Pursuit For Lucidity (Crashing Waves) (15 page)

“
I’m sorry too, Alex.  I didn’t mean what I said about you getting in my way.  It just,” he stopped me by putting his finger on my lips.

“
I know what you meant.  You don’t have to explain.  I didn’t mean to take my stress out on you.  I just need to work through some issues, that’s all.  Let’s go and enjoy our evening,” he said, kissing me.

What issues was he talking about, I wondered.  Was he the extremely jealous type?  My head was flooding with questions.

“You look beautiful as usual,” he said

“
You don’t look so bad yourself,” I replied.  Alex looked as handsome as ever with his tight fitting shirt and dark jeans.

<><><>

Alex had made reservations at Moonlight
,
which was a very beautiful restaurant in Malibu, overlooking the beach.  As we walked inside, we were greeted by the hostess, “Good evening, Dr. Blake.  Hello,” she turned to me and smiled, then looked at Alex again.  Was she confirming whether I was good enough for Alex?  He just smiled and responded pleasantly, “Hello, Maya.  This is Claire, my girlfriend,” his smile beamed.  Did he say his
girlfriend?

Maya’s eyes widened, “Oh, hello Claire.  Nice to meet you
,” she said, smiling at Alex again.

“
Nice to meet you as well, Maya,” I replied.  Once we were seated and Maya left us alone, I asked Alex, “Did you tell her I’m your girlfriend?”

“
Yes, I did.  Do you have a problem with that?” he asked as he looked over the menu. “If so, I can call her back here and tell her you are only a friend,” he smiled.

“
No, that won’t be necessary, Alex.  I don’t mind one bit,” I added.

“
Just as long as she doesn’t work at the hospital, right?” he joked.

Our dinner was very cozy and delicious.
  After dinner we took a walk on the beach, which was very well lit, since it was a full moon that night.

“
Claire, if you had known me just a year ago, I was a very unhappy man.  It was not a good time in my life.  I was going through some personal issues, which I promise to sit down and discuss with you one of these days.  I’d been drowning myself in my work, just to get through the days, but now that I’ve met you, I feel like a new man.  You have a way of taking all the bad away and bringing out the best in me,” he confessed as he softly moved my hair away from my face.

“
That’s very sweet, Alex.  You have taken away all the bad in my life too.  Who knows, maybe one day I can start running again.  With you,” I added.

Alex beamed, “I’d love that
.  I would love to run with you.  Anything to help you heal from the horrible event in your life,” he said as he held me tight, close against his chest.  “Are you excited about tomorrow night?” he asked.

“
Where are we going anyway?” I asked.

“
You’ll find out tomorrow.  Come, let’s go home,” he said, taking my hand and walking me toward his car.  It was a chilly night at the beach.  I loved the sound of the waves striking against the shore.  Alex lifted me up and spun me around a few times, then put me back down and started to kiss me.  As cold as it was getting outside, his lips were hot as if they were on fire.  I felt chills run up and down my spine every time his lips touched mine.  I was still waiting to be awakened from this beautiful dream.

A
lex held my hand firmly as he drove, without releasing it for a second.  The crystal blue color of his eyes stood out, even in the dark.  I couldn’t help but stare at his chiseled jaw and dark, perfectly styled hair.  He pulled into the driveway of his house and opened one of four garages and parked the Porsche inside.

“
What do you want me to make for breakfast tomorrow morning, baby?” he asked as we walked into his beautiful modern home.

“
Alex, you’re going to spoil me with all your cooking,” I replied.  “You’re also going to make me put on a lot of weight,” I added.

“
You don’t like my cooking?” he joked as he pulled me close to him and started to untie my dress.  He was so quick that I didn’t even realize that I had only my bra and panties left.  “I d-do like your c-cooking, Alex,” I stuttered, holding his arms to keep him from turning into an octopus again.

He paused to remind
me, “I know where the safe areas are, don’t worry,” he said, continuing to kiss me and caress my breasts.  “Let’s go to bed,” he whispered.

“
I uh don’t think that’s a good idea right now, Alex,” I noted.  Alex stepped back, his face very serious, “I promised, Claire.  Did you forget?” he reminded me.

I smiled, “Okay, let’s go sleep,” I replied.  Alex scooped me up in his arms and ran to his bedroom
, laying me gently on his bed.

“
I’m going to take a quick shower, I will be back shortly,” he said.  I must have fallen asleep while Alex was in the shower.  I had the nightmare again.  The shadow of the one chasing me, the white van parked to the side, running as fast as I could until the person chasing me caught me. I collapsed and awakened screaming.  Alex was standing there with only a towel on his waist trying to calm me down, “Claire, baby, it’s okay, I’m here.  It was just a dream,” he said holding me.

“
Yeah, I’m aware of that now, Alex.  I’m just going to take a shower now if that’s okay,” I replied.

“
Sure, I will be here, baby.  You can even take a bath if you’d like.  I know you like taking baths, so make yourself at home,” he said.

“
A shower will do.  Thanks, Alex,” I replied.

I took a long showe
r that night and it felt incredible.  I was so tired that I only towel dried my hair and put on my nightie and crawled into bed next to Alex.  He had already fallen asleep, most likely exhausted from a long day at work and our date. When he realized I was next to him, he wrapped his arms around me as we both succumbed to sleep.

<><><>

When I opened my eyes the next morning, the first thing I saw was the beautiful view of the ocean.  Alex was already awake and in the kitchen.  I smelled pancakes as I made my way to the kitchen.  He had set a romantic table for two with pancakes, waffles, and French toast.

“
Good morning, beautiful.  How would you like your eggs this morning?” he asked as he pulled the chair out for me to sit and poured two glasses of orange juice.

“
Scrambled is fine.  Thank you, Alex.  You’re very sweet.  I keep pinching myself to ensure that I am not dreaming.  Are you real?” I asked.

He
laughed, “Yes, I’m real and I’m all yours, if you’d like me to stick around, that is,” he added.

“
Of course,” I replied.

“
So, the plan for today is to just lounge by the pool and relax.  I hope you brought your swimsuit, baby,” he noted.

“
Yes, I did and I love lounging by the pool.  I couldn’t have thought of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  And to be spending it with a very handsome doctor, I mean surgeon, is even more appealing,” I winked.

The afternoon was very nice.  Alex and I went swimming in his beautiful infinity pool overlooking the beach.  We had a few drinks, sunbathed, and even went up to the rooftop
lounge area and talked for hours.  I asked Alex a lot of questions about his childhood, friends, and high school.  It turned out Alex had graduated high school ahead of schedule, which gave him a good head start in college and made him a much younger surgeon than others on his team.

“
That’s so impressive, Alex.  Not only are you amazingly handsome, but you’re extremely smart as well. Very impressive,” I repeated.

The t
ime had flown by so quickly, we hadn’t realized it was time to shower and get ready for the evening.  Alex still hadn’t told me where we were going exactly, but he said it involved dancing.  I showered, did my hair and makeup, and put on the sexy tan dress with black lace stitching that my mother had picked out for me.  I put on the sparkly Jimmy Choo pumps I had borrowed from my mother and it came together quite well.

Alex walked in when I had just finished putting on the shoes and his jaw see
med to have dropped.  He began walking towards me very slowly, examining every inch of my body.  His eyes seemed even bluer when he was excited.  He looked handsome in his tight black button up tight shirt, black pants, black Prada belt and matching shoes.

“
Look at you, baby,” his eyes glowed.  “You can’t even begin to imagine how difficult tonight is going to be for me.  I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off of you for a second,” he confessed, making me spin around for him a couple times, so he could see all angles of me in that dress.

“
You look very handsome yourself, Alex.  I love this look on you.  It’s so appealing.  Who knows, maybe I will be the one unable to keep my hands off of you tonight,” I replied.

“
I will pray for that,” he laughed.  “Come, let’s head out,” he said, holding out his elbow.  I started walking towards the Porsche, but Alex directed me to the far side of the garage where a covered car was parked.  He uncovered a red Ferrari.

“
We will be taking this car tonight,” he said as he opened the door for me.  I sat in the car, which was very low to the ground, and waited for Alex to get seated and start driving.

“
How many cars do you have, Alex?” I asked.

“
Just these three.  This Ferrari, the Porsche, and the truck,” he said nonchalantly. “Do I need a fourth one,” he asked.

“
Uh…no, I was thinking one would be enough, maybe two, you know in case of emergency when one needs service,” I replied.  He just smiled.

“
Do you want to know where we are going?” he asked.

“
Yes, please tell me,” I pleaded.

“
We are going to a club called Vibe, in Hollywood.  It’s very new and owned by a friend of mine.  It’s salsa night tonight.  I hope you like to salsa,” he grinned.

“
I love to salsa.  I’m so excited, Alex,” I smiled big at him.

“
Good, then we’re going to have a blast because I love to salsa too,” he replied.

Alex’s
Ferrari was a big head turner.  The men seemed to be in awe of the car and the women seemed to be in awe of Alex.  There was a very long line wrapped around the outside of the club, but we used a separate VIP entrance, since his friend was the club owner.  Alex took my hand and led me inside.  There was a dining area on the first level of the club where we had really good seafood.

A tall blonde man app
roached us as we were dining, “Hey, buddy!  I’m so glad you made it.  This must be Claire, the girl who’s put a hop in your step,” he said, looking at me. “I can see why,” he added.

“
Colin, this is Claire. Claire, this is Colin.  He owns this night club,” Alex noted.

“
Hello, Colin, very nice to meet you.  This place looks really hip.  I can’t wait to get to the dance floor,” I said.

“
Why don’t you guys finish up eating here and I will escort you to your VIP section.  It’s much better, you won’t bump into sweaty people while you’re dancing,” he laughed.

Alex and I finished eating and followed Colin up the stairs to the main dancing area.  It was crowded with so many people I wondered how they made any room to dance.  Our VIP area was amazing and off to the side where no one could bother us.  The music soun
ded great and the DJ played great salsa music.  Alex took my hand and we began to dance.  He took me by complete surprise.  I thought I was a good dancer, but Alex was a great dancer.  We danced and drank and danced some more.  Before we knew it, it was three o’clock in the morning.

“
You ready to head home, baby?” he asked.

“
Oh yeah, for sure.  It’s been a very long time since I’ve danced for so many hours.  I think I’m going to be very sore tomorrow,” I replied.

Alex laughed, “Y
eah, me too, and I have a few years on you, remember?” he joked.

We headed
out of the club and to the valet to pick up Alex’s very hot, red Ferrari.  On our way home, Alex couldn’t stop talking about what a great night he had.

“
This was one of the most enjoyable nights of my life, Claire.  You make me so happy.  I don’t remember the last time I was this happy, or maybe I was never this happy,” he said, kissing my hand.  “You just know how to raise my spirits, baby,” he added, genuinely.

“
I had the time of my life too.  Tell me, Alex, where did you learn to dance like that?  You’re like a professional.  You made me look like I didn’t know how to dance and I went to dance school for many years,” I noted.

“
My mother made me go to dance school when I was in high school.  I danced for a few years since I was fourteen years old and stopped when I started college,” he explained.