Promises Made, Promises Broken - SYTYCW (Bad Reputation)

Present Day (Chapter Ten) Monday

Serves them right for ambushing me.

My gloating was short-lived.

With a quick glance at each other, the sisters dove under the water and swam to the spot right below me, reached up, then yanked on my legs with surprising strength.  I spun as I tried to resist falling forward.  I twisted around, caught sight of the redhead, and my mouth fell open in surprise.  I tried to wave to her as I went over the side of the pool but failed miserably as my arms flailed around in the air.  I splashed into the water, and my head hit something hard enough to knock my chin to my chest.  The world went black for several moments.

I knew she was leaning over me even before I fully came to.  My head swam, like I was under water, but I could smell her shampoo and also a hint of something muskier that made my body heat up.  Until her lips met mine, I was completely unable to move.  When she exhaled into my mouth, I knew what her intention was - to breathe life into my still body.  The only problem was that my body was no longer still, and it had other ideas about how to react.  And breathing had very little to do with it.

I drew her closer, begging her with every part of my body to stay there with me.  For one perfect moment, it worked.

I wanted to call her name, I longed to say it tenderly into her ear.

Then I remembered.

I still don't know her name. How is that possible?

I kissed her harder, trying to draw the sound of it from her.  All she did was breathe a soft, dizzyingly sexy noise against my mouth.  

Then it was over, and disappointment had overwhelmed me.  

The feeling still clouded my mind at that moment, in the hospital ER.

"Dammit," I said out loud to myself.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I snapped automatically, then looked up apologetically.

Amber.

"You don't seem fine," she replied. "You're sitting in an emergency room, talking to yourself."

I smiled politely.  I hadn't forgotten about her demeanour the other night, even though she had it carefully hidden under a syrupy cover at the moment.

"I banged my head," I told her. "Did you hit yours, too?"

She pursed her lips thoughtfully as if trying to puzzle out whether or not my comment was intentionally insulting. 

"No, silly," she said with a little laugh. "I volunteer here."

"Is that so?"

It was my turn to look thoughtful.  I had a hard time imagining Amber doing volunteer work.

"My dad's a surgeon," she reminded me. "He likes everyone in the family to make a monthly appearance."

She pretended not to notice my smirk, and placed a cool hand on my forehead.  I flinched, but Amber left her hand there anyway.  She leaned a little closer, and I could smell her cloying perfume.

"I hope you haven't forgotten about our dinner plans on Tuesday?" she asked in a deliberately seductive voice.

"I didn't forget," I replied.

Amber smiled. "Good."

I placed my hand over-top of hers and moved it away from my face and into her lap.  She threaded her fingers through mine and held them there.

"But I don't remember actually agreeing to dinner," I told her.

Amber yanked her hand away and I grinned.