Visiting Hours

by Tagan Shepard

  Need exploded in her chest as the kiss deepened. There was a sharp intake of breath from Jess and Alison knew she was feeling the same desire. Their tongues danced while Alison slid her fingers into the short hair at the back of Jess’s head. The close-cropped hair tickled Alison’s fingertips, and she hummed with appreciation. Jess surged forward, pressing the length of her body against Alison and turning her face to fit their mouths closer.

  Alison grabbed a fistful of the soft cotton shirt covering Jess’s back. The feel of her body was pressing every thought out of Alison’s mind. She wanted to kiss her even deeper. To shred her clothing to pieces. To lay back across the papers covering the surface of her desk and to pull Jess’s warm, perfect body with her. Jess’s body stiffened and shook with the effort of restraining herself.

  Alison slid her hand down from Jess’s hair past the loose collar of her shirt. The muscles between her shoulder blades bunched at Alison’s touch. She spread her fingers wide, trying to soak up the divine feeling of those taut muscles. Several long minutes passed as they discovered the contours of each other’s mouths. The pressure building in Alison was becoming impossible to ignore, and she knew she had to stop soon or risk passing a point of no return.

  Jess made the decision for her by gently breaking the kiss, but she held her face close to Alison’s and kept her eyes firmly shut. Both of their chests heaved from lack of oxygen and the headiness of the moment. Jess opened her eyes and they were like molten emerald.

  “I…Um…” Jess swallowed hard and the corner of her mouth twitched just enough to show one bright, white incisor. “Forgive how incredibly lame this is going to sound, but…Wow. I mean…Wow.”

  Alison laughed, a quiet chuckle that she hoped didn’t waver too much as she tried to keep the world from spinning around her. “I agree…Wow.”

  The air between them thickened, and Alison held her breath. She felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff, waiting for permission to launch herself into the limitless sky, but not altogether sure she was ready for the risk. Just when the moment pulled fully taut, Jess slowly stood straight. Their bodies separated reluctantly. Alison’s hand glided up and over Jess’s shoulder, falling into her lap as she finally set her lungs back into motion.

  Jess’s eyes slid over her just as slowly, and then she shoved her hands deep into her pockets and took another step back, her calves bumping into a chair.

  “Well goodnight then. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “Yeah! Yes…I hope so.”

  Jess grinned and opened the door, moving through in one quick motion. She looked back over her shoulder with a smile before disappearing behind the closed door.

  Alison waited a long minute in case she walked back in, and then sighed and let her feet fall to the floor. The contact shuddering through the bones of her feet was jarring. Like a single off-key note in a song that pulled her irreparably from the moment. She walked around the desk and flung her body into the chair. The tall leather back held her but provided no comfort. She looked at the pile of papers, then at the door and back to the desktop. She noted absently that there wasn’t as much clutter on it as usual. There was generally a stack of books and a notepad or two at least, but now it was almost entirely bare. If there was ever a day to drag someone onto it with romantic design, this was that day. She closed her eyes and pictured the scene.

  Jess banging the door open and storming back in. Sweeping a powerful arm over the surface of the desk. Pieces of discarded paper fluttering to the ground like a ticker tape parade. Wrapping an arm around Alison’s waist, picking her up and depositing her roughly on the cleared surface. Lying down and watching Jess climb on top of her with an animal need burning in her eyes. Trapping Alison beneath her sinewy body. Then lowering herself slowly, ever so slowly, until her weight settled on top of Alison. Alison hooking a knee around her hips. Their lips crashing together, this time with no doubt of what would develop. Jess’s body slipping purposefully between her legs. Her hand dipping beneath the fabric of Alison’s shirt and moving up over the soft expanse of her stomach. Fingers wrapping around the hem of her skirt and tearing it off with a rip of fabric.

  Alison opened her eyes before the fantasy could develop further. Her hands were already shaking. She ran them through her thick curls, and then pulled the stack of papers toward her. The words on the top page refused to come into focus. The bewitching smell unique to Jess hung in the air and, Alison realized with a twist in her gut, on her own clothes. She groaned, dropping her head onto the stack of papers.

  It was going to be a very long night indeed.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Beth’s finger traced the square line of her husband’s jaw, the manicured french tip scratching noisily along the stubbly, two-day growth of beard. She giggled, whispering into his ear. His face split in a grin and he whispered back, his broad lips tracing words that only his wife could hear. Their faces were millimeters apart, their mouths almost indecently close to each other. The low murmur of Stephen’s voice broke off as he brought Beth’s hand to his lips, kissing reverently across the peaks and valleys of her knuckles. She stroked his jaw again, this time letting her finger trail up past his ear into the fringe of his sideburns. His face disappeared from view, past her cheek to the column of her throat. A quiet gasp escaped Beth’s lips and white showed under her half-lidded eyes.

  Alison took a quick step back out of the doorway. Normally she would tease them relentlessly over their displays of affection. Today, still reeling from Jess’s visit to her office, the scene made her squirm. She moved back into the hall where they were out of sight, but her reaction lingered. She reached out a hand to the wall to steady herself, taking a few quick breaths.

  She caught a hint of the perfume that was becoming all too familiar, but thought she was imagining it. Her overactive mind conjuring another fantasy. Then the breath of whisper touched her ear, rustling her hair and causing a shiver across the skin of her neck.

  “Are they always like that? The nurses say it’s like chaperoning the prom in there.”

  Alison smiled, her stomach performing impressive gymnastics. “Since the moment they met. I cannot begin to tell you all the things I’ve walked in on.”

  Jess leaned against the wall beside her. “Well, now I know what we can talk about on our next date.”

  Alison felt certain she’d gone beet red from her hairline to her collar. She tried to stammer a response, but the sound she made was something like a fish drowning.

  “I’m sorry. I made you uncomfortable.” Jess stood straight, rubbing her neck and looking like she wanted to melt into the floor. “I was just…trying to be funny. Not good with women remember?”

  “No! No! You didn’t make me…It’s just…” She stopped and took a breath before looking up into those green eyes. The concern in them was almost enough to make her look away again. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me today. I guess I didn’t get enough sleep.”

  It was an understatement by half. If she’d slept more than an hour or two it would be a surprise. Thoughts of Jess had flowed through her mind long after she climbed into bed. The feel of her kiss and the warmth of her skin. The way her eyes smoldered. She had buried her face in a pillow, trying to think of something, anything else, but all she could see when she closed her eyes was Jess hovering above her on her desk. Images like that did not lead to sleep.

  Now here was Jess, standing not quite close enough and acting so sweet. The squirming in Alison’s stomach radiated up to her chest and exploded like fireworks across her skin. She knew she was acting like a teenager with a crush, but it was impossible to stop.

  “Are you sure? I know I can be a bit much. I can totally back off if that’s what you…”

  “Absolutely not. Do not back off.” Oblivious to passersby in the hallway, Alison reached out and took Jess’s hand. Her skin was soft and slightly pink, like she had just finished washing dishes. “I definitely don’t want you to back off.”


  Jess’s smile returned. “Good, because I’m not sure I could actually have done that.”

  A burst of laughter erupted from Alison before she could stop it.

  “Ali? Are you out there spying on us?”

  Beth’s voice floated through the door behind her and the moment popped like a soap bubble. Jess winked, gave her hand a quick squeeze and turned away. Alison watched her go with a sigh.

  “Ali, are you ogling Dr. Jess?” Stephen’s voice made her jump. He was standing inches away, grinning at her. “Shame on you for objectifying the good doctor like that!”

  “Shh!” Alison pushed him back into the room. “She’ll hear you!”

  Stephen wrapped a tree-trunk of an arm around her shoulders, dragging her toward the bed. Beth was sitting up, looking distinctly annoyed at the interruption. When she caught sight of the lingering pinkness on Alison’s cheeks, her face transformed into a mask of glee.

  “Just what have you been up to, Alison Reynolds?”

  Stephen squeezed his arm and caught Alison’s head in the crook of his elbow. “Trying to get into Jess’s pants, that’s what.”

  Alison slapped at his stomach. It felt like a slab of marble under his worn T-shirt. “We were just talking!”

  Stephen laughed and released her, slipping around to perch beside Beth and taking her hand in his. “Ali was staring at her butt as she walked away.”

  Beth raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is a nice butt.”

  “Careful, you!” Stephen’s remark echoed Alison’s feelings exactly. “I’ll fight her for ya.”

  “I might enjoy watching that.” Beth’s hand went back to his cheek and her eyes misted over. “Not to worry love. I think Ali’ll take me out first.”

  Alison sat back, feigning a lack of interest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Beth’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You went on another date with her!”

  “Wait. What do you mean? There was a date already?” Stephen turned accusing eyes on his wife. “You didn’t tell me!”

  “I would have, dear, but I needed Ali to figure some things out first. I’m pretty sure she has now.”

  “I…” Alison’s voice raised an octave. “What makes you think we went out?”

  Stephen shifted to watch her, too, as Beth explained, ticking the points off one by one. “You’re blushing like a fan girl. You can’t sit still. Your voice just went into falsetto.” She squinted, her eyes scanning. “And you haven’t made fun of the two of us for making out. It could only mean one thing.”

  “Enlighten me, Nancy Drew.”

  “That’s a terrible comparison. You should have said Matlock. You know I love Andy Griffith. All those pastel suits and the sweet old man grin. He had those juries eatin’ out of the palm of his hand.” She stopped with her mouth wide open, looking into space. “What was I saying?”

  “It could only mean one thing.”

  “Right! It could only mean one thing. She kissed you.”

  “I…What makes you think that?”

  Beth rolled her eyes and looked at Stephen. “She’s thinking about them making out right now.”

  He shrugged at Alison. “Even I can tell that.”

  Alison huffed and stood up, moving to sit on the foot of the bed. “Okay fine. So it’s possible we may have kissed.”

  “Of course. Details. Now.”

  “Oh no!” Alison held up her hands. “I am a lady and a lady does not kiss and tell.”

  Stephen scoffed. “Yeah right!”

  Beth looked stonily at him and his face fell. Alison matched her glare. They crossed their arms over their chests simultaneously. He straightened, fear leaking into his voice. “What? What’d I do? We were…and then you said…and then…How am I in trouble?”

  “You aren’t in trouble dear.” She turned a simpering smile on her husband. “Stephen, sweetheart, why don’t you run to the cafeteria and get a soda?”

  He looked between the two women, trying to discover at what point he lost control of the situation. “Get a soda? What am I, ten years old?”

  Beth patted his hand, and then grabbed a five-dollar bill from her purse. She held it out to him with a smile. “Go get a soda, dear.”

  “But I want to hear the juicy parts!”

  She shoved the bill into his jeans pocket, and then turned his hips toward the door. “Go!”

  She smacked him hard on the butt and he hopped a little, walking faster. “The two of you and your objectifications and your…your girls club!”

  He turned and winked at Beth when he got to the door. The two women watched him go. When the sounds of the hospital drowned out his footsteps, Alison collapsed across the foot of the bed, her arms outstretched. She let out a whimper.

  “That bad?”

  Alison could only nod and whimper again. She rolled onto her side, pulling her knees up to her chest. She gave Beth a tortured look over the growing swell of belly between them.

  “When did you go on this date?”

  “Two nights ago.”

  “Where to?”

  “Bistro Bobette.”

  “Mmmm. Good taste. Her choice?”

  Alison nodded.

  “Am I going to have to pry everything out of you? Because Stephen won’t be gone forever.”

  Alison pushed herself up on an elbow. “It was amazing. She was perfect. She likes history. She knows about the Papal Schism and the Black Death. She does history courses online for fun. For fun! Did you know that’s a thing? She made me laugh so hard I was practically crying. She paid the whole bill and it didn’t piss me off. Then she kissed me goodnight and I don’t remember driving home.”

  Beth purred again. She had a way of making herself understood without words. It was an art Alison had never quite mastered. “Oh, she must be good.”

  Alison buried her face in the blanket. “I almost threw her across my desk last night.”

  “Last night? You saw her again last night?”

  “She brought me coffee in my office. We were texting and I told her I had to work late and she showed up with the coffee like five minutes later.”

  “And?”

  “And we made out a little. She didn’t try anything.”

  Beth raised an eyebrow. “That’s good right? Not making a move. She’s after more than just a quick lay. She’s treating you with respect.”

  “I know! And she’s so adorably awkward and chivalrous and just thinking about her makes my stomach hurt.”

  “So you think it’s too good to be true.”

  “She’s totally gonna break my heart.”

  Beth laughed. The sound came straight from her belly and made her whole body shake. Alison stuck out her bottom lip in an exaggerated pout.

  Beth finally stopped laughing, wiping tears from her eyes and said, “Ali, you are the only woman I’ve ever met that sees falling in love as a bad thing.”

  “I am not falling in love! I met her like two weeks ago. It’s too soon to fall in love.”

  “I fell in love with Stephen on our first date.” She leaned forward. “And you know good and well that you’ve already waited longer than we did to go to bed. Live a little! You’re too old and too smart to follow all of those outdated rules about dating.”

  “Nice. My best friend calling me old.”

  “I’ve already picked out a nursing home for you. They have bridge on Wednesday nights.”

  “I hate you.”

  “You love me and you know it. When do you see her again?”

  Alison sighed and sat up, hanging her legs over the bed and letting her feet swing. “Not sure. We couldn’t make plans because of work. It’ll probably be middle of next week at least.”

  “You’ll die before then. Why not this weekend?”

  “She has to work the night shift.”

  “Then you can take her out for lunch. Take her somewhere casual, get her drunk and she can sleep it off at your place.” Her grin was wide as a cat’s. “Preferably on top of you.�
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  The idea held a certain appeal. “You are too much. But that’s actually a good idea.”

  “I always have good ideas.”

  “It probably won’t work out. Besides I can wait until next week.”

  “No, you can’t.”

  “No, I can’t.”

  Beth yawned so wide her jaw cracked. “I suppose there is a chance she’ll say no, but if I were you I would change the sheets.” She let her eyelids flutter shut. “You know. Just in case.”

  With her eyes closed, she couldn’t see the smile that spread across Alison’s face.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Beth!”

  A wall of navy blue scrubs blocked the doorway to Beth’s room, and Alison pushed her way through.

  “Hey! Wait!” one of them screeched and grabbed her arm.

  “It’s okay, Nancy.” Beth’s look was full of reproach, but she had a sheen of sweat on her forehead and a pale ring around her tightly closed mouth. Alison knew all too well what fear looked like on Beth’s face, and that she was trying valiantly to disguise it. “What are you doing here Ali?”

  “Stephen called me.”

  “I told him not to call you. You don’t need to worry.”

  Alison dropped her purse on the floor as she hurried to the bed. “He’s stuck across town doing an estimate. Someone needs to be here with you.”

  Beth was lying flat, her pillows stacked neatly on the bedside table. “What about your classes?”

  “Jennifer’s covering until I get back.”

  The blankets were pushed down off Beth’s belly. A young woman on a stool fiddled with the controls of an ultrasound machine on the other side of the bed.

  Nancy marched to the end of the bed. The badge clipped to her lapel rattled, the tag announcing her status as an RN swinging wildly behind it. “We’re about to do an ultrasound. Can I ask you to wait outside?”