Kelly's Jellyfish Romance (Romantic Short Stories) by Kristina Belle Page A

her satisfaction she finally found some worthy
eye candy. The kind you can drool over and dream about.  No question he’s
in excellent shape. The man is well muscled with absolutely no sign of body
fat, like an athlete in peak condition. When he notices her hungry stare the
blond man boldly shoots her a wide sexy smile. Embarrassed to have been caught
obviously gawking, actually drooling, Kelly gives a little wave and decides it
is well past time to get her new tiny little bikini wet. She definitely needs
to settle down and cool off.
    Kelly runs into the gentle surf and dives in head first. She
doesn’t care about her long red curly hair getting wet. The salty ocean water
is warm and inviting and feels fantastic. Swimming leisurely she senses the
blond man's eyes on her. Well, Kelly thought, fair is fair. No problem. After
all she had openly filled her eyes.  She hoped he enjoys taking in her fit
body as much as she enjoyed watching his. She had worked hard at the gym to
develop her figure; maybe now her hard work would pay off.
    As Kelly swam, she sees a flash of something pink glimmering
on the sandy white sand ocean floor. Diving down to check it out she sees the
beautiful rose and cream swirl of a conch shell. She surfaces, takes a deep
breath, and dives back down to collect her prize. Just as her fingertips brush
against the edge of the shell, ready to claim her treasure, a searing pain
shoots up her right leg. Her involuntary scream underwater results in saltwater
entering her lungs.
    Terrified Kelly tries to reach the surface. The pain in her
leg is enormous. She fears she will pass out. Desperately Kelly claws for the
surface, trying to get to the air. Just as the fear of drowning feeds growing
panic her head breaks the surface. She is in still in trouble. In water over
her head and panicked all she can do is cough and wildly flail about. She not
only fears drowning she is drowning.

Chapter 3
     
    As she fights to keep her head above water a pair of strong
arms grabs Kelly, expertly turns her to a lifeguard’s carry position, and starts
pulling her towards the shore. With a few powerful strokes Kelly is out of
danger and near the beach. A manly voice penetrates the fog of fear still in
Kelly's mind. "Easy, I've got you. Just breathe. Don't fight me, relax
just breathe." Over and over his voice commands her to relax and breathe.
Then the two are back on the beach. In a daze Kelly finds herself carried to
the beach chairs by the muscular handsome blond man. Setting her carefully in
the chair, the man calls to the cabana waiter as quickly as possible to bring
some vinegar and baking soda. Kelly clutches the stranger's arm sobbing and
whimpering as pain rips up and down her leg. Seeing her friend in trouble, in a
panic Lola runs to the chair, asking what she can do to help her friend.
    "Your friend was stung by a jellyfish. We need to treat
the stings as quickly as possible." The waiter returns at a run with
vinegar and baking soda. The handsome stranger asks Lola to fetch him some
ocean water in a nearby ice bucket.  He begins to efficiently treat the
stings, first soaking Kelly's leg in vinegar, and then applying a thick paste
of baking soda mixed with ocean water. As the pain begins to fade Kelly finally
understands what happened and how lucky she is to be alive. Coming out of shock
she stares at her rescuer in amazement. Even though still dazed her first
reaction makes her mumble, “He’s so handsome. Is this real?”
    "Who are you? How did you… how did you know what to
do?" Kelly stammers out. Smiling a slightly roguish smile, the man answers
"With your emergency I guess there wasn’t time to get introduced. I’m Alex
Johnson. I was in the coast guard where I learned how to treat a jellyfish
sting. I also learned how to rescue beautiful drowning women." He winked
and with a smile looks down at her injury. "There’re still a few tentacles
embedded in your leg. Those have to come out. The sooner they come