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“Agitated or asshole?” He looks at me incredulously, and I let a small chuckle escape. “No, I can handle him.” And I know he can.
“Fine, let me know how it goes. Once you have him settled, I can come down and do the stitches and deliver the results.”
“Oh, so you want to personally stitch his eye, then?” Ian teases, a smirk on his face.
“Well, we can’t have you slipping on your own drool and falling into his lap now, can we?” I taunt him right back.
“I don’t think he swings my way, Doc, but I bet he sure swings yours.” I don’t miss that he called me the same nickname Carter did just now.
“The last thing I need in my life is another man to tell me what to do and how things are going to be done.” Huffing, I dig my hands in my white coat, checking that I have all my things, while trying to keep busy as the nerves still thrum through my body. I feel only pens and gum since my stethoscope is hanging around my neck. An accessory I always forget is even there.
“Speaking of all the things you get done, how is my darling Princess Ivy? I meant to ask you earlier.”
“Great!” I smile as I look at my watch, seeing that it is now after 1am. “In fact, I have soccer mom duties with her in approximately seven hours.” Ian winces.
“I have no idea how you do it. I am dead on my feet by the time I get home after this shift.”
“Well, she really wanted to play soccer this year, and it is a great way to get to know more people here, so I encouraged her. I will take a nap later in the day and drink copious amounts of coffee when I get home.” I smile at him and watch as he takes a few steps over to the wall of wheelchairs. I can’t help but laugh.
“What?” he asks, stopping mid-stride, looking between me and the chair.
“Good luck with that.” I point to the wheelchair and before he can reply, I grab my paperwork and leave him to look after Carter Grange and his obnoxious friend.
I have coffee to drink.
5
Carter
“Fuck, she is a hot piece of ass,” Benji says the minute he gets off the phone to Nico, and I glare at him.
“What! She is,” he whines, taking a seat back in the white plastic chair at the edge of the room. “Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy that little examination just now.” Wiggling his eyebrows, his stupid grin taunts me.
For once tonight, I actually agree with him. She had a presence from the moment she walked into the room. I didn’t want to come here, I hate being here, but she made me forget it all. The feel of her soft hands on my body still lingers on my skin.
My mother was always in and out of the hospital when I was younger. After whatever asshole boyfriend she had at the time used her as a punching bag. I spent many nights between the ages of five and ten asleep on the hard plastic chairs in the waiting room as doctors worked on her and nurses continually doted on me, bringing me soft drinks and chocolate from the vending machine. I even got to first name basis with some of the nurses, which isn’t something to be proud of.
Then, one day when I was fifteen, after a particularly bad beating, she left me at home instead. I waited in our trailer for days, pacing non-stop, telling myself she’d be okay. Only, she never came home. And when I found out why, I became desperate.
That night, I hit the streets and tried to pickpocket Sebastian. I needed money for food, and having not eaten a thing for two days straight, I was out of options. He offered me a job, and I haven’t looked back since.
“What is taking them so long!” Benji grumbles, frustrated once again. We are both tired and just want to go home. Since that doesn’t look like it is happening tonight, the need to get settled into a quiet room is strong.
“What did Nico say?” I ask, trying to distract myself. I also want to gleam some information from him on what is going on in New York. I’m keen to know what the boys are doing, wishing I was with them. Wishing I was anywhere else but here.
“They’re busy. He couldn’t really talk, but he wanted to know how you were. I think they need you back in New York soon.” I nod, though I already knew that. Benji wasn’t so lucky in life to find someone like Sebastian, so when I was whisked up by the mob and moved to New York as a teenager, he stayed here in Philly. He continued his rough life, until I found him years later and put my money into the gym. A gym that he now manages for me and does a pretty good job of it too.
I wince again as I try to take another big breath, and the smell of disinfectant brings back a host of memories that I would rather forget. I clench my hands, feeling overheated again, my chest tightening, and I wonder if I should just up and leave. I take another slower breath to inflate my sore lungs and catch a hint of Doctor Wakeford. It instantly calms me, so much so, my hands relax, and my mind wanders back to everything her. Cherry lips, long dark hair, sexy body.
Benji is right, she is a hot piece of ass, with a sassy mouth to match. I find myself shaking my head in frustration. What am I doing daydreaming about a hot doctor? I’ve already established she is not someone for me. And I am certainly not the man for someone like her. Buttoned-up and straitlaced is not my life.
I can’t be thinking about her. I need to keep my mind on my next fight, and getting my body right with training. It is twelve weeks away, so I have enough time to mend.
Tonight was a hard fought win. I knew it would be. I am now in my late twenties, and my fighting years are nearly behind me. There are some strong young kids coming through the ranks, many of them like me with a big fucking chip on their shoulder and a history not worth repeating. That’s what gives us all enough anger to explode in the cage like we need to. But the fights are getting tougher as the years go on, and I am thinking my next one may well be my last.
“Any news on Reggie?” I ask, not because I care. When I am in the cage, the last thing I think about is the wellbeing of my opponent. But I sure as fuck hope he is doing worse than me, since these pains are a bitch.
“Apparently, he is in ER too, needing stitches, and I think his ribs are broken from what I hear,” Benji relays with a sly smile, one that is contagious.
