Then He Kissed Me (18 page)

“Oh, no, here it comes again!” Kitty began to blow through the contraction. “Slow down, Steve! You’re going to get us killed!”

“What’s coming now? Another contraction? That’s impossible!” Steve looked nearly as frantic as Kitty .

Nate turned and motioned to Lauren. She leaned forward in her seat so they could whisper. “I think we need to take over here.”

“Good idea,” Lauren said.

 “Steve, why don’t you let me drive?” Nate said. “That way you can get in the back seat with your wife.”

Steve nodded furiously. “Yeah. I don’t think I can drive anymore.” He braked too fast causing the SUV to jostle and jump its way to the side of the road. The car stopped on an isolated strip of grass next to a clump of trees. Steve got out of the driver’s seat and opened the back door to slide in next to Kitty,

Five other cars, crammed with the rest of the Bunco group, slowly came to a stop as well, parking their cars haphazardly behind the Tahoe.

Pilar jumped out of her car. “What’s going on? Why did we stop?”

“Nate’s going to take over the wheel,” Lauren explained.

In a move that seemed to surprise them all, Kitty braced her feet up against the driver’s side back seat. “
I need to push
!” she screamed.

“Oh God.” In the dim moonlight, Steve’s face looked incredibly pale.

Nate pulled out his cell phone and made a fast call. “I just called 911 to get an ambulance here,” he told the group. “Do you have a first aid kit in the car?” he asked Steve.

“Glove compartment,” Steve said in a daze. “911? What—”

His words were drowned out by the sound of Kitty’s sing song holler. “Something’s happening!” she cried. She clutched Steve’s hand while still keeping a death grip on Lauren.

Somehow, Nate managed to wedge himself into the back seat. Lauren noticed that he’d put on a pair of gloves. “Kitty, listen to me. You shouldn’t push if your cervix isn’t fully dilated. If you’d like, I can examine you. You can lie down on the back seat. I called an ambulance and they should be here any minute. Everything is going to be fine. Understand?”

She nodded wildly. “Okay,
yes, yes
! Please examine me.”

Lauren gently pulled her hand from Kitty’s grip and helped her to discreetly take off her underwear, then Lauren climbed out of the car and out of the way while Nate went into action. He instructed Steve to help Kitty lie down on the seat with her knees bent. Nate positioned himself outside the car, facing Kitty’s legs. “This will be just a second,” he told her. He examined her, then turned to Lauren, who had been standing nearby in case she was needed. “The baby’s head is right there,” he quietly told her. “See if you can find a flashlight.”

Lauren nodded, stunned. Kitty was going to have her baby on the side of the road! She informed the rest of the group what was happening. Moose Masterson pulled a large industrial flashlight from the trunk of his car and handed it to her. She ran back to the Tahoe, to find Nate instructing Kitty on how to push.

“Aim the flashlight right there,” Nate said, pointing between Kitty’s legs. Lauren did as he instructed. “Now, Kitty, when you get a contraction, go ahead and push,” Nate said.

“Okay,” Kitty said, panting. “
Now
!”

Nate instructed her to pull her knees back while Steve helped support her shoulders from behind. Lauren watched in fascination. She’d had her own baby, but she’d never seen a baby born. Not from this angle. Not even on T.V.

After pushing through a few contractions, Lauren could see the top of the baby’s head.

Kitty began to panic. “I can’t do this! I need some drugs!”

“You’re doing fine,” Nate said soothingly. He caught Steve’s gaze and nodded to him.

“Yeah, you’re doing great, babe,” Steve said, picking up on Nate’s unspoken cue to reassure Kitty.

A contraction started again. Kitty pulled her legs back. She took a big breath of air and held it like Nate instructed and bore down. This time, Lauren could see the entire top of the baby’s head crown.

“You’re almost there,” Nate said. “Just a couple more pushes and the baby will be born.” He shrugged out of his navy blazer and instructed Lauren to place it over Kitty’s swollen abdomen, then he gently placed a gloved hand on the area beneath her vagina. “I’m going to support your perineum so that you don’t tear, all right?”

“Yes! Please don’t let me tear!” she said. It was May and although it had been balmy during the day, the night air was on the cool side, probably low sixties. Despite that, Kitty’s face was covered in a light sheen of perspiration. There were all sweating, Lauren thought, except Nate who looked cool as the proverbial cucumber. Lauren couldn’t help but be impressed by both his professionalism and his kindness.

On the next contraction, the baby’s head emerged. Lauren felt her mouth drop. Nate slipped a finger up around the baby’s neck as if checking for something, then nodded to himself. “Okay, the baby’s almost out. One more push and—”

“
I’m pushing
!” Kitty yelled, and in the next second the rest of the baby slipped out and into Nate’s hands, immediately letting out a large cry.

The entire group began shouting and clapping. In the far off distance the sound of an ambulance siren could be heard. Nate placed the baby on his jacket and quickly dried it off.  “I’m going to slip the baby under your dress so that she can lie against you skin to skin,” Nate said to Kitty, “That way she’ll stay nice and warm.”

“She?” Kitty and Steve both said in a daze.

Nate smiled. “Congratulations. You have a daughter.”

S
ince the group was
too large to all go into the hospital room at once, they had to take turns visiting the new Pappas family. Lauren and Nate, Steve insisted, were the first ones allowed in, given their “honorary” status, as Steve called it. Kitty sat up in the hospital bed, her hair neatly pulled back in a bun. Her face glowed with happiness. “I can’t believe I’m a mother now,” she said, looking down at her baby’s precious face. She still looked a little dazed. “And I certainly can’t believe I did this without my special pillow. Or an epidural. I don’t know how we can ever thank you,” she said to Nate.

Steve slapped Nate on the back for the umpteenth time. “Thanks, Doc. I owe you one. You want a new house? I’ll build you one for free.”

“Not necessary. I’m just glad I was there to help.”

“Help?” Kitty said. “I couldn’t have done it without you. Seriously, we owe you big time.”

Nate shoved his hands in his trouser pockets and smiled, but Lauren could tell he was embarrassed by all the attention. The rest of the group had done nothing but sing his praises in the waiting room.

“Thank God Doc Morrison has Nate to take over his practice,” she’d heard Shea say. After arriving at the hospital, Kitty’s OB-GYN, a middle aged woman named Dr. Becket, had examined her and proclaimed it a “fine delivery.” She’d shaken Nate’s hand and jokingly told him she had room in her practice for another doctor.

“What are you naming the baby?” Lauren asked the proud parents.

“Amanda, after my grandmother,” Kitty said.

“The middle name is still up in the air,” Steve said. “Personally, I’m rooting for Stephanie.” They all laughed. Lauren and Nate visited for a few more minutes, then a nurse came in to help Kitty get the baby latched on to breast feed.

“That’s our cue to leave,” Lauren said.

“Thanks again,” Steve said, “Oh, and sorry about the jacket.”

Nate’s jacket, which had been soaked in a combination of blood and amniotic fluid had been tossed in the trash upon arrival to the hospital. “I don’t think I can explain that to the dry cleaners,” he said. Lauren had agreed.

Nate got his car keys from Ed and they said their farewells to the rest of the group, some of whom insisted on staying until they could visit with Kitty and Steve and baby Amanda.

They walked out of the hospital and into the brisk night air. Nate opened the door for her and Lauren slipped into the front seat of his car. “What a night,” she said. It was nearly midnight and she’d been in four inch heels for almost six hours now. Nate had to be tired, too.

Nate started the car. “Tell me about it.”

Lauren watched him out of the corner of her eye as he drove. “That was… You were absolutely incredible.”

He shrugged, like it was no big deal. “Kitty did all the work.”

“Don’t be so modest. If you hadn’t been there, it would have been a total panic.”

“If I hadn’t been born, who would have been there to deliver Kitty’s baby?” he asked, miming the game they’d played the night they’d watched
It’s a Wonderful Life
.

“No one,” she said softly.

He shook his head. “Nah. Someone would have come up to the plate.”

“Like someone else would have taken in Hector? Don’t sell yourself short,” Lauren said. “Because from where I’m sitting, you’re pretty much king of the world right now.”

“Please, no
Titanic
references,” he said.

She remembered the night he’d proposed to Jessica that the violinist had played
My Heart Will Go On.
“Let me guess, it’s Jessica’s favorite movie?”

“You got it.”

She glanced down at her lap and smoothed down her skirt. Even with all the brouhaha with Kitty’s baby, her white dress had stayed immaculate. Nate, on the other hand, had gotten blood on his shirt cuffs, so he’d rolled back his sleeves to hide the stains, exposing his strong forearms. He wore a thick watch around his wrist and Lauren couldn’t help but stare as he gripped the steering wheel. Those hands had just delivered a baby. They’d brought life into the world. Watching him, so confident, so calm, so in charge… It had been the sexiest thing Lauren had ever seen in her life.

“I don’t want to talk about Jessica tonight,” she said quietly.

“I don’t want to talk about Jessica ever,” he countered.

They drove for a while in silence. It wasn’t awkward, though. But it did feel charged with electricity. Like someone had plugged in the air around them. They got to the outskirts of Whispering Bay and Nate turned onto the road that would take them into their neighborhood.

“Let’s go to your place,” Lauren said.

He turned to look at her. “We need to talk first.”

She knew what he wanted to talk about. She’d seen it on his face all night. They needed to stop pretending that they were just friends.
She
needed to stop pretending. “No, we don’t need to talk.”

He nodded slowly. “All right. As long as you understand then that you’re staying the night.”

“Absolutely.”

*~*~*

N
ate’s place was sparsely
furnished. A pretty typical bachelor pad. A big T.V., a sofa, and a kitchen that looked like it didn’t see much action except in the way of paper plates or a microwave oven. Hector sat in his crate, wagging his tail and barking. Nate opened the crate door and Hector came bouncing out. “I’m going to take him for a quick walk,” he said, clipping the leash on the puppy’s collar. Before going out the front door, he turned and said, “Don’t go anywhere.”

“No of course not. I’ll be right here!” She tried for a bright smile.

He smiled back and walked out with Hector.

Oh God
. What was she doing? She’d been so sure just a few minutes ago, but now… She walked aimlessly from room to room until she got to Nate’s bedroom, where a king sized bed consumed nearly half the floor space. Nate had sex with Jessica in that bed.
Good sex
. He’d said so himself. Lauren tried not to picture it.

She remembered the overwhelmed look on Nate’s face in the hospital waiting room when everyone had congratulated him on doing such a fine job delivering Kitty’s baby. She felt that same feeling of being overwhelmed now, too. Like someone had pushed her head beneath the water and she couldn’t quite make her way back up to the surface to take a breath. She’d hadn’t had sex in nearly two years. And she’d never been with anyone except Tom. What if she was lousy in bed, and all these years she’d never known it?

She heard the front door open and close and the sound of Hector greedily lapping water from his bowl. Nate walked into the bedroom, took off his watch and tossed it on top of the dresser. “I’m taking a shower.” He turned around and glanced at her. “Maybe you want to join me?” He said it casually, as if he invited women into his shower every day. Who knows? Maybe he did. There was an entirely different side of Nate Miller that she was just now beginning to see. A confident, sexy side that made her pulse race and mouth go dry.

“What about Hector?”

“I usually don’t let Hector in the shower with me.”

“Ha-ha. I mean, where does he sleep at night?”

“He usually falls asleep on the couch, or sometimes he’ll go back into his crate.”

“Oh, right.”

The idea of a shower was appealing, but shower sex seemed too…intimate right now. Plus it required a certain amount of logistical preparation that she hadn’t expected. “A shower sounds good, but maybe another time.” She sat down on the edge of the bed. “I’ll just wait right here.”

He smiled good-naturedly and went into the bathroom, but she noticed he left the door ajar. Because he was hoping she’d change her mind? She could hear his clothes drop to the floor, then the sound of water streaming through the nozzle and the shower curtain being pulled back.

If she was truly brave, she’d join him. After all, it wasn’t as if they wouldn’t see each other naked anyway. Before the night was over she would probably have a very thorough understanding of Nate Miller’s anatomy. And vice versa.

She took a big breath.

 Yes, that’s what she’d do. She’d join him. She couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when she pulled back the shower curtain and stood there in front of him just as naked as he was. She reached behind to unzip her dress, but the zipper wouldn’t lower.

What
?

She stood and tried to jiggle the pull tab but it wouldn’t budge. Damn store bought clothes. Damn
cheap
store bought dress to be exact. She should have known when she’d found it on the bargain rack that there was something wrong with it.

“Having trouble?” he asked.

Lauren whipped around to see Nate leaning against the doorframe wearing nothing but a loose towel around his hips. It was the first time she’d ever seen him without his glasses. She remembered thinking that first night at The Harbor House that he looked like a model straight out of an expensive men’s cologne ad. His long lean frame was nicely muscled and his shower damp skin was smooth except for a light sprinkling of dark hair between his nipples. He shoved a hand through his hair to rid it of excess water causing the muscles in his biceps to bulge.

“
Um
,” she heard herself squeak. “I think my zipper’s stuck.”

“Let me see.” He walked over to her. “Turn around.” His eyes looked impossibly green. Why had she never noticed that before?

Lauren slowly turned and presented him with her back. He leaned down to press a light kiss on the nape of her neck. “You smell fantastic,” he whispered.

She gulped. Then she felt his fingers tug on the zipper. He pulled, but it still refused to budge. “Maybe if you jiggle it a little?” she suggested.

“Jiggle it?”

“Yeah, you know…” She reached behind and tried to demonstrate but the zipper tab was stuck. Pure and simple. “Damn it. I can’t believe this. Maybe I can wiggle myself out of the dress.”

“Good luck with that,” Nate said. “You don’t mind if I watch, do you?” He looked amused.

“Sure, knock yourself out.” Lauren looked down at the dress and frowned. The dress had a high neck. It was also nearly skin tight. There was absolutely no way she could squirm her way out of it.

Nate must have seen the defeat in her eyes. “Hold on. I have an idea.” He went to the kitchen and returned with a pair of scissors. “Don’t worry,” he said with a straight face. “I’m a doctor. You can trust me with a sharp object in my hand.”

She laughed and focused on relaxing. “All right. Go for it.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and motioned for her to come closer. Still in her heels, she came close enough so that he could position the scissors at the bottom of the dress. She felt him hesitate.

“Go ahead,” she urged. “I really don’t care. I got it on sale.”

“It’s just,
damn,
I really like this dress,” Nate said. He reluctantly made the first snip. He then proceeded to slowly cut through the dress. When he got halfway through, he stood to finish off the rest. Lauren could feel the cool air on her exposed backside. She tugged at her sleeves to shimmy out of what was left of the dress and let it drop to the ground, leaving her in nothing but her bra and panties. She went to turn around to face him but he placed his hands on her hips, stopping her.

“Hold it a second, I want to take in this view.”

She felt her face go warm. The panties and bra were new. She’d bought them at Victoria’s Secret. Cheeky panties, the saleswoman had called them, a thong, but not quite a thong, with a band of white lace around the top to match the dress. She was embarrassed at his silence, but incredibly turned on as well. “How long are you going to stare at my ass?” she asked him.

“This is what you had on underneath that dress all night long?” His voice sounded husky. Before she could answer, he turned her around and sat her down on his lap. “Tell me what you like.”

“I like you,” she said, feeling suddenly shy.

“I think it’s pretty obvious I like you, too.” Then he placed his hand behind her head and brought her in for a kiss.

Yes
! Her mouth opened beneath his and they kissed like they were still at the beach, and she melted against him in relief. It had been over three months since he’d kissed her. She was beginning to believe that she’d imagined the perfection of that kiss. That she’d built it up into something that it could never live up to. But this was no dream kiss. His tongue, hot and demanding, and
real
, tangled with hers and she could hear herself moan.

He lifted her off his lap. “Get on the bed,” he said. Then he stood and let the towel around his waist fall to the floor and—
Holy Mother of Pearl
. Nate Miller was a God.

She laid back against the cool sheets and tried to slow her racing heart. He came down on top of her then slid his body down hers until he was nestled between her legs. He took her knees in his hands and pulled them back wide, exposing her to his gaze.

“I like that,” she said, hearing herself pant.

“I haven’t done anything yet.” He slid off the panties, letting the silky lace glide along the sensitive skin of her legs. Then he reached behind her and unsnapped her bra, discarding that as well. She was now naked, except for her heels. He studied her a moment like she was a puzzle, and he didn’t know exactly which way to approach her from. Then he used the pad of his finger to lightly touch her clit, and she arched her hips high in the air. It had been so long since anyone had touched her there. She felt like a live wire ready to implode.