by Lynn Hagen
The ER nurse stared daftly at me. I didn’t like that look on her face. Just because I was being dramatic didn’t mean she couldn’t show some damn compassion. Weren’t nurses supposed to be nurturing and superman-level caregivers?
“Just sit tight, Mr. Rangel. Someone will be here to take you down to x-ray.”
“Which means you’ll be sitting here for the next five hours, Ezekiel,” my cousin Chester said under his breath. He wasn’t very good at whispering by the scowl on the nurse’s face before she walked away.
Chester took a seat in the hard plastic chair next to my tiny bed. A curtain separated me from my neighbors. From the voice I heard, the person on my left was a woman, and she had a small child with her. I wasn’t sure who the patient was, but I hoped it wasn’t the kid.
To my right some guy kept moaning, the sound swelling then receding every few minutes. Then he would cough, grunt, and start his moaning all over again.
I really hated hospitals. My pillow smelled funny, the bed crinkled every time I moved, and the overhead light was too damn bright. “Can you cut that light off for me?”
Chester got up and looked around as some doctor was paged over the hospital intercom. “I don’t see a switch,” Chester said. “Just shove a pillow over your face.” He smiled at me. “If you suffocate, at least you’re already in the emergency room.”
“You’re a real dickhead.” I wasn’t in the mood for jokes. Not when my arm really hurt.
Some guy stuck his head between the curtains. He was wearing white, so I assumed he was here to take me to x-ray.
His smile was bright, and he wasn’t bad-looking. Maybe I could turn this night around. Hey, the guy was semi-cute and had a job. That was more than I could say for my last boyfriend. Jared had been handsome, but he was one of those people who always found an excuse for why he’d quit yet another job. I couldn’t count how many times he’d begged me to pay one of his bills. It had gotten to the point where I’d turned my ringer off and pretended I wasn’t home, because not only was Jared lazy but he didn’t know what “it’s over” meant.
Thankfully I hadn’t heard from him in a month. He’d probably found someone else to mooch off of.
The guy stepped into my small space and looked around. He gave me a wider smile before he grabbed a thingy off the shelf behind me and walked away.
“What the hell was that about?” Chester asked. “He could’ve at least excused his intrusion.”
I sighed. Chester was right. This was gonna be a long night. Between the smells, the bright light, and the guy on my right moaning louder and louder, I was ready to walk out.
Until the pain in my arm intensified. I grabbed it and hissed, curling onto my side. Chester sat back down, pulling out his phone.
“Seriously?” I growled. “You’re gonna sit there on your phone while I’m in pain?”
Chester’s brows rose. “What do you want me to do, climb in the bed with you and rock you until the pain goes away?”
He got up.
“Don’t even think about it,” I warned. “You’re supposed to keep me company.”
“I am,” Chester argued. “I’m sitting here, ain’t I?”
“I’m sorry.” I sat up, careful of my arm and disliking the sound of the crinkling mattress beneath me. “I’m in pain and being bitchy.”
“No shit,” he said. “I’m gonna go find a vending machine. I need snacks if I’m gonna sit here all night.”
Chester was gone before I could tell him not to leave me. I wasn’t a clingy person, not usually. Not only did I hate hospitals but they scared me, too.
My mom had passed away in one. Something had gone wrong with her hernia surgery, and ever since then, I normally avoided hospitals like the plague.
But the pain in my arm was too intense to ignore. I got up and looked out of my curtain. The nurses’ station was right across from me. The nurse with the sour disposition was leaning against a wall, on her phone.
Nobody looked like they were busy, yet here I was, waiting for transport to the x-ray room. That was what happened when you visited the county hospital. I was nothing more than a patient file to them.
I turned my head when the guy next to me cried out. Then I looked back at the nurses’ station. No one looked our way. The nurse kept scrolling on her phone, and others just sat there bullshitting with each other. It was as though they didn’t give a rat’s ass about the guy sounding as though he were dying.
I cared. I mean I didn’t know him, but no one should have to suffer through that much torment.
Curious—the better term would be nosy as fuck—I poked my head into the guy’s space. “You okay?”
That had been the dumbest question ever asked in the history of dumb questions asked.
The guy’s back was facing me, and he was curled into a tight ball. His arms were wrapped around his midsection. He looked over his shoulder at me, and I was going straight to hell. The stranger was in pain, yet all I could think about was how sexy he was. Satan was gonna scrape me over the hot coals for my impure thoughts at a time like this.
He whipped his head back around and cried out. Every instinct in me wanted to comfort him, and not just because he was gorgeous. I moved inside his tiny space and rubbed his back.
I had no idea what else to do. I shouldn’t even be in here, but I couldn’t just leave him there rocking in anguish.
“Can I get you anything?” I was saying the dumbest shit. The only thing this guy needed was pain meds and possibly surgery to take out whatever was ailing him. Hopefully it wasn’t something he needed to live.
I moved around the other side of the bed and grabbed the plastic container of water. After pouring some in the dull tan plastic cup, I popped a straw in it and held the straw to his lips.
The guy lifted his head slightly and took a sip. “Thank you,” he breathed out. I poured some of the water onto my fingers, uncaring that I’d just made a mess on the floor, and wiped the water on his sweaty forehead.
Too bad I didn’t have a rag and ice-cold water. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
My arm still hurt, but that was nothing compared to the level of pain this man was suffering through. Now it was me who wanted to crawl into the bed and rock him.
“I’m Jacob.” He managed to give me a wobbly smile. “Are you a volunteer?”
I blushed. It was the absolute wrong time to be flirting, but I blushed. “No, I’m a patient, too. I’m on the other side of the curtain, but I couldn’t stand to hear how badly you hurt. I felt like I had to do something.”
I couldn’t stop staring at his face. Although he was sweaty and his blond hair was matted to his scalp, he still looked gorgeous. He had kind blue eyes and a sweet smile. I wanted to go to the nurses’ station and yank one of them over here, demanding they do something for Jacob.
“Do you know what’s wrong with you?” I petted his arm. I couldn’t help it. I felt as though I had to comfort him in some kind of way.
“What’re you doing in here?” Nurse Bitch slid the curtain aside, her ever-present scowl glowing on her face. “You need to get back to your own bed, Mr. Rangel.”
I wasn’t a confrontational person. I felt compelled to do as she demanded, but then I looked down at Jacob, whose handsome features were pinched. How long had he been lying there? Had anyone seen him yet?
I’d opened my mouth, ready to lay into her, when Chester came around the other side of the curtain, an armful of snacks. “What’re you doing over there?”
Jacob groaned. I looked down at him. “What’s your last name?”
“Bayer.”
Now that I knew who he was, I hurried back to my bed. An hour later, I was finally taken to x-ray, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Jacob.
Turned out, I just had a pulled muscle. I should’ve figured that out when I’d helped Chester move a heavy bookstand to the other side of his living room.
I sat on the bed and waited for my doctor to come in as Chester munched on
his snacks and watched videos on his phone. My head snapped up when the curtains parted and in walked Dr. Morgan.
Dr. Caleb Morgan, my neighbor, and the sexiest doctor ever to walk the planet. My best friend, Will, had the hots for this guy, so I wouldn’t dare make a move. You know, the whole bro code thing, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t smile like an idiot and blush.
He looked over my chart and gave me a warm smile. “I think an ice pack and some ibuprofen should do the trick, Mr. Rangel.”
“You can call me Ezekiel. We are neighbors.”
Caleb’s smile widened. “How’d you hurt your arm?”
“He sucks at moving furniture,” Chester piped in. “I told him to use his legs, but he used his entire body.”
I wanted to kick Chester in the nuts. “No one asked you.” I turned back to Caleb. “So, are you going to Randall Mercedes Halloween party next week?”
“I’m considering it,” Caleb said. “It depends on my schedule. Will I see you there?”
“Yep.” My blush deepened.
“I think he’s trying to ask you to be his plus one.” Chester chuckled.
“Am not.” I threw a glare at him. The guy really needed to keep his nose in his phone and butt out.
“I hope you feel better,” Caleb said before he walked away. But he wasn’t the person on my mind.
Jacob Bayer was.
* * * *
The following day I went back to the hospital. I just had to know what happened to Jacob. Not that I was hoping for a date or anything, but I really cared about what was causing him so much pain. I wasn’t even sure he would still be there.
My arm felt much better. Not only had I iced it but I’d bought some muscle cream for the pain. I still smelled like an old man as I approached the information desk, but I didn’t care. My arm didn’t hurt, and that was all that mattered to me.
The guy behind the desk looked bored as he glanced up at me. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, I wanted to know if Jacob Bayer was admitted.” I strummed my fingers on the taller portion of the desk. I wasn’t sure what it was technically called. You know, that half circle wall that was in front of the desk?
Anyway, the guy typed on his computer and nodded. “And you are?”
I panicked. I hadn’t even thought of my excuse for being here. “His brother.”
Why was I going through all this trouble for a guy I didn’t even know? Jacob probably wouldn’t even remember me from the level of pain he’d been suffering through. I should’ve just turned around and walked out, but I couldn’t force my feet to point toward the exit.
“He’s on the fifth floor of the south wing in room 210,” he said.
“Thanks.” I looked around, then the receptionist pointed in the direction I needed to go.
It took me forever to find my way to Jacob’s floor. The receptionist hadn’t told me the south wing was on the other side of the humungous hospital. By the time I stepped off the elevator, I was exhausted from all that walking.
I had also stopped by the gift shop on my way here just in case Jacob had gotten some bad news. The bouquet I was carrying had cost an arm and leg. The emergency room was probably filled with people having heart attacks over the prices in that shop.
I sure felt like I was having one. So was my wallet. But if the pretty flowers put a smile on Jacob’s face, they’d been well worth every penny.
That was if he even remembered who I was.
Once I reached his room, I found the door closed. I stood there debating on what to do. This was crazy. I looked like some weirdo stalker with a big bouquet of colorful flowers. Maybe Jacob would use them to beat me over the head and tell me to get my creepy ass out of his room.
Sweat broke out over my brow, but I sucked in a deep breath and knocked on the door. A few people in the hallway looked my way. I gave them a tight smile and was ready to leave when the door slowly opened.
The guy standing on the other side wasn’t Jacob. I looked at the number above the door. I had the right room. “I’m sorry. Is Jacob Bayer here?”
Jeez. I sounded like I was standing at someone’s front door and asking for my date, flowers at the ready.
“Over here.”
The elderly man stepped aside and shuffled back to his bed. The curtain was drawn, so I had no idea what Jacob was doing. “Are you decent?”
“My brother would argue different.” A joke. At least Jacob was in good spirits.
Taking in another deep breath, I rounded the curtain and nearly dropped the flowers. Last night Jacob had looked a wreck but was still gorgeous. He was now sitting up, his legs over the side of the bed. His blond hair looked radiant as the morning sun coming in through the window made it glow like he had a halo over his head.
And those blue eyes. I wanted to swoon. Instead, I cleared my throat. “I don’t know if you remember me, but—”
Jacob’s smile made my body react in ways I’d never experience before. Flutters in my stomach, sweaty palms, and accelerated heart beats.
“I remember you, Ezekiel.” His gaze lowered to the flowers, then one of his brows arched. “Are those for me?”
Now I felt stupid for buying them. Clearly he wasn’t dying. I wanted to shove them behind my back but stuck my arm out instead, feeling my cheeks burn with embarrassment. “I got them just in case you’d gotten bad news last night. Now that I see you’re fine, I’m gonna get going.”
“Hold on.” Jacob smelled the flowers as his grin widened. “No one has ever given me flowers before.” He patted the spaced beside him. “Have a seat.”
“Well, if you insist.” I tried to give a small laugh but ended up snorting. It was a sound I wished I could take back.
“Thanks for trying to comfort me last night.” Jacob bumped arms with me. “It was a really sweet gesture and helped me to focus on something else besides my pain.”
I smoothed my hands down my pants legs, trying, but failing, not to blush again. “If you don’t mind me asking—”
“Food poisoning.” Jacob rolled his eyes. “Can you believe that? And you?”
I touched my shoulder. “Pulled muscle. Can you believe that?” I chuckled. “It seems we both got lucky.”
Shit. I hadn’t meant to phrase it like that. I wasn’t even sure Jacob was gay. If he wasn’t, what a tragic loss.
“It seems we both dodged a bullet.” Jacob set the flowers aside and stood. Holy fuck! He’d been taller than me sitting beside me, but now that he was standing over me, I saw the guy had to be around six feet four inches, maybe taller.
He was also built like a linebacker. “Remind me never to grab gas station food when I’m in a hurry. That shit’ll kill you.”
I was at a loss for words. I just kept staring at his masculine physique. Jacob was nothing but solid muscles, and hot as fuck.
He gave me a lopsided smile. “You okay over there? You looked blanked-out.”
“I-I think I should go.” Before I embarrassed myself. I wouldn’t be surprised if I was drooling.
“I’m about to check out,” Jacob said. “Still queasy as hell, but the doctor reassured me I would be fine in a day or two.” He rummaged in the small closet by the window. “How about you give me a ride home? I had to catch an Uber here, Zeke.”
I really hated that nickname, but he could call me whatever he wanted to. “Yeah, sure.”
When he ripped his gown off, I nearly fainted. He was built like The Rock and as tall as him, too. My breathing became shallow as I stared at his pecs and abdomen. He was wearing boxer briefs, and I secretly wished he’d been naked under the gown.
He set a clear bag on the bed and pulled out his clothes. I was being pervy, unwilling to give him privacy. But hey, he was the one who’d taken his gown off in front of me, so I had every right to ogle him. Don’t judge me.
I bemoaned the moment he was dressed and I could no longer check out his almost-naked body.
“What’re you doing for Halloween next week?” he asked as he sat and
slipped his shoes on.
“I was invited to a party,” I replied. “What’re you doing?”
“Going to the party with you.” He looked up and winked at me. “If that’s all right with you.”
“As my date?” I hadn’t meant to sound shocked.
Jacob’s brows dipped. “I’m sorry. Did I overstep? I thought we had a chemistry going. You’re not gay?”
“Yes!” I curled my lips in as the old man in the other bed coughed then laughed.
Jacob chuckled. “Then it’s a date. Just give me the address to where the party will be held, and I’ll see you there.”
I was definitely putting him down as my plus one. Wouldn’t my best friend just die when he got a good look at Jacob? I couldn’t help the smile as I nodded. “It’s a date.”
* * * *
A week later and it was the night of the party. I wanted to tell Will about Jacob, but I was afraid Jacob wouldn’t show, and I refused to face that kind of humiliation in front of my best friend.
Even Chester had no clue I’d gone back to the hospital to see Jacob. I didn’t want to jinx anything. That was stupid, I know, but it was what it was. I didn’t know Jacob well enough and didn’t know if he was the type of guy who broke his word.
I guess I would find out.
Along with Will, Chester, and some woman from Will’s job, we entered Randall’s home, and damn, I was in awe of the party that was already in full swing.
I was also pissed that Chester was wearing a pirate outfit, too. We’d argued over it a few days ago, but it seemed my cousin had had his mind made up.
Chester was a bit on the heavy side, but that didn’t detract from how dashing he looked in his costume. I had to give him props for that.
After making our way to the table in the center of the foyer, then everyone going their separate ways, I went to the door to wait for Jacob.
In walked Dr. Morgan. He was wearing a set of blue scrubs, and didn’t he look yummy enough to eat? “You decided to come,” I said.
“I was able to get the time off.” His smile should’ve lit up the room. Too bad Will was into Caleb and that I had a date coming, because I would’ve been all over that.
