Unsuitable Obsession - Part One (15 page)

Brush, brush, brush...rinse, rinse, rinse...oh
no...
He
was
in the space; Amber’s heart began to
pound once again. She gazed up from her focusing and centered on
him entering through the open doorway.

“Ah…they got you doing KP?”

Amber turned away as Eduardo conveniently passed
behind her back and went to look at something in the refrigerator.
She smiled, “No, I volunteered, I had to keep my mind busy.”

Eduardo glanced up from the freezer. “Why? What’s
wrong?”

Amber’s heart sunk. Like she would confess
everything to him! “Oh, it’s nothing.”

“Oh,” Eduardo voiced, pulling out an orange from the
bottom of the frig. He threw the fruit up a few feet and then
caught it with his other hand. “Oh well, see ya out there.”

“Yah, see ya.”

Amber continued washing the pots now. Big huge
containers filled with what once looked like potato salad. A few
more minutes pass and Amber began to wonder where her mother-in-law
and her sister went. She grabbed a few glasses and dumped them into
the soapy water. Just then Eduardo caught the corner of her eye
again. What does he need now?

“Where’s my Mom?”

Amber stopped what she was doing. “She was just
here, she said she was going to her bedroom, did you check
there?”

Eduardo walked out of her view and Amber instantly
went back to rinsing out the glasses. She nearly broke one on the
center of the porcelain sink when her brother-in-law appeared
around the corner again walking towards her.

“Need some help?”

Amber nodded her head no.

Eduardo could tell there was something deeply
bothering her, Amber’s usual rejoinders were not apparent. “Tell me
what the problem is then.”

How could he tell? Amber blushed, swallowed, and
then turned away. She tried to finish the dishes but her heart was
beating so darn hard. But yet...the more she thought about it,
there was one thing she could have him help her out with.
“Eduardo...how do you treat the females in your office?”

What an unusual question, Eduardo thought. “All the
same, why?”

“What does that mean, all the same?”

“I treat all women with respect,” he said
matter-of-factly, “Co-workers, Assistants...family.”

Amber gazed down at the ground. Although he probably
didn’t mean to do it, Eduardo’s last comment melted her knees, his
look was sweltering and she couldn’t help but turn away from her
own heat rising. “I wish all men thought the same as you do.”

Eduardo came in closer to her and grabbed the glass
out of her hand to begin wiping it dry with a dishcloth. “Why? What
happened?”

Amber watched in awe as Eduardo placed the dried
goblet back up into the cupboard. “Will you help me out with
something?”

“Sure, anything,” he relayed, wiping off another
glass.

Amber sighed. Thank goodness. Having a high profile
defense attorney on her side would help out tremendously. “There’s
this attorney at my firm, he’s actually the head and he’s not
paying me. I need you to represent me, I won’t be able to pay you
right off, but as soon as I get my money, I can make payments—”

Eduardo hushed her mouth with the dishcloth.
“There’s no need Amber, you’re my family, how much does he owe
you?”

Amber batted the cloth away, “Two month’s
salary.”

“What a bastard.”

“You can say that again.”

“No need to sue Amber. I just need to place the fear
of God in him. I’ll send him correspondence on Aldridge &
Watson letterhead and enforce compensation.”

“You think that will work?”

Eduardo guffawed at her comment, “Amber...we just
won a celebrity malpractice suit, I was on the news last night,
didn’t you see it?”

Amber grabbed the wet dish out of his hand and
started to hoot. “Yah—right, I’m pregnant remember? This body falls
asleep at nine o’clock!”

Eduardo yanked the dish back, smiled and then his
grin weakened when Amber licked her lips. “Too bad, I looked pretty
good.”

Amber rolled her eyes, then again, he always looked
good, darn him. “Did you tape it?”

“Of course.”

“You are so bigheaded,” Amber snickered, locking
eyes with his.

“For the office archives silly girl.”

Eduardo was enjoying himself too much all of a
sudden. Helping Amber out with a simple household chore, he even
forgot what he came into the kitchen for. Amber was standing too
close for comfort—her hazel eyes looked deep into his.

Much too close,
Amber realized, she simply
must step away. The fragrance of him unnerved her, he smelled of
soap, masculinity, cologne and vitality. She wanted to run her
hands up his muscled chest now and feel the power he so easily
generated through his sexy pores. Without warning, Amber was caught
in his web. His eyes, so green and narcotic caused her lips to
part, her mouth watered and her breasts ached to be touched...Good
Lord, why did she think this way around him!

Eduardo’s will power deserted him. His brain was
sending messages down to his feet, but his desire absorbed his port
and he remained level. Good God, Amber was radiant. The pregnancy
caused her cheeks to fill with a pink hue and her already full
luscious lips appeared swollen and begging to be kissed. Her gaze
glittered and cheerfulness bounced around the browns of her eyes.
Good God, if only he could just freely wrap his arms around her?
Offensive thoughts beat down his groin. He wanted to know what it
felt like to have her plump breasts up against his upper body. She
was staring at his chest again...he wished to God he knew what she
kept staring at.

Eduardo sighed heavily and did a double take when he
eyed his mother and Tiá Sonya watching his exposure. He folded the
dishcloth, placed it down on the counter and headed out the area
without a further word.

Rosalba and Sonya blasted looks at one another.
Eduardo

never
offered to do housework before that was
women’s work to him. Both of them felt the level of Amber’s and
Eduardo’s keen friendship. Was it familiarity? Or was it something
else entirely?

Desire & Contractions

Amber was so glad that Adrian’s birthday landed on a
Saturday. Normally, her son’s birthday would land in the middle of
the week and she would have to scramble around and figure out if
she would have it on the weekend
before
or the weekend
after
. It was the little things that usually made her
crazy—it was the big things she thought she could handle.

Eduardo asked her what it felt like to kiss her.
Well, what did it feel like to kiss him? She began to wonder. Her
constant daydreaming of him was even clouding her normal routine.
She was nearly nine months pregnant now and oftentimes missed her
appointments because she was spending too much time thinking about
her brother-in-law. Her mind would wander off into a zone all its
own, a private sector of her brain where she could envision her and
him together.

Thank goodness for friends in high places! Eduardo’s
simple letter enforced her boss to indemnify her and was even
treated with elevated esteem when the law office realized that
Amber was related to
that Sanchez
. Boy, Eduardo sure was
making a name for himself within the legal community.

But today was her son’s day; Adrian’s 6
^th
birthday. Boys and girls from his kindergarten class would be there
along with some of the kids around the neighborhood and most
especially, the Sanchez Family; about thirty of them this time,
mostly the relatives with kids Adrian’s age or younger. No balloons
for her son, no way, Adrian would have none of it. He wanted
streamers only
, ‘
no baby stuff Mom’
, he
insisted, and if she bought theme paper plates and napkins, he said
he would walk out of the party. Would she do that? Oh no, Adrian
was just like his Tió Eduardo in a way, he knew what he wanted and
wasn’t shy about being direct.

She would obey her son’s wishes and do the best she
could decorating the backyard with streamers, tablecloths and
colorful displays of The Power Rangers. No baby stuff, huh? Her son
was head over heels in love with The White Ranger and watched them
every Saturday morning, even had several figures of The White
Ranger and the other Power Rangers as well: Red, Yellow, Pink,
Blue, Green and Black. His favorite, The White Ranger was special,
for he was the most powerful Ranger. “Tommy” was the individual the
other Rangers looked up to and needed when the other Rangers were
getting beaten up by the monsters of the moment. He was the
hero
and Adrian wanted to be him. Amber decided long ago
that she was going to surprise Adrian with a White Ranger
impersonator. Having the White Ranger come by the birthday party to
surprise her son would be the highlight of the day.

The house was set. Victor was outside turning on the
propane to the barbecue grill when the first of the guests arrived.
It was several kids from Adrian’s class, a couple of boys and a few
girls. They all ran outside towards the backyard and Adrian was so
excited to see them at his house, he ran around from room to room
showing all the kids the furniture, TV’s, his video games, where
the bathrooms were and then finally the patio.

Sanchez relatives began to pour in. Aunts and Uncles
with cousins and more cousins came shuffling through the door.
Amber was beginning to get slightly overwhelmed.

Her huge belly felt heavy as she bounced around from
family member to family member. Leticia and Eduardo arrived soon
after. Leticia was just as bulky as Amber, and she was appreciative
of the fact that she didn’t have to feel singled out and awkward in
front of The Family. She had a partner, they were a pair of
pregnant ladies and she was thankful for the non-comparatives. They
were in the same boat; both pregnant within weeks of each other. It
was odd in a way, if you really thought about it. How the hand of
God stepped in. Making sure Amber had an equal gift Leticia
wouldn’t be envious of and vice versa and the attention would be
split evenly between the two. Their kids would grow up with one
another; have the same interests, even the same devotion.

Amber eyed Eduardo walking over to Victor first.
They shook hands, patted each other on the back and greeted each
other with love, admiration.
Good Lord! Eduardo looked good
.
Light blue cotton shirt tucked in comfortable expensive white linen
shorts. Amber turned the other way when she felt the first of two
strong contractions.
Oh my God, not now!

She rubbed her tummy and let go a couple of breaths
and sat herself down. She didn’t mean to bring more attention to
herself than she did, but somehow it didn’t matter. She felt a
little light-headed when Eduardo ran to her side.

“You OK?”

“I think I had a contraction,” Amber let go,
continuing to breathe through the second less intense muscle
strain.

“Leticia’s been having them too,” Eduardo expressed,
chuckling at the thought of the both of them feeling the same
pain.

“Oh no, is she?” Amber asked, surveying his attire
again.

Victor eyed his wife in apparent pain and hurriedly
walked over to her side. “Eduardo? What’s wrong?” He asked with the
barbecue prongs still in his hand.

“She thinks she had a contraction,” Eduardo
stated.

Victor got excited, “Really? How fast they coming?
Have you timed them? Do they feel like the ones you had with
Adrian?”

Amber looked up at her husband.
He looked good
today too.
Jean shorts, dragging black Oakland Raiders football
jersey, Nike tennis shoes. “I think I’m OK now,” she breathed,
getting up to her feet.

Leticia spotted the three of them and quickly
hobbled towards the excitement. “What’s wrong, everything OK?”

“She’s having contractions,” Eduardo stated
again.

“Having?” Amber counter-stated. “I only had
two.”

“Did they just start?” Leticia asked, quizzically
rubbing her own stomach.

“Yah, can you help me with the games?” Amber asked
Leticia wide-eyed.

“I will,” Eduardo chimed in, looking into Leticia’s
eyes as he said it. He couldn’t tolerate to see Amber in any more
pain, if his brother wasn’t going to give his wife special
attention today, then he certainly was.

Leticia smiled back at him. “Awww, what a thoughtful
husband I have,” she let go rubbing his arm.

“Yah—yah, what do I do first?” Eduardo asked Amber,
watching her wobble around gingerly.

“Adrian wants no kiddie games; imagine no games at a
kid party.”

Eduardo gazed around at all the guests. “That’s my
nephew! Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves thus far; I guess
the little guy knows.”

“Thank goodness. Wait till you see the surprise I
have for Adrian, he’s gonna love it!” She exclaimed, biting down on
her lower lip as she said it.

Eduardo brought his eyes down to her lips—closed his
own mouth and tried to escape being utterly captivated again.
“Can’t wait.”

No kiddie games
, Amber thought. What about a
piñata? She remembered the conversation she had with her son just
before the party. “Yah, we can have one of those…but no pin the
tail on the donkey or stupid drawing games…” OK, so where does that
leave her? The White Ranger surprise and a piñata filled with candy
that would have to do.

Eduardo gathered up all the kids and began to put
them in line according to height. Each kid would have a few swings
at the bouncing papier-mâché Power Ranger, and cousin Hector—who
was keeping himself out of trouble lately—would do the honors at
making sure each kid missed the object before the last kid in line
had their turn. Amber made sure each one of the little ones had a
plastic goody bag to collect the flying candy and everything was
all set. She was just about to wrap a bandanna around the first
toddler when she felt another contraction.
Oh no!
She pulled
away from the child and arched her back and waited until the
feeling subsided. No other adult noticed her in discomfort but
Eduardo who set eyes on Amber frequently. Amber made it look like
she was just adjusting her outfit. He was sure he’d be running to
her side again, he studied her body movement relentlessly.