When I drove close enough for Penelope to see the car, she and Paisley waved and appeared to giggle, and then her teacher took her hand and helped her up, gathering her little backpack in the process.
Pulling around, I unlocked the car as they walked over. Mrs. Segura opened the door, and Penelope climbed into the car. “Here you go, honey.” She placed the backpack in the car and wished us a good day, just like every other day.
As she buckled in, she flashed me a smile. “It’s Friday, Mama!”
“Yes, it is. So, we better start thinking about how we want to spend our weekend.”
Her eyebrows rose, giving me a look of suspicion. “You don’t have to work?”
“Nope, not at all.” I smiled, trying to reassure her, but she turned her head and gave me another look that said she wasn’t buying it.
“Not even on the phone?” She folded her arms and pursed her lips, which made her look like my mother.
“Not even on the phone. I told your grandfather that I’m unavailable to him and that I am done with weekends.” I never wanted her to feel like I used to, and with her disbelief being so strong, it hurt that it was taking so much to convince her.
“Yay!” she cheered, raising her tiny fist into the air. “Can we go for ice cream?”
“Right now?”
“Now and later?”
“I think one trip to the ice cream shop per weekend is enough. We can do that, or we can go to the store, buy a big tub of ice cream—any kind you want—and then all the fixings for sundaes.”
“Can we make banana splits?” She clapped her hands and bounced in her seat.
“Sure, we can.”
“Can we watch a movie?”
“Any movie you want.” I thought a second as her eyes widened, but then I knew I needed to amend my words. “As long as it’s age appropriate.” She’d wanted to watch Suicide Squad for months, but I felt she was way too young.
“Aww, man. Okay.” The pouty face she made reminded me of her father, even though she was a tiny duplicate of me.
“We’ll have fun. And maybe we can go shopping tomorrow.”
“Can we go to the Sparkly Spa?” She was obsessed with the girl’s spa that I had taken her to for her birthday nearly a year before. I’d taken her at least six times since.
“I’ll have to think about that. You never want to leave.”
“We could see if Paisley can go.” She gave me that pleading look again, and I couldn’t help but laugh when she waggled her brows and made a silly face.
“Her parents might already have plans. But we’ll see. I’m not making any promises to you.” As much as I wanted to have the best weekend of our lives, I was also coming off of a long work week and hoped that I’d have a little time to myself as well.
“Do you think Daddy will call?”
The question caught me off guard. Jason hadn’t been calling regularly, and even though she’d called him every time he hadn’t shown up, he didn’t answer every time.
My heart hurt for her. I knew exactly what it felt like to have a father who didn’t want to be around. “We’ll see about that too, baby.”
She settled back into her seat and stared out the window. It was hard to watch her, knowing that Jason had let her down. As I had many times before, I vowed to myself that I never would.
To be continued…
Author Note: If you enjoyed that, feel free to pick up a copy of the book on Amazon. Get it HERE
Doctor Feelgood (Preview)
Chapter 1
Parks
"This is gonna be wicked." I smiled and glanced over at my closest friend, Jackson. "You sure you're up for this shit tonight?"
He snorted and reached up to brush his hand by his nose. The cockiness in his eyes was almost too much, but it mirrored mine - no doubt.
"I just hope these other guys you're bringing from the hospital don't mess up the flow." He glanced my way and smirked. "You do remember how to do this, right?"
"Pick up a woman?" I chuckled and nodded at the bouncer at the front of the strip club. "It's what I do when I'm not saving lives. It's you who might need dusting off."
"Not a chance, asshole." He popped me in the chest with the back of his hand and made a beeline for the bar.
I stopped and glanced around the darkened room, the lights perfect for the clientele littered all over the club. Sexy jazz music pumped from the speakers above, and the fog machine was in full effect.
"Over here, man." Freddy, one of my favorite residents from St. Marks waved me over. "We saved you a seat and got you a present."
I rolled my eyes as he extended his hand, his thick finger wrapped around a bundle of one dollar bills. "You think the type of woman I plan on fucking in the bathroom tonight is going to be impressed with such small bills?"
"Oh Gawd." Darek, one of the surgeons I worked with gave me a look. "Please tell me you're kidding. Do you know how many germs there are in a bathroom?"
I snatched up the bills and grabbed a beer from the bucket of them in the center of the table. "I'll make sure to sanitize my cock before and after. Sound good?"
The table erupted in laughter, and the tension in my chest released. I was with friends for the night, and I was, without a doubt, getting laid by a woman who knew her way around a man.
"Where's Aiden?" I glanced back toward the bar to see Jackson flirting with the bartender. He always had to go after the most challenging lay in the room. It was almost a game to him.
"You know Elizabeth isn't going to let him come to a titty bar." Freddy reached over and gripped the back of my shoulder, squeezing tightly as he leaned closer and whispered. "He'll stop by on his way home. Just don't tell on him."
I shook my head. "I don't know why he settled down."
"Have you seen Elizabeth?"
"Yeah, she's beautiful, but still." I took a long drink of my beer. "Complete ball and chain. Not worth the effort."
"You don't think anyone is worth the effort." Darek glanced over his shoulder and smiled. "Now, get up front. We all made a pact on who you would pick tonight."
"You've already seen the girls?" I turned back to my friends and smiled.
"Nope, but you've got a type." Freddy moved around me to extend his hand to Jackson. My best friend was the only one of my friends not in the medical field. "Hey, Jackson. What you know, man?"
"I don't have a type." I took another sip of my beer and turned to see my mentor, Aiden Crawford walk through the door of the club.
"Sure you do." Darek smiled. "She's gotta be alive and has more plastic than a bottling company."
"Fuck you too." I flipped him off and walked toward Aiden.
He nodded toward my lifted hand. "That for me?"
I smiled. "You're not that lucky." I extended my hand toward him. "You bring Lizzy with you?"
He chuckled. "No, and I'm not staying. I just wanted to stop by and tell you that I'm here if you need me."
"Here? Like at the titty bar? It doesn’t really fit your style, old man."
He gripped my hand tightly as a smirk played at the corner of his mouth. "Make me proud at Boston Gen, okay? Do what you need to do and come back home."
I shook his hand and nodded. "I feel like I'm about blast the fuck off into space. Do I need to give a short speech or anything?"
"No, you cocky bastard." He released my hand and patted my chest as his eyes darkened a little. There was no one I respected more than Aiden. He was a god in the operating room and was brilliant with technique and precise with his skill. Everyone at St. Mark's wanted to be Aiden Crawford - even me.
And I would. One day.
"Anything else?" I gripped his forearm as he wrapped his fingers around the side of my neck as he had a hundred times. The man was like an older brother to me. I wanted his approval, and I had it.
"Yes. Don't fuck with my sister. She's been through a lot, and she's just the kind of woman that would excite a sick fuck like you." He squeezed the side of my neck, leaving me a litt
le uncomfortable. "Support her. Teach and train her staff, but don't you dare touch her."
"Dude. Your sister is old like you, right? I'm into younger women. They're pliable. You guys are stuck in your ways, and if we're being honest," I leaned closer and smiled like a tomcat. "Boooooring."
He smiled and released me, patting me on the chest again. "I'm serious. She and Gwen are all I have left in the world for family. Don't do something you'll regret."
I held up a boy scout sign, hoping I was getting the damn thing right. "On scout’s honor."
"That doesn't work unless you were a scout, idiot." He moved to the side a little and waved at the guys at the table before turning back to me. "Be on time. Be precise. Show them what we've trained you to be at St. Marks. No fucking around with the nurses like you do here."
"Alright, Dad. I think I got it." I winked and crossed my arms over my chest. "Tell Lizzy I said hey."
"Not a chance." He gave me one more stern look and turned to walk out, calling over his shoulder, "I'm here if you need anything. Just a call away."
I stood there for a minute, taking in his advice, his warning, and his offer. I wouldn't mess with his sisters, either one of them. He meant too much to me, and I'd been honest about not liking older women. They were too fucking bossy or insanely confident. I wasn't interested in either.
Sluts were the name of the game. Easy in and out. No commitment and no chance of getting my balls, my wallet and my heart pulled through a ringer.
"That go well?" Jackson moved up beside me, his eyes locked on the door where Aiden had left moments before.
"Yep. He said to stay away from his sister." I smiled over at him. "Some part of me wants her even more now."
He laughed and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, turning us and walked us back toward the guys as the first girl made her way out on stage. "Have you seen this broad?"
"Nope." I pulled away from him and moved up to the stage, smiling up at the platinum blond as I pulled out a one dollar bill and waved it in the air. "And I don't need to see her. I'm going for the young, dumb, insecure ones."
"Cause they make you feel better about yourself?" He lifted his hand with a hundred dollar bill clasped between his fingers.
Asshole. Always trying to show someone up.
The girl snatched my bill and moved over to him and tugged his from his fingers slowly, seductively. She knelt down in front of Jackson and smiled, her tits spilling out of the tiny blue bikini-like top she had on. "Want a lap dance, baby?"
I snorted. "You just gotta be first, don't you?"
He glanced at me and winked. "You gotta up the ante sometimes, Parks. Shit or get off the pot, right? You're not going to land this older woman with little boy tricks."
"I don't wanna land her. I want a slut, like this girl." I nodded toward the girl as my mood darkened. Jackson had no room to talk about growing up. He was a playboy billionaire that still fucked a different girl each night, and most of them in his high dollar office with the world watching from the windows.
He turned back to the girl and pulled out another hundred. "Two hundred for a quick fuck for my friend here?"
"Absolutely." She snatched the money and jumped off the stage, grabbing my hand and tugging me back toward the darkest part of the club.
I gripped her hand tightly and jerked, pulling her back and wrapping an arm around her to steady her. "I don't need you taking the lead, princess."
"Then you take it," she whispered and ran her hand down my chest to cup my dick. Her dark red fingernails matched her lipstick and should have been a turn on, but it wasn't.
"I just did." I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers, dominating the kiss as she melted against me. My eyes fluttered closed, and I imagined her to be someone worthy of my time and attention, the kind of woman I would give up my wanton bullshit for. I had no doubt that girl existed somewhere, but I was unwilling to go in search of her. She'd have to exist somewhere in the recess of my mind.
"Let's go to the back." She nipped at my lips, her blue eyes filled with lust.
"No. Let’s fuck here." I dropped down in a chair close to the edge of the stage and reached for my zipper. "Make it look like a lap dance, and I'll throw in an extra hundred. Make me come before you do, and I'll throw in five hundred."
She laughed and looked around as if I were kidding. "Really? Right here?"
"You're a slut. You're used to a crowd watching you get off." I pulled a condom from my pocket and bit the edge of the packaging. "It's a big dick though. You're going to have to work hard to hide it firstly, and not soak it too quickly. You down?"
I pulled the rubber out and slipped my hand into my slacks to grab my cock. My erection had nothing to do with her, and everything to do with the thrill of an exhibition. My job was the only thing that left my blood really pumping as of late, so fucking in public seemed rather appetizing.
"Fine. You're on." She turned and rolled her hips, moving to stand in front of me as I pulled my dick out and slid the rubber down it. It was just dark enough, and there was far too much going on up on the stage for anyone to pay us much attention at all.
"You're going down, baby." I reached up and gripped her hips as she leaned forward and dug her fake nails into my thighs. She wrapped her hand around my cock and tugged her panties to the side with her free hand.
I leaned back and held on tightly as she let out a long yelp as she slid down my thick shaft. "You're so big. I'm not sure I can-"
"Hush. Save your breath for pants and moans." I lifted my hips and filled her loose slit with the rest of my cock before patting the side of her ass once I hit home. "Get busy. You know the rules."
She lifted up and slammed back down, dancing and rolling her hips as she fucked herself good. I reached up and cupped my hands behind my head, watching her until I grew bored. I glanced over at the table to find my friends watching me with confused looks.
Freddy tilted his head to the side and gave me a look. He mouthed, 'Is she fucking you?'
I smiled and shrugged. I wasn't the kiss and tell type.
"Don't stop." I gripped a cheek of her thick ass and lifted my hips as she hovered above me, shaking a little and panting loudly.
"Just a minute. I'm so close. I don't want to lose."
"Sorry, but I have people waiting on me." I pulled her back down and rolled my hips as she exploded, convulsing and jerking above me.
I reached around to grab one of her tits and pumped my hips a few times, forcing myself to release just to take the edge off a little.
Life was about to change drastically, and even if I played it off well in front of everyone else, I was fucked up on the inside.
I'd been in New York my whole goddamn life. What in the world did Boston have to offer?
Chapter 2
Ansley
"Clamp," I barked out and extended my hand. The patient below me was doing well, but time was of the essence. It always was.
"Clamp." Doctor Bayes extended the clamp to me and nodded. "Doing great, Ansley. Almost there." He was an older gentleman and had been on my side since the day my residence ended. Even after passing him up for promotion to head of Neurology.
Soft jazz music played from the speakers above my head, and I let myself go to the calm place I always went to in the middle of surgery. It steadied my hand and allowed me to focus. There was no room for memories or guilt there. Only me and my instruments.
I wrapped up the surgery and glanced up to find Henry watching me with a smile on his face. It was barely noticeable thanks to his goggles and face mask, but I knew the look well. It was that of a proud father. Something I didn't have anywhere else in my life. I was grateful for it.
"Another one bites the dust." I smiled and turned, extending my hands to the nurse waiting behind me.
"I hate that phrase," he mumbled, and we all chuckled. He would close up the patient with sutures and staples, freeing me to relax for the rest of the afternoon.
"Great job. I've never seen suc
h a swelling." The nurse smiled up at me and nodded. "You're very good at what you do, Ansley."
"Doctor Crawford," I reminded her. "And thank you. I've been doing it a while now."
"Yes, ma'am." She offered a warm smile, and I was slightly grateful that I hadn't offended her. I'd worked damn hard for my title, and I expected people to use it. She was new and doing a great job. It was good to know she wasn't sensitive in the slightest, but then again, she was a little older than me. Life had a way of toughening you up and making things less about you day by day.
I walked to the sink and scrubbed my hands as a shadow fell across the room. I glanced over my shoulder to find Nolan standing on the other side, his hands in his pockets. His dark brown eyes were filled with question, and by the hint of sadness on his face, I figured whatever he wanted, it wasn't good.
Hell, it hadn't been good in just over a year. Our divorce had been messy and beyond painful, but it was done, and the dust was starting to settle. At least for me, it was.
I patted my hands dry and walked out into the hallway where he waited. "Dr. Reigns."
"Ansley. I need a minute." He started to reach for me when I stopped in front of him but dropped his hands. There were so many things left unspoken between us.
"With me or without me?" I smiled, trying to lighten the mood just a little.
"With you." He nodded behind me. "To my office, please."
"Of course." I followed behind him, pulling out my phone and checking for messages. My brother, Aiden had been texting off and on about a new surgeon that was transferring from his team to mine. I was less than thrilled with the transfer, but it wasn't my call, and no one was listening to my concerns.
Jacob "Parks" Parker. The playboy of St. Marks. He brought more women to life than he saved on the operating table in a week from what I knew. Doctor Feelgood. I crinkled my nose in disgust and dropped my phone back into my pocket. How anyone would put up with a cocky, young slut of a doctor in their OR was beyond me. Especially someone as staunch as my older brother, Aiden.
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