Immaculate

Pulling back

Part Ten

Sang's POV

"Meanie, I'm quite happy to watch you all swimming."

I really meant it too. I didn't want to spoil this day just because I didn't want to swim. I had the chance of spending quality time with them all and I wasn't about to give that up just because I had a sore face. My nose would heal, but times like these were hard to come by. It was unusual to have all of them in the same place at the same time and I was making the most of it.

"Aww, Trouble, where's the fun if you can't join in?" he whined shaking his head.

"She can pretend to be at the circus as she watches you clowns mucking around," laughed Dr Green as he came out with the bags of meat he'd brought. He passed them to Kota who was by the grill and then turned to me.

"Let's have a look then, pookie."

He came towards where I was sitting on one of the chairs around the pool. I was wearing pink shorts with a white tank top today as to me it was still warm, but there was no point in putting on my bikini.

Dr Green squatted beside me and cupping my chin he turned my head towards him, his eyes roving over my face.

"How does it feel?"

"Much better today, Nathan and North have me taking tablets every four hours," I leant forwards till I was closer to him. "North has an alarm on his phone set to go off ten minutes before I'm due them. In fact, I think I might rattle if you shook me hard enough," I whispered and grinned at him.

He chuckled and very gently placed his fingers either side of my nose and pressed carefully around the area.

"Swelling is going down nicely," he murmured and then ran his fingertips along the black skin that decorated under my eyes. "I know Gabriel said he could cover these for you on Monday, but I really think you just leave them until they heal. Ok?"

"Oy! She can't go looking like that!"

"Meanie, I expect half the school knows what happened, it's going to be odd if I turn up with nothing showing at all!"

He wasn't happy with that and I could see. I reached out and caught his fingers in mine. He looked down at me and relented slightly, blowing his breath out on a huff.

"Fine, fine," he muttered and squeezed my fingers.

"You can go in the pool if you want to, pookie, just be careful that you don't bang your nose again," Dr Green said.

"She is not going in the water yet," North said coming up behind him to frown down at my face. "Knowing one of those idiots, she'd get banged up again. They're always throwing her around in there."

I saw Mr Blackbourne coming out of the house with the drink bottles. I was totally struck; his normal crisp suit had been replaced with a grey button down shirt; the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and the neck was open. Instead of his suit trousers he was wearing cargo shorts in a dark grey colour that ended just above his knees. His feet were bare of socks in his dark blue deck shoes. He was stunningly perfect, every inch polished, but the sternness that his suit gave him was gone. He looked more his age today.

"See something you like, pookie?"

I brought my eyes around to Dr Green who was still crouched in front of me. He was smirking at me, a knowing look in his eyes.

I felt my face flush as I realised he had caught me checking out Mr Blackbourne.

"You're all so...." I stopped and shrugged, not able to put into words how they looked to me.