Island Christmas

Preface

Camilla Davis is sitting in her office at the pediatric practice where she is one of five doctors in the group. All she can think about is that its almost time to start her vacation. It had been way too long. Her best friend, Stephanie had been telling her for the last several years that she needed to slow down and take time to relax and enjoy life because she had focused on nothing but building her career. She doesn’t go out with any friends, co-workers, or on dates. It had been so long since she had taken a trip that she couldn’t remember the last time she had been on one. This Christmas, she finally decided to listen to Stephanie and take two weeks off to a nice warm and sunny island in the tropics. She booked Aruba.

And as far as dates go, the last thing that she had on her mind was getting into a relationship while she was trying to build her career. She had been too busy. The last boyfriend she had was in college at Duke University. It had ended good. They were still the best of friends. They had both been career driven. She left North Carolina and headed back home to Ann Arbor Michigan after graduation, and he stayed in Durham, taking a job as an orthopedic in Raleigh.

Malik Jones was exhausted. He was physically and mentally tired. He worked long hours at the hospital for years. Always on call. He never took at day off and when he did have a day off due to the rotation, he caught up on things around his house. Rest and relaxation were words he didn’t seem to know anymore. Every time his friends would call and want to go have drinks, he would have to say no or cancel due to an emergency at the hospital. Dating was never in the forefront of his mind. Terry, his best friend and fellow doctor at the Henry Ford Medical Center in Detroit, had tried to set him up on dates, but he never had the time. Two months ago it was as if he woke up and realized that life was passing him by. He had turned thirty-three, had no wife and no children, and no prospects. He had built a great career and maybe now it was time to enjoy the world around him. He decided to take two weeks off for Christmas. He was tired of the snow and cold. He wanted to go some place warm and sunny, he picked Aruba.

Chapter 1

Camilla had picked an early morning flight on Saturday, December 19th at 5:30 and couldn’t wait to get on it. She was so excited that she could barely sleep at all Friday night. She arrived at the airport at 4:00 a.m. Getting through security was easy that early, and she ended up sitting at the gate at 4:30 a.m. She had thirty more minutes until boarding. Normally she wouldn’t pay any attention or wouldn’t notice a handsome man, but today was a different story. She had been sitting and watching the people coming into the gate and debarking the plane. All of a sudden this gorgeous man walked up to the same gate she was sitting at. All she could think about was that he must have been an actor, model or maybe an athlete. He was wearing a Detroit Lions t-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. He stood bout 5’9” tall, she guessed because she was 5’6” and he looked a little taller than her, light brown skin and hazel eyes. You could tell through his t-shirt that he was ripped, even his calves and thighs were muscular. Lord, what a handsome man.

She didn’t realize she was staring, until he turned around and smiled at her. Now she was embarrassed. She smiled back not to look rude, then turned away.

Malik showed up at Gate D15 almost right on time to board the plane. He had literally run from security to the gate. It had been so many years since he had gotten on a plane, that he didn’t realize how early he needed to be here. All he did know was that he was ready to relax in the sun either on his balcony, on the beach, or by the pool. He didn’t care which.

As he got to the gate, he felt like someone was staring at him. He turned around to find these mesmerizing blue eyes penetrating him like they were seeing right through him. Wow, and those eyes were just the beginning. She had long brown hair, and from what he could tell, a sexy body and was drop dead stunningly beautiful. He smiled at her, and she smiled back and her whole face lit up, and she blushed. He could tell she was embarrassed that he had caught her staring at him. But she had no reason to be. If he would have seen her first, he would have been the one that couldn’t take his eyes of her.

Noticing beautiful women was not a problem he had, it was finding time to date one. His New Year’s resolution was he was going to make the time. He had always wanted a family. A wife and at least two kids. If he didn’t make it a priority instead of his career, that dream would just pass him by.

He thought about going to sit by her while waiting on the attendants to announce the boarding, but he thought she might feel uncomfortable about it. But he did wonder where she was going. He was hoping Aruba, because he would like to meet her, but how many people actually flew to the tropics for Christmas. Most people preferred a white Christmas right? However, she was leaving Detroit like he was, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going somewhere to be with her family. He couldn’t be lucky enough for her to be traveling to the same country he was.

Boarding was just announced over the loudspeaker as she was beginning to look up and see if she could see him again. They both got up when they called for first class. She got into line ahead of him. When she got to her seat she got in by the window, she never set in an isle seat. A few minutes later she couldn’t believe it when he sat down beside her. She was going to have a heart attack! This flight had a forty-five-minute layover in Atlanta, but what would the chances they were going to end up at the same destination. She couldn’t be this lucky twice in one day.

He noticed immediately as he walked on the plane that he was sitting beside her He couldn’t believe it. He stored his carry on in the overhead compartment next to hers and sat down.

“Hello, I am Malik. What’s your name?” he said.

“Hi, my name is Camilla. Are you heading to spend the holidays with your family in Atlanta, or is that an overlay for you too?” she asked. She really didn’t know what to say, she hoped this wasn’t too noisy.

“This is the first time I’ve taken off in years. I decided I needed a vacation. Some much required rest and relaxation in the sun! I am heading to Aruba. Where are you going?” he replied.

“Well, it looks like for one, we both live a busy life. I haven’t taken time off either and don’t remember the last time I have taken a vacation. Second, we both have the same idea. I am taking two weeks off for the holiday, and I am heading to Aruba for the same reason you are! I have been so busy building my career as a doctor. I didn’t want to take any time to relax,” she replied.

“Well this conversation just got more interesting by the minute!” he laughed. “I never took off because I was also building my career as a doctor. I am a neurosurgeon at Henry Ford Medical Center in Detroit. Where do you work?”

“I am a pediatrician. Our group is inside the Henry Ford complex! However, I live in Ann Arbor, born and raised. I keep saying that I should move into the city because of work,” she replied.

“So, your group is the one that does the hospital rounds. It’s a big place, but I am surprised that I haven’t seen you around there before. I am sure I would have noticed you,” he stated.

“Likewise,” she replied.

For the rest of the flight to Atlanta, they did some small talk.

Once they landed, they walked together to the next gate. Still talking mostly about their work, emergencies they have handled, things that they had seen, etc. They had a forty-five-minute layover, so they decided to grab some pizza and a soda from one of the small restaurants along the way.

Who would have thought that the first handsome man she met would have worked at the same hospital she did and they would have so much in common? They not only had the same idea about this trip, and that they had been so career focused that neither of them had taken any time off, but they also enjoyed a lot of the same things. For instance, they both loved pepperoni pizza with extra cheese, add mushrooms and bell peppers. They both were huge Lions fans and alumni of Duke University, but of course their favorite college football team was the Wolverines. Thank God he wasn’t a Michigan State fan. However, they would occasionally root for their alma mater, since it was the number one medical school in the nation. There were a few other things they had in common too like they both loved roller coasters, skydiving, and hiking. She knew they would be the best of friends.

Wow, was the only thing that came to his mind. She was not only beautiful, intelligent, and a doctor, but she was a thrill seeker too. He was hoping that they would hang out some in Aruba. He knew that they would have a lot of fun together.

They boarded the plane and once again were seated next to each other. What was the world telling them she wondered. Maybe it was just a coincidence or luck, but it could be fate. At least she would have someone to hang out with and possibly even become and stay friends when they got back to Michigan. She wasn’t expecting them to hang out the whole two weeks, but it would be nice a few days. She was sure that he would find some beautiful woman to spend time with and maybe she would meet a man too.

As he sat down again in the seat beside her, he wondered how she would feel if they kept in touch while they were there. They had already figured out that both of them were staying at the Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa. Hopefully that meant that even if unplanned, he would run into her again before the two weeks were up. He knew that they both agreed that on the first day, their plans were to do nothing but catch up on sleep and rest. They weren’t sure if they would leave the room.

They sat pretty quite on this flight. Both of them dozing off and on.

When the plane finally landed in Oranjestad Aruba, they disembarked and then headed to baggage claim. Once they retrieved their luggage they went out of the airport to look for the shuttle to the resort. They sat beside each other on the ride. Once they were in the lobby, they walked to the desk to check in together and the receptionist actually thought they were a couple. He smiled at the lady and told her that they had just met on the plane from Detroit. That each of them had a reservation and needed to be checked in. Once they had received their keys, she was in room 514 ocean view suite, and he was in room 716 also an ocean view suite two floors up from hers.

“You know I hate to say good-bye. Instead I am going to say that I will see you later and if you are out on your balcony and hear someone yelling at you from above, it’s me!” he told her.

“Then I will see you later and I definitely hope you would be the only person who knows my name to be yelling at me!” she replied back.

“Well since neither of us want to say good-bye, and we are both saying we will see each other later, how about dinner in the restaurant down here tonight at 7:30 p.m.?” he asked.

“Yes, that would be great. Let’s see, it is now 3:45 p.m. That gives us time to unpack, get settled and take a quick nap!” she said.

“You are right. That sounds like a great plan. You are in room 514, so I will come knock on your door at 7:25 p.m.” he replied.

“Yes I am in 514 and that would be nice,” she said.

They both got in the elevator and headed to their floors. When she got off, he told her he would see her in a few hours.

She got into her room and looked around before putting her things away. Then she went and set on the balcony for about an hour just taking in the amazing scenery and salt air. This had to have been one of the bests views at the resort from this side. She could see the pool, the tiki bar, the ocean and the cabana tents set up on the sand for the guest. As much as she was ready to hit the beach, she was just too tired and knew that she needed to get a nap in before dinner.

As Malik got to his room, he couldn’t stop thinking about Camila. It was funny in a way, if his friends could see and hear him now. He felt like he was in high school when life was easy and carefree. When looking and wanting to go out with a pretty woman was more second nature and a career was not a real thought, much less taking up all his time. He was enjoying getting to know Camila and was looking forward to dinner. Now he needed to unpack, and take a nap, but only after he checked out the view from the balcony.

Chapter 2

Camila woke up at 6:45 p.m. Thank God she had set her alram or she would have slept through dinner. She jumped in the shower and got ready. She had ordered a few sundresses off-line for this trip, actually she had short, shirts, and sundresses for every day of the two weeks so she could be interchangeable depending on her mood. She also had bought several different styles and colors of bikinis with matching cover-ups and flip-flops. Luckily she used the tanning bed, so she at least had a tan to go with her outfits. She did bring two nice dresses, heels and sandals.

For tonight, she picked out one of the off the shoulder sundresses. It was, soft yellow with the white flowers and a pair of plain white sandals. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail. That was the usual for a doctor, next time she would leave it down. Next time, would there be a next time. I maybe getting a little a head of myself. At that thought there was a knock on her door. One thing she knew was that doctors were always on time. They were taught at Duke that early is on time and on time was late.

She opened the door to see him standing there in a pair of khaki shorts, a polo and flip-flops. Man he looked like he could have been on the cover of GQ magazine.

“Hello,” she said as she opened the door. “Don’t you look relaxed.”

“Good evening! Thanks and you look beautiful,” he replied.

“Thank you. You look great yourself! I am starving! I think I am ready to go,” she said.

“Yes, let’s go eat. I am pretty famished myself,” he stated as he shut the door behind her. He put his hand on the small of her back as they walked to the elevator.

Once they got downstairs, she started laughing.

“What is so funny?” he asked.

“Did you see all these Christmas decorations and trees when we checked in? Because I don’t remember seeing any of them! How could I have missed them?” she asked while she was still laughing.

“Well, I vaguely remember them. To both of our defense, we had a long flight over, we were jet-lagged and tired!” he said with a laugh.

As they walked through the lobby into the restaurant she really took in all of the decorations. They had created such a beautiful and realistic Christmas setting. The trees were amazing in every room. But it wasn’t just trees. There was mistletoe and lights hanging from the ceilings. And in the back of the main lobby there was a nativity scene with fake snow on the floor. When you walked into the restaurant, there in the right corner was more snow, with a Santa and Mrs. Claus, Rudolph and the rest of the reindeer, two elves and Santa’s workshop. She had taken out her camera and took pictures of both of the scenes as well as a few of the Christmas trees and hanging lights. She had noticed that Malik had also taken a few photos as well.

They sat down at the table, and they both ordered a water, and he got Michelob on draft while she got a Frozen Strawberry Margarita. While they looked over the menu, it was such a hard decision on what to eat. So, they decided that they would each get something different, and they would try the others meals. She chose the Stobas, a stew made with goat and a side of fried plantains, white rice and a salad, and he ordered the Pisca Hasa, fried fish, with a side of black beans, white rice and hush puppies.

While they waited on the food, they talked about what their plans were for tomorrow.

“I think I am going to sleep in until at least 8 a.m.,” she said with a laugh. “Then I think I am going to go layout by the pool and drink some exotic drinks all day. How about you?”

“I will probably do the same. I was however, considering a run on the beach when I first get up,” he replied.

“Now, I would normally agree with the run, but I think I will still be too jet-lagged and tired to run in the morning. I might contemplate on running a Sunday!” she responded.

“You know you might be right about that jet-lag! I think I will wait another day and just hang out at the pool or the beach tomorrow. But how about we meet Sunday morning around 6:30 a.m. and take a run on the beach before breakfast?” he asked.

“Now, that sounds like a plan that I can do!” she replied.

The waitress brought them their food, and they ate almost in silence. It was amazing. They shared off of each other's plates, ordered another beer and Margarita. It was the best time that she could remember having in forever. The whole day since meeting him had been great. This may turn out to be a very interesting vacation.

Once they had finished their meals, they decided to split a piece of Bolo Borracho (tipsy rum cake).

“Wow, this whole meal was delicious,” he said, “how about we walk it off by going exploring around the property? It’s too dark to go down to the beach now.”

One of the waitresses overheard him and said that “there is a bonfire out on the beach now in front of the property. There is a live band, and they are passing out blankets in the cabana if you want one.”

“Now, that sounds wonderful. I would love to go do that. Would you like to go?” Camila asked Malik.

He looked at her, and he knew he would not be able to resist sitting on the beach in a blanket under the light of the fire and stars. “Yes, I would love to do that.”

He paid the bill after finally getting her to agree to let him. They walked out of the restaurant into the cool breeze of the ocean to the cabana and got a blanket. Then they headed down to the bonfire. They made one more stop to grab drinks before finding a spot on the sand. The blanket was big enough for them to sit on and wrap it around them. It was a gorgeous night. There was a Reggae group playing on a small stage near the cabana and people were sitting everywhere enjoying the atmosphere. It was actually a very romantic setting, but he didn’t mind. He was here with a beautiful woman, inside and out.

Camila was a little shocked when they sat down on the sand, and he wrapped the blanket around them all snug together. It was a romantic setting for sure, and he seemed to be going along with the flow. She didn’t mind. She was having the time of her life. She did wonder though, how far this flirtation would go. She had always heard the saying ‘what happens in Vegas, the islands, etc, stays there’. Would this be one of those times? And if it was, she would be okay with it. Even though she was working on changing her life to include hanging out with friends, going on dates and taking time off, this was just the first step. Being on vacation, away from the hustle and bustle of the hospital, office, and patients, made this, whatever it was, easy.

Malik thought to himself, so this is what life is? He was really enjoying the first day here. Meeting Camila was making it interesting. They got along well and it made the day easier to have someone to talk to and just be around. He hoped that they would keep in touch when they got back to Detroit. He enjoyed her company.

It was around 10 p.m. when they noticed the families with small children heading back into the resort. Camila looked at Malik and said, “I am really enjoying this, but I am ready to turn in. I think I overheard someone say they do this every night. Maybe we can do this again another night,”

“Yes, I believe they do too.” he said as he stood up and reached out his hand to help her up.

“You don’t have to go in on my account. Please, stay and enjoy the rest of the night if you want too,” she said.

“I am done too. It has been fun, but we can always come back. We have two whole weeks in the fun and sun!” he replied.

They turned in their blanket at the cabana and went into the resort. They got in the elevator, and she noticed he didn’t hit his floor. She wasn’t sure why he hadn’t, and she didn’t want to ask. At least, not yet. When the door opened to her floor, they both got out. She looked at him, and he must have caught her expression because he said, “What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t walk you to your door this time of night?”

She smiled at him and said, “It is greatly appreciated and very kind of you.”

When she opened her room door she turned to look at him and said, “Thank you again for walking me to my door and for a wonderful evening. Dinner next time is on me!”

“You are welcome and thank you for making it amazing. As far as you buying the next dinner, that will not happen, but maybe I will let you buy breakfast or lunch or even a few drinks some time, but dinner is always on me,” he said as he leaned in and gave her a hug and a gentle kiss on her forehead.

She got butterflies. His hug let her get a better feeling of his massive and impressive muscles than she had felt at the bonfire. She knew she would go to sleep tonight dreaming about this man.

“Okay, I hear you! Goodnight Malik. I will see you sometime tomorrow,” she said as she walked in the room.

“You will definitely see me tomorrow,” he replied as he closed her door.

He got back into the elevator and headed to his room thinking that tomorrow he would find her at the pool, and they could have a few drinks.

Camila went in and took a shower and got ready for bed. But she couldn’t seem to fall asleep right away so she grabbed a bottle of water from the stocked refrigerator and went and set on the balcony. She couldn’t see the waves because it was dark, but the sound of them relaxed her. She dozed off thinking about all the events of the day from the first time she noticed Malik at the airport gate in Detroit. The rest seemed like a dream, and she would probably wake up in the morning and realize that she had never even spoken to him.

Malik went inside his room and got ready to turn in. He couldn’t help but feel like Camila was exactly what he needed on this trip. Someone he could enjoy being here with, and they didn’t always have to discuss work. Most of the time when two doctors get together, that’s all they talk about, like there was no life outside of their careers. Hell, most of the time, that was exactly how he had felt. He had nothing else to talk about. But with her, there was much more. After the first flight to Atlanta, work was not something that they had brought up again.

He got into the bed still thinking about her until he finally fell asleep.

Camila woke up startled for a minute until she realized she had fallen asleep on the balcony. She got up and got in the bed, thinking about what tomorrow would bring.

Chapter 3

Camila woke up and looked at the clock by the bed. It said 11:00 a.m. She jumped up. She couldn’t believe she had slept right through breakfast. Hopefully they were serving brunch if not, lunch would have to do.

She put on a pink and white stripped bikini with its matching cover up and flip-flops, brushed her teeth and hair, then ran to the elevator. Once in the lobby, she went to the small café and was able to get a coffee and a bacon, egg and cheese croissant. She left there and headed out to the pool grabbing a towel from the cabana.

She had been lying around by the pool for most of the day, and never ran into Malik. She wondered if he had stayed in his room. She decided that she would go over to the beach for a while and take a walk before heading in for dinner.

When she got down on the sand, she walked towards the water before picking a direction. Once she put her feet in, she heard her name being yelled across the beach.

“Camila, Camila, wait up,” Malik was yelling.

When she turned around, she saw him running towards her from the same direction she had just come from.

“Hey,” she said as he approached, “I was wondering if you had left your room today!”

“I honestly just did and was walking by the pool when I saw you head this way! Have you been out here all day?” Malik asked.

“I don’t think I could have stayed inside all day! I came out about noon and have been laying out at the pool ever since. Just decided to get up and take a walk in the edge of the water. Would you like to join me?” she asked.

“I wish I could have gotten out here sooner, but I was more exhausted than I had thought I was. I laid around and watched T.V. I can’t tell you when the last time I saw anything on the tube! And yes, I would love to take a walk with you. How about dinner afterwards?” he replied.

“I was heading there after my walk, but I will not turn down an invitation from you! If my memory serves me right, dinners are on you!” she laughed a reply.

He laughed back and said, “Your memory serves you correctly! And since we are both in our bathing suits, how about we grab something from one of the bars, and eat by the pool? I heard tonight is movie night, and they are showing Bad Boys For Life! Do you want to stay and watch it?”

“Yes, I would love to stay and watch the movie! I had not heard anything about the moving showing tonight. I am a huge Will Smith fan!” she replied with excitement.

“Great, sounds like a date!” he said, “I guess we better get this walk started. Which way my dear?”

“Yes, we should. I hadn’t decided on right or left, let's go this way” she said as they both turned left and headed down the beach holding their flip-flops in one hand.

They had been talking so much that neither of them realized how long they had been walking. When he looked down at his watch and saw it had been almost an hour, they turned around and headed back to the resort.

She was glad he had come with her. She wouldn’t have walked this far by herself.

Right before they got back to the resort the sun started to go down. What a beautiful sight to see the sunset across the ocean.

“Let’s take a selfie,” he said as he gently turned her back towards the ocean, stepped behind her, put his left arm around her waist and took the selfie with his right hand. This was the first time she thought about how tall he was. She was five foot seven and with him behind her, he had to be roughly six foot two.

“What a beautiful picture. I will text it to you. However, now that I think about it, we haven’t exchanged numbers yet. May I have your cell phone number madam?” he asked.

“You are right, we haven’t, but yes, you can have it. It is 605-555-9908. That is a very good photo of us. It looks like the sun is sitting right on our heads, well your head anyway,” she replied.

She heard his text when it came through as they walked back up to the resort pool. It was 6:30 p.m. and it had the looks of a gorgeous night.

They found two vacant lounge chairs positioned where they could see the movie when it started at 8 p.m. A waitress from the bar came around and took their orders. They had decided to go with burgers and fries. To drink he got a Hennessy and Coke, and she chose to go with the Aruba Ariba. When the waitress had told her it was mix of vodka, 151 rum, Coecoei liquor (only found in Aruba), crème de banana, orange juice, cranberry juice, pineapple juice, and a splash of grenadine over ice, she knew she had to try this one first.

As they sat and waited on their order and for the movie to start, he asked her if she would run with him in the morning on the beach.

“How early are we talking about? We are on vacation,” she asked.

“Well, how about we decide together now on a time. You don’t want it to be too early, even though we can always go lay back down in our rooms or out here. And I don’t want it to be too late because I desire to relax and enjoy with rest of the day. I was thinking about taking one of those snorkeling charters out tomorrow. And the first boat leaves at 10 a.m.,” he said.

“Well if we do 7 a.m., run for an hour, come back shower, and have a quick breakfast, then we both can make the 10 a.m. The shuttle leaves here a half an hour before the boat, to get us to the marina on time. If you don’t mind me going, that is. I was looking at it later this week anyway,” she said.

“7 a.m. sounds good. I actually love your plan and since my next question was going to be to ask you to go with me, that means of course I don’t mind you coming along,” he said.

“Then it sounds like we have a great plan!” she said.

The waitress brought over their drinks. Fifteen minutes later the food arrived and the movie was starting. Five minutes after that they were passing out popcorn. They sat in pretty much silence watching the show. Every once in a while she would start laughing at something Martin Lawrence would say. Bad Boys was one of her all-time favorite movies so when they came out with Bad Boys 2, she had been excited to go see it at the movies, but unfortunately with her schedule, she had never made it. So to her, this was a great night.

Once the movie ended, they set around getting more drinks. Camila never did try anything different. She said that she would try another one tomorrow, but tonight, she was enjoying the one she was drinking. Malik however, decided to try a sip of hers and made a decision to switch over and have the same. They sat and talked way into the night.

When they got up to head to their rooms, it was about 1 a.m. She got up and realized she may have had a little too much to drink. She felt tipsy. Malik saw this too and grab her arm when she stood up.

“Um, maybe we should have slowed down a little while ago! Not to worry, I promise to be a complete gentleman and walk you to your room without trying to take advantage of you!” he laughed.

“Maybe I should have! And thank you. You are always a gentleman and lucky for me because I don’t know if I could have stopped you tonight,” she said.

“Okay, Ms. Lady, let’s get you upstairs and tucked in. I hear I have a great bedside manner. Since you wouldn’t be able to stop me, I will make sure to bring myself to a halt. When the time comes for us to take our growing friendship to another level, I want you to be fully aware of what is going on,” he replied.

“Nice, something to look forward too other than getting up for that run in the morning!” she laughed.

They walked back into the resort arm in arm. Once at her room door, they both went inside. She thanked him for coming with her, but she was fine and would be able to get herself ready and in the bed.

He gave her a kiss on her forehead and told her that he would see her in the morning.

When he got to his room, all he could think about was the effect that she was having on him. He enjoyed spending time with her, and he wanted to be with her at the least every day that they were here. But he was also hoping that they would still spend time together after they got back to Detroit. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was feeling, but he knew that whatever it was, she was making a huge impact on him.

After she shut the door behind her, her mind went straight to his comment about, “when the time comes, he wants her to fully know what is happening”. She knew he meant it as a joke because of her comment, but it took her imagination to all sorts of ideas about what it would be like to sleep with him. All those muscles that she loved to accidentally touch, that she had seen only through his t-shirts, to what was in those shorts, and how he would feel inside her. Oh man, she must be drunk. Why was she thinking about this stuff? However, she did come here to have fun and enjoy the things she had been missing out on.

She drifted off to sleep dreaming about what could come out of this new friendship. She found herself thinking of having a lasting relationship and not just a casual sexual one. Even if she wanted more, could either of them find the time to add a relationship to their busy schedules. Would it work, better yet, could two doctors with such hectic careers, find the time and energy to have a lasting and meaningful one.

As Malik fell asleep, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He knew he would never take advantage of her, that wasn’t even a thought. He really did want to wrap her up in his arms and into his bed though. But he would only do it with her being fully coherent. The worst part now was that he was sure she thought he was playing when he made that comment. He would have to redeem himself from that one. It had slipped out, and he had not put too much thought into it. He wasn’t in a rush to take her to bed, he wanted it to be the right time, he was beginning to care about her, but she made him hard just looking at her. Her body, her smile, her laugh were enough to make any man lose his grip on thinking with the head below his waist. So far, he had done a great job of keeping it together. But from the first time he saw her at the airport, he was drawn to her.

As she continued to think about the events of the night, she come to the conclusion that the Spirit of Christmas and Ole St. Nick must have known she wanted a man for her present this year.