Page 26 of Mother Pucker

Also, how are you coming up with these ridiculous metaphors for your backside?

- Dr. Shayla Kumar, PT, DPT

I bite the inside of my cheek, trying not to chuckle while typing back.

Dear Doc,

I can see you’re thinking about my backside again. As such, I’d really appreciate your prompt examination tonight.

- The defenseman with a booty so fine, it should be insured, Slick

A few minutes later–time in which I’m sure she’s no longer going to respond–I’m relieved to see another email come through with just her number.

I waste no time calling her on FaceTime, and she picks up on the second ring, her beautiful face coming into view. Her eyes sparkle against the dark background–I gather she’s sitting outside–the longer side of her asymmetrical hair waving in the wind, and her lips look pink, plump.

“‘A booty so fine, it should be insured’?” She huffs out a soft laugh, like she’s trying to avoid being too loud.

I shrug, my eyes tracking down the length of her slender neck, just a sliver of the tattooed stars visible from this angle. She’s wearing a teal V-neck shirt and a K pendant hangs on the thin gold necklace above her collarbones. “It got you to give me your number, didn’t it?”

“You’re right. I couldn’t handle one more ass metaphor.” She licks her lips. “Are you in your car?”

I nod. “I just got out of the stadium.”

She pauses, and I wonder if she’s thinking about her next words. “So, shouldn’t you be out celebrating with your teammates after that win?”

Is that vulnerability I see in that impenetrable guard of hers?

“I’m exactly where I want to be, Doc.”

My response hangs in the air between us, and she clears her throat, pulling that professional mask back on. “Can you move your shoulder for me? Does it hurt when you do this?” She demonstrates by raising her shoulder up and down.

I pull my bottom lip into my mouth before releasing it slowly. I really should end this call, but I can’t seem to do the right things when it comes to this woman. “I didn’t injure my shoulder. And yes, my thigh still hurts, but it isn’t anything I can’t handle.”

Her brows scrunch together. “Oh. I thought you said–”

“I just wanted to talk to you.”

The soft intake of her breath is audible, even through the speaker. “Rowan, I–”

“Kai looks so much like you,” I interrupt before she can find a way to end this conversation.

That seems to snap her out of her previous train of thought, and it’s as if she actually looks at me for the first time. A smile forms on her lips. “Yeah . . .”

“His smile matches yours.”

Her smile stretches across her face and damn, it’s beautiful–a perfect set of white teeth cradled between the most luscious pink lips.

“Thanks. He was so excited when you danced. It definitely had the audience going.”

“I didn’t do it for the audience.”

She looks down, as if our locked eyes are too much for her. “He’s been begging me to put him into skating lessons.” She shakes her head, looking over her shoulder, and I see a large door behind her. I imagine her sitting outside her house on some steps. “But I’m so afraid he’ll hurt himself. He’s smaller than most of the boys his age, and I don’t want him to get trampled in a class full of kids who are also learning. I’ve already promisedhim I’d enroll him in the class, but it doesn’t make me feel any less anxious, you know?”

She takes a breath. “I wish I’d learned when I was younger, then maybe I could have taught him. But it was always something Ajay was–” She halts her words, as if she’s said too much. “Anyway, I don’t know why I’m telling you any of this. I just meant that Kai was ecstatic that you gave us tickets to the game, so thank you.”

I don’t let the fact that she mentioned her late husband distract me from keeping her talking. Her past doesn’t bother me in the least. All I want is to keep her talking, to hear her voice. She could talk about anything–the mysteries of the universe, the secret language of ants, or basket weaving–and I’d listen.

“I can understand why you’d be worried. People can certainly get hurt when they’re first learning to skate.”

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