Sands emerged from the bathroom wearing black, lightweight cotton pajama bottoms and…nothing else. His hair was wet and his sunglasses were on his face. Grace couldn't help but think that he looked like perfection.
Stop looking at him like that! He's an arrogant, self-centered…Why does he have to be attractive? It's just not fair!
"Couldn't get the shirt on," Sands said, interrupting her thoughts. "My arm isn't agreeing with me at the moment."
"You're probably more comfortable anyway, huh?" she asked him.
"Yeah, and you get to have an exquisite view for the day."
See, arrogance! Totally takes away from the attractiveness…well…a little at least. "Is arrogance a prerequisite to be in the CIA or something?"
A faint smile crossed Sands' lips. "No, just one of the perks of being me." His voice wasn't as sure as it had been earlier, which led Grace to believe that he was, indeed, "feeling the burn" of his injuries.
"Sit down and I'll get your pills, O.K.?"
"Yeah…thanks." He sat on one of the chairs at the table and looked as though he was fighting to keep from rubbing his legs.
Grace went in search of Sand's medication and found the bottle in the bag of extra dressings from the hospital. She read the bottle, which was, very thankfully, in English, and returned to Sands. "You have to take these with food, so I'll order up for us. What would you like?"
Sands wasted no time in saying, "Puerco pibil."
"Huh?"
"It's good, trust me."
Could she have seen his eyes – had he had eyes – Grace was sure that they would be reflecting some serious discomfort. "Anything else?"
"Tequila with lime."
Her eyes grew wide. "Huh uh. No way, Sands."
"Why the hell not?"
"You are on some pretty heavy painkillers that say in giant bold letters, 'DO NOT TAKE WITH ALCOHOL' – and even if they didn't…"
"You can't tell me I can't have…"
"The last thing I need is for you to go into some, um, some sort of arrest or something…or get really out of control or…Dammit, I don't have to explain why! I'm just putting my foot down!"
"Oo…controlling…Do you own a whip, kitten?"
She'd never admit it out loud, but that comment made her feel a lot better. For a moment, she was really beginning to worry about him. "Maybe I do." Sands made a growling noise, which caused Grace's flesh to rise. Quickly, she picked up the phone and dialed room service. "Hello…I'd like to place an order for room 502…Yes…Um…I'd like the shrimp fajita platter and, um, porko pebble."
Sands shouted. "Puerco pibil!"
Grace laughed. "Excuse me, puerco pibil…No, we have drinks in the fridge up here…"
"Bring tequila with lime!"
"Ignore that request, please…Half an hour?…Thank you." She hung up the phone.
"God help you if they bring me rocks, Gracie."
She smiled. "Oh, I was only trying to piss you off, Sands." She went to the refrigerator and pulled out two cans of Sprite. "If you want lime tasting stuff, then you'll settle for the nonalcoholic kind."
"What fun is that?"
Grace shook her head. "Absolutely impossible," she muttered. She poured the drinks into glasses and gave him one. "Here."
"When can I drink again?"
"You can drink right now."
"I mean the good stuff."
"When you're off your meds, which won't be for a while. You have the pain killers as well as the antibiotics to fight off any infections and…"
"Hey, Gracie?" Sands interrupted.
"What?"
"Do you…" He stopped and nervously took a swig of his drink.
"Do I what?"
"Nothing."
"Sands? You all right?"
He rubbed his forehead. "Grub won't be here for a while…I think I wanna lay down."
That is so not what you were going to say. "O.K. Bed or couch?"
"Your bed or mine?" he smiled.
"Yours," Grace replied sternly.
"Couch then." Grace helped him to the couch and he exhaled gratefully when his back hit the cushions.
"Going to sleep?"
"No. Not until I get those little blue pieces of heaven into my system."
"Well…I'm going to unpack while we wait for dinner. Do you want me to put the T.V. on?"
"Nah…but is there a window or door or something that goes outside?"
"Uh huh. There's a glass door that leads out onto the balcony."
"Can we…you…see the ocean from this room?"
Grace's answer was soft. "Beautifully."
"Could you open that door so I can hear it?"
Grace felt a piece of her heart shatter for Sands. "Yeah." She walked to the door and opened it. The sounds of the people below as well as the surf soon filled the room.
Sands sighed heavily. "Thanks, Gracie."
Grace wiped away a tear. "No problem…Uh, call me if you need me." She disappeared into her room.
***
Author's Note: Remember, this story is classified as humor and romance…gotta have a little serious time. Like it? I really really hope you do!