Chapter 28
Sandra watched as Horatio slipped into the water and swam over to join her and Calleigh. Her lips still tingled at their earlier kiss and her body fairly begged for Horatio to touch her again. After the kiss in the bedroom, by silent agreement, they had put the topic of their relationship on hold for now, but that hadn't stopped her private longings.
It had taken Steve Raye's behaviour to make her realize exactly what she wanted in life; she wanted Horatio and she was tired of dancing around in circles.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey yourself," she said. "Everything okay?"
"It is now," he said.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Talk to you for a minute?" he asked.
"Sure," she said. "Calleigh!"
But Calleigh had already assessed the situation. In fact, she and Alexx had been comparing notes on them and had come to the same conclusion; Horatio and Sandra were involved and trying not to show it or they weren't involved but cared about each other more than they realized or would admit.
"Bugger off you two; we'll be just fine!" Calleigh called.
Horatio lead Sandra off to one side slightly, out of earshot of Calleigh and the kids.
As they stood in chest-deep water, Horatio took Sandra's hands in his and asked, "Do you want to take things further?"
"Yes, I do," she admitted. "I can understand your hesitation in regards to the Mala Noche, Horatio, I can understand that. Fifth Street Gang, remember?" He nodded; he did remember. "But I'm not about to let shadows stop me from what I want, and I want you."
"That's good to know," he said, drawing her closer and sliding his hands around her waist. "I can't promise it'll be easy because I'm very protective of the people I care about and I can't promise I'll stop worrying, but if you're willing, then I'm willing to go further, if we take things day by day."
He watched as her face began to light up like the rising sun before she reached up and kissed him. "Day by day, huh?" she whispered softly. "Bring it on."
When Horatio and Sandra rejoined the group, there was a noticeable change in them. For one thing, Horatio and Sandra didn't go too far from each other and for another they were a lot more affectionate with each other. They had clearly come to an agreement about something in regards to their relationship.
"Looks like Horatio took my advice and decided to do something about Sandra," Alexx quietly told Calleigh, who simply grinned at the pair.
As with all days, sooner or later they have to end. Unfortunately for Sandra, her day ended with her spotting none other than Steve Raye waiting for them at the dock of the marina where the Sea Princess was coming in. He was in off-duty clothes and leaning against one of the pilings.
"Oh my god," she groaned. "What the hell does that moron want?"
"I don't know; do you want me to deal with him?" Horatio asked.
"No, I'll deal with him but don't go too far in case things get nasty."
"Fair enough."
Once the boat was secure, she jumped to the dock and walked up to Steve. "What are you doing here, Steve?" she asked, not even bothering to pull on her shirt; she had pulled her shorts on only for comfort during the ride home. She folded her arms across her chest and kept a distance of at least four feet between them.
"Thought we could talk," he said.
"So talk. No guarantee I'll listen," she replied.
"You hear about what happened to me?"
She grunted. "Steve, after you left me at Clover's Point, I really don't give a damn about what happens or happened to you."
He glared at her. "A bunch of the guys jumped me and dumped me at Clover's Point without my cell. I had a two-hour walk."
"Whooptie-do. Looks like you survived."
"So did you."
"I was lucky but then again, I've heard of women who weren't so lucky."
"You had your cell with you!" he snapped.
"It was dead," she pointed out coldly.
"Well then whose fault was that?" he shot back angrily.
"Look, what's your dumping got to do with me?" she asked, trying to figure out what was going on.
"The guys said it was to teach me a lesson about leaving women at isolated points and no means of getting back. The only way they could have known about that is by you," he said angrily.
She just looked at him and wondered why the heck they were having this conversation. It was a waste of time, as far as she was concerned. He was never going to learn. "Look, things are over between us. You can think whatever you want, but I had nothing to do with what happened to you. I don't care if you don't believe me or not, just leave me alone."
She turned to walk away and was content to leave it at that, until Steve opened his big mouth.
"You are one high-and-mighty bitch, aren't you?" he snapped.
That did it; Sandra'd had enough.
From the dock, Horatio, Calleigh, and Alexx watched as Sandra's posture changed and the look on her face became nasty.
"Uh-oh," Calleigh muttered.
"Uh-oh is right," Horatio said.
"Steve," Sandra said sweetly, meandering back towards the rookie cop, "go soak your head!" And with that, she shoved him hard.
SPLASH!
"You go, girl!" Alexx called to Sandra, who was glaring at Steve as he surfaced, coughing and sputtering, as Calleigh laughed and Horatio grinned.
"That was well deserved," Horatio said, still grinning.
"You're a self-centered jerk, Steve!" Sandra yelled at Steve. "Come near me again and it'll be my foot in your balls!" And with that, she stormed off to rejoin her friends.
"Feel better?" Horatio quietly asked Sandra as she snuggled against him.
"Much. Can I do that again when he gets back on land?" she asked.
"It worked the first time, but I'm not so sure it would work again," he said.
"Darn. In that case, can we get out of here before he decides to turn nasty?" she asked.
"That we can do," he said. "Hungry?"
"When am I not?" He just grinned at her. "Oh, and you know you're not going home tonight, right?"
"I'm not?"
"No, you're not. Now that the pussyfooting is past, I'm jumping you every chance I get," she whispered in his ear.
"I have no objections to that," he said. And he didn't. As a matter of fact, he realized, he was quite looking forward to it……
