Pursuit For Lucidity (Crashing Waves) (20 page)

I was glad Melissa liked me.  I couldn’t imagine dating a man who
se sister couldn’t stand me. Alex put his arm around me as we walked back inside the house.  I showered and slipped into my nightgown and lounged on the sofa.  Alex made us a cup of tea and we sipped on that while he told me about every detail of his trip to Guatemala.  He had pictures on his phone of the families and children whose lives he and his colleagues had touched.  It was amazing how giving Alex was, especially when it came to children.  He loved children and hoped to have some of his own one day.

The next morning we decided to take a walk on the beach.  The weather was just right and Alex was so happy to be home early.  He had decided to
return to work on Monday and help his colleagues in the clinic with suture removals and consultations, so we wanted to keep the weekend very quiet and relaxing.

When we returned to the house, I asked Alex to go to the grocery store while I organized and cleaned up around the house.  His housekeeper had b
een out for a few weeks and his house looked like it needed some tender loving care.  We made a grocery list for the weekend and he headed out to the store.  I cleaned out the refrigerator and disposed of expired items.  I set the table for brunch, since it was too late for breakfast.

When Alex returned from the store, we cooked together and enjoyed a quiet brunch.  The roof was the best place to enjoy a romantic meal together.  The view from that part of t
he house was breathtaking.  He looked very fresh and relaxed since he had returned from his trip.  He was wearing a white t-shirt and black basketball shorts.  It was difficult not to stare at him.

“
What is it?” he asked, smiling at me and wondering why I was staring at him.

“
Nothing.  Can’t I admire your good looks?” I replied with a grin on my face.  Alex smiled and leaned over to kiss me.

“
I love you, baby,” he said and we continued to enjoy our meal together.

“
Oh, before I forget to tell you, I made dinner reservations for next Friday night after work.  In case you may have forgotten, it’s your birthday,” I reminded him.

“
That’s right, it’s that time of year again.  Don’t do anything for me baby, it’s just another day.  I will just be another year older,” he added sadly.

“
It’s a special day for me and I want to take you to dinner.  So just sit back, relax, and pack a nice outfit to change into after work. I don’t think I can take you out to a nice restaurant in your scrubs or gym clothes,” I laughed.  “We will carpool on Friday anyway, so we will go to dinner in Hollywood right after work and head back late at night, so that we don’t come across bad traffic.  I have it all planned out,” I added.

“
Okay, okay, fine.  Birthday dinner with my love it is.  But only if I can have you for dessert,” he negotiated as he started to tickle me.  I ran all over the roof, trying to get away from Alex and his tickling hands.  As I ran in circles around the square outdoor coffee table, I tripped and hit my shin hard against the sharp edge.

“
OUCH!” I yelled out.  Alex took a look at my shin, blood now oozing down to my foot, the pain throbbing harder every second.

“
Are you okay, baby?  Shit!  I’m so sorry.  It’s my fault.  Let me clean that up.  Looks like you may need stitches,” he sat me down and went to grab his first aid kit.  He returned with what looked like a suture kit.  He cleaned the wound thoroughly and confirmed I really needed stitches.

“
I’m going to use some lidocaine to numb the area, so I can suture it, okay?  I promise it will not leave a scar,” he promised.  He injected the area with the numbing agent and began suturing.  It was interesting to watch Alex in action.  He looked up at me after he was done.

“
No more horsing around, I promise.  It’s just too hazardous to your health,” he chuckled.  “I will remove the stitches in about seven days.  I’m really sorry, baby.  If I hadn’t been chasing you and tickling you half to death this would not have happened,” he said with remorse.

“
Don’t worry about it, it’s not like I lost an eye or have a brain injury or anything,” I joked.  Alex smiled and we decided to hang out inside the house.  We took our dishes into the elevator and down to the kitchen.  Alex’s work phone rang shortly after we went inside.

“
This is Dr. Blake.  Hi Taryn.  Yes, I’m back early and can do follow ups in the recovery unit.  If you guys don’t need me there, I can see clinical patients across the street.  I’m not scheduled to work in the OR until next week anyway so that sounds good.  Sure.  Okay, I will see you on Monday.  Uh, no I can’t, I’m really busy with some personal things, but thanks anyway.  All right. I’ll see you.  You have a good one too.  Bye,” he finished the conversation.  I wondered what she wanted that he had to brush her off using that excuse.

“
That was funny.  Taryn asked me to join her for a drink,” he confessed.

“
I’m sure she wanted to spend quality time removing the clothing from your body,” I replied.

Alex grinned, “
I sure wouldn’t mind if
you
removed the clothing from my body.”

“
Well, unfortunately, I have an injury and will not be able to do anything but sit here with my leg elevated, thanks to you,” I replied.

“
Wishful thinking, I guess,” he replied kissing me.  He pressed his warm soft lips against mine, slowly moving down to my neck, then my collarbone and my shoulders.  His hands were everywhere like an octopus.  Alex knew my limits.  He knew the safe areas of my body and when to stop when I felt uncomfortable.  And for that I had so much respect for him.

He advised
me not to get my leg wet that day.  I would be able to take a bath, but with my right leg out of the tub, so that the water did not touch the area.  He drew a bath for me in the very large Jacuzzi tub in his master bathroom.  I soaked in the tub for a while, with my leg hanging out of it.  I rinsed myself off with the removable showerhead.  Alex must have forgotten I was taking a bath because he barged into the bathroom as I had just gotten out of the tub, standing there in the nude, reaching for the towel.

“
Oh, uh, I’m sorry, Claire.  I thought you were still soaking in the tub,” he said as I grabbed the towel and wrapped it around my body.  Alex had never seen me completely nude before.  I felt very embarrassed and uncomfortable.  He must have noticed my crimson face because he walked out of the bathroom shortly after he had seen me naked.  I dressed myself and found Alex outside on the balcony observing the ocean.  He smiled when he saw me.

“
Claire,” he began as he wrapped his arms around my waist, “when I walked in on you in the bathroom, and saw you naked, I mean nude, I mean, you know what I mean,” he hesitated.  “You cannot even begin to imagine how hard it was for me to resist touching you.  You’re just so perfect.  Every inch of your being is flawless,” he added as I blushed the darkest shade of pink.  “I just had to get that off my chest,” he said.  I knew Alex was dying to take our relationship to the next level, but I didn’t want to rush anything, especially with the difficult past I had to overcome.  I wanted that to be very special.

“
I guess I will take that as a compliment.  Thank you, Alex,” I replied.

“
You’ve very welcome, baby.  Now, let’s think about where we are going to go for dinner,” he grinned.  We decided to go to Café Amor, where we had gone for our first date.  That evening, Alex sat right next to me and we did much less talking than the first time we were there.  We went for a walk on the beach after dinner and enjoyed the last few minutes of the sunset, hand in hand.

<><><>

The following day we headed back to my condo to spend the rest of the day and night in my neck of the woods.  Melissa called Alex that afternoon thanking him for Friday night’s dinner.  He told me that Melissa mentioned time and again how much she liked me and was looking forward to another visit to see us both.  Alex told her we would arrange something on a weekend we are available.

“
Yes, Mel, I will.  I promise.  I know what you mean. I’m trying my best, really.  Okay, Mel, I have to go.  Can we talk about this some other time, please?” He ended his conversation with Melissa.

I wondered what the conversation was about.  What was he promising his sister and what was so hard for him?  I wanted so badly to ask him
, but I didn’t want to appear nosey, so I let it go.  Whatever it was, he obviously didn’t feel like sharing it with me, so I assumed it was a personal family matter that was probably none of my business.

“
Come here, baby, let me take off the dressing on your leg, so you can take a normal shower.  It’s okay to wet it today.  Be careful not to get soap or shower gel on it.  And don’t scrub over it.  Just let the water run down your leg, okay?”  He advised.

“
Yes, doctor,” I grinned.  “I will take your orders,” I added.  Alex smiled and started kissing me.  His kisses were so electric that they sent shivers down my spine.  It was just as dangerous for me to be kissed by him, as it was for him to see me naked.

The
weekend had flown by so quickly I had a hard time believing we had to return to work in the morning.

<><><>

Alex left for work before I did that morning.  He kissed me while I was still in bed, “I miss you already,” he said as he headed downstairs and out the door.  As I strolled into work, Laura approached me before I even had a chance to sit down.  She had an argument with her fiancé regarding wedding plans.  She wanted a certain banquet hall, but he did not like it.  She wanted to hire a photographer that he couldn’t stand.  She wanted to go to Fiji for their honeymoon, but he wanted to go to Tahiti.  They just couldn’t come to an agreement on anything.  I advised her to keep her cool and they would compromise somehow.  Who was I to give advice to another woman on her relationship when I wasn’t even half the expert?

Laura seemed to feel better after she vented for a good twenty minutes and promised to take my advice. 
I plugged away at my work and didn’t realize it was past noon.  I received a text from Alex.

Hi, can you meet me at Bradley’s for lunch?

Sure.  I will be there in twenty.

I no longer needed to keep secrets from Laura, since she knew about Alex, so I mentioned that I would be meeting him for lunch.  I drove to the diner and found Alex sitting in our usual spot.  I smiled at him as I walked toward the table, but he wasn’t smiling back.

“
Hi, Alex.  What’s wrong?  You don’t seem like your usual self,” I noted.

“
When exactly did you plan to tell me about the flowers that Mark sent you while I was away, Claire?” he looked furious.  “Oh, and what about all the emails he sent you and voice messages he left you, asking you if you’d like to go out with him?  Were you planning on telling me about any of those events that took place while I was in Guatemala?” he asked, his face fuming.  I had never seen that side of Alex.

“
A-Alex, I uh was…” I was lost for words.

“
Do you want to know who told me about all this, Claire?  I found out from Mark, himself.  He went on and on and on about the beautiful flowers he sent to your department, the details of the note, the emails, the messages.  Do you realize how difficult it was for me to hear him describe what he wanted to do with
my
girlfriend?”  Alex wouldn’t let it go.

“
I was going to tell you, Alex.  I just forgot about it.  It wasn’t anything important to me, so I just ignored the whole thing.  I didn’t want to tell you while you were in Guatemala, since you were working and I just…didn’t remember, I guess,” I replied.

“
I was really close to telling him about you and I, Claire.  I’m losing patience,” he confessed.  “I’m really, really, losing my patience,” he added.

“
No, don’t tell him anything.  Just ignore him, Alex,” I replied.

“
Why, Claire?  Why is it that you don’t want him to know about us?  Is it because you have feelings for him?  If so, you can just spill it out right now.  I can handle it.  I’m a grown man,” his tone was scaring me.

“
Alex, stop it.  You know why I don’t want him to know.  It has nothing to do with you.  You need to stop this now.  You are really scaring me.  It’s like you have this dark side that I couldn’t see before,” I expressed.

“
You can’t handle it, princess?” He asked sternly.  I was shocked to hear that come out of his mouth.  I stood up and grabbed my purse and keys, “I’ve suddenly lost my appetite.  Goodbye Alex!” I stormed out of the diner.

“
Claire! Wait!” Alex ran after me, but I beat him to my car and drove off before he could stop me.

I returned to work early from lunch and Laura was surprised that I was back so soon.  With one look at me, she knew something had gone wrong with Alex.  I told Laura what had happen
ed during lunch and even she was surprised that I hadn’t mentioned the flowers to Alex.