Page 43 of Laying it Bare Backstage

Teak had called his father to tell him about me. And when he tried to glaze over about my surgery and why we would have to wait a while before we could travel to visit him, Teak ended up reluctantly spilling the entire horrifying story over the phone. When there was a knock on our door the next day, we shouldn’t have been surprised. His dad came to visit, bringing me ‘get well’ balloons, flowers, and a card. Teak’s dad was an older version of him – dark hair, although he wore his trimmed short, and the same ocean blue eyes. He was handsome, kind, friendly – all qualities he had passed on to his son – but even with his outgoing nature, he had an underlying melancholy to his aura. It hurt my heart that his father still mourned the loss of his wife.

As for the house Ivy and I had shared; even though I felt a little bit bad about preying on our landlord’s sympathies – using my recent attack – we got out of our rental lease.

Once my symptoms subsided, I resumed my work on line. And since I wasn’t permitted to drive yet, Teak offered to drive me in to work for my weekly meetings. But Corinne insisted that meeting through FaceTime was fine until I was released. At this point, even though I still hadn’t been outside of the house, I was back to my normal routine inside – work, television, and the internet – minus being allowed to lift anything yet. Which meant laundry and cleaning were still out. However, with the occasional glimpses of reporters lurking at Teak’s property lines, I could wait a little while longer for things to die down.

Almost six weeks after I was released from the hospital, I was finally getting to go somewhere. I was released to drive, but since it was a double date, Teak drove. He had planned a whale watching trip for the two of us and Ascher and Ivy. Since we weren’t sure of the frenzy still following my story, Teak reserved the entire boat for the four of us.

“Should I wear a dress or shorts?” I was digging through our shared closet while Teak stood in the doorway to the bathroom, grinning at me. He was in a nice pair of khaki shorts and a light blue polo shirt.

“Whatever you are going to be more comfortable in. You would think you had been caged up since birth and this was your first outing ever. Please tell me you aren’t going to go all Rapunzel out there.” His grin grew wider.

“The fact that I’ve never been whale watching; I have been cooped up for way too long; and I’m going with Ivy; it’s a really good thing the only witnesses will be the crew for the boat. Because I can’t make any promises.” I tossed my hand onto my hip and scowled at him, before my own lips curled into a smile. “Thank you so much for this. I’m so excited. And not just because I need to get out.” My therapy sessions had been going well, but I needed to get back to my complete normal. And that also meant being intimate with Teak again. Snuggled up every night in bed with him was fantastic, but my entire body, heart, and soul needed that complete connection. I had been released to return to normal activities and planned to do just that.

The door bell ringing shifted our attention to the front of the house.

“Whatever you wear will be perfect. Although you might be more comfortable in shorts because I’m sure it gets a bit windy out there. I’ll go let our guests in.” Teak shot me a wink before strolling out into the hall.

It was a date, but it was an adventure type one so I decided on a pair of light blue shorts and a pale yellow halter top. I had just pulled off my pajamas when Ivy stepped inside.

“Geez. Can’t a girl get dressed in private ‘round here?” I shot her a fake frown as I tugged on my shorts. Then I slipped the top over my head.

“If you don’t know by now I have no respect for boundaries, then apparently you aren’t the bestie I thought you were.” Heading over toward the bed, she flopped down onto it on her back. She was wearing a pair of black shorts and a hot pink tank top so I was satisfied with my wardrobe choice. “I hope we catch a glimpse of a whale today. Our boyfriends are so cool.”

When I glanced down at her, she wore a goofy grin. I had no doubt she and Ascher were a forever thing too.

“Me too. But I’m just itching to get to do something. And if not, I’m sure we’ll get to see other animals being that far out on the water.” On my way from the closet, I paused to glance in the mirror over the big dresser. Satisfied with my light makeup and hair falling in gentle waves down my back, I walked over to Ivy and stretched out my hand. “Let’s go. I don’t want to be late.”

When she grabbed my hand, I pulled her up and we headed out to join the guys.

After the four of us climbed into Teak’s SUV, he drove down through the gate and out onto the road.

“You two make sure you behave back there.” Twisting, I smirked at Ivy.

“Keep your eyes facing forward and you don’t have to worry about seeing something you don’t want to.” Waggling her eyebrows, Ivy shot me a mischievous grin.

“You need a car with dividers.”

Reaching for my hand, Teak entwined our fingers. “We just won’t look.” I caught the hint of his smirk.

About a half an hour later, Teak pulled into the lot and the four of us crawled out of the car and walked up to the dock to our awaiting boat. The captain greeted us and got us settled on board. With my hand tightly grasped in Teak’s, we walked across the deck and over to the rail to stare out into the open ocean. Even though we were the only passengers, Ivy and Ascher stood right beside us.

While we casually cruised along the ocean, our eyes searched the waters for sea life. Crew members pointed out areas where we could spot sea lions, otters, seals, sea turtles, or jelly fish. As we coasted along, the critters seemed to hop out of the water to say ‘hi.’ Yes, I was excited to be able to do anything, but being out on the open ocean, taking in the sights of these amazing animals, was a balm to my soul.

I tucked my head into Teak’s chest. “I know I already thanked you a bunch of times for this. But out here is so beautiful and serene. You have no idea how much I needed this.”

“Yeah. Actually, I think I did.” He kissed the top of my head. “I scheduled it when I saw your deflated look when you found out you had to stay so long in the hospital and learned what you were looking at for recovery time.”

Leaning back, I stared up at the most perfect guy I had ever known. “I love you so much, Teak.”

“I love you too. Always and forever.” His lips met mine for a brief kiss.

“I wonder if they would let us catch one of those otters to take home for a pet.” Ivy nudged my shoulder with hers.

I twisted to laugh at her. “I’m thinking that’s a big fat no.”

She pouted.

Over an hour into our trip and we still hadn’t spotted a whale.

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