Just One Night Together by Deborah Cooke

Four

“It’s brilliant,”Kyle said with his usual confidence. He was lounging on the desk in the offices of F5F late Sunday afternoon, clearly trying to impress Cassie.

Damon knew that she was long past being impressed by Kyle.

Kyle was fired up about New Year’s Eve in the club. He’d been irrepressible since Lauren had agreed to move in with him, nearly bouncing off the ceiling and with more energy than a barrel of monkeys.

Or three.

Damon ignored them both for the moment. He’d finished the massage class and was going to leave for the day. His two partners were always kidding around, but he didn’t have a lot of patience for it on this day. He had a list of jobs to get done before visiting his mom and time was tight. He’d actually slept the night before, slept right through the night, and he couldn’t believe how much better he felt. Sleep was the magic elixir.

Was it possible that his nightmares had run their course and were a thing of the past? He certainly hoped so. They’d been gone for years before his mom had become sick then had started again. So, why would they suddenly stop now?

Maybe making love with Haley had been the magical elixir.

Damon told himself that he wasn’t disappointed that Haley hadn’t come to the Sunday afternoon massage class. He was sure he’d never expected her to attend. Theirs had been a one-nighter, no more and no less, and he should be glad they both understood that. She didn’t need to know more about him.

But he was disappointed.

Maybe she’d had enough of him already.

Maybe Garrett was back.

Maybe she hadn’t really wanted to learn about massage. Maybe she’d just wanted to jump his bones.

Maybe Damon didn’t have a problem with that, even if she wanted to do it again.

In fact, it would be a lot simpler if that were the case.

He pulled up his own schedule, checking the rest of the week, then printed it out.

“You say that about every idea you have,” Cassie noted without looking up from the computer screen. She was dressed in yoga gear, just plain black with a little bit of purple, and her long blond hair was pulled up in a ponytail. Her fingers danced over the keys.

“Because it’s true,” Kyle insisted. “I’m the marketing genius around here.”

Meesha cleared her throat from the other side of the office. “You’re no longer the only contender, hotshot,” she said, but Kyle ignored her.

“Finger on the pulse. Riding the crest of the wave. I am the inspiration for all of it.” The visionary of the F5F team also had no lack of confidence in his skills. He was back in New York until the end of the week, then going back to California to work with Theo in planning the new branch of F5F in San Francisco.

Kyle was practically sparkling.

“And exhausting every metaphor known to mankind,” Cassie muttered, then winked at Damon.

“You can tell that he and Lauren have been catching up,” Damon said and Cassie laughed.

“That is none of your business,” Kyle said.

“But we have to live with the after-effects. You’re exhausting when you’re jubilant, you know,” Cassie said.

“That’s not what Lauren says,” Kyle replied with a wicked smile.

“Are you going to share this idea or do we have to guess?” Damon asked.

Kyle spun around to face him. “I love this one.”

“He’s like Tigger, isn’t he?” Cassie asked Meesha. “His own personal fan club.”

“Thank God there’s only one,” she replied deadpan and they all laughed.

“You don’t even want to know!” Kyle complained, throwing out his hands. “My genius is wasted here. At least Theo appreciates me.”

“He just wants to tell us soon so he can get to Lauren’s place before dinner,” Damon murmured to Cassie.

“Mr. Quickie. Some things never change.” Cassie shook a finger at Kyle. “You’d better be back here by nine. The club is going to be nuts tonight.”

“I know it,” Kyle said with obvious delight, and Damon had a moment to think that he was out of his partner’s sights before Kyle looked him in the eye. “Like you don’t know anything about skipping out early for a little....affection,” he said. “Mr. Friday Night at Five. How is the scrumptious Natasha?”

“Fine.” Damon felt his gut tighten but he kept his tone impassive. “What’s your great idea?”

“Aha!” Kyle jumped off the desk triumphantly. “A diversion from Damon. There’s more to know about Natasha, Cassie.”

“He isn’t going to share with us,” she replied. “Just the way I’m starting to think you aren’t going to share this great idea.”

“Maybe Natasha doesn’t exist,” Kyle mused.

“Maybe your great idea doesn’t exist,” Damon countered. The last thing he wanted to do was confide in Kyle about his mom. Fortunately, he had an idea how to stop his partner’s curiosity. He went to the change room behind the office, leaving the door ajar, and opened his locker. He didn’t even glance back as he peeled off his T-shirt, but he knew Kyle was looking.

Kyle’s crow of delight made it clear. “Teeth!” he cried, much as Damon had expected. “Natashahas teeth!” He was immediately behind Damon, his fingertip running over the place where Haley had bitten his shoulder during her release. The memory of her quivering in his arms was enough to tighten Damon’s jeans.

“And sharp little claws,” Kyle continued, noting where she’d dug in her fingernails. “I guess she does exist.”

Damon pulled a clean shirt over his head then turned to meet Kyle’s gaze. “While your idea…?”

“Well, it seems kind of anticlimactic to throw it out now.”

“Ha ha.”

Kyle pivoted to appeal to Cassie. “Did you see that? She exists!”

Cassie rolled her eyes and shut down the computer. “So, neither one of you has cause for complaint when it comes to love and romance. Can I go now?”

Kyle immediately flung his arm around her shoulders. “Oh, poor Cassie. All alone in the big, bad city with no one to keep her warm at night. I’ll find you a guy.”

“No. If you like him, I won’t.”

“You like me.”

“Because I was never stupid enough to date you.”

Kyle grinned. “I’ll ask Lauren to find you a guy.”

“She got stuck with you,” Cassie retorted and poked Kyle in the gut. “I’m thinking she didn’t have many options.”

“Thank you very much.” Kyle pretended to be insulted, but he practically preened when he talked about Lauren. It was clear to all of the partners—even Ty, who was Lauren’s big brother—that Kyle had finally met his match and would be busy keeping Lauren happy for the rest of his days—and nights.

“Check the big screen,” Meesha said, referring to the screen that displayed the feed from the club’s social media. “They’re shipping you with everyone from Theo to George Clooney.” One of her jobs was to encourage participation from the members, and one of their favorite challenges was creating potential relationships for the partners. Cassie’s romantic situation was always a popular thread and Damon was glad to keep a low profile in that forum.

“Should I be flattered?” Cassie asked.

“Come on!” Meesha said, almost as exuberant as Kyle. “Treat yourself tonight and check it out. It’ll take you a while. The list of dream dates for you is long.”

“With no help from you?” Cassie teased.

Meesha smiled and held up her hands, wiggling her fingers. “I do all my magic behind the scenes.”

“Spoken like a true social media diva,” Kyle said and Meesha took a bow.

“I’ll walk out with you,” Cassie said to Damon as he shrugged into his jacket. He nodded and held hers for her, then she pulled on her boots. “Going to the subway?”

“Yes.” He picked up his messenger bag.

“Me, too.”

“But what about my idea!” Kyle protested from behind them.

“I want to know,” Meesha said to him.

“I take that back,” Cassie muttered. “He’s like a kid, not like Tigger.”

“I heard that!”

“There’s a train in five minutes,” Damon said, tapping his watch.

“Mine’s in six,” Cassie said.

Kyle muttered a curse and flung on his coat before following them.

“But!” Meesha protested.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” Cassie promised. “If it’s any good.”

They waved in unison to Christa on the desk and strode through the foyer together, Cassie’s heels clicking loudly.

“Empty retail space,” she said, shaking her finger at the space beside the shop carrying F5F merchandize. “I hate the sight of it. Every inch of this place should be making money.”

“Theo said he should have news on the permits for the condos this week,” Damon said.

“And not a moment too soon,” Cassie said. “This space, though, annoys me. It’s so visible to our members as they come and go. It looks like failure to me.”

“Street-level but not prime,” Damon said. “It’s tough to find the right business to rent it. It’s got to fit with the club’s vibe, be able to use a comparatively small space, and not need the visibility from the street.”

“I’ll think of something,” Cassie said, jamming her hands into her pockets then shivering as they drew near the glass doors. “It looks so cold out there.”

Kyle gave a theatrical sigh.

Cassie flicked a glance at Damon, then spun and stopped in front of Kyle. “Your idea is for that space,” she said, no question in her voice.

“And it’s so brilliant you will kiss my boot when you hear it.”

Cassie smiled and beckoned with both hands. “Come on, then. Hit me with your best shot.”

Inevitably, the pair of them launched into the chorus from the Pat Benatar song and Damon watched the minutes tick away. He could probably catch the next train. It didn’t really matter. His mom wasn’t going anywhere.

Meanwhile, Kyle was rocking around the lobby, playing his air guitar, singing the notes that the guitar should have been playing.

“Da dahhh!” He struck a final chord on his air guitar, jumping in place as he sang out the note, then slid on his knees to a halt before Cassie.

“And?” she prompted.

“A tattoo shop,” he confessed, his eyes dancing. “And not just any tattoo shop. Chynna’s tattoo shop. Her one, her only, with one complementary tattoo given to a customer at the F5F Club on the night of the full moon, because—” He held up a finger “—her tattoos make love come true.”

“No,” Cassie whispered.

“Yes!” Kyle said.

“Get out,” Damon said with a lot more skepticism than Cassie.

“It’s true, all true,” Kyle insisted. “When she does a tattoo on the full moon, she makes a little red heart in it with special ink, and that person’s romantic wish comes true. They find their one true love.”

“When?” Cassie asked.

“Soon.” Kyle made a vague wave.

“Did she do yours?” Damon asked, knowing that Kyle had a large chest piece that had convinced Lauren of his commitment to her.

“No way. There couldn’t have been any magic in that. Lauren would have tossed me out. It had to be sincere.”

Damon could understand that.

“Besides I got mine in San Francisco,” Kyle continued. “No, this is totally different, but I knew it would market brilliantly to our demographic.” He gave them a serious look. “Consider that Ty, Mr. Discriminating-Consumer, chose Chynna to do his one and only tattoo.”

“That’s only because Shannyn had hers done by Chynna,” Cassie noted.

“Still. You know he did the research. That man was not going to get ink from anybody but the best.”

“But this heart thing has to actually work,” Damon argued. “A marketing strategy based on it would backfire if the winner didn’t find true love.”

“Then we test it,” Kyle said. “Until you guys all believe.”

“Me, me, take me!” Cassie said and Damon laughed along with Kyle.

“That could take a while,” Damon felt compelled to note.

“You and Damon and Theo should each get one of her tattoos,” Kyle said. “Let’s have a systematic test of whether love really does run true.”

“I want the first one,” Cassie said.

“Due for some romance?” Kyle teased and she swatted him.

“That and I can see the ads,” she continued. “We’ll launch it during the Get Lucky at F5F campaign, the one with Ty and Shannyn posing with their wedding rings. And we’ll need a full moon drink, a special that we only serve that night, maybe with a heart on the swizzle stick and the F5F logo...”

“F5F with a heart around it,” Kyle said. “Love, romance, and a bad ass tat. Get it all at F5F.” He held up a finger. “Valentine’s Day promo!”

“You are the master.” Cassie dropped to her knees and kissed Kyle’s boot. “But it has to work.”

Kyle grinned. “How badly do you want to be the guinea pig?”

Cassie looked suitably wary, Damon thought. “Why?”

“Tomorrow is the next full moon.”

Cassie stood up and nodded. “All right. I’m in.”

Kyle pulled out his phone and tapped in a number. “Let’s see if she can work you in.”

“But who is Chynna?” Damon felt obliged to ask.

“Tattoo artist, down in Chinatown,” Kyle said as he waited for his call to be answered. “She’s had a shop there for as long as I can remember. She’s selling out to her partner and wants to switch things up, plus I think this true love thing is getting too big for Imagination Ink.” Kyle shrugged. “It’ll work brilliantly for both of us. She wants to work alone, so the small space is perfect. And she mostly works at night, which also dovetails well.”

Cassie and Damon nodded agreement.

“So long as it works,” Damon said.

“Chynna!” Kyle crowed and turned away to talk to her.

“I hope it works fast,” Cassie said. “We’ve only got six weeks to pull this together if we’re going to launch it for Valentine’s Day.”

Damon had to add a caveat. “You’ll need a second victim for the next full moon, even if yours works. One success isn’t a pattern.”

“We should prove it isn’t a fluke,” Cassie agreed, then smiled at him. “Are you volunteering?”

Damon shook his head. “No way.”

“Because what would Natasha think?” Cassie bit her lip, not waiting for a reply. “I wonder if Meesha would be up for it.”

Kyle sauntered back toward them and pointed at Cassie. “You’re on. Tomorrow afternoon at three.” He gave her the address. “It would be good if you had an idea for the design.”

Cassie grinned. “What an awesome way to start the new year!”

“You can’t be sure it will work,” Damon said, but she shook her head.

“No, I’ve always wanted to get a tattoo, but I’ve been too chicken. This is compelling me to go for it.” She gave Kyle a kiss on the cheek. “And it’s all your fault.”

“I do what I can to lead as many people astray as possible,” Kyle said with false modesty and the other two laughed.

“I’ve got to catch that train,” Damon said, pulling on his gloves. He waved to his partners and headed for the doors.

Would Haley be at the hospital?

It wouldn’t hurt to just glance and see if she was working when he visited his mom. If she was, that would explain why she hadn’t come to the class.

“My ideas have got ideas,” Cassie complained to Kyle, but Damon could hear how happy she was. “I was going to take tonight off, but now I’ll be doodling marketing plans and talking to Meesha.”

“By tomorrow, you two will have a complete plan for world domination,” Kyle replied.

“Maybe!” Cassie admitted with a laugh. “I’ll try to pull together a cohesive plan.”

“Because you rock,” Kyle said and Damon glanced back to see Kyle giving Cassie a hug. “Here. Check out Chynna’s online portfolio tonight, too. It might give you some ideas.”

Damon turned up his collar and stepped out into the snowy street, intent upon getting to the hospital soon.

* * *

His mom was asleep.

Damon stood and watched her for a long moment, then frowned when he noticed that the massage oil was on the table beside her bed. He was sure he’d left it in the drawer. He stepped closer and sniffed, knowing he didn’t imagine its scent.

One of the nurses swept in to check his mom’s vitals and spared him a smile. It was the one he’d talked to at the nurses’ station on Friday night.

“She was a little agitated earlier,” the nurse whispered. “But Haley was here and offered to give her a massage. I said if your mom agreed, it was okay. I hope that was all right?” She spared him a worried glance.

“Did it help?”

“Her pulse slowed right down, just as it does when you give her a massage.” She smiled. “Maybe not quite as much.”

Damon smiled back. “Then it’s fine. Haley and I were talking about the therapeutic benefits of massage on Friday and she offered to give my mom massages when I wasn’t here.”

“You should have told us. We can put it on her chart.”

Damon shrugged. “I wasn’t sure she was serious.”

The nurse shook her head. “Haley is always serious. I wish everyone was half as reliable.” She noted the vitals then turned to leave. “If you could stop at the station and sign the permission, that would be great. Everyone will know then.”

“Sure, I can do it now.” He eyed his mom. “It looks like she’s going to sleep for a while.”

“Yes, it does.”

Damon went back to the station with the nurse.

“You know, your mom responds really well to massage. It might be a better pain management technique for her than the morphine. Maybe you should talk to her doctor about that.”

“I’d like to. When do you expect him?”

“He usually does rounds on weekday mornings.” The nurse pulled up his mom’s chart. “Even with the holiday, I bet he’ll be here sometime tomorrow although it probably won’t be in the morning. Can he call you on your cell? It’s best if you talk to him directly.”

“Sure.” They had his number on file and Damon initialed where she requested.

She hesitated.

“Anything I should know?”

Her smile was quick. “Just a word to the wise. Drugs are easy. They’re administered regularly and keep things on an even keel. Some doctors don’t like to take a chance with patient comfort by trying something less predictable.”

“But her response to the massage is predictable.”

“But the timing of when she gets one isn’t, except for Friday night. Be prepared for him to ask for a more regular schedule in order to manage her pain.”

“Thanks. That’s good advice.”

It also meant that Damon had a reason to go looking for Haley.

He asked the nurse for directions to the cardiac ward and found it easily. He could feel the difference as soon as he stepped off the elevator. The mood was tense, even though it was fairly quiet. The oncology ward wasn’t a happy place, but it was more tranquil. He could hear heart monitors from the rooms in this ward and someone moaned in one of the rooms to the right. The only nurse at the station was on the phone and simultaneously typing on a computer. Two nurses passed him, moving quickly and quietly, their expressions grim. Another went by with a crash cart, wheeling it down the hall at a fast trot, and a doctor ducked into a room just ahead of it.

Clearly, there was a crisis with a patient.

Damon stood back and out of the way. He thought he caught a glimpse of Haley going into that same room, but then a second alert sounded. The nurse on the desk muttered something under her breath and paged a doctor. He heard a man say “clear” from the direction of the first room, even as a second cart was wheeled into another room with another team right behind it.

He knew that Haley wouldn’t have any time to talk to him soon. He certainly wasn’t going to interfere with her doing her best at her job.

Damon had another plan. He went back to his mom’s room, checked on her, kissed her goodnight, then went down to the gift shop.

* * *

Three code bluesin one shift. It defied the odds. Some people were not welcoming 2018 with joy. Haley closed her locker, more exhausted than she’d been in a long time, and shouldered her purse.

“Happy New Year, Haley!” Daphne said and handed her a gift bag.

Haley was surprised. “We don’t exchange gifts.”

“No, but someone left it for you at the desk.” Daphne smiled. “See you tomorrow.”

The gift bag was stuffed full of tissue so Haley couldn’t see what was in it. It was a bit heavy, but she didn’t want to take the time to open it. Haley assumed it was a little thank-you from one of the nurses whose shift she’d taken over the holidays.

She waved to the nurses on the next shift and got on the elevator, leaning back against the back wall and closing her eyes as it descended.

Had she caught a glimpse of Damon earlier?

She thought she had, right when the second code blue had sounded, but when the emergency was over, there’d been no sign of him. She’d thought he might have come to say something about her giving his mom a massage, but maybe he didn’t know.

Maybe he hadn’t even visited the hospital. He could have been busy at F5F. Natasha hadn’t expected him, after all.

Even if he had come to the hospital, Natasha might not have told him.

Maybe she’d been asleep when he arrived.

Haley sighed, acknowledging to herself that she’d been looking forward to seeing him again. The elevator doors opened and she strode across the lobby.

Her interest in Damon might not be mutual. Once might have been enough for him. She might just have been next.

To be fair, she’d thought he was next. Maybe if she was in the habit of seducing gorgeous men, she’d be more used to wanting more.

Joe’s cab was the first in line and Haley slid into the back seat with some relief. It was good to see a friendly face. It was starting to snow, big white flakes tumbling out of the sky. Maybe she’d walk to work the next day.

They wished each other a happy new year.

“Rough one?” Joe asked as the cab pulled away from the curb. “You look tired.”

“Three code blues in a row. It was certainly busy.”

“How many of them made it?”

“Only one.” Haley knotted her hands together and looked out the window at the dark park, suspecting that even the man who had survived the night wouldn’t live long. She found the cardiac ward harder than oncology, which was pretty much the opposite of the other nurses she knew. It was maybe because death came suddenly and often violently. She preferred when the grim reaper stalked his victims for a while.

Maybe because it was easier to believe he might be caught and stopped before he finished his grisly business. Maybe it was because people had time to make their peace with the inevitable and say goodbye. When death came out of the blue—as with a heart attack—it was often over before much intervention could be done.

“I gave a ride to your man tonight,” Joe said.

Haley blinked. Her man? Joe’s eyes were twinkling when she met his gaze in the mirror.

He meant Damon.

Her gut clenched with the conviction that one of the other nurses must have taken him home. Robyn would have done it, in a heartbeat.

“He’s not my man, Joe,” she said.

It was true. Damon had never promised her anything.

Well, he’d promised not to seduce her, but she’d changed that.

He’d said he would please her and he’d done that.

So, why did she feel like forgetting her own rule? She was committed to her career. There was no room in her life for love and marriage, and she didn’t want there to be.

She just wanted another night with Damon.

“Does he work at the hospital?” Joe asked.

“No. His mom’s in the oncology ward.” She watched, her curiosity whetted, but Joe gave no sign that Damon had been with anyone else. “He’s a nice guy,” she ventured.

“I thought so, too. Polite. Good tip.” Joe nodded. “The losers never tip, never think of anyone but themselves.”

The cab was quiet as Joe turned down Haley’s street.

He cleared his throat. “If he’s not your man, then you wouldn’t care that he was alone.”

Haley turned from the window to meet Joe’s bright gaze again.

“I thought so,” the older man said with satisfaction. “I know a thing or two about the world.”

Haley smiled. “Do you?”

Joe grinned as he stopped at her building. “And you wouldn’t want to know where he lives, either, would you?”

Haley leaned forward to pay the fare. “You’re a tease.”

“I’ve seen a lot of life, Haley.” Joe shook a finger at her. “Two lonely people sometimes need a little help to get things right.”

Haley chose not to argue about being lonely. “So, you’re a guardian angel now?”

“Can’t hurt. Leave the world a better place than how you found it.”

“That sounds like a Boy Scout motto.”

Joe chuckled. “Maybe.” He took a pad of Post-It notes from the console, wrote an address, and peeled off the top sheet to give it to her. “I’m going to guess that’s his mom’s house, and that he’s living there alone seeing as she’s in the hospital.”

“You don’t know.” Haley eyed the address, her heart leaping with an excitement that was completely undeserved. She wasn’t going to become Damon’s stalker.

“No. But I’m a good guesser.” Joe shrugged. “It fills the time.”

“Well, I’ll let you know if you’re right.”

“Better yet, invite me to the wedding.”

“Joe!”

The older man laughed. “I knew that would get a rise out of you.”

“Thank you, Joe,” Haley said as she got out of the cab. “I think.”

“But you let me know if I’m right,” he called after her. “You offered and I like to keep score.”

* * *

The three of them were progressing steadily, shoulder to shoulder. Perez was on the right. Foster in the middle. Buchanan on the left. It was the way they’d done it a thousand times, but it was never routine.

Not a single thing was routine in Afghanistan.

They rounded a corner and froze as one at the sight of a little boy playing in the dusty street. Dressed in rags, dirty, too thin. Perez never got used to seeing these kids, growing up in a war zone and thinking that was normal. It was normal for them, and that was the saddest part of all.

The kid looked up, his gaze dancing over the pair of them, then smiled knowingly. He dropped the toy, turned and ran.

He was going to tell someone they were close.

Foster lifted his weapon to aim.

Perez growled a reminder. “R.O.E.”

Rules of engagement.

The boy was a civilian. He was unarmed. He couldn’t be injured, even if he was going to bring the wrath of hell upon them. The village ahead was suddenly quiet, deserted, ominous. But they had a mission to infiltrate a certain house and capture a known threat. They exchanged a nod and continued.

He heard Buchanan exhale in frustration, but nothing more was said. Perez was the one who followed the rules to the letter. It was the only way to be, as far as he was concerned, and he wasn’t going to argue about it again.

They continued, three in a line, sweeping the street with their gazes. They took four more steps before the grenade landed in the road and rolled toward them. There were houses on either side, undoubtedly filled with civilians.

There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

Damon awakenedwith a scream caught in his throat and his mind filled with the memory of his comrade’s last cry. He was sweating, his heart galloping, the smell of those Afghan streets so vivid that he could have been there again.

But he was home.

And he was still powerless against his foe.

He rolled out of bed, dropped and did a hundred push-ups, fast and hard.

Then he did a hundred more.

He was sitting, back against the wall, muscles trembling, heart still racing, when his phone rang.

* * *

Haley shouldn’t look.

How could she not look?

It was three in the morning and Haley was surfing. She checked her email, answered a message from her mom, peeked at her social media, left a comment on a cat picture posted by a college friend. She was stalling and she knew it.

She wasn’t tired.

No. She was exhausted but she knew she wouldn’t sleep.

She had to know.

She opened the browser and went to Google Maps, then typed in the address Joe had given her. The red pin marking the location wasn’t that far away. She knew the street, of course, but not the addresses. She switched from the map to the street view.

It was a perfectly nice little house, not unlike a lot of other houses in the area, and had been photographed on a summer day. It looked about fifty years old, maybe sixty, and was well maintained. A dark blue front door. An enclosed porch and a peaked roof over the second story. A single parking spot in front and a neat little garden along the porch with bright flowers.

Welcoming. Like a home should be.

She switched back to the map and calculated the distance. She could walk there in half an hour or so.

She bookmarked it, then took a deep breath. It wasn’t enough.

She Googled Damon Perez, assuming that he had the same surname as his mom. There were dozens of men with the same name, so she searched on the site for Flatiron Five Fitness. She found the names of the five partners and discovered that she’d been right about his name. There were a few pictures of the founding team but Damon was always at the back or just ducking out of the frame.

It seemed he didn’t like having his picture taken. He looked serious when she could see his face, as if he was participating on sufferance.

His back was always perfectly straight. Three of his partners were guys and they were all fit, but Haley could see the difference in their stance. Only Damon had served. There was a female partner, too, and she was laughing or smiling in every picture. Very pretty. Also in excellent shape.

Haley searched some more but she didn’t find much more about Damon. She scrolled through all the Facebook profiles for that name and was pretty sure he didn’t have one. None of the pictures were of him, and while he could have used an image or a logo, she didn’t think any of them looked right. The F5F Facebook page had the billboard of him that she’d seen before as well as one of the blond guy who was a partner, too. Get Wet at F5F instead of Get Hard at F5F.

Haley considered paying for a check as to whether he had a police record and decided she was getting carried away. She needed some sleep. She shut down her laptop and started to pull out the bed, then she remembered the gift bag.

It had no tag, but the bag said Happy New Year. She tugged out the tissue paper and found three bottles of lotion in the bottom.

And a card with the F5F logo.

Haley’s heart was in her mouth as she turned it over to find that familiar handwriting.

I wanted to say thanks, but you were busy.

Give me a call.

—Damon

Below that was a telephone number.

It was the proverbial offer she couldn’t refuse.

* * *

“Hello?”Damon heard the tension in his own voice and regretted it as soon as the caller replied.

“Hi. I’m sorry. I never think about the time before I call anyone.” Haley sounded contrite. “Did I wake you up?”

Damon exhaled. “No. I thought you might call before the morning.”

“Did you?”

He sat up straighter at the uncertainty in her voice. “And I’m glad you did.”

“Are you?”

He heard the smile in her voice and found himself smiling. “Yes, I am.”

“Well, thank you for the massage lotions.”

“That’s pretty much the only equipment you need.”

“It was thoughtful. Thank you.”

“Thanks for stopping in to see my mom. They said you really helped.”

“I hope so. She did go to sleep.”

There was a long silence then, and Damon didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want Haley to hang up, though, because the sound of her voice was the most reassuring thing he could imagine.

No, there was one more thing that would be more reassuring.

“Well, I’d better go and get some sleep,” she said. “Thanks again and happy new year.”

Damon cleared his throat. “Actually, there’s something else.”

“Oh?”

“I wanted to thank you in another way, a better way.”

“Better than a present?” she asked, laughter in her voice.

He dropped his voice to a growl. “Better than a present. I want to make you scream again.”

“Oh!”

Damon smiled. “You’re blushing.”

“How do you know that?”

“I can hear you blushing.”

“You can’t!”

“I can. Are you?”

“Well, yes, but you can’t hear that.” She sounded flustered, which just proved that her composure could be shaken. Damon liked that, a lot.

He liked even better that he could reliably do it.

“I’ve never been able to hear it before, but you seem to be able to blush in a special way.”

She was silent for a moment. “Is that good or bad?”

“It’s sexy.” He drawled the word and was pretty sure she blushed some more.

“You talk like that and I’m going to want to bite you,” she said, sounding breathless.

“I think I need a matched set of marks. You want to help out?”

“Start the new year off with a bang?” she asked.

Damon laughed. “Something like that. Maybe a moan or a muffled scream.”

“You’re wicked. Maybe even dangerous.”

“I’m trying to be.”

She caught her breath and Damon hoped. “How soon can you get here?” she asked, all in a rush.

He smiled. “I’m on my way.”