He heard her whimper then, and he felt her tighten against himself. He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, wanting to feel every inch of her. Her breathing became quicker, and she gasped. Then, he felt her pulsating became heavy around his cock and he knew she was coming. He felt himself join her, releasing himself into her. He inhaled sharply, and just let himself feel the two in syncopation. They were both sweating now, hot but satisfied. Mason slowly set her back on the ground as she untangled herself from. They were silent as they pulled their jeans back on, and once they were fully dressed, Olivia took a seat and Mason followed suit. He placed a hand on her knee and she leaned into him after placing a chaste kiss on his cheek.
“Was Shelby serious about the date?” Mason asked quietly after a moment of comfortable silence.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t need more than this.”
“Would you like to go on a date?” He didn’t know why he was nervous at that moment, but he was.
Olivia glanced at him sharply. “Are you asking me on a date?” she asked. She hadn’t meant to sound so hopeful, but she did. She was.
“Well, duh,” he teased, shoving her with his shoulder.
Olivia thought about it. Going on an actual date was practically like making it official. Was she ready to make things official with him? The thought scared her and delighted her at the same time. She had never seen a caring side of Mason, but she recognized that he was slowly opening up to her, just as she was with him.
“Yeah,” she said, resting her head on the side of his shoulder so he couldn’t see her blush and her shy smile. She slipped her arm through his. “I’d like that.”
“Okay,” Mason said, nodding. It was then that he had realized he had actually asked her out on a date. A real date.
He might need a consult from Shore on how to proceed with this.
Chapter 12
“Wait, let me get this straight,” Shore said, furrowing his brow in confusion. The two men were in Hadley’s office at eight twenty in the morning on a Monday morning. Shore was surprised that Hadley was early, as was the rest of the hospital staff, but Garcia said nothing, not wanting to goad him into showing up two hours late. “So, recently you’ve been sleeping with Goodson, and while you two have not officially declared yourselves as an item, you plan to take her out on an official date but you just don’t know when…?”
Hadley was leaning back in his cushy computer chair, his arms limply resting on the arm rests, and his feet planted firmly on the ground. He was shifting his weight constantly, causing the chair to move from side to side. “Yeah,” he said, nodding. “That sounds about right.” He narrowed his blue eyes at his friend, sitting across from him. “Don’t you go gossiping about this either. We both promised we wouldn’t be saying anything to anybody.”
“It surprises me that you promised something,” Shore said, “and it surprises me even more that you care about keeping this promise. But it doesn’t surprise me that you’ve failed miserably at doing so by telling me.”
“Well, she seemed to have told her best friend, and since I have no best friend, I was only left with the option of telling you,” Hadley said, shrugging his slacked shoulders.
“She told Shelby?” Shore asked, quirking a brow.
“Now, how do you know the two even know each other?” Hadley asked, somewhat annoyed that Shore, a pharmacist, someone his team rarely interacted with, seemed to know more about her than he did.
“Are you kidding me?” Shore asked. “Everyone knows those two are best friends. God, don’t you pay attention?”
“I pay attention to the important stuff,” Hadley said defensively, refusing to meet Shore’s eyes.
“Just not who her best friend is,” Shore stated dryly and rolled his warm, brown eyes. He paused, and then tilted his head to the side. “Are you taking her out on a date because Shelby confronted you about it, or because you actually want to take her out?”
Hadley opened his mouth to reply, but the look on his face explained it all to Shore. The pharmacist’s mouth dropped open in a small ‘o’ and he pointed an accusing finger at his friend. “Oh my gosh,” he said, bewildered at his friend. “You like her.”
“I like the way she looks,” Hadley mumbled, but it didn’t come out as convincing as he hoped it would.
Shore shook his head, his eyes not wavering from Hadley’s. Obviously he wasn’t buying into Hadley’s usual bullshit. “No,” he stated. It wasn’t a guess. Now he knew. “No, you like her. As a person.”
“No, I don’t,” Hadley said, now shaking his head. “This is ridiculous; I’m just having fun with her.”
“Really?” Shore asked the question with a very slight undertone that sounded suspiciously like a challenge. He leaned back in his chair and took on a casual position. “So I guess you wouldn’t mind if I asked her on an actual date then, hmm? I mean she’s very attractive, smart, and recently single.”
Hadley narrowed his blue eyes and they flickered to a deeper shade of blue. His jaw locked, and he stiffened in his seat. Shore wouldn’t really ask Goodson on a date, would he? There was no way…
Shore could easily read the expression on Hadley’s face and he smiled. For someone who was usually quite the expert at hiding his emotions, Hadley seemed to be getting easier and easier to read with each passing day, at least when it came to Goodson.
“You’re in trouble, my friend,” he stated, standing up.
Hadley followed suit. “You’re not going to ask her out, are you?” he asked. He hated that he had to ask such a revealing question, but he had to know the answer.
“Of course not,” Shore said, shaking his head. “She seems to be good for you. I mean, this is the second day in two weeks that you’ve actually been early, so…” He let his voice trail off as he read the closed look on his friend’s face. Hadley looked genuinely… helpless. When was the last time he went out on a date? An actual date. Was Lacy really his last…? That was over ten years ago. Shore felt himself sigh, and then he looked back up at his friend. “About the date thing,” he began, causing Hadley’s head to snap up, “don’t do anything you wouldn’t do.”
“Wow, that was ridiculously helpful,” Hadley barked dryly, shoving his hands in his blazer pockets. “I mean really, you should appear on Tyra or something to offer your services.”
“What I mean,” Shore said firmly, closing his eyes and forcing himself not to take Hadley’s bate, “is that she knows who you are. If you show up with flowers or take her somewhere fancy, she’ll know you’re trying to impress her and she’ll see right through you.” He paused, and then said sincerely, “The thing about you being together, the reason why I wasn’t surprised when you told me about it, is that everyone expects that to happen. I’m not just saying because you guys fight constantly, but when you guys fight, you don’t try to change each other… If you suddenly started becoming this person you aren’t, I think she’d feel offended.”
Hadley nodded, his eyes staring down at his plain, grey carpet. That made sense to him, but that didn’t exactly help him on where to take her and when. He didn’t want it to be atypical, but he didn’t want it to be weird. He wanted her to enjoy herself, and he wanted her to want more. This was so weird, this whole caring bit. He seemed strangely out of touch on how to please a woman; not physically, of course, but mentally.
When he looked up to ask his friend how to do such a thing, Shore had already left. He was on his own now. Hadley felt like a man isolated in the middle of the ocean, the only chance at being saved disappearing. He had to save himself.
Chapter 13
“Male, fourteen years old,” Hayes said, after flipping open a manila folder on the table. “Apparently, he was sleeping when all of a sudden, he started screaming. His parents came in to check on him, only to find him seizing.”
“So he’s hallucinating,” Goodson said, straightening her back and resting her folded hands on the surface of the table. “That means it’s neurological.”
“Where do you get hallucinations from nightmares?” Roberts asked, furrowing his brow. “Everyone has nightmares.”
“Oh really?” Goodson asked, cocking a brow. “You ever wake up from your nightmare by seizing?”
Roberts shot her a dry look and then swiveled in his chair so that he was facing Hayes. “Look, the kid’s fourteen, right? He plays baseball and got knocked in the head with the ball during the season. He had a concussion and bad vision. Simple as that.” He stood up. “I’m going to release the patient. All he needs is rest… and apparently quicker reflexes.”
“I think you’re wrong,” Goodson said as Roberts stood.
“You can think whatever you want, sugar, there’s nothing wrong with the patient,” Roberts retorted, only to run into Dr. Hadley as he made his way into his office. He made sure that today, he would be late, as per usual.
His blue eyes glanced at Goodson after hearing Roberts’s statement, and then back at the man. “I didn’t know today was Endearment Day,” he stated gruffly. “Um…” He feigned thinking for a specific endearment. “Flame boy,” he said, pointing to Hayes. “Accompany bitch and… hm.. did anyone use sugar? Oh well. No one said you can’t repeat, right? Anyway, accompany bitch and southern sugar to release the boy.”
“Why are three people going to discharge a patient?” Hayes asked as he got up.
“I don’t think he should be discharged,” Goodson stated flatly.
“Three pairs of eyes are better than one,” Hadley answered. “Especially since two out of the three pairs are biased.” He paused. “Now go.”
Goodson pushed herself up and rolled her eyes as she followed the other two members of her team out of Hadley’s office. As a doctor, she knew she had to be completely rational when it came to patients. There had to be proof, there had to be something there (unless, of course, your name was Dr. Hadley and could diagnose someone with some fatal disease with no present symptoms) that caused you to believe something. However, there were times when Goodson merely felt if something was there or not there. In no way would she compare it to Hadley’s method, but there would be some guttural feeling telling her something. Some of the times she was wrong, her feeling was wrong, but most of the time, she was right.
When they walked in the room, Goodson took everything in as Roberts began to explain the reason for discharging him. The patient, fourteen-year-old Derek Lawrence, was sitting on the bed, his legs dangling off the bed, listening intently to Dr. Roberts. His mother was pursing her lips, her brow furrowed, obviously bothered by Roberts’s decision to release her son. His father idly tapped his cleft chin, listening with more neutrality than his wife. Something caused Goodson’s eyes to focus back on Derek; his foot was twitching. Not constantly, but after a slight pause, it would move. Her eyes darted up into his face, but his eyes looked focused, as though he was listening to what Roberts was saying.
“We can’t discharge him,” Goodson stated more firmly, her eyes fixating on Roberts.
Roberts forced a polite smile as he regarded her before looking back at the patient’s parents. “My colleague here believes there’s more to your son’s night terrors than a late symptom of a bad concussion,” he explained.
“There is,” Goodson stated firmly, and then pointed at Derek’s twitching foot. “Right there.”
Derek looked down, obviously unaware that his foot was moving on its own accord. “It’s not a big deal,” the boy tried to say, but Hayes interjected.
“She’s right,” he said, sighing. “That sort of twitch is known as myoclonic twitch. It only appears in people who are asleep.”
“But I’m not asleep,” the boy said surely, shaking his head.
“Exactly,” Hayes said, and then glanced at Goodson. She was right.
“So, when’s the big date?” Shelby sing-songed as the two walked out of the hospital that evening. Her dark eyes glanced with glee, and Olivia was rather surprised that the young Chinese woman wasn’t dancing to their exit. She poked Olivia in the stomach. “Oh come on, Holl. You’re going on a date with this guy! How come you’re not even the tiniest bit excitedabout it?”
They were outside now, and Olivia gripped the edges of the hood of her jacket before flipping it over so she would be somewhat protected from the soft downpour of rain. Shelby didn’t seemed fazed by the rain that fell from the sky; she kept her persistent stare on her friend.
“Ugh, I just,” Olivia said, and then paused as the two walked toward the parking garage. “I just don’t want things to change between us, you know? I’ve heard too many sob stories about friends who get involved with each other and it totally changes them. Life isn’t the movies, Shelby.”
“Um… haven’t you guys already gotten involved?” Shelby asked her friend, looking at Olivia skeptically. They had stopped walking once they reached the shelter of the parking garage, and Olivia tilted her head, causing her hood to slip off.
The blonde sighed and glanced to her left before speaking. “I know, it’s stupid right?” she asked, arching a brow. “I never thought I’d be able to separate sex and love, but with him, I can. I mean I like him, probably more than I should, but I don’t love him.” She paused once again. “I could see myself falling in love with him…” She shook her head, abruptly cutting herself off. “I’m just-“
“Scared,” Shelby stated, cutting her off. Her eyes had widened slightly in surprise, but it was all beginning to make sense now. “You’re scared, Holl, of falling in love with him.”
“It’s like,” Olivia began, placing her hands on her hips, “you know when you really, really admire a movie star and then think they’re the greatest thing ever? And then you meet them and they’re complete assholes?”
“So you have great expectations for Hadley, but don’t want to be disappointed?” Shelby asked, quirking a brow.
“Kind of,” Olivia said, shifting somewhat uncomfortably. “Like, I have this idealized version of us and I don’t want to blame Hadley for any disappointment, you know?” This was much harder to explain than she had originally anticipated.
“You better get over this,” Shelby said firmly. “One of the reasons why you and Owen didn’t work is because you overanalyzed everything. Don’t get me wrong, he was a huge asshole and everything, but you can’t overanalyze this, Olivia. I know you. I know you’re worried that once you go on this date it’s basically like telling the world, excluding this hospital, that you are together, and once that happens, he has the power to hurt you. I get it, Holl, but no offense, it’s bullshit. Hadley is not your father; he’s not going to abandon you. Just go with the flow on this okay? Right now, you like him and obviously like the sex. That’s it; that’s all. Then, you’re going on a date, whenever that may be. Then maybe another and another. You know Hadley; he doesn’t like playing games unless a patient’s life’s on the line.” The two girl’s shared a smile, but Shelby’s expression resumed its serious expression. “Hadley isn’t your father and he’s not Owen. He’s Dr. Mason Hadley, complete asshole who doesn’t care about anything except his job and you.” She paused, and a soft smile touched her lips. “I just want to see you happy again, Holl. And from what I’ve seen in the past week, he makes you happy.” She hugged her jacket closer to her body. “Well, I gotta go. I have a dinner to plan. Vince and I are breaking the news to his parents this weekend.” With that, the young woman turned and walked to her car, leaving Olivia alone to let everything Shelby said sink in.
Leave it to Shelby to talk some sense into her.
Chapter 14
It was Friday night when Olivia remembered why she either liked to be single and not looking or comfortable in a long-term relationship; she hated dating. She wasn’t sure of herself which wasn’t exactly normal. As a doctor, she was confident in diagnosing and treating patients, could stand up to anyone who questioned her judgment, but this… How long had it been since her first date? A year and a half? Two years? And Owen really wasn’t a dater; the nicest place he ever took her to wa
s an Olive Garden, so she never worried about her appearance. But now…
“What about this?” Olivia asked, walking back into her bedroom where none other than Shelby was waiting patiently. A cup of homemade coffee was resting on Olivia’s dresser with Shelby’s fingers coiled around the cup and the latest issue of Cosmo was resting in her lap. She looked up when she saw her friend walk in.
Shelby scrunched her nose, immediately shaking her head. “He knows what you look like out of your clothes,” she commented as she watched her friend swagger back into the bathroom, where three other outfits were waiting.
Slinking out of the tight, short red dress, Olivia began to muse over what Mason was doing right now. Probably enjoying a nice beer, sitting in front of the television, waiting until the last moment to get ready. She smiled at that; guys had it easy.
“You need to show him what you look like in a dress,” Shelby continued. “Something nice. Make him realize you’re sexy naked and you’re beautiful dressed. The whole package.”
Olivia pressed her lips together and went back to her closet. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Shelby was right. If this was going somewhere romantic on top of somewhere intimate, she needed to learn to be both girlfriend and lover. She came out a few minutes later in a simple white summer dress with thick straps that hugged her curves and reached her knee. If she threw her doctor’s white coat over it, it might be passable as professional attire. On her feet were simple red high heels. She pinned her bangs back and curled her hair, wearing minimal makeup.
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