Hessa

The hospital smell hit me like a wall when the automatic doors swooshed open. Mr. Brown was a silent statue next to me, his only communication a stiff head nod when I met him in the chilly hospital parking lot. My stomach was tied in knots. I hadn't even remembered to bring my stack of Care Dare submissions with me to try to piece together what may have happened.

I was confused about the whole thing since I hadn't assigned any approved dares yet.

I was scared for my student.

I was worried about the integrity of the whole Care Dare program.

Hallway after hallway blended together until we were finally at a nurse’s station. Mr. Brown asked for Gabe Martinez' room number. The nurse led us down another long hallway before stopping outside a closed door. She told us to wait there while she went in and talked to Gabe's parents.

I tapped my leg while we waited, unable to control the tick. My anxiety rose the longer she was in there and the tighter Mr. Brown clenched his jaw.

The door finally opened and I thought I would pass out from holding my breath.

"You can go on in now. The patient's mother is in the room and expecting you." The nurse gave us a tired smile and moved back down the hallway from where we'd come.

Mr. Brown held the door open and swept his hand, indicating I should go first. I threw my shoulders back, smoothed my face and walked in the room. The beeping of machines greeted me a split second before the hate-filled scowl on the woman's face. She was sitting in a chair next to the bed, holding Gabe's hand. His eyes were closed and there was a white bandage wrapped around his head.

I waited till Mr. Brown was standing next to me. I paused to let him take the lead. When he didn't say anything, I stepped forward and extended my hand to Gabe's mother.

I whispered, trying not to disturb Gabe. "Hello, Ms. Martinez. I'm Hessa Woodland, Gabe's English teacher. I'm so sorry to meet you this way."

Her eyes lowered to my outstretched hand before snapping back to my face, eyes ablaze. "You're the one daring my son to jump his motorcycle? What were you thinking?"

I visibly pulled back, I was so surprised at her accusation. "I-I'm sorry?"

"You should be. Look at him!" She tilted her head in Gabe's direction. "He's in a medically induced coma. He has a concussion and they want to make sure the swelling goes down before waking him up."

I shook my head, my eyes focused on Gabe. Tears blurred my vision seeing him motionless like that. I couldn't look away, even when Mr. Brown finally spoke up.

"Ms. Martinez, I'm sorry to see your son in this condition. I truly am. However, I think we need to investigate what happened before we place blame." His forehead was dotted with beads of sweat, though the temperature was bordering on glacial in the room.

"I have his phone. His last text was to his best friend, James. He said he had to do this dare or he'd never hear the end of it. What else could he have meant?" Ms. Martinez was back to glaring at me, skewering me with her eyes.

The tips of my ears burned under her accusation. I willed myself not to cry in front of her, even though it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. I loved my students, no matter how irritated they made me on a day-to-day basis. I couldn't imagine how scared she must be right now, seeing her son lying in a hospital bed. The shame of her accusation was making my head pound, even though I was thoroughly confused as to how this could actually be my fault.

I dragged my eyes away from Gabe and focused on his mother. "Ms. Martinez. I absolutely hate to see this happen to Gabe. I'll do whatever I can to find out what happened last night. We'll make this right, you'll see." I nodded my head, vowing to myself that no matter what, I'd see this thing through and make it right for him and his family. I believed whole-heartedly that the Care Dare program had nothing to do with it, but I'd prove it to her and still make sure she and Gabe got the support they needed.

Mr. Brown jumped in, pulling at his collar. "Let's let the officials investigate and then we'll talk about what can be done here. Ms. Martinez, my best wishes for your son's speedy recovery."

With that, he grabbed my arm and practically dragged me out of the room. He didn't let go of my arm until we hit the lobby, making me feel like a reprimanded little child. I didn't know what his problem was, but he'd better think thrice before touching me again like that.

When the doors opened up, spilling us into the fresh air of the parking lot, I whipped around, ready to confront his man-handling. I opened my mouth, but the words were cut off before they even started when he raised his hand in front of my face.

"I don't want to hear it." His face was ashen but there was fire in his eyes as he stared me down. "You need to not say anything to anyone. Do you hear me?"

I shook my head, not understanding what he was talking about.

He sighed, seeming exasperated with me. "Until we get our lawyers in here and the police determine what happened, you can't say a word to anyone, especially Ms. Martinez. You express anything that can be construed as guilt or responsibility and the district will be facing a lawsuit."

The confusion left quickly as I realized all he cared about was a damn lawsuit. "Mr. Brown, her son is laying in a coma right now." I was so furious. "Our focus should be on helping our student, not worrying about what the lawyers will say."

He took another small step toward me, invading my personal space. He dropped his voice and made his position clear. "You say one word, to anyone, I will have to fire you. I don't want to Hessa. You're an excellent teacher. But I won't allow this incident to ruin our school's reputation or our financial standing. Am I clear?"

I almost couldn't get words out, my throat was so clogged. "Crystal," I said through clenched teeth. I whirled around and practically ran to my car. Tears were threatening to spill over and I wouldn't allow him to see that he'd gotten to me. I hated this reaction. When I was this angry, the emotion came out in the form of tears, not the harsh put-down I wished for.

I fumbled for my keys, practically ripping the door off my poor car and heaving myself inside. I knew I needed to calm down before I drove anywhere, so I dropped my head to the steering wheel and took deep breaths, willing my heart rate to slow down.

Seeing Gabe so motionless in that stark white hospital bed made him seem so young and innocent. I was horrified that he was in that condition. I was worried about his prognosis. I was confused as to how the Care Dare program could have been responsible. I was furious at the principal for showing his true colors by only caring about lawyers and lawsuits instead of the children we were charged with caring for. I felt so alone in shouldering the responsibility of one of my students. I let the tears fall, letting myself feel all the raging emotions swirling in my body.

When the storm dissipated, only one thing sounded right.

I lifted my head, wiped my cheeks, and picked up my cell phone. I hit Kai's number and prayed he'd pick up.

"Hessa?"

"Kai." I only got out the one word. I wasn't sure where to start and I knew I couldn't trust my voice yet.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Kai's voice immediately took on an urgent tone. I could hear noise in the background but couldn't make out where he might be or if he had time for me.

"Sorry. Yes, I'm doing okay. Is now a good time?" Maybe I shouldn't have called. Maybe I should have gone home first and sorted out any documentation about Gabe's Care Dare.

"Of course I have time for you. And if I was busy, I'd make time. I'll ask again: what's going on?" Kai said it so matter-of-fact, like it was obvious he had time for me. Maybe there was more to that kiss the other night than I originally thought.

I shook my head, forcing myself to stay focused on Gabe. I didn't have time to dissect kisses or relationship statuses. "I just visited one of my students in the hospital. His mom said he was dared to jump his motorcycle over a car last night and he didn't clear it. My principal threatened me not to talk about it because of a potential lawsuit, but you should have seen him, Kai. He was so small lying there in that bed! I have to figure out what happened. I have to help his mom. There'll be hospital bills and I'm sure his motorcycle is trashed. And that's just if he pulls out of the coma okay! What if he doesn't? Or if he does and he has impaired brain function!"

"Hessa!" Kai barked into the phone cutting me off, which was just as well. I felt the hysteria climbing back up my throat. I dropped my forehead to the steering wheel again, phone pressed tightly to my ear, and focused on taking deep breaths.

"Ono, you have to stay calm. Let's talk about this and sort everything out, okay? Where are you?" Kai spoke softly, the smooth cadence of his voice doing more to calm me than the meditation breaths I was still working on.

"I'm in my car in the hospital parking lot off Beach Blvd."

"Are you okay to drive?" Kai seemed doubtful.

"Certainly." I just had to remember to breath.

"Listen, I'm at work covering someone's shift. I don't get off till noon. Why don't you go home, collect your thoughts and any communication you may have had with Gabe about the dare, and I'll come meet you when I'm off?"

"That would be great. Thank you." I was grateful he was willing to talk it out with me. Just having someone else to talk to about the whole thing sounded heavenly. Like the burden was too much to bear with just one person.

"Anytime. I'm sorry I can't be there earlier. Text me when you get safely to your house."

Gah, the guy was so sweet. My lips lifted, the hint of a smile coming out despite the cry-fest puffy eyes.

"I will. Talk soon." I hung up the phone and shifted into gear, carefully making my way home.

Kai

"The kid said it was a dare. That can't be a coincident, right?" I was on the phone with Jack, having called him the minute I hung up with Hessa. The pit in my stomach was intensifying with each person that was put in the hospital.

"No way to tell quite yet, but my gut says no, that's no coincidence. Let me put more pressure on my IT guy and see if he can come up with anything." Jack seemed stressed, as usual.

"Can you swing by Hessa's place tonight and talk to her? Or at least go talk to Gabe's mom at the hospital?" I cared about the kid's well-being, but my first priority was making sure we had evidence that cleared Hessa of any wrong doing. I didn't think her Care Dare program was a good idea, but I also would bet my VW that her program had nothing to do with these dangerous dares going around.

"Another detective already talked to Ms. Martinez last night and again this morning. I'll talk with him and see if our two cases are linked. If I find anything I'll swing by Hessa's. You planning to be there?"

"For as long as she'll have me, yeah." I gripped the phone tighter, determined to get Hessa to agree to let me stay with her.

Jack chuckled. "So that's how it is, huh?"

"Damn right it is."

I pulled up to Hessa's place a little later than I intended, but I had fresh poke bowls to bribe my way in. I needed lunch, and I bet she did too, but this was also a way to see if she liked the food I practically grew up on. If she didn't like poke I would have to reevaluate everything. I didn't know if I could seriously date a woman who didn't like raw fish.

I was kidding.

Kind of.

Hessa swung open the front door and let me pass. She shut the door behind me and indicated I could take the bags into the kitchen, but I was too busy eying her outfit choice to keep walking. I'd seen prim and proper Ms. Woodland who I liked very, very much. I'd seen the hair down, singing on the beach in the moonlight Hessa and I liked her equally as well. Now I was laying my eyes on casual, no facades Hessa.

Her hair was pulled into a messy bun on top of her head with her glasses crookedly jammed in there. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, I presumed. Short shorts highlighted her sexy legs, followed by a tight tank top that barely contained her breasts. My eyes drifted down and took in her feet, turning me on with the sight of her bright red toenails against her pale skin. I bet she didn't show many people this casual side of her and I was flattered that she'd shown me.

She cleared her throat and when my eyes came back up to her face, I saw that she had an eyebrow lifted, clearly catching me checking her out.

Can't blame a guy for looking at beauty when it was right in front of him. I smiled, shrugged my shoulders and took the take-out bags into the kitchen, hefting them onto the counter. Hessa started to open the bags, but I pulled her away and wrapped her in a hug instead. I waited till she relaxed into me, letting me feel her body pressed against mine.

"How you holding up?" I whispered to the side of her head. My hands couldn't stay still so I let them roam up and down Hessa's back, massaging away the tension I felt there.

"Well, I've stopped crying, so that's improvement." I felt her smile against my chest.

"I'm glad to hear it, but if you need to cry again, don't hold back on my account. Sometimes getting it out makes things better." I had a mom who wasn't afraid to show emotion. She'd taught me that we weren't to be afraid of emotions. Simply let them be and let them teach you.

Hessa pulled back to scan my face. "You're not afraid to see a girl cry in front of you?"

I chuckled. "No, Ono. You cry, I'll cry with you."

She slowly shook her head. "You're too sweet. I'm not sure what to say to that."

"Tell me you love poke."

"I love poke." No hesitation.

"Then all is well. Let's eat and then we'll talk, yeah?"

We grabbed our food, sat down at my tiny kitchen table, and talked all about my last few shifts, our favorite foods, the kids I had in Jr. Lifeguards that were also Hessa's students. Basically, we kept it light and purposely danced around the drama from this morning. I was enjoying seeing Hessa's smile and her occasional laugh. She was flat out gorgeous when she laughed. Her eyes would squint shut and she'd toss her head back, letting a smile take over her face. Her laugh was loud, the type you could hear throughout the whole house. It was the best sound I'd heard in a long time.

But all good things must end at some point. When I couldn't eat even one more piece of fish, I gathered up our containers, threw them in the trash and then pulled Hessa to her feet. We walked into the living room and sat down on the couch side by side. I kept her hand in my lap, stroking my thumb over the soft skin on the back of her hand.

"Tell me from the beginning." No point ignoring it any longer. I was there to help her and that meant I needed every single detail about her student.

She sighed, pulling her feet up under her on the couch and proceeded to tell me everything that had happened that morning. I tried to remain calm, but when she told me about Ms. Martinez blaming her for what happened, I had to jump in.

"You know this is not your fault, right?" I squeezed her hand tighter. She met my eyes and I saw they'd filled with tears.

I immediately pulled her onto my lap and hugged her, trying to break through her fog of guilt.

"This is not your fault, Hessa. You can feel badly for Gabe. You can want to help. But you cannot blame yourself. Do you hear me?"

"I hear you, I'm just having a hard time believing it." Her voice came out strangled from holding back the tears.

"Change your thoughts, change your beliefs. So, I want you to start saying in your head that you have sympathy for Gabe. You want the best for him. You want him to come out of this okay. You will do what you can to help him and his mom. You will only accept the part you may have played in this. You will not take on anything that isn't yours to bear. Gabe and his mother must also shoulder their part in this. Don't take that lesson away from them." I pulled her away from my chest to see if she was following me.

Her brows were pulled together and she looked like she was thinking it over.

"It may sound like some bullshit woo woo, but I promise you, your thoughts control how you feel. When my parents divorced, I felt responsible for awhile. I was acting out, not doing well in school, just angry with the world. My dad pulled me aside one day and gave me a lecture. But not the standard parent lecture you'd think. He told me that I was the only person who could change my life. That my thoughts determined my emotions and my actions. I needed to take responsibility for my own life and make it what I wanted. I don't know why it resonated that day, but it did. I couldn't control a lot of things in my life, but I could control my thoughts. So I did. And I started to build the life I wanted." I wound down, unsure if I'd completely lost her in my rambling.

Hessa

I was sitting on his lap, listening to him share about his childhood and what kind of man he was today. I didn't know if it was the full stomach or the warm hugs or the way his hazel eyes burned into mine, but it was like a tidal wave crashed into me, leaving me with only one thought.

I wanted this man.

I wanted to talk to him every day. I wanted to sing with him. I wanted to share the details of my day with him. I wanted to press my body against his warm skin every minute of every day.

Heavens to Betsy! He was a good man. To his very core. And that was flipping hot. I had to taste him. I had to get closer.

I didn't think it through. I didn't analyze a pros and cons list. I didn't weigh the consequences. I just dove in, flying blind and switching my brain off completely. My M.O. was to analyze every detail before making a logical decision about everything from the toothpaste brand I used to the people I allowed as 'friends' on Instabook. I was so far from logical at that moment, I couldn't remember what the word meant.

I grabbed the front of his white polo shirt and pulled him into me, crushing his lips under mine. For one horrifying second, he was frozen. Before I could pull away to second-guess my abrupt veer from sanity, his hands jumped into action by pulling me into his chest, my breasts squeezed between us. Lips moved over mine, pushing my mouth apart, allowing his tongue to dive in and sweep away all remaining vestiges of rational thought.

I was a mass of feelings and sensations, oblivious to the world around me. The world tilted and I reveled in the feeling, not realizing till Kai's body was pressed against mine, toes to lips, that he'd flipped me around to lay back on my couch.

One hand gripped my jaw, holding my face in place while he attacked my lips with a skill I didn't know existed. The other hand was squeezing my breast causing my back to arch in a desperate attempt to push more flesh into his grip.

I was in a Kai frenzy and I didn't care that this was completely out of character for me. I wanted more lips, more skin, more tingles running up and down my spine.

Kai broke away from my mouth, his lips trailing down to my collarbone before dropping to my shoulder and falling still. I lifted my hips, desperate for more friction, shamelessly rubbing myself against the hardness laying on me. My wanton behavior was rewarded inappropriately by his hands leaving my body. Before I could stage a proper protest, he'd pushed up off my body, sitting back down on the couch, my legs over his lap.

I lay there for a moment, forcing myself to breath and come down from the sexual high that left me more frustrated than I'd felt this morning when my boss threatened my job over something that wasn't my fault.

Which was exactly the thought I needed, like a bucket of cold water to the face. I had to figure out what to do about Gabe. My job was on the line. My student was in the hospital. My Care Dare program was on the chopping block. Shit really hit the fan this morning.

And here I was making out with Kai, the gorgeous lifeguard who was probably appalled by my conduct. One kiss on a moonlit beach did not mean he wanted to take things further. I'd practically thrown myself at him, forcing him to make out with me. I knew I was bad at the dating thing, but this was a new low for me.

My face lit up, showcasing my embarrassment for all to see. Kai finally looked back over to me and jumped up off the couch. Great, he was going to leave, disgusted by me.

Instead, he pulled me off the couch and dipped his head to get right in my face, his nose almost brushing against mine, he was so close. His jaw was clenched tight and his eyes looked like they would singe me with a single glance. I deserved whatever he had to say.

"Stop whatever you're thinking in that head of yours. You're an absolute temptress and I intend to see where that leads later on when we have all the time in the world to focus on just each other. But I can't forget what I'm here for. We have to get to the bottom of this incident and save your job first." His face transformed into a sneaky grin, designed to melt panties and inhibitions alike. "Anytime you want to attack me, please know you have my permission and encouragement to do so."

My eyes widened as he spoke, realizing he was as into that make out session as I was. Relief spread through me, not quite eradicating the butterflies left in my stomach, but at least allowing me to crawl out of the proverbial hole in the ground I'd dug when I thought he was disgusted by me.

He saw my smile, leaned in, and brushed his lips over mine right as my doorbell rang.