He smiles and we kiss some more, having made a pact that I hope will last a lifetime. It doesn’t take long for us to fall asleep in each other’s arms, naked bodies pressed together. Content and happy out on the ocean.
Ten
Ben
The rest of my days off are spent with Lila at my beach house. After our first night together, I took her back to the resort to get her things. Her friend, Gina, who found her own romantic connection to enjoy, was not at all upset to be getting the room to herself. Lila’s ankle is much better. She won’t be running a marathon anytime soon, but she doesn’t need her bandage or her crutches anymore.
Almost all of our time is spent naked in bed. Or on my hammock. Or in the shower. We only dress when we go to the market to pick up groceries. We cook together, most times ending up with her on the counter and me buried in her tight, wet little pussy before the food is ready. Twice we’ve burned supper beyond salvation so we ended up going to grab some takeout.
We lay in my hammock and I read out loud to her as she recovers from our latest love-making session. Then we doze off for a while until we’re ready for more. Lila can’t keep her hands off of me and there’s no part of me that wants her to. I’m addicted to her—to her body, her face, her smile, her voice—everything about her is perfection to me. Her curves draw me to her like the breeze that guides my sail.
Tomorrow is her last day in St. Lucia. The plan is for her to go home, pack up her life, quit her job, and come back to me as soon as possible. I can hardly bear the thought of being away from her for the weeks it will take for her to return. It's hard enough knowing that in two hours I have to leave for work. The thought makes my heart sink. I turn and watch her sleep, her face looking like an angel to me. She stirs and opens her eyes, then smiles immediately.
“Oh, good. You’re real. I thought I dreamed you,” she says.
“I’m real. This is real.” I kiss her on the forehead. “We’re real.”
Sighing happily, Lila says, “What am I going to do all day when you’re at work?”
“Miss me?”
“Other than that,” she says. “I was thinking you should drop me off at the resort so I can hang out with Gina. I need to talk to her about you behind your back.” She gives me a wide-eyed, teasing look.
“As long as you don’t give her intimate details, I’m okay with it.”
“I’m afraid I have to. Girl code.”
“What?” I lean over her, then pin her arms above her head with one hand, making her squeal with laughter. “I guess I’ll have to tickle you until you agree not to tell her too much.”
Poising one hand over her tummy, I wait for her to beg me to stop but she’s laughing too hard. When she recovers a little, she says, “What if it’s all really good? Like, I tell her how huge you are and how many orgasms I have a day? That kind of thing?”
I shrug. “Fine, but you’ll have to be cool with me telling my buddies at work how tight your pussy is, then. It’s only fair.”
“Oh, when you put it that way…” She wrinkles up her nose.
I reach down and kiss her hard on the mouth, then let her go.
She touches my cheek with her fingertips. “What if I just tell her I’m madly in love with you and that I can’t imagine my life without you?”
Nodding, I say, “Okay, I can agree to that.”
The twelve-hour shift turns into a twenty-four when Peter calls to say he’s not coming in again. I get through the first three hours without incident and just when I’m thinking maybe Dr. Harper forgot about my little indiscretion, he pages me to his office. I finish up the stitches I’m working on, then toss my gloves in the trash and walk down the hall and up the stairs to the second floor.
The door is open and Dr. Harper is doing paperwork behind his big, very neat desk. I take a deep breath, then knock quietly.
“Come in,” he says without looking at me.
“Hi, Doug.” I seat myself across from him.
“As hospital administrator, do you know what a problem it is to have staff members who seem to be using the ER as their own personal Tinder account?”
“I imagine it’s quite difficult.”
“That would be an understatement. Do you know how much paperwork is involved in firing a doctor?” He gives me a hard look. For a small man, he can be very intimidating.
“No, sir, I don’t.”
“A lot. It’s going to take me days to get through this and then weeks to find a replacem