CHAPTER TWELVE
Hours later, Lucy woke up and stretched. Her body felt sore, likely from her and Jamie’s marathon love-making the night before, but it was a good kind of sore. It took her a few seconds to realize Jamie was no longer beside her. When she did, she sat up and looked around the suite. She could see light streaming in the windows, and when she looked at the clock at the bedside she was surprised to see that it was just after seven a.m.
“Jamie?” she called out to the empty suite. She threw back the covers and went over to the window. It was a beautiful morning; slightly overcast but it would likely burn off and make way for the sun later on in the day. Jamie had told her he was taking her sight-seeing today. So where was he? She wondered if he’d changed his mind, or if his sister was having a hard time of it. She headed to the bathroom, but was stopped short when she saw the note he had taped to the mirror of the armoire. It was penned in his bold handwriting and it said,
Lovely Lucy,
I checked with Brianne and she’s going to spend the day with my parents. I went to get a few things for our sight-seeing tour today. Dress comfortably—wear shorts if you have them, because it’s going to be warm. Oh, and socks with tennis shoes. If you didn’t bring any, feel free to buy whatever you need in the gift shop and charge it to the room. Your breakfast will be delivered at eight and your car will pick you up at nine. I can’t wait to see you.
--Jamie
Lucy smiled. This guy was a piece of work, but life was certainly never dull when he was around. She had brought shorts, a pair of white denim cut-offs. She showered and put them on with a snug-fitting Marilyn Monroe tank top. She’d only brought sandals with her so after she slipped those on, she went to one of the numerous boutiques inside the hotel and bought a pair of tennis shoes—using her own money, of course.
By the time she got back to the room, room service had set up her breakfast, which she ate quickly. Then she put on her tennis shoes and sat on the balcony, enjoying the ocean view, until she got a call notifying her that her car was waiting. She grabbed her small purse, in which she’d put sunglasses, sunscreen, and lip balm. She grabbed a light sweater, too, just in case.
Lucy realized when she stepped onto the elevator that the man operating it had been there yesterday afternoon, but not last night when she and Jamie had been practically ripping each other’s clothes off in it. She smiled at the memory.
When she got down to the lobby, the concierge directed her outside where the car should have been waiting. Instead, Jamie was there, standing next to two beachcomber bicycles, one green and one pink. She started laughing.
“Bikes?”
“Yes, I thought we’d go on a bike ride. Don’t you like to ride?”
“Um, yeah…I mean I used to. Other than the stationary bike at the gym, it’s been a long time. Where are we headed?”
“Coronado has over fifty miles of bike trail; I thought it would be a great way for you to see the Island and parts of San Diego. You really don’t mind the bicycle, do you?”
Lucy looked at the bike again. The seat was big and heavily padded. “Just to be clear, we’re not going to the whole fifty miles, are we?”
He chuckled and said, “No, but we’ll take a good ride.”
She took the pink bike from his hands and said, “I’m a little klutzy sometimes. What if I fall and skin my knees?”
Jamie reached into a backpack he carried and pulled out a white box with a red cross on the top of it.
“I have a first aid kit for just such an emergency.”
“I should have known; you’re practically a Boy Scout,” she said with a laugh. “Can I throw my purse inside that?”
In response, he held the backpack open and she tossed her purse in. Then she climbed on the bike.
“Wow,” Jamie said, “You even look good on a bike.”
Lucy just rolled her eyes, but she was truly flattered. When Jamie gave her a compliment there was no doubt in her mind that he really meant it. He looked pretty cute himself, dressed in long khaki shorts and a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow. She’d never seen him in tennis shoes, but he wore them well.
He pulled his bike up next to hers and said, “What are you smiling at?”
“I was just thinking that you’re looking mighty gorgeous, Jamison Whitcomb the Fourth,” she told him.
“Thank you, Lucille. Are you ready?” he asked.
“Are you sure your sister doesn’t need you? Or your friends?”
“Everyone’s good, Luce. This is my day to enjoy just getting to be with you.”
The fact he wanted to spend some of his precious time with her made her giddy. Lucy slipped on her sunglasses and got up on the seat of the bike with one leg dangling, barely able to touch the ground and said, “Then let’s go…”
Lucy followed Jamie, feeling a bit shaky at first, but getting the hang of it soon enough. “This is the roughest part of the ride,” he said. “It’s uneven and we have to pass through a lot of traffic, but it gets smoother later on. Oh, and look out for the railroad tracks. But believe me, they’ll be harder on me than you.”
The first stretch, the “rough part” as Jamie put it, was about five miles long. It was in a heavily populated area, but it was also along the water and the scenery was gorgeous. Lucy was enjoying being out in the fresh air, but she found out when they hit the railroad tracks that Jamie wasn’t kidding. Her already sore woman parts were quite jarred by the time she finished crossing them.
Once they got past the first five miles, the route turned into a bike path called the Bayshore Bikeway and the trail smoothed out. They traveled into San Diego across a bridge that was so pretty Lucy had to stop and take pictures. She made Jamie get into some of them, and then she took a selfie of them both.
They continued on their path until it dead-ended at the entrance to something called The Living Coast Discovery Center. Lucy stopped her bike and looked at it. It looked like a giant aquarium.
“It’s interactive,” Jamie said. “They have an exhibit where you can pet the sting rays and sharks. You can feed the sea turtles and—”
“Let’s go in,” she said, feeling like a little girl about to go to the circus.
* * *
This was a side of Lucy Jamie hadn’t seen before and he was definitely liking it, a lot. They parked their bikes near the front of the aquarium and Lucy asked for her purse from his backpack. After he handed it to her, she paid for their tickets. She shot him a challenging look, as if daring him to protest, but he knew better than to do that.
“Thanks,” he simply said.
“No problem.”
Lucy went in ahead of him and before he could even get through the turnstile she’d taken off across the floor and stopped in front of a tank full of jellyfish. When he caught up to her, she said, “Where are their internal organs?”
Jamie looked at the jellyfish, which hung suspended, practically invisible thanks to their see-through bodies. He laughed and said, “I really have no idea.”
She slanted him a teasing look. “What? I thought you were a big environmentalist.”
“Yes, but I’m not a marine biologist.”
“Humph.”
She walked off, leaving him to call after her, “What’s that mean?”
She just looked over her shoulder at him and grinned, then moved on to a display of black jellies and then from there to one of sea horses. She stood in front of each exhibit with her eyes wide and filled with wonder, and Jamie was having more fun watching her than looking at the marine life. He let her lead the way, and although he’d been there a dozen or more times, with her it was as if he was seeing it all again for the first time.
At one point, she pointed to a sign for the Shark and Ray Exhibit, and took his hand, pulling him with her. The affectionate gesture made his throat close up.
They washed their hands as instructed, then found an open spot along the side of the pool where the rays were swimming.
“Oh look at him! He’s huge!” she said in fascination.
“Are you going to touch one?” Jamie asked her.
“Of course,” she said, flopping down onto her belly across the cement barrier. Jamie was still standing there, watching her and she looked up at him and said, “Come on, Professor Whitcomb. You may not be a marine biologist, but a little hands-on research never hurt anyone.”
God, he wanted to be doing some hands on research. On her.
He pushed his right sleeve all the way up and lay down next to her. They dipped their arms down into the pool and held them still. As the rays swam by, the tops of their backs would touch the palms of their hands. Each time one touched her, Lucy would squeal.
Then one of the rays smacked the water with its fin, giving Jamie an impromptu, fishy shower, and she burst into giggles.
“You think that’s funny, do you?” he said.
She was still laughing as she nodded.
Jamie looked around to make sure the attendants weren’t watching and then he scooped up a handful of water and splashed it in Lucy’s direction. She squealed again and started to splash him back until an attendant shot them a disapproving stare and said, “Please don’t do that. We’re trying to set a good example for the children.” Lucy and Jamie apologized and slunk out, but when they got to the shower area outside to wash their hands, the giggling and splashing started back up until they were asked to move along.
“You’re a terrible influence,” he said as they walked towards something called Raptor Row.
“Me?” she said, with indignation in her voice. “You started it.”
“Yes, but it was your influence that made me do it.”
“So you’re easily influenced by peer pressure?” she asked.
“Definitely. You’re like the hot bad girl my mom warned me about.”
“Oh no, baby,” she said in a sultry voice. “I doubt that your mom could have ever imagined how bad I can be.” She blew him an air kiss then took off ahead of him at a jog.
He followed her feeling somewhat dazed. Her defenses were down and she was being so playful. Why? Because their plan had been successful and she was feeling optimistic about her chances of soon being reunited with Milly? Or because she was simply happy to be with Jamie?
They finished exploring the center, which included feeding the sea turtles and holding a hawk on her arm. Afterward, she grabbed his hand again. They walked the one-and-a-half mile trail that led down to the beach and then along the water.
“Oh look! A sand dollar.”
“Picking it up without breaking it is supposed to be good luck,” he said.
“Well then, I can definitely use some of that.” As she bent down to pick up the sand dollar, Jamie took the opportunity to bump her with his hip so that she fell over into the water.
She screeched and landed face first in the shallow water. Immediately, she stood up and said, “You are in so much trouble.” But she said it with a smile on her face.
Jamie took off running and Lucy ran after him. Given her petite size, he wasn’t surprised she was so fast, but he was surprised when she tackled him with a full-on body slam that landed them both in the water. They wrestled around for a bit and then Jamie couldn’t help himself anymore. He covered her lips with his. She kissed him back hungrily and kept kissing him until a childish voice saying “Look mama, they’re kissing” snapped them back to reality.
As the child’s mother pulled her son away, Jamie helped Lucy to her feet.
Lucy elbowed Jamie and said, “You need to behave.”
He grinned and elbowed her back. “What would be the fun in that?”
They walked back up towards the center. Thankfully there was a gift shop there where they could buy beach towels to dry off and remove the sand from their arms and legs.
Lucy grimaced when she wiped her face and the towel came away with streaks of her fading make-up. “I must be quite a mess, huh?”
Jamie reached out and touched the side of her face. “I have honestly never seen you look more beautiful.”
Lucy lifted up on her tiptoes and gave him a soft kiss. He tried to put his arm around her waist but she backed up and said, “No way, mister! You already got us in trouble once today.”
Jamie laughed and followed her out to where they’d left their bikes.