didn’t turn around, and her back was stiff.
“Good Night, Claire.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
N ic settled onto the seat of her motorcycle, and pulled her helmet on. She thought about what had just happened in the house. She suddenly realized that her body had reacted to someone’s touch instead of to pain. Her body had turned a corner and was now reacting again to something completely out of the ordinary-the touch of another person.
She had battled for the last six months to get her body to a place where it no longer ached to walk, or hurt to get out of bed in the morning and get ready for work. To do things that everyone else took for granted everyday. She had put up with the ache in her hip and the jarring pain of her scar just to be able to ride her motorcycle again, because she wanted her life to feel somewhat normal. Now she was beginning to understand that her body and her mind were changing from fighting to survive to being able to enjoy something that had nothing to do with pain. That something was Claire.
She wanted to go back into the house and thank Claire for what had happened, but thought better of it as she realized that Claire might not know how to take the news of her dramatic change. In fact, she didn’t think it would go over well with a straight woman. who, on top of everything else she was dealing with, may not want to find out that she had stimulated Nic into an epiphany.
Nic rode her bike back to her place feeling raw and edgy. Try as she might, she couldn’t get the vision of Claire’s beautiful face, the feel of Claire’s lips pressed wantonly against her own and the pressure of Claire’s body fitting tightly against hers out of her head. She wondered briefly if she had imagined the whole thing, but her body reminded her that it was true. She was on fire. Changing course, Nic headed for the gym, knowing she was going to have to work through this physically before giving it anymore thought.
Heading for the locker room Nic could feel herself start to relax a little. By the time she came out, dressed and ready for a grueling workout, she had set her mind to the task at hand, which was to figure out what she was going to do about Claire. Sitting in the inverted leg press she started sorting through the facts as she could figure them out. Claire was a beautiful woman so it was easy to get lost in her beauty. She was exactly Nic’s type too, so that didn’t help the situation any. Had she said or done something to encourage Claire? But Claire isn’t gay! Maybe the talk the two had earlier about Nic’s accident in Iraq had something to do with what had happened. But what? Squeezing out the last of the reps, she racked her brain trying to think about what she might have done.
She switched machines and lowered her body into the hack machine. Her body ignited as she thought of Claire’s gentle touch on her back as she changed the bandage. Claire’s soft hands gently stroking the tape along the side of her breast was hard to ignore. She dropped down into the squat, straining as she pushed the weight back up into the start position. She could feel her legs trembling and wondered if it was the weight of the machine or her body responding as she remembered the innocent caresses.
Claire is in a vulnerable state and is just reaching out for comfort, that had to be it, she told herself as she changed to a different machine to work her hamstrings. A sense of relief replaced the anxiety that had been slowly building.
Of course, why didn’t she see it sooner? Claire was reacting to the loss she was experiencing, and Nic was just the person that happened to be there when it all came to a head. There was that nagging thought again, Claire isn’t gay. It would be one thing to reach out to another male for comfort, but a woman? She doubted anyone would make that kind of mistake, surely not a straight arrow like Claire. Perhaps the fact that Nic was a woman didn’t enter into the picture. Maybe
“Good Night, Claire.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
N ic settled onto the seat of her motorcycle, and pulled her helmet on. She thought about what had just happened in the house. She suddenly realized that her body had reacted to someone’s touch instead of to pain. Her body had turned a corner and was now reacting again to something completely out of the ordinary-the touch of another person.
She had battled for the last six months to get her body to a place where it no longer ached to walk, or hurt to get out of bed in the morning and get ready for work. To do things that everyone else took for granted everyday. She had put up with the ache in her hip and the jarring pain of her scar just to be able to ride her motorcycle again, because she wanted her life to feel somewhat normal. Now she was beginning to understand that her body and her mind were changing from fighting to survive to being able to enjoy something that had nothing to do with pain. That something was Claire.
She wanted to go back into the house and thank Claire for what had happened, but thought better of it as she realized that Claire might not know how to take the news of her dramatic change. In fact, she didn’t think it would go over well with a straight woman. who, on top of everything else she was dealing with, may not want to find out that she had stimulated Nic into an epiphany.
Nic rode her bike back to her place feeling raw and edgy. Try as she might, she couldn’t get the vision of Claire’s beautiful face, the feel of Claire’s lips pressed wantonly against her own and the pressure of Claire’s body fitting tightly against hers out of her head. She wondered briefly if she had imagined the whole thing, but her body reminded her that it was true. She was on fire. Changing course, Nic headed for the gym, knowing she was going to have to work through this physically before giving it anymore thought.
Heading for the locker room Nic could feel herself start to relax a little. By the time she came out, dressed and ready for a grueling workout, she had set her mind to the task at hand, which was to figure out what she was going to do about Claire. Sitting in the inverted leg press she started sorting through the facts as she could figure them out. Claire was a beautiful woman so it was easy to get lost in her beauty. She was exactly Nic’s type too, so that didn’t help the situation any. Had she said or done something to encourage Claire? But Claire isn’t gay! Maybe the talk the two had earlier about Nic’s accident in Iraq had something to do with what had happened. But what? Squeezing out the last of the reps, she racked her brain trying to think about what she might have done.
She switched machines and lowered her body into the hack machine. Her body ignited as she thought of Claire’s gentle touch on her back as she changed the bandage. Claire’s soft hands gently stroking the tape along the side of her breast was hard to ignore. She dropped down into the squat, straining as she pushed the weight back up into the start position. She could feel her legs trembling and wondered if it was the weight of the machine or her body responding as she remembered the innocent caresses.
Claire is in a vulnerable state and is just reaching out for comfort, that had to be it, she told herself as she changed to a different machine to work her hamstrings. A sense of relief replaced the anxiety that had been slowly building.
Of course, why didn’t she see it sooner? Claire was reacting to the loss she was experiencing, and Nic was just the person that happened to be there when it all came to a head. There was that nagging thought again, Claire isn’t gay. It would be one thing to reach out to another male for comfort, but a woman? She doubted anyone would make that kind of mistake, surely not a straight arrow like Claire. Perhaps the fact that Nic was a woman didn’t enter into the picture. Maybe
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