“Why?”
I looked down at the ripples of water around me. Finally, I looked up at her again. “Why wouldn’t I? He and I are friends.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“There’s a lot both you and Eli don’t know.” I didn’t mean it to sound harsh, but the flare of annoyance in her eyes told me I did.
I decided to come clean, knowing that might hurt more. “Your mom asked me to look out for him. Initially, that's what I did, but now we’re friends. He kicks my ass in chess a couple of times a week.”
“The bongos?”
“We saw a nature show and your dad was disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to go to Africa to see one. So, I found a place we could.” Since I could be put on leave or fired any time, that trip would likely be sooner rather than later,
She sat on a rock and I had the sense that all her bravado had left her. “Thank you for being so good to him.”
“He’s good to me too, Mia. We’re friends.” It was important to me that she knew I wasn’t being altruistic or simply fulfilling my vow to his dead wife. I liked Jim.
She was quiet for a moment. “So, this is your hot date? A frigid swim in a cold lake?”
“I had to give him an excuse that didn’t sound like I was fleeing.”
“Were you? Fleeing?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“You would have stayed if Eli wasn’t there?”
“Or you.”
She bit her lip, and part of me felt bad for hurting her. But I had to get her out of my system. Even watching her on the rocks, her porcelain skin looking ethereal under the moonlight, yearning for her expanded in my chest. I couldn’t have that.
She looked down for a moment. “Your lawyer is very pretty.”
“She’s a bombshell,” I said, and that time, I did feel like an asshole.
“Beautiful, sexy and smart.” She gave me a wan smile as she rose. I realized she was going to leave and I didn’t want her to. Let her go, my head screamed.
“Are you jealous?” I asked.
“What if I was?”
“I’d tell you that you didn’t need to be. I’m not fucking her. I have no interest in fucking her.”
Tension fell away on her face, but she held back a satisfied smile.
“You’re the only woman I’ve fucked or wanted to fuck in a long time.” I was truly losing my mind. I needed to let this woman go, and yet I couldn’t seem to. It was a losing proposition. Even if she did want me, the fact that being with me could get her fired made our being together impossible.
“You’re the only one I’ve fucked or wanted to fuck too.”
Despite the cold water, I could feel hot desire filling my dick. “It’s unfortunate that we can’t keep fucking.”
She nodded. “Yes. It’s risky.”
“It would be bad if you lost your job. Especially over a doctor who is likely negligent.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe that, Nick.” She moved closer to the edge of the water. “I don’t believe you’re at fault.”
I knew she couldn’t say that in public without risking compromising the hospital’s stance, but still, I was glad she had faith in me.