Wake Me

by Jill Sanders

  “Not as close as I assume you and your father are.” He looked a little sad, and she wondered what was behind the emotion.

  “Does she live close by?” she asked between sips of her soda.

  “She’s in Ft. Lauderdale. Before you ask”—he held up his hand— “she’s a receptionist at a vet clinic.”

  “Your dad?” She asked

  “Died six years ago,” he answered quickly.

  “I take it you two weren’t close?” When his eyebrows shot up, she shrugged. “The tone of your voice says a lot.”

  He sighed. “He was a musician. He had a one-man band and traveled from one bar to the other all up and down the coast. He usually spent what little money he made from his gigs on drinks. I’m not saying he wasn’t good, it’s just…”

  “He wasn’t around a lot?”

  “Right.” He nodded and tossed their paper plates in the trash.

  “Does your mother date?” she asked. “It’s just... my father has finally started dating and well…”

  “Don’t like her?”

  “No, it’s not that. Actually, Kimber is really nice. She’s the kind of woman I would expect my father to date.”

  “But?” he asked as they walked through the garden towards his bike.

  She stopped at the dock by the parking lot and looked down at the fish swimming in the water. “It’s just, I don’t think my father wants to be dating.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “I don’t know. Isn’t it some kind of unwritten rule that men aren’t looking for long term?” She leaned against a railing.

  He moved until his hands were on either side of her. “Is this a sly way of asking my intentions?”

  She held in a gasp. She hadn’t even thought about how her words would come across to him. She hadn’t been looking for a long-term relationship. And she’d take the rest of today with him, if that was all he wanted. Of course, it would break her, but she knew better than to hope for anything more. Especially with someone like Rafe. “No,” she replied quickly, only to have him chuckle and hold on to her more tightly.

  “Men think about the long term just as much as women do. Don’t fall prey to the stereotypes.” He leaned in and kissed her softly, and she forgot all about her father’s dating issues.

  “I hate that I need to head back. I’m on shift tonight at the hospital.” He sighed and rested his forehead against hers.

  “I’m on shift as well.” She looked down at her watch, calculating she had about five hours before she was due to work.

  “How did I get so lucky?” he whispered before kissing her again. “Let’s head back.” He took her hand and walked them back to his bike.

  The ride back into Miami wasn’t as relaxing as the ride down the coast. They hit traffic and when they finally pulled into her parking lot, the sky had turned dark and rain pelted them.

  “The downside of having a bike,” he said as they ran to the overhang of her building.

  She was soaking wet and cold, but she’d enjoyed the day so much that a few minutes of rain couldn’t dampen her high.

  Pulling off the helmet, she laughed. “I can drive you home,” she said quickly.

  “No, I’ll be fine. It’s not the first afternoon rain I’ve been stuck in.” He took her helmet from her, then leaned down, his lips inches from hers. “I wish I had time to come up.” He kissed her. “But that traffic cost us too much time. See you at work?”

  She nodded and felt her body heat from his kiss.

  “See you there,” he said before rushing back out into the rain and climbing onto the bike. He strapped the extra helmet to his bike and took off down the street.

  When she walked into the apartment, she knew instantly that Jamie was home.

  She had enough time to shower before changing into her scrubs and was just about to disappear into her own room when Jamie came out of her bedroom.

  “Where have you been?” Jamie looked worried. “Never mind,” she said, her eyes running up and down her. “We need to talk.”

  “You’re going to have to talk while I shower,” she said, entering her room as Jamie followed. “What’s up?” she asked, stripping off her wet clothes.

  Jamie sat on the countertop and closed her eyes as she leaned against the mirror. “What else… I fucked up big time.”

  Chapter 10

  Rafe slowly stitched the bleeding gash on the teenager’s leg as the girl screamed like her leg had been cut off. Not that he wasn’t sympathetic towards the teen. But five minutes earlier, prior to the girl’s boyfriend walking into the room and showing his concern about her wound, the girl had been laughing, joking, and even trying to flirt with him.

  Now that she had the attention of the boy that she liked, she was suddenly dying.

  “I’ve numbed the area,” he reminded her to no avail. “Are you feeling pain?” He halted his movements, waiting for her attention.

  “Regan, are you in pain?” the teenage boy asked her, holding her hands.

  “Yes,” she hissed and wiped a tear from her eyes.

  “We can give you a little something more for the pain,” he said, but she shook her head.

  “No, just get it over with.” She closed her eyes, then quickly looked up to the boy. “You’ll stay with me?”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” The boy leaned down and placed a kiss on the girl’s lips.

  Rafe tried not to roll his eyes as he got back to work. He had just finished up when Emily walked in, pushing a cart. When their eyes locked, he felt his heart skip a beat and was thankful he was no longer trying to do anything technical. It was as if all his brain cells went on vacation when he looked at her.

  He had at least five more patients waiting, so he quickly disappeared from the room. On his way out, he brushed his arm against Emily’s and heard her intake of breath as he passed by.

  He had a perma-grin on for the rest of the evening. Each time he ran into Emily, his smile and attitude improved.

  When his lunch break rolled around, just past midnight, he was determined to find Emily and convince her to take her break with him. He found her in the break room trying to work the coffee machine.

  “Need some help?” he asked. She jumped slightly at his voice.

  She chuckled and glanced over her shoulder at him. “What’s the secret to getting this thing working?”

  He walked over to her, leaned on the counter, and without a sound, pounded the thing on the side. Instantly, her paper cup started filling with her selection.

  “Wow,” she said, taking her cup from the machine. “Are you that smooth with your patients?” she joked.

  He reached up and brushed a strand of her hair out of her eyes. “I can be smoother.” He needed to touch her.

  He moved his hand to her hip and pulled her closer, her cup of coffee tucked between them.

  “Are you on break yet?” he asked softly.

  Instead of answering, she nodded, her eyes going to his lips. “You?”

  He smiled and nodded in reply. “I know of a quiet room…” He nodded towards the hallway.

  Her eyes followed his motion and she bit her bottom lip.

  “Won’t someone—”

  “No,” he broke in with a smile as he took her hand and started walking towards the door. She set her half-empty coffee cup aside and followed him to the small office that had been closed for the past few months while it was under construction.

  Shutting the door behind them, he took her into his arms and enjoyed the taste of her lips against his own.

  “God, I’ve missed the taste of you,” he said, pushing her top up slightly.

  “It’s only been a few hours.” She chuckled.

  “Too long.” He moved slightly, pushing her back up against the door as he continued to explore what she was wearing under her scrubs.

  “Rafe,” she groaned against his mouth just as the fire alarm went off in the entire building.

  “Shit.” He blinked a few times to mak
e sure he wasn’t imagining the bells.

  “Is that the fire alarm?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” He dropped the hem of her top and sidestepped, opening the door and glancing down the hallway. Seeing everyone scatter and rush for the exits, he pulled her out of the room quickly and followed them.

  The next hour was spent helping patients into the dark street in front of the hospital and then helping them all back into their rooms after it was discovered a toddler whose parents hadn’t been watching him closely had pulled the fire alarm.

  But by then the moment was lost and they were both too busy to take any more breaks for the night. By the time he was able to go home, the sun was already up, and he was thankful he had a few more days before the semester would start. Normally, he’d be heading to class after getting off the night shift.

  Was he getting too old for this shit? He’d neglected his workout yesterday and had instead spent the hours on the bike with Emily. Of course, he’d enjoyed his time with her more than he would have liked sweating in the gym.

  He knew that Emily’s shift had ended an hour before his. Since she was still technically a full-time student, her hours were regulated a little more than his.

  He watched the sunrise as he drove towards his apartment. What he wanted was to knock on Emily’s door and ask if he could crawl into bed with her for a few hours, but he knew that wasn’t a possibility.

  Instead, he parked next to Blaine’s sports car and climbed the stairs to his own apartment. There hadn’t been any time to talk to his friend about what had happened between him and Jamie the other night, nor did he think it was any of his business.

  The only thing that really mattered was that whatever was going on between the two of them didn’t fuck up his chances with Emily.

  After showering and falling into bed, he cursed his mind when it refused to shut down. Rolling over, he pulled out his phone and shot off a text message to Emily. Not expecting a reply back, he smiled when his phone chimed after he set it back down.

  -I can’t sleep either.

  -When do you work again?

  -Tuesday, night shift again. I think Karin hates me.

  -No, she puts all the Noobs on the night shift.

  -Why are you on night shifts?

  He chuckled as he typed.

  -I refused to sleep with her.

  The phone was silent for a moment

  -Seriously?

  He laughed again.

  -No, I requested the change.

  Again, it was a moment before she responded. He started to think that she’d fallen asleep, but then she answered.

  -Why?

  -I think you know why. What are you doing tonight?

  -Why? Do you work again?

  -No, I have the night off. I was thinking of hitting a bonfire at the beach with some friends.

  -Count me in. Jamie has already begged me to go.

  -I’ll pick you up around eight

  -Make it earlier and we can grab some food first.

  -Deal, seven it is. Now, get some sleep.

  -Night.

  -Emily?

  -Yes?

  -Think of me.

  -Already am. Night.

  He smiled at his screen until he fell asleep.

  When he woke, Blaine was pounding on his door.

  “Go away,” he yelled. He rolled over, but Blaine stormed in. Rafe tossed a pillow at his head.

  “You’ve had enough sleep,” Blaine said, tossing the pillow back at him. “It’s time to go get our women and have some fun.”

  Rafe glanced at the clock and noticed it was a quarter to seven. He had slept the entire day and felt like he could use another ten hours or more. Then he remembered he was supposed to pick Emily up at seven and, suddenly, he was wide awake. He sat up.

  “There he is,” Blaine joked and started to walk out of the room.

  “Hey,” Rafe called after him, stopping his exit. “Whatever’s between you and Jamie, it better not fuck things up with Emily.”

  Blaine leaned against the doorjamb. “Nothing’s between us.”

  Rafe stood up and stretched. “That didn’t look like nothing yesterday morning.”

  “I slept on the couch,” Blaine retorted.

  “It’s not the sleeping I’m concerned with.”

  “She’s going through something. I’m not sure what yet, but she’s on a self-destructive path. I’m determined to get to the root of it. How are things going between you and Em?”

  “Going,” Rafe said.

  “Think it’ll turn into something serious?” Blaine asked.

  “Maybe.” He thought about it and realized that, out of all the women he’d been with, Emily was the first of her kind.

  “What happened between you and Karla?” he asked as he grabbed some clean clothes to change into.

  “Over.” Blaine sighed. “I think she’s resolved to sell me this place finally.”

  “I hope so. I’d sure hate to find another place to live.”

  Blaine laughed. “What makes you think I’d let you stay on after this place is mine?”

  Rafe smirked and flipped Blaine off as he stepped into the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

  When he came out to the living room, Blaine was already gone.

  Tucking what he would need into his backpack, he climbed on his bike and headed towards Emily and Jamie’s apartment.

  He parked his bike next to Blaine’s car and climbed the stairs. He didn’t even have a chance to knock on the door. It flew open and Jamie rushed out, laughing. He was thankful he’d moved quickly before she bumped into him, sending him falling down the stairs.

  “Oh!” she exclaimed, then laughed when she noticed him. “There you are.” She turned back into the apartment. “Em, Rafe is here.”

  “I think the entire apartment complex heard you,” Emily complained as she came out of her room.

  She was wearing a pair of worn jeans and a white T-shirt. Her hair was down and loose. He instantly wanted to make some excuse to keep them in her apartment alone.

  Instead, he stood by as she grabbed a light jacket and her bag before following the rest of them out of the apartment.

  “We’ll meet you there,” Jamie called to them as she climbed into Blaine’s car.

  “She’s already drunk.” Emily sighed as she slid on the helmet. “I think she was drunk when I got back from work.”

  “Blaine will watch out for her.”

  “I wish she’d talk to me. Tell me what caused her to change.” She shook her head and slid on the helmet. Then she smiled up at him. “We match.” She motioned to his worn jeans and white T-shirt.

  He glanced down and then laughed. “I guess we do.”

  “We matched in our scrubs earlier as well,” she pointed out.

  “Right, but that’s a uniform, this is…” he started.

  “Personal?” she asked as he pulled on his helmet and climbed onto the bike.

  “Right,” he agreed. He enjoyed the feeling of her breasts pushed up against his shoulder blades and her arms wrapped around his waist as they made their way towards the beach.

  He picked a small beach hut diner along the way and they sat out on the patio eating burgers as the sun sank in the sky.

  When they parked at the beach, the group of friends they were meeting were already crowding around the bonfire area. He’d known several of the guys since his first year at college. The rest of the group he’d met over the years as a TA.

  “Do you know everyone here?” Emily asked quietly as they made their way across the dark sand.

  “Most of them.” He tried to see who was crowded around the fire as music echoed on the beach. “There are some new faces,” he said as he glanced around. He found Blaine and Jamie dancing a few feet away from the light of the fire.

  As they made their way over to them, Rafe grabbed a few unopened beers and handed one to Emily as they stopped next to Jamie and Blaine.

  “You made it.” Jamie jumped up and
down and hugged Emily. “Life is better with you.”

  Emily laughed and hugged Jamie back. “Ditto.” She kissed Jamie on the cheek and whispered something in her friend’s ear, which caused Jamie to snort in laughter.

  “As if.” She rolled her eyes. “Blaine’s watching out for me. Aren’t you?” Jamie turned to Blaine, who was slowly slipping a beer, his eyes locked on Jamie as if guarding her from unseen dangers.

  “On it,” he told Emily with a smile. “My one and only for the night.” He waved the beer.

  Jamie rushed over and wrapped her arms around Blaine. “My hero.” She laughed and then started dancing when the music changed.

  For the next hour, they walked around and chatted with a few people while nursing their beers. Then they found a log bench and sat down and chatted about work, school, and friends.

  It was so nice being able to open up to someone he had a lot in common with. And not just because they were in the same field. They had each listed off their favorite music and movie genres and shared those as well. He realized that with most of the women he’d dated before, he’d never really cared to dig deeper.

  It was nice, for the first time in his life, to feel like he wanted to know everything about the woman he was with. He asked as many questions as he could think of and answered the questions she asked.

  “I really want to be with you,” he admitted.

  Her smile was instant. “You are with me.” She looked down at their joined hands.

  “You know what I mean,” he said, leaning in to taste her lips.

  “Your place or mine?” she asked.

  “Where do you think they’re going to end up after?” He nodded to Jamie and Blaine. Blaine looked uncomfortable as Jamie grinded up against him and he almost laughed. It wasn’t that Blaine wasn’t enjoying the sexy woman rubbing up against him, it was more that he was trying to not enjoy it so much.

  “I think they’ll end up back at our place. Jamie mentioned something about having a meeting tomorrow morning, and I know Blaine overheard it, which means…”

  “He’ll make sure she gets to it in time.” He sighed. “My place it is then.” He took her hand and pulled her up from the log. “Tell me you can spend the night again.”