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Chapter Twenty Five - One in a Million

"Have you ever been to Cali before?"

"Once. Mom and dad took me to Disneyland."

"Anaheim's nice, but it's nothing like L.A.," I said with a smile. "L.A.'s a creature all it's own."

Rosie did her best to look impressed, but in the end she tossed her head against my arm and closed her eyes. The last thirty-six hours had been rough. After her nausea had subsided, a storm had popped out of nowhere. The waves weren't extremely bad, but it tossed the boat to and fro, slowed down my progress, and left her unable to sleep.

"Thank you for using Malibu Marine!" the perky, augmented clerk behind the desk chirped as she held out the key to my convertible. I took it hesitantly.

Back to the real world.

Rosie was back to her lime green flip-flops. I nudged her head and she followed me out to the parking lot. Everything I had dragged on board the boat had been stuffed into a luggage cart.

"Wait here," I instructed. "I'll pull the car around."

Rosie brought her hand to her mouth, smothering a yawn. "No problem," she assured me.

My car had been moved further and further back in the never-ending parking lot. It looked to me like it had only been about two days away from being tipped over and rolled down into the ocean. I couldn't help but walk around the ebony beauty, running my hand over it to check for scratches. It was flawless.

Feeling the need to impress, I put the top down before climbing in. The engine roared to life; the gas tank was still three-quarters full. I pulled out of the parking spot, my arm draped over the entire front seat and headed towards the entrance to the Malibu Marine building.

Rosie had followed my instructions to a 't;' she had crawled up on the luggage cart, her face smashed into a life-jacket. Her eyes were closed, her arms wrapped around her own little bag she had snuck on board. Her left flip-flop dangled from her big toe. I smiled. Not just any girl could manage to fit perfectly on a luggage cart. I hopped out of the car, popped the trunk, and tip-toed up to the cart.

She never heard me coming. My hand wrapped around her slender ankle and I slid her towards me, unable to look away as her shirt rode up. Her eyes flew open. Her good arm shot out, trying to grab something to hold onto. My hand pressed against her bare stomach.

"You fell asleep that fast?" I asked.

She stopped fighting. looked up at me, and relaxed. "It might surprise you, but if I don't get at least six hours of sleep every night, I will crawl into any corner I can find to get some z's."

"Look, I think this is my favorite!"

Lauren knelt down next to my knees, holding up the picture she held in her hand. Her camera danced between her breasts. I grinned, plucking the matte photo from her and turned it to see her masterpiece. The moment I saw what had gotten her so excited, I groaned.

"Really? Couldn't you have caught Howie doing this? He's kind of the master."

"No, you're the master. I can't believe you got yourself scrunched back there."

"It might surprise you, but if I'm exhausted, I will crawl into any corner I can find to get some z's," I said with a grin.

"You'll wrap your arm around anything you can find too," Lauren said with a giggle. "She opened her large leather case and pulled out another photo. "THIS photo would make any girl fall in love with you."

I studied the photo of me and Igby. The dog's eyes were open; he looked terrified...

And I looked like a five-year old with a five o'clock shadow.

"I'm kinda scared to see what picture you'll pull out next. You take one with me sleeping bare-assed too?"

Lauren lifted her long body up, her hands sliding up my thighs. I tossed the photos on the couch beside me, running my hand through her hair.

"I'm going to have to get you naked first," she teased. Her head lowered; I felt her lips pressed against the inside of my thigh. My head fell back on the couch and I swallowed hard.

"I don't think you'll have any problem with that..."

"Where'd you go?"

My hand was still on Rosie's stomach; my other arm was raised, clinging to the luggage rack. I groaned, pressing my face into my bicep.

"You're just talking to the guy who fell asleep scrunched into the corner of an econo-van," I said. I took a deep breath, my heart clawing madly at my chest.

I wanted to be back on that couch so bad it hurt.

Rosie's body slid from under my touch. She popped up under my arm, her good hand wrapped around the luggage rack.

"Let's get everything loaded up," she said quietly. "This is your car? Damn..."

"This is the first car I've ever taken care of. I don't even speed in it...well, I don't speed that much," I explained. Rosie laughed.

"Considering how well you moved that boat through the storm, I'd say you're probably an even greater force to be reckoned with on the road," she teased.

"The foot is mighty on the accelerator," I said in mock-seriousness. The banter was clearing my head. I popped the trunk and began to transfer luggage. Rosie walked around to the front of the car. I was just stuffing my chairs in, using my butt as a pseudo-hammer when I heard the pop of the hood. I leaned over just in time to see Rosie's body disappear under the lifted shiny black cover.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking out the engine."

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning. "What do you know about engines?"

"Just because I don't drive doesn't mean that my male-centric family hasn't taught me all this stuff. Do you realize you have a slight leak around your distributor cap?"

"A what? Where?" I asked.

"You've got some oil leaking out around the distributor cap," Rosie repeated. When she looked up at me, I saw a light oily brown streak on her cheek. I leaned up against the trunk and started to laugh. My shoulders relaxed.

Nowhere in my mind was a flashback that would take me away from that moment. Lauren hadn't been a car girl. She would have never told me that I had a leak in my whatever-cap. She would have never crawled underneath the hood to stare down at a bunch of car parts and hoses.

"You're one in a million, you know that?" I asked when the laughter finally stopped. Rosie placed her hand on her hip and tilted her head.

"Just helping you take care of business," she said lightly, but I could tell my compliment had made her happy. She took a step back.

"There's just one thing..."

"What?"

Rosie gave a little jump for emphasis.

"I can't reach the hood."