by Alexa Davis
“Yes, this is Karli; who’s this?”
“My name is Mary. I’m one of the nurses that take care of your Uncle Lenny. I tried to reach your father, but he’s not answering.”
“Mary, what is it?”
“I had to call an ambulance. Lenny stopped breathing.”
Fuck! “Okay, where are they taking him?”
“To General, and just so you know, the EMTs did get his heart started and he’s breathing again without assistance.”
“Good. That’s good to know, thank you.” I hung up and Kevin asked,
“Is something wrong, Karli?”
“It’s my uncle…our uncle. He has lung cancer. He’s been doing well, but the nurse says he wasn’t breathing this morning and he didn’t have a pulse. The EMTs had him breathing and his heart beating before they took him to the hospital, she said—”
“Oh no! Please don’t worry about me. I’ll change my flight for a later one and go with you.”
“Really?”
He picked up his luggage and tossed them both into a corner of the porch. “He’s my uncle, too, right? You don’t leave family when they need you.”
I thought about my dad. Kevin sure didn’t learn that from him. I’d almost been in denial right up to that point about how angry I was with him. How dare he make a child and then just turn his back on him? How dare he not acknowledge him even now, when he was right here in his face and obviously still needed him?
“He’s your uncle, too, and he’s going to love you. Come on. I’ll try to get in touch with Dad on the way.”
********
Kevin and I were both half asleep in the waiting room at the hospital two hours later when Dad finally got there. He’d been in the cage sparring all morning and hadn’t heard his phone. He came as soon as he got the messages. He glanced at Kevin, and then looked at me and said, “Hey, how is he?”
I sat up straight and shrugged. “The doctor was with him when we got here, but so far, they haven’t told us anything at all.” He looked at Kevin again.
“Thank you for coming, son.”
Kevin sat up straight, too. He looked surprised. I didn’t blame him. “Sure, you’re welcome.”
Dad started pacing the room. Other than me, Uncle Lenny was the most important person in Dad’s life. Their mother died giving birth to Lenny when Dad was eight years old. Lenny was premature, and the doctors didn’t expect him to make it.
Dad said that his father tried caring for them until Lenny was about two and Dad was ten, but Lenny required a lot of special care and he just couldn’t do it on his own. They moved in with his mother’s parents, and sometime over the next year, their Dad just quit coming home at all. My dad said he got letters and money from him from time to time, but by the time he was fourteen, that all stopped, too.
He helped his grandma with Lenny as much as he could, so they grew up close in spite of the age difference. Dad always told me that was why he was so intent on giving me a good life after Mom left. Parents aren’t supposed to abandon their children. I looked at Kevin and wondered why he was Dad’s exception.
“Mr. Henderson?” A tall, thin, middle-aged man in green scrubs stepped out of the back. He had dark hair that looked almost too thick for a man his age and a dark tan. He wore gold-rimmed glasses perched on the end of his nose and a black stethoscope around his neck.
“Yes, I’m Charlie Henderson. Lenny is my brother.”
“Mr. Henderson had a pulmonary embolism. That’s what stopped his breathing. The lack of oxygen caused him to go into cardiac arrest.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
“He’s stable for now, but he hasn’t woken up yet. The nurse that was with him thought he was taking a nap, and she has no real idea how long he was without oxygen before she realized that he wasn’t breathing. We won’t be able to really tell any more until he wakes up.”
“So this doesn’t have anything to do with the cancer?”
“No, it actually does. People with cancer are at high risk for blood clots. This particular one is called a deep vein thrombosis, and it can often be deadly. The chemotherapy he’s been receiving can also increase his risk. Did his oncologist talk to you about any of this, or tell you what the signs and symptoms of a DVT are?”
Dad looked at me. I was standing next to him. “I’m Karli Henderson, doctor. I’m Lenny’s niece. To be honest, his nurses are the ones that take him back and forth to all of his doctor’s appointments. We’ve just been assuming they were telling us everything. I guess that wasn’t a good idea.”
“I’m sure you both have lives outside of being care providers,” he said, probably just to be nice. I didn’t know about Dad, but I was feeling as guilty as hell for not being there more. “You’re welcome to go back and see him now, one at a time. He’s breathing on his own and his ECG shows normal brain activity, so right now, we’re optimistic. Hopefully, he will wake up soon.”
I opened my mouth. I was going to say something, or ask a question, but it stuck in my throat. Nick was standing in the doorway holding a flat box filled with take-out containers. His blue eyes were on my face like he was trying to read it. My mouth was completely dry, and I couldn’t speak. Thank God for Kevin once again, because he took the lead.
“Hey, Nick, is that food for us?”
Nick smiled at him and held out the box. Kevin went over and took it, but before he walked away, he and Nick exchanged a half-assed bro hug. I looked at Dad. He didn’t seem surprised that Nick was there. “I’m going to go back and see him, if no one minds me going first?”
“No, go ahead,” I told him.
“Yeah,” Kevin said. “I think I’ll wait until he wakes up before I see him. At least then I can introduce myself.” Dad walked over toward the door, and Nick’s hand came out and patted him on the back. Dad gave him a little smile. What the hell is going on? “I’m going to take a little walk before I eat,” Kevin said as he sat the food down on the round table in the corner. “Maybe get a soda. Does anyone else need anything?”
Nick and I both said no. Dad had already gone to the back to see Uncle Lenny. Suddenly, I was alone in the room with Nick, and he was sucking out all of the oxygen out of it. “What are you doing here?”
“Your dad needed a ride. I dropped him off and went to pick up lunch. He hasn’t eaten all day.”
“Oh, well, that was nice of you.”
“Let’s sit down.” He reached out for my hand, and I almost automatically gave it to him. I decided against touching him at the moment and just slipped ahead of him instead. We went and sat down near where Kevin had sat the box full of food. “Is your uncle going to be okay?”
“The doctor is optimistic,” I said.
“That’s good.”
“Yeah.”
We sat there in silence for several long minutes. Nick stared at the television on the wall. The news was on, but the sound was muted. I stared at a poster about getting checked for STDs. It was awkward, to say the least. I had no idea what to say to him. Finally, he broke the silence. “I missed you, Karli.”
I tore my eyes from the poster and looked at him. God, why does he have to be so perfect? I didn’t know what to say. Should I admit that I missed him, too, or did that just make me look like one of his pathetic groupies?
“Dad really asked you to bring him here?” was what I settled on.
He smiled and that only made my speech problems worse. “He didn’t ask me; I volunteered.”
“Hmm.”
“Hmm because I volunteered or because Charlie accepted?”
“Both.”
“I volunteered because he was obviously upset and I didn’t think he needed to be driving across town. He accepted because he knew I was right. On the way over here, he asked me what was going on between you and me. I was surprised he didn’t already know.”
“He and I haven’t done much talking lately. I’m still so angry with him about Kevin that things have been kind of awkward between us.” I cringed as I as
ked him, “What did you tell him?”
“I told him how I feel, and I told him he’d have to ask you if he wanted to know your thoughts. I wasn’t going to pretend to know how you feel.”
I was afraid to ask the next question, but too curious not to. “How do you feel?”
He reached down to run his fingers lightly through my hair as he tucked it behind my ear. I shivered and didn’t try to hide it.
“I miss you. I feel like an idiot for letting you walk out the door. No, for pushing you out that door. I’m sorry that I handled that so badly. I panicked, Karli. I saw that note from Kevin, and I heard you on the phone with your dad, and I thought about comforting you and worrying about him, and suddenly, I felt like I was drowning. This past week I have wanted to call you about a hundred times, but I didn’t because I wanted to be sure – absolutely sure of how I felt before I talked to you.”
“And, you’re sure now of how you feel?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. I’m positive. I had you in my life for just a little while and those few weeks were the happiest of my life. I hadn’t ever felt that way before, so I was afraid of it. Change is not easy for me. But I think you’re worth it, Karli. I think we’re worth it. I want you in my life, and I want us to take this one day at a time to see where it goes without either of us letting preconceived ideas in our heads get in the way of that.”
I felt tears stinging the corners of my eyes. My hand was shaking as I lifted it up and rested it on the side of his face. “That’s what I want, too, Nick.”
He smiled and ran his lips across mine softly. “I won’t hurt you again, Karli,” he whispered.
I smiled, too. “I don’t think it’s possible for two people to have a relationship without hurting each other. But it takes a big person to say they’re sorry, and I forgive you. I’m sorry, too. I should have stayed and talked this out instead of walking out that door. Can I ask you what my dad said when you told him how you felt?”
“Well, he listened while I talked and didn’t say anything snide or sarcastic, which was nice and unexpected. When I finished telling him pretty much what I just told you, he calmly looked over at me and said, ‘If you hurt her, I will fucking kill you with my bare hands.’”
I couldn’t help it, I laughed. “Oh, you think that’s funny do you?” he asked with a smirk on his handsome face.
“A little bit, yeah.”
“You know, I’m not even a little bit worried about it.” I raised an eyebrow and he smiled. “Don’t look all cocky over there. I’m well aware that Charlie can kick my ass. What I meant was, I don’t plan on ever hurting you, so he won’t need to.”
I used my grip on the front of his shirt and pulled him down into my lips. No matter how many times I kissed him, it was always like the first time. Skyrockets had nothing on the explosions in my head and the vibrations that rocked my body.
I’m falling in love with him, but I know it’s too soon to tell for sure. I was willing to take a wait and see approach as long as it involved lots of kisses and lots of touching and…
Dad cleared his throat, again. Shit. I never knew what an astute cock-blocker my own father could be.
Chapter Twenty-Five
NICK
I got some stern looks from Charlie while Karli was back visiting her uncle, but no lectures and no threats. We were making progress. After Karli came out, Kevin reluctantly went in. Half an hour later, he came out smiling from ear to ear – Lenny had woken up. After Karli saw him once more, she and I left. She tried to talk Kevin into going with us, but he wouldn’t leave, so she asked me to take her home and left him her car.
I was completely okay with that. I’d missed her like crazy over the past week. I was dying for some time alone with her.
“Kevin says he’s going to have this out with Dad tonight once and for all.”
“The kid has a brass set, I’ll give him that.”
She laughed and reached across the seat for my right hand. Holding her soft one only made me want more. I drove way too fast, especially after she said,
“Maybe I could stay with you tonight and give them some space?”
“Hell, yeah!”
As soon as we got to my house, I closed the door behind her and pushed her up against the wall. Our kiss was slow and sweet at first, but it quickly escalated until we were clinging to each other like our bodies couldn’t get close enough.
I finally picked her up and carried her into the living room. I wanted her in the bedroom but at the moment, it just seemed too fucking far away. I stopped in the living room and sat down on the couch, pulling her down onto my lap. She sat sideways on top of my raging hard-on and we made out like two horny teenagers. My hands were everywhere that I could touch her, underneath her shirt, against her warm, soft skin. She smelled and felt so fucking good I thought I might just blow in my pants.
We kissed like that until we were forced to pull back and take a breath. We locked eyes as we both gasped and panted, and I could see the excitement, the burning intensity, and lust in hers.
She looked at me like that for a long time before I felt those soft, sexy hands travel down my chest and to grab onto the bulge in my pants. I groaned, which only encouraged her. She ran her hands up and down the length of me, and with a sexy smile, she dropped to her knees on the carpet and her hands went to the waistband of my jeans.
I sucked in another hard breath as she unbuttoned and unzipped them, and then she teased me again by cupping my balls through my underwear. I moaned and cursed as she smiled up at me with that simmering, sexy look just before she reached into the front of my shorts and pulled me out. She held my erection in her hand and looked at it like she was committing it to memory.
I felt it throb against her palm. She began stroking me slowly from base to tip. My breath caught in my chest, and I held it for a long time as I watched her. She was so fucking sexy.
She parted her lips, and I could see a pool of saliva in the center of her tongue. She let it slide off of her tongue and onto the head of my cock, and then she used her tongue to coat the entire head with it. She had her eyes half closed, and she looked like she was savoring the taste of me as she licked the length of me, running her tongue across my balls before she made her way back up to the tip.
Then she took a deep breath, exhaled, and sucked my cock as far into her mouth as she could get it. I could feel it touching the back of her throat. I moved her hair so I could watch her. I was so fucking tempted to just come in her mouth, but the urge to be inside of her was stronger.
I held back, letting her continue licking and sucking until, suddenly, she slid her right hand down between her legs and underneath the waistband of her pants. The look of ecstasy she already had on her pretty face became even more lustful as she rubbed her clit and sucked me hard and fast, bobbing her head up and down and moaning around its girth.
“God, Karli, I can’t take anymore, baby!” I pulled her off my cock and stood her up in front of me. I unbuttoned her pants and pushed them down to her knees, along with the little, lace panties she was wearing, and then I dove into that pussy.
I loved the way she smelled and tasted. I loved the way she moved her hips and moaned when I hit the right places. I loved the way she wrapped her fingers up in my hair to pull it, using it to move my face where she wanted it. I licked and sucked and nibbled until she was shaking so hard, I was afraid she would collapse.
I reached for her right hand and moved it so that her fingers were pressing into her clit, and while she rubbed herself, I reached up and pulled her face down to mine. She started licking my face and my lips and sucking on them. The taste of herself on me seemed to fuel her lust, and she rubbed herself harder and faster.
I reached up to slip a finger into her pussy. She was dripping wet, and I moved my fingers in and out of her while she masturbated her clit. Suddenly, her left hand was in my hair and she was pulling on it, hard. Her hard body began to tense and the smooth walls of her pussy clamped down tight around my fing
ers as she cried out. So fucking sexy.
I worked her through her orgasm and then I stood up and finished stripping off the rest of her clothes so that I could get a taste of those hard, delicious nipples. When I finished teasing and tantalizing her nipples, I stripped off the rest of my clothes and said,
“Turn around.”
She turned and rested her hands on the back of the couch. I pressed on her lower back and she instinctively lifted her sexy ass. I gripped her cheeks and massaged them before I ran one hand between her legs and coated it with her juices. I brought it up to my face to breathe her in, and then I gripped my cock with my wet hand and pushed it against her opening. I wanted to slide it into her like this so badly…skin to skin…but we hadn’t discussed birth control and I knew I wasn’t ready for a baby.
I said, “Hold on,” and got a condom out of my wallet and put it on. I got back into position and when she felt me press into her again, she moaned loudly and pressed back into me. I let my cock slide in about halfway, feeling her soft but tight muscles stretch to accommodate me a little at a time.
I leaned down to take one of her luscious tits in my hand and pressed my lips into her ear. I whispered to her about how sexy she was and how good she felt as I pushed into her deeper. The words, the feel of my breath against her ear, or the rough groping of her breast produced another rush of her hot fluids all over my cock and the feel of it sent me over the edge.
I couldn’t go slowly any longer. I grabbed her hips with both hands and I fucked her until she screamed. She was still whimpering and shaking when I reached my peak. So fucking good. So fucking hot.
********
“How many women have you had sex with?” The sound of Karli’s sexy, sleepy voice startled me. We were lying in bed, tangled up in each other’s limbs. We’d made love again once we made it to the bedroom, and I’d thought that she’d passed out.
“What?” I hoped that I heard the question wrong. She wiggled around and turned over onto her back so that she could look at my face.
