And then there was the huge skeleton.
A plastic one I’d bought online, standing in the corner like a silent roommate, draped in a faded med school hoodie. Its hollow sockets stared out over the room. It was a grim reminder of everything I was studying for and, if I was being honest, the closest thing I had to company on many nights.
Not too much personality showed in my place. . .until one looked at the walls.
My nerd shrine.
A vintageDoogie Howser, M.D.poster my dad had bought for me when I was eight, back when he used to play the show’s reruns to keep me dreaming big.
Next to it, a shadow box with my first stethoscope my mother got me for my 9thbirthday. It was the cheap plastic kind that came with a toy doctor’s kit, still scuffed from when I wore it nonstop around the house.
There was also a framed print of Da Vinci’sVitruvian Manhung crooked above my desk lamp, and on the bookshelf leaned a bobblehead of Dr. House, his cane tucked under one arm, scowling like he approved of nothing and no one.
I padded barefoot across the floor to the fridge.
My wet soles squeaked against the linoleum.
The fridge was a rusty thing, that hummed like a rickety engine and wheezed out cool drafts every time I cracked it open. But it held my food, my meal prep containers, my protein shakes.
And tonight, it held my salvation.
I opened it and pulled out a beer.
The coldness bit into my hand as I lifted it. I twisted off the cap, tossed it in the trash, and took a long, slow swig, wincing as the sharp taste washed over my tongue and down my throat.
It was a poor substitute for Teyonah’s sweetness, but at least it numbed the ache. At least it dulled the image of her smiling at me, her laugh bouncing around in my head.
A knock sounded.
I stopped drinking and checked my watch.
10:00pm. Who is that?
No one ever knocked this late. Teyonah and the kids should have been upstairs, teeth brushed, stories read, lights dimmed.
What’s going on?
I crossed the room and opened the door.
Oh fuck.
Teyonah stood on the other side.
Mmmm. She’s come to me. Big mistake.She should’ve stayed upstairs. Because now that she’s at my door, I don’t know if I’ll ever let her leave.
Chapter seven
Erotic Arrhythmia
Dominic
Did she understand that this was about to be a very dangerous situation?
Surely, she came down for my cock because she was about to get it, whether she wanted it or not. I was too on the edge of cumming all over her right now.
Teyonah stood there, wearing red silk pajamas—loose pants, a button-up top with the first few undone.
Her hair was down, spiraling around her shoulders in a halo of dark curls, the kind I’d dreamed about wrapping around my fist.
