Someone Special

by Teresa Roman

  “Yes, but I’ve really got to clean my house since my family is coming to visit soon. Maybe we should meet a little later than we planned on.”

  He shook his head. “I can help you clean. I don’t want to meet later.”

  It was impossible to miss the hunger in his eyes. I recognized it because it was no different than my own. Though I had yet to utter the words, I was totally and deeply and madly in love with Jude Morales. But I’d always been scared of those three little words—I love you—worried that by saying them I’d be jinxing myself somehow.

  “If you’re sure,” I said.

  Controlling myself when Jude showed in the ER was the hardest part about seeing him during the day. Often I had to stop myself from grabbing his shirt and pulling him closer so I could plant a kiss on his delicious lips. Everyone at work knew we were dating, but that didn’t mean we could do whatever we wanted.

  “I’m sure,” he said in that sexy voice of his that drove me wild.

  Just then my Vocera device indicated I had a call from from Eric. I accepted it.

  “I put med orders on the patient in room three over an hour ago,” he barked.

  “I’ve already put a request into the pharmacy—”

  “Maybe if you spent more time doing your job instead of flirting with your boyfriend, things would get done faster around here,” he barked, cutting me off.

  My jaw dropped. I could not believe I’d just been spoken to that way. Neither, apparently, could Jude.

  “What did he just say?” Jude’s eyes blazed and his jaw clenched. He’d made it clear to me several times that he did not like Eric, and thought he was an arrogant ass. And that was without him knowing the past we’d shared.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said, trying to defuse the situation. “Dr. Kennedy is like that, he can be a jerk sometimes.”

  “Not to my girl, he can’t. Where does he get off disrespecting you like that?”

  “I can handle Dr. Kennedy,” I said, putting my palms on Jude’s chest and looking over my shoulder hoping no one had heard. “You better go. We both have jobs we need to get back to.”

  Jude seemed hesitant but finally said, “If he speaks like that to you again, I want to know about it.”

  I gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. “You’re sweet. Now go.”

  I hadn’t wanted to let on in front of Jude how furious I was about the way Eric had spoken to me, so I waited until he left, then I tracked Eric down and pulled him to the side.

  “Don’t you ever speak to me like that again,” I said before turning to leave without giving him a chance to respond.

  “Where are you going?” he asked.

  “To let my nursing supervisor know about this incident.”

  “Well, if you were doing your job—”

  “Like I tried to tell you, I’m waiting on the medication you ordered from pharmacy since we don’t have any in stock in the ER right now. You’d know that if you hadn’t cut me off and started lecturing me like a child.”

  I walked away before Eric could say another word. My nursing supervisor wasn’t in her office but when my next break rolled around, I looked for her again to tell her what happened.

  “He owes you an apology,” she said, equally as horrified as I was. “I promise I’ll have a talk with him, and by the end of the day I’ll see to it that he gives it.”

  Despite her support, I was still livid about the whole situation. Over the past few months, Eric and I had forged a better working relationship. There was no more friendly banter or flirtatious back and forth like before, but we’d managed to speak cordially to each other—until today.

  At just after seven, I clocked out and headed toward the exit doors. Eric popped his head out of the office he was dictating notes in. “Hey, Dawn, do you have a minute?”

  “What do you want?” I muttered.

  “A chance to apologize.”

  “Fine,” I said, dropping my arms to my side and following him into the office.

  He closed the door behind us. “I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you earlier. It was completely inappropriate.”

  I crossed my arms. “It better not happen again.”

  “It won’t, I promise,” he said. “I was having a bad day and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”

  “It wasn’t even that busy today.”

  Eric sat down and looked up at me. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but Natalie and I broke up a few days ago. I’ve been in a bad mood ever since.”

  “That’s right, you shouldn’t be telling me,” I said. “Because your love life isn’t my business, just like my love life isn’t yours.”

  Eric looked stunned by my response. “I know that. I do. What I also know is that I still feel really bad about the way things turned out between us.” He looked into my eyes. “And I was kind of hoping you might give me another chance, but I guess it’s too late for that.”

  “Are you kidding me?” It suddenly dawned on me what Eric’s problem was. He couldn’t be alone. He’d gone from Natalie to me, then back to Natalie. They’d only just broken up and he was trying to ask me out again. I could not believe it. “Of course, it’s too late.”

  Eric’s face blanched. He hadn’t expected me to turn him down like that. “We can at least be friends, though, right?”

  He sounded sincere, and a bit embarrassed at the same time. Although I’d never told Jude about Eric, I didn’t think being friends with an ex-lover was something Jude would approve of. I wasn’t in the mood to explain that to Eric though, especially when I could tell how uncomfortable he felt by my rejection. So I just said, “Sure, we can be friends.”

  I turned and left, cutting our conversation short. After the day I’d had, I couldn’t wait to get home, take a long hot shower, and get some cleaning out of the way while I waited for Jude to come over. If there was anyone who could turn this day around for me, it was him.

  To my surprise and relief, Jude was already waiting for me by the door to my apartment when I got home.

  “You’re here earlier than I thought you’d be,” I said, then greeted him with a kiss.

  “Well, I promised I’d help you clean.”

  “You haven’t seen how messy my place is yet. I hope you aren’t going to regret saying that.”

  Jude followed me inside. The kitchen was the first thing we tackled, with Jude washing my dishes while I wiped the grease and dirt from my appliances. We managed to behave ourselves and get most of everything I had on my to-do list done until it was time to clean the bathroom. Jude must’ve heard me turn on the shower because a minute after I did he came up behind me, pushed my hair away from my neck and started kissing me.

  “Hey, we’re not done yet, mister.”

  “A quick break won’t hurt anything. I’ve been dying to get these clothes off of you since I saw you at the hospital this morning.”

  I turned and looked up at him. His hungry eyes set my insides on fire. With one quick move, I took off my scrub top. Then I pulled on the string holding my pants up. As they fell to the floor, I reached behind my back to unclasp my bra. Jude reached for my panties, yanking them down. I stepped into the shower.

  “Don’t keep me waiting,” I said, before pulling the curtain closed.

  I was in the middle of lathering my body with soap when Jude joined me in the shower. He grabbed the soap from my hand and spun me around so that I faced him. With soapy hands he caressed every inch of me. He lingered over my breasts, cupping them, then waiting for the shower water to rinse the soap away before swirling his tongue over my hardened nipples. I let out a whimper as he reached between my legs. Good Lord I wanted him bad. I snuck the soap out of his hands, and lathered his sculpted chest, shoulders and arms. With a wicked smile, I reached for his erection, stroking it, enjoying his look of pleasure.

  “I want you,” he whispered. “Right here and right now.”

  I lifted one of my legs and rested my foot on the ledge in my shower. Jude lifted my other leg, wra
pping it around his waist before driving his erection into me. It had been a few weeks since we’d stopped using protection. We’d both gotten clean bills of health from our doctors, and I was on the pill. It was nice to be able to be more spontaneous.

  I twined my hands into his wet hair as he made love to me. As I got closer and closer to climax, I grasped his behind, pulling him closer so I could feel him deeper. There was something about Jude that made me feel wild. I just couldn’t get enough of him. He shuddered as he came inside me. “Jesus Christ, Dawn. I swear I’m addicted to you.”

  “That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” I asked, resting my head on his chest.

  “It is and it isn’t,” he said. “Sometimes I feel a little crazy around you. Like today when that doctor disrespected you. I wanted to punch him in his face.”

  “Believe me, so did I. But I handled it.”

  “Do you hate it that I want to take care of you?”

  I shook my head, looked up and into Jude’s eyes, and kissed him. “No, I think it’s sweet.” And I did, but at times Jude could be a bit more overprotective and jealous than I liked. I had to remind myself sometimes that Jude wasn’t Nick. Thankfully, it hadn’t become a big enough issue for me to make a big deal out of it, though I had asked Tracey what she thought. A little jealousy was normal, she’d told me. It would work itself out eventually. I hoped she was right.

  Chapter 21

  Over the past few weeks, ever since my parents had told me that they were planning on visiting with May, I’d been on the fence about whether or not I wanted Jude to come with me when I went to pick them up from the airport. I didn’t get to see them that often, and I knew they wanted to have me all to themselves for at least part of their visit. But I was eager for them to meet Jude, so I eventually decided I wanted him with me. My family and I would have plenty of time together since I’d taken the entire week off from work for their visit.

  As I drove to the sprawling LAX airport, there was no denying I was nervous. My parents were pretty open-minded, so I knew they wouldn’t care that Jude was Mexican. But they were also die-hard liberals who had a lot of opinions about the recent spate of police shootings that had been in the news. I was worried what they’d say about Jude’s chosen profession given all the bad press the police had gotten lately.

  It was a sensitive topic for Jude, who hated the way the media only focused on a few bad cops instead of the thousands of good ones who risked their lives every day to protect people. Working in the medical field meant I understood where he came from. More and more patients these days seemed skeptical of everything nurses or doctors told them about their health, convinced that we were being bought off by big pharmaceutical companies to push things on them they didn’t need.

  “You haven’t said a word since we left your house,” Jude said, “Are you worried about what your family will think of me?”

  “Of course not. I know they’ll love you. It’s just that, well, it’s been a long time since I’ve introduced my parents to a guy.”

  Jude didn’t respond. I wondered if I’d brought out his jealous streak again. He hated when I even hinted that there had been anyone in my life before him.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked after the silence between us had stretched on for too long.

  “Nothing,” he replied brusquely.

  “Are you upset that you’re not the first boyfriend I’ve introduced to my parents?” I asked, knowing he wasn’t being completely forthright with me.

  Jude frowned. “Of course not.” He paused before continuing. “Okay, maybe the thought of you with anyone else does make me a little jealous. I know it’s stupid, which is why I didn’t want to say anything, but you asked.”

  “Jude, I’m twenty-six. You can hardly expect that I wouldn’t have dated anyone before we met.”

  “I know,” he said looking out of the car window before turning his head back around. “Anyway, the way I figure it, I might not be the first boyfriend your parents will meet, but I’m definitely going to be the last.”

  I smiled. “Aren’t you Mr. Confidence?” We were six months into our relationship, which was way too soon to be thinking about marriage, but I hoped Jude was right. These days every time I thought about my future, he was in it.

  A few minutes later, I pulled over to the curbside pickup at the airport where I spotted May and my parents already waiting. Jude and I got out of the car, and I introduced everyone to each other.

  Jude got everyone’s luggage into the trunk before we piled into my car and drove back to my apartment.

  Even though I had a two-bedroom apartment, it was still going to be a tight squeeze with three visitors, so rather than figuring out how to seat five people around a table meant for four, I’d made dinner reservations for us earlier that day. After unloading the suitcases back at my place, we headed for the restaurant.

  I silently prayed my parents would steer clear of any conversations regarding Jude’s chosen profession. Thankfully, they did, instead asking him question after question about his family.

  “I can’t imagine being the mother of five children,” Mom said after Jude told her about his four sisters.

  “I think my father was secretly hoping for another son,” Jude said.

  “It’s too bad we won’t be able to meet your family during our visit. They sound like lovely people.”

  Normally, my family stayed a bit longer when they visited, but my dad had surprised my mom with tickets to Hawaii, so they were cutting their trip to Los Angeles short, and May had to get back home to start a summer internship.

  “There’s always next time,” Jude said.

  It was late by the time we got back to my apartment. Jude returned home and my parents, who hadn’t stayed up past ten since I was in high school, went to bed while May and I hung out on the couch and had a junk food feast while watching cheesy movies.

  “I really like Jude,” she said out of the blue.

  “I’m glad you do.” It was a relief to hear her say that. She hadn’t really said much about him up to that point, so I’d started to worry.

  “You guys are cute together.”

  “Do you think Mom and Dad like him, too?”

  “Yeah. I’m pretty sure they do. You know Mom’s not shy about letting people know what she thinks of them.”

  “That’s true.” May wasn’t exaggerating. My mother hadn’t liked Nick one bit and made sure he knew. He was furious about it, going so far as to suggest that I needed to decide who was more important to me, him or my family.

  “I better be the first to know when Jude pops the question.”

  I nearly choked on the handful of popcorn I’d just put in my mouth. “We are so not even close to thinking about marriage.”

  “Hmm.” May raised her eyebrows. “Maybe you’re not, but I can tell Jude is.”

  “Why? Did he say something to you?”

  She shook her head. “No, but let’s just say I’ve got a hunch.”

  May’s words got me thinking. If Jude proposed to me, what would I say? All week long, I asked myself that same question over and over. I loved being Jude’s girlfriend, but his wife? I hadn’t given much thought to being a wife at all, and the prospect somehow frightened me. But I couldn’t picture my life without Jude in it, either.

  The week seemed to fly by. My family and I spent a lot of it on the beach and taking hikes in the San Gabriel mountains, which were a short drive from my apartment. Before I knew it, I was already driving my parents and May back to the airport and trying not to cry as I wished them a safe trip home.

  After my mini vacation, the last thing I felt like doing was going back to work, especially when the day after my family left I woke up to a perfectly gorgeous morning. It was a day meant for going to the beach, not the hospital.

  I ran into Tracey on my way into the ER. “So how’d the family visit go?” she asked.

  “It was really nice.”

  “I take it that means everyone approves of Jude.”
>
  “Yeah. They do,” I said. “Now that I think about it, it was kind of silly for me to worry they wouldn’t. Jude is sort of hard not to like.”

  “I’m not going to say I told you so,” she said with a satisfied smile on her face, then signed. “I just wish I could find someone like him. I swear I’m better at picking out boyfriends for my friends than I am for myself.”

  “Well, I’m pretty sure Jude’s partner is still single,” I said. “And he is a nice guy.”

  Tracey frowned. “I don’t know. He’s cute, but I feel like that would be kind of weird. Almost like I was going out with your boyfriend’s brother or something.”

  “And what’s wrong with that?”

  Tracey seemed to ponder my words as we clocked in. I made a mental note to ask Jude later how we could give his partner and Tracey a nudge in each other’s direction. Why I hadn’t thought of matching them up sooner?

  The morning started out slowly, but less than two hours into my shift, all rooms were filled and I was running around trying to keep up with all my tasks. It didn’t help that we were short-staffed. I wound up having to do extra work like setting up a laceration repair tray for Eric, a job that normally fell to the ER techs. I rushed into the supply room to gather everything I knew he’d need. Someone followed me in, I looked over my shoulder to see who.

  “I’m already getting everything you’re going to need,” I said to Eric, trying not to sound annoyed. I hated being micro-managed.

  “Oh, great, thanks,” he said, noticing the suture kit in my hands. “But I’m not really worried about that. I was actually hoping to get you alone so I could ask you something.”

  “What’s that?” I asked nonchalantly while I continued to stuff my arms full of supplies.

  “Are you still dating that cop?”

  Unsure of why he was asking I replied hesitantly, “Yes. I am.”

  “Seriously?” He shook his head. “C’mon, Dawn, you can do so much better than that meathead.”

  I almost dropped everything I was holding. “Did you just call my boyfriend stupid?”