“Some Enchanted Evening”
Camille
Date night.
Three potential outfits lay discarded, tossed across the bed. I could hear the grumble of the GTO slowing and parking in front of my bungalow as I buttoned cropped denim pants. The embellished hem added sparkle, and favorite wedge sandals would keep things casual enough for what Nate had planned. Now…all that remained was a top. And jewelry—almost done. I flipped through the hangers, rapidly discarding the notion of anything with a sleeve. The summer nights were still sweltering. What about something to work with those rockin’ new turquoise chandelier earrings? They were the dog’s balls. That Sam was a helluva shopper. I should make a point of hitting the boutiques with her more often.
Warm hands cupped my breasts just as I felt soft lips on my neck. Wait. I couldn’t possibly select a top with neck kisses happening. On cue, a warm throb began between my legs. “Nathan?” It was more of a moan than a question. My hands grasped desperately for the door casing of the closet. “Baby?”
“I feel like I’m changing my mind about blue corn tamales, angel.” His voice was rough in my ear, and one hand dropped from my breast to pull my nakedness tight to him with a palm flattened against my stomach, just below my waist. Warmth built and swirled in my core, weakening me, and I let him have my weight, breathing in the masculine scent of Nathan. One hand wrapped his corded neck, and I turned my head to meet his lips.
“How did you get in, handsome?”
“You should consider locking the front door.” He pulled me roughly against him. “Seriously, Cami…you should lock it. Promise, babe.”
“Yep. No problem.” I turned to face him, pushing his hands away. I was naked above the waist for his enjoyment and toying with one nipple with a finger I leisurely wet in my mouth. “Do you think we’ll have some time alone tonight after our tummies are full of Sonoran? I’m feeling the urge for a leisurely crawl up and down your body. With my fingers. And tongue.”
His lips parted, his breathing coming rougher now, and he pulled me again to his hard chest. “I’m primed for some up-close with my baby’s hot little body. Did you have anything particular in mind?”
I was glad I’d decided on a glass and a half of wine while dressing. It was time to move things with Nate to the next level, and my cautious nature was screaming at me to run. Even so, everything in my heart said this man was what I’d hoped for but never dared think would come my way.
My fingers tangled in the thick, dark hair. Our eyes locked, bodies stilling. The mood was suddenly serious, and I knew he could sense what I felt whether I could find the words or not. I stood on tiptoes and whispered quietly against his mouth. “I have some things to say. Maybe, with a little luck, the words will come.”
The lights in the tree branches seemed to twinkle, evoking starlight, and misters soothed some of the heat from the air. Service was notoriously slow at this well-known café on Congress Street, but the blue corn tamales made the wait worthwhile. Nate’s company, easy laugh, and sexy smile would have been enough all on their own, I thought, taking a long drink of my frozen margarita.
“I tell them to do anything. Anything else, if they can think of something different that will make them happy.” Nate’s eyebrows shot up in an unasked question as he signaled the waiter for another beer. He’d asked me what my advice was to anyone who asked about becoming an RN.
“What do you mean?” He sat forward, giving me an irresistible hint of his warmth and aftershave as he rested his elbows on his knees in that irresistible male way and leaned into my personal space. “Your profession is perennially undermanned, and the need for nurses will only grow in the future.”
“True, of course.” I couldn’t help but reach for his hand with my free one. “But too many people enter nursing school because it’s perceived as a guaranteed job with good starting pay. It’s true that I’ve never had difficulty getting a job, but it’s also true that it’s very competitive to even get into school. And a Bachelor’s in Nursing is a notoriously difficult course of study with a high failure rate.” I sipped my drink again, appreciating the surroundings.
The waiter handed Nathan his beer. He took a long drink, and I stopped to appreciate the sight of his strong neck and throat working. Even after a few months of dating, the way his potent masculinity drew me was magnetic. Then he smiled. “But that’s not it, is it? It’s not that school’s tough or competitive.”
I smiled and laughed a little. A young woman, apparently from the kitchen, was placing delicious-looking platters of blue corn tamales in front of each of us. They were delicately blanketed with queso and accompanied by rice, frijoles, homemade pico de gallo, and handmade guacamole. Heaven. “No. You’re right, that’s not it.” We tucked into the delicious Sonoran food and ate in companionable silence for a few minutes before conversation resumed.
“You’ve met Vivian, right? Bashful’s sister?” Hair and makeup done, Viv was a dead ringer for a red carpet-ready Lucy Liu. I continued. “One afternoon, I watched Vivvie sit with an old homeless man for over two hours, cleaning wounds I won’t describe at the dinner table and comforting him while he hallucinated and tried to attack her. It’s likely that Viv could’ve modeled or maybe even have had a career in show business with her looks—I could probably say the same for Luckie—but they both had an urge to make their years here count.” I hesitated, enjoying more of my dinner while trying to stitch my thoughts into something coherent.
“It’s not that I think some professions or vocations don’t matter. Not that at all. And the real deal is that nurses aren’t, for the most part, the sweet, subservient personalities some perceive them to be. That wouldn’t cut it in today’s environment. And that’s why I tell people to stay away—unless they’re driven to break down the door and join us.” I was rewarded with Nathan’s wide grin saying he understood my reasoning. “Those are the people we need in nursing.”
Our dinner conversation shifted again to cover Mayze’s recent unsuccessful and rather low-energy escape efforts and my thoughts about a possible car upgrade. Full plates were emptied, and we were soon enjoying the strains of a surprisingly good mariachi band and an after-dinner margarita when Nathan rounded the table to join me on my side. He tucked me to his side, lazily crossing booted feet on a nearby chair.
“You mentioned earlier you had something you’d like to talk about, angel.” His voice rumbled low in my ear, and he dropped his mouth to kiss my neck with soft, full lips once. Then twice. “Is that something we talk about here?” His face turned to study mine carefully, then softened. “Or is it more like pillow talk?”
The tone and implication in his voice immediately set up an ache between my legs, and my heart rate picked up. Swallowing to assuage the dryness in my mouth, I shook my head. “Not pillow talk. And I’d like to talk about it. Maybe I finally can, you know, now. At least if you’ll stop using that sexy tone of voice until we get home.” I tried to smile at him.
He relaxed, sitting back, and comforted me with an arm at my shoulder. “When you’re ready, Camille. There’s nothing you can’t tell me…nothing we can’t talk about.” The notes of the mariachi band floated through the air, and I felt it wasn’t so threatening to tell the final chapter of my harrowing tale.
“I want to tell you about Amos.” Nathan’s eyes were at once confused. He cocked his head with another unasked question. “After the attack, I found out I was pregnant.” I didn’t expect to choke up at the beginning of my story, but Nate gathered me into his arms and rocked me as I fought off the tears.
“Baby, no.” His arms were strong and protected me from the unanticipated storm. “You don’t have to…”
I worked to fight off the emotion. “He was my son. I was raped, but it wasn’t his fault. He was so little and innocent. Perfect and pure. You should have seen him, Nathan.” I gasped and slowed my breathing. “He was beautiful, flawless…perfect. Ten fingers and ten toes. You know, you do count them when you meet your baby for the first time, just like everyone says. His fingers were the size of matchsticks but perfectly formed. He had every day ahead of him. He was going to be my family, you know?” My eyes implored him to understand me.
His hand slid down, seeking mine, and squeezed. It was completely quiet in the space between us for long moments. I buried my face in his chest, and his other hand found my neck, pulling me in tight.
Finally, I spoke. “He was born too early. And he fought so hard, but he died in my arms.” I swallowed hard and continued. “Luckie was with me, just like she always has been, and Vivvie and Sam and Grace and everybody. They all stayed with me. But, in the end, it was just me holding my little Amos while he slipped away.” I felt Nathan’s chest heave. “I miss him every day, Nate.” I looked up at his strong face and saw his soft brown eyes brim with tears. “I don’t know if it will ever stop hurting.”
More minutes stretched as I worked to gather myself. Then I felt Nate’s finger lifting my chin so that my eyes met his. “No, Camille.” He looked into me. “It won’t ever stop hurting. I know it because of the way my heart was torn in two. Someone I loved was taken from me, and I know I’ll never be the same. But I have to have faith that it will get better—that I’ll be better. And someday we’ll see some beauty in why they were given to us, only to die so young.”
The restaurant was relatively quiet, fortunately, but we were completely alone as far as I was concerned. After several minutes passed, our embrace relaxed, eyes again meeting. “Thank you for trusting me with Amos, Cami. I love him because you did…and because he was part of you. But listen to me, Camille.” His finger again lifted my chin so I could meet his eyes. “I don’t believe for a moment that he’s the last young life you’ll love and nurture. That’s the very essence of who you are, angel.”
His words were offered like a balm, but I knew the truth. “I told you I was repeatedly raped and beaten…lost a lot of blood.” He nodded, anger and grief darkening his beautiful features. “And I told you the first night we were together that my doctor said I wouldn’t be able to have children, but I didn’t elaborate.” I sighed. “After the attack, the surgeons faced a laundry list of challenges during the hours I spent in the OR. One of those was the effort to save my future fertility.” My chest felt tight, and my eyelids stung with unshed tears. “I was told those efforts failed.”
His brow knit, and he shook his head, not understanding. “But there was Amos.”
I had to smile. Yes, if I’d never had anything else, at least I had the memory of his body growing inside mine. I could still remember my belly rounded like a beach ball. My little son using my bladder as a punching bag. “My ovaries were damaged, one severely. They had to remove that one; the doctor wasn’t sure about the other one, but I’ve only had a couple of periods since the attack.” I blew out a breath. Some days it was an uphill battle to fight feeling like damaged goods.
“The gynecologic surgeon earned her paycheck that day. Luckie said she pieced me back together inside like a puzzle; much of my blood loss was a result of the rape trauma. That’s the reason for the tight fit you’ve mentioned.” My face suddenly flushed, hot embarrassment radiating off me in waves.
Now you’re shy, Camille? Now? After everything you’ve done with this man?
I was stammering, trying to walk back what I’d said. “Well, I mean it’s part of the reason. That and your…you know…” My voice trailed off.
His small, mischievous smirk told me he saw my shyness. How could he miss it? My neck and face were surely stained deep pink. As quickly as the mood had turned somber, it now morphed into something very different. The fear of rejection felt as far away as deep space. Letting Nate into the darkest parts of me had an unanticipated effect. The walls between us, all the secrets I’d hesitated to share?
Tearing those away was tying us together.
Nathan pulled away slightly, his eyes twinkling and darkening at once. Our bodies didn’t touch at all now, but the air between us crackled with electric possibility. In what was becoming my favorite Nathan move, he brought his lips to rest just against my own and spoke so that only I could hear.
“My what?”
“Nothing. Nothing,” I whispered into his mouth and closed my eyes. My face burned as if lit by the sun.
“Camille Elizabeth.” His voice was a growl now, and I felt his soft lips moving on mine when he spoke, a pillowy contrast to his gravelly tone. “Answer me. My what?”
His voice and mouth had sparked a fire in my belly that was rendering me weak and achy. Wanting him. I’d never wished so fervently to be alone. But with Nathan.
“Your cock, Nate.” I forced the words out on a groan. “Every inch of your beautiful, thick cock. Makes it so tight…fills me up so good, Nathan. God, I need you right now. I can’t believe we’re in a fucking restaurant on Congress.”
But Nate was ripping a stack of bills from his wallet with one hand as the other adroitly summoned the waiter. The waiter smiled congenially, approaching the table. “I’ll prepare the check, señor.”
“No need, my friend.” Nathan handed him the folded stack of bills and patted his arm with a friendly gesture. “Please keep the change with our thanks.”
Nathan offered me his hand, and I hastily shouldered my bag as he practically dragged me toward the door. The waiter thumbed quickly through the bills, breaking into a huge grin, and waved at us like departing family. “Adios, amigos—vuelve pronto!