AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I should get going,” he mumbles, sounding as exhausted as I feel.
“Mmhmm,” I respond, yet neither of us move. We stay in that position, locked in each other’s arms until my eyes grow heavy. I fumble around behind my head until my hand meets the flannel throw blanket I keep on the back of the couch. Pulling it over us, I cover our bare skin as Ryan slowly lays us down, limbs still tangled together, adjusting the blanket so we are cocooned underneath.
“Just for a few minutes,” he mumbles.
“Just a few,” I agree. But when I move to tuck my feet in between his legs for warmth, he grips me tighter, hauling me to his body until we’re perfectly molded. With my head lying on his bicep, I close my eyes, letting myself fall asleep to the sound of his steady breathing.
Chapter Twenty
Ryan
It’s been one week.
One week, and I’m dying.
One week since showing up at Lainey’s apartment unannounced to talk with her, to make sure she was alright after a potentially life-altering shift, only to find out what it’s like to touch her. Toreallytouch her. If I thought I was crazy about her before, then now I’ve gone insane.
I would have never thought that underneath the quiet exterior is a woman who gets off on the thoughts that pour out of my mouth. Yet, it shouldn’t surprise me. She comes off as shy, and timid. And she is at times. She dedicates herself to her job, to her education, and to helping others. She has loud friends and lets herself sink into the shadows. I’ve watched her bite her tongue one too many times when someone steps out of line, never raising her voice to set them straight.
Seeing her give in to what she wants, to see her confidence shine through was a new side of her. One that I want to see every damn day. Waking up next to her, the sun creeping in through the windows as we slept on her couch, all her soft skin on mine only solidified the fact that I could never walk away from her.
After that morning, she had already planned a few days off to go see her family, and with our sporadic schedules, we hadn’t worked together until today. With my fucking luck, we don’t have any patients assigned together, so I have to work extra hard to find reasons to talk with her.
My palms itch, my toes tapping on the floor, hands restless with the urge to touch her bare skin again. To feel the strands of her silky, chestnut hair running through my fingers, to bury my face in her neck to smell her signature warm honey and herbal scent.
“Dr. Ryan?” Jenna’s voice prompts, breaking me out of my daydream.
“Sorry, what were you saying?”
Jenna’s face is flat as she studies mine. “I said that after we gave the bowel prep, we found six feet of tapeworm in the toilet.”
My eyes snap to her face, unsure if she’s serious or fucking with me since I can’t remember which patient we were talking about.
“Wait, what?” I pull out my assignment sheet to quickly scan, deciphering who I ordered a bowel prep for.
“Yeah, it was crazy. The worm came out with a sombrero and maracas and did this cute little dance. I think I’ll take him home for a pet. He would be an overnight internet sensation.” Her arms fly in the air over her head, fists closed as if she was rattling imaginary maracas.
It isn’t until halfway through her ridiculous ramble that my shoulders sag. “Christ, Jenna, crazier things have happened in the medical world, you shouldn’t joke about shit like that.”
She reaches an arm up to adjust my stance, forcing me to look at her. “Crazier than someone birthing a tapeworm that can play the maracas and dance?” The look on her face is so serious, that I break.
“Okay, maybe notthatcrazy.” I let myself laugh a little, knowing that she caught me, and I need to suck it up. I used to think Jenna was annoying when I first met her, but the more I work with her, I can admit she’s growing on me. “What were you saying?”
She smiles, victorious. “I said, his platelets have stabilized, do you think you will discharge him this afternoon or make sure he’s stable overnight?”
I swipe a hand up and down my scruff, thinking about the actual patient we saw. “Yeah, let’s monitor him overnight and plan for discharge first thing tomorrow. I’ll put in orders to have platelets checked in the morning once again, just to be sure.”
She nods and scratches down a note on her paper while I nervously look back and forth down the hall, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lainey but come up blank. If I hurry, maybe I can make it to the nurses’ station and catch her in-between patients.
“That our last one?” I ask Jenna as I pull out my phone, tapping the screen twice to check my messages. She hadn’t texted me all week, not sure why I’m looking for a flirty text now. Hoping for some indicator, anything that might show she’s as distracted over this thing between us as I am.
“Sure is.” I hear her mumble in the background, but I’m already down the hall, the anticipation of seeing Lainey ready to unravel me. Knowing I’m about to lay eyes on her is like holding a winning lottery ticket in my hand, but being third in line to cash it in. I’m so close to victory, to that life-changing moment that some people spend their whole life working towards, and all I have to do is have patience.
I’m known for a lot of things, but being patient isn’t one of them.
I tuck my phone back into my jacket pocket as I take the last few paces down the hall, round the corner and finally see her—finger combing her hands through her thick hair as she pulls it high on her head, securing it in a ponytail.
A ponytail that I’d bet my life would feel like the perfect silk rope wrapped around my wrist as I have her on all fours in front of me, sweat dripping down her back as I rock into her, making her scream. Her eyes flit up to meet mine as I approach, and the smile that she quickly works to hide makes me wonder if she thinks the same dirty thoughts I do.
