were back to our everyday lives.

“
Our last day here is almost over,” he said, his fingertips gliding across his bare abdomen just above the waist of his swim trunks. “What else do you want to do?”

Kno
wing that the day was almost over was bittersweet. I hadn’t expected to enjoy myself as much as I had during my time here, but remnants of Jack’s rejection still hid in the shadows of my mind, lurking, waiting to pounce on any positive thoughts that formed. I glanced at Ridge’s profile as he scanned the lake, and I felt like he was part of the reason I was feeling a bit more like my old self. Doubt still lingered, though, and I wanted to put it to rest for good.

I stuffed my hands in the shallow pockets of my blue jean shorts, which I had pulled on over my bikini bottoms.
“Do you want to play truth or dare?” I asked, latching on to a moment of confidence. The sun had burst into a thousand colors as it signaled the end of the day. Soon, it would disappear entirely.

He eyed me warily
. “I know a challenge when I see it. You’re on.”

“Truth or dare?” I asked.

“Truth.”

“Does the fact that I’m an amputee bother you?” I asked timidly, feeling sweat prickle my skin as soon as the words were out of my mouth
. Why had I asked that?  A lump of dread settled in the pit of my stomach as I admonished myself for such a stupid idea.

“Yes,” he said.

“It does?” I asked, my voice sounding small as I felt all the insecure feelings that I had sought to escape crash upon me like ocean waves smashing against a rocky coastline.

“It’s bad enough being shown up by a girl, but I’ve been shown up by a girl with one leg. Now, I’m going to have to go home and train
twice as hard for the triathlon just to make sure I don’t finish behind you.”

I smiled, relieved to see that he was only joking.

“Why the hell would you ask me that, Ava? I know we’ve only known each other a week, but I would have hoped that you would have gleaned enough information from
me to know that I’m not that kind of person.”

He was right
. I did suspect that it didn’t bother him. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I guess I just wanted to hear you say it.”

“The fact that you’re an amputee doesn’t bother me in the least.
In fact, if anything, it makes me think that you’re an incredibly resilient, strong, and determined person. All of which I find to be extremely sexy traits in a woman.”

“Sexy?”

“Sexy. Now, don’t ever ask me that question again. Contrary to popular belief in the world of estrogen, not all guys are asses.” 

“I didn’t mean to insinuate….”

He shook his head and put a finger over my lips to shush me. “It’s fine,” he whispered.

I swallowed hard at the feel of
his warm finger against my lips, and I found myself imagining his fingertip trailing lower over my collar bone and dipping beneath my bikini top.

“Truth or dare?” he asked, dragging my mind back to reality.

“Truth.”

“
I haven’t collected my prize for winning hangman, and we’ll be leaving in the morning. Do you want me to kiss you?” he asked, taking a step toward me.

My heart pounded until it felt like it would bur
st from my ribs. My line of vision fell to his chest, and his fingertips lifted my face to his.

“Do you?” he asked again, closing the distance between us.

He knew I did, didn’t he? I couldn’t find the words, but I nodded my head, my eyes locked with his. That was all the encouragement he needed as he backed me against the railing, his lips warm on mine, gently teasing me. He licked my bottom lip, and I opened to him, his tongue skillfully delving into my mouth. His hands were warm against my cheeks as he held me firmly in place. It was warm and gentle and euphoric. I felt safe with Ridge…comfortable…and I knew in that moment that I wanted something more with Ridge Sutherland than a fun week in a mountain cabin. I wanted more, but would I have the courage to go after it? Or would I let my fears snuff out the flame that had just ignited for him?

Surely, I deserved to be happy, didn’t I?