Oh God.
This is going to be hell.
Chapter Three
Luke
Well, tonight just took a turn for the better.
I smirk at Laura as I watch her gulp down the last of her wine, before nodding at Annie to top her up again. She won’t look at me, which I can’t really blame her for, considering the compromising position she was in when we last saw each other. To be honest, I feel quite sorry for her. This has got to be torture for her. What are the chances of your brother trying to set you up with the doctor who saved you from a runaway sex toy?
When I first saw her walk out onto the patio, I couldn’t believe it was her. She didn’t notice me at first which gave me a chance to really study her without any limitations. When she’s in control of herself and not mid-orgasm, she’s actually very hot—not that she wasn’t hot last time I…
Yeah. I think I’m going to quit that thought while I’m ahead.
Her long dark hair hangs around her shoulders, twisting into a mass of loose curls, and those deep blue eyes are full of such warmth that you can’t help but smile back. Only when I smile, hers disappears, which brings me crashing back down to reality.
“So, Laura,” I say.
She turns to look at me, knowing she can’t ignore me when I’m talking directly to her without raising questions. Sure, some might say that I’m forcing her to interact with me, but if it gets us past what happened, why not?
“Do you live around here, too?”
“No, I live in downtown LA,” she replies. “On the south side.”
She doesn’t even look at me as she speaks. Maybe I brought that on myself by using terms like vibe and buzz, but I really was just trying to lighten the mood and make a joke out of it. I guess we’re not at that point in our relationship yet.
I frown, a thought hitting me. If she lives closer to the city, then why go to Orange County? There had to have been closer options for her to go to. Mercy’s literally on her doorstep, for starters. I don’t dwell on that too much. Instead, I try to talk to her again and again, but every time, she shuts me down.
“Laura?”
I say her name so loudly that it gets the attention of half the table. Oh well. She can’t ignore that at least. She turns and glares at me.
“What?”
“You really need to cut me a break,” I say in a lower voice. “People are going to start asking questions if you toss one more dirty look my way. People being your brother and Annie,” I add, unable to resist the temptation of another dig. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say they’re… uninformed over your recent hospital visit?”
“And it will stay that way if you shut up. Maybe you can start with stopping the comments that make me want to give you dirty looks?” she suggests sweetly.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize offering you a cushion to sit on would be so offensive,” I protest, holding my hands up in defense. “Most women would be flattered if a man considered their comfort, like I just did,” I add.
How was I supposed to know how well she’d recovered?
“There is a nearly nine-month-pregnant woman sitting opposite me, and you’re offering me a pillow? How about you offer it to her instead?” She shakes her head, lowering her voice. “You don’t want to draw attention to what happened? What the hell do you think offering me a pillow is going to do?”
She makes a good point, but still… chivalry is chivalry.
“So, you didn’t tell anyone anything?” I ask her, scooting a little closer to her.
As a doctor, I’m genuinely curious, because it had to have hurt for a few days after the incident. How did she explain it to people?
“I would’ve expected at the very least, a funny walk for a day or two with that kind of penetration—not to mention the multiple orgasms,” I muse. “By the way, did you keep track? I’m pretty sure I counted five in just the short time I was with you. You could be up for a record.”
“Are you done?” she explodes. “It’s none of your goddamned business how many times I came.”
She tosses her napkin down on the table and glares at me, mortified she just said that aloud and just as Matt happened to wander out onto the deck. He catches the tail end of her rant and raises his eyebrows at me and then shrugs as if to apologize. I shake my head and rub the back of my neck, knowing it’s more my fault than hers. Okay, it’s completely my fault.
The worst part is that I’m not intentionally trying to wind her up. Well, maybe it is intentional, but I swear I’m not trying to offend her. But somehow, I’m managing it repeatedly. Things keep popping out of my mouth before I realize how bad they sound. I think it’s the nerves talking more than anything else because seeing her again reminds me that she’s the kind of girl I’d usually go for.
It was hard enough keeping things professional when I was examining her, but I did it. The number of times my mind started to wander… I’ll even go as far to admit that after my shift, she may have filtered into my mind once or twice while I was jerking myself off.
But here? She’s not my patient. She’s just Matt’s sister, looking especially sexy in that short black skirt. It’s hard to turn my emotions off and not react because that’s what I should be doing. I mean, she’s still technically a patient, right? I’m confused about how I should be acting, and when that happens, I lose control of my mouth. I know I need to stop talking, but I can’t.
“You know, I would’ve expected Matt’s sister to be a little more outgoing,” I tease her.
“Yeah, well I guess I’m not feeling all that talkative,” she mutters.
I’m about to respond when Annie knocks over a stack of glasses she’s attempting to balance and then carry. I smirk and get to my feet. I take them from her, and she sighs with relief.
“Thanks, Luke,” she says. “Isn’t he the sweetest?” She directs that comment at Laura, who stares daggers back at her.
“So sweet my teeth are rotting,” Laura grits out through a smile.
Chuckling, I scoop up the rest of the empty glasses and carry them into the kitchen. I place them down on the kitchen counter and let out a large breath. God, she’s killing me out there. I feel like I need a power nap before I get back out there. Or, at the very least, a pep talk. Matt looks up and winces. He walks over and slaps me hard on the back.
“Man, what’s going on out there? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you strike out as much as tonight.” He chuckles. “I know my sister can be hard work, but I’ve never seen her this uptight.”
“You’re referring to the sister that you’re not trying to set me up with?” I retort.
“Hey, this wasn’t a setup, but it doesn’t seem to have stopped you from trying.”
“Sure, man, whatever helps you sleep at night,” I say, not believing that for a second.
I wander back outside, pretending not to notice how Laura visibly tenses when I sit back down. For both our sakes, I keep pushing the conversation, trying to ease the awkwardness between us. I mean, she eventually has to lighten up, right? I figure the more I try and wear her down, the less of a big deal what happened will seem. Hey, she might even decide she likes me, if she gives me a chance.
The rest of dinner goes by in much the same way. I’m inappropriate, and she either ignores me or glares at me. The party eventually breaks up, and as soon as Annie and Matt go to walk the last couple out, Laura jumps up. I watch her with interest as she rushes to clear all the plates from the table. She really wants to avoid being alone with me. Matt walks back out and shakes his head.
“No, you go and sit back down. Enjoy yourself,” he says, gently chastising her. “I didn’t invite you so you could clean up after us.”
“No, you invited me so you could…” She shakes her head. “Never mind.” She sinks back down into her seat and scowls at Matt as he walks away.
“You really can’t wait to get away from me, can you?” I question.
“Do you blame me?” she asks. “It’s nothing personal. I’
m just really embarrassed about…” She shakes her head and glares at me. “No wait, it is personal. You’ve been an asshole to me all night.”
I wince because I deserve that.
“I’m sorry. I think I was trying to make it so that the incident wasn’t the worst thing to happen between us,” I finally say. “I thought by making that seem less of a big deal, that this would be easier for you.”
“What? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” she says. Then she lowers her head and laughs. I stare at her. Holy shit, has my plan actually worked? “That’s really what you were trying to do?”
“Of course,” I say, with a wounded expression. “I mean, if I really wanted to make you feel uncomfortable, I’d comment on how your voice isn’t hitting the high notes it did last time we met.”
She glares at me, and I laugh. “Okay, I’m sorry. I’ve been holding onto that one all night. I promise it’s completely out of my system now,” I call out to her, but she’s already stalking off inside the house.
I groan inwardly and rub my head, then I give her a few minutes head start before I saunter back inside too. Matt glances at me as I walk through the door. He laughs and shakes his head.
“I’m not sure whether to be concerned or impressed with the way my sister just stormed out of here, cursing your name,” he says.
I chuckle and run my hands through my hair, because if only he knew.
“What can I say? It’s a talent. I’m going to call it a night, I think. Thanks again for letting me stay here. I appreciate it.”
“Anytime, man.”
I walk down the hallway to my room with the look on her face when she realized I was at that dinner party stuck in my head. She’ll get over it eventually. Sure, it must have been embarrassing for her, seeing me there, but the memory won’t always be this raw. I mean, it was only a few days ago. I really do hope I see her again, but I’m not sure the feeling is mutual. I could ask Matt to help me. I’m sure he would, and she’d have trouble explaining why she didn’t want to be around me. Of course, there was one major flaw in that plan.
Making sure it never came up in conversation that I’d told Matt about the girl in cubicle nine.
#
“Well, what do you want me to do? Put them up at a hotel?”
I look up as Annie storms into the kitchen, cursing Matt’s name under her breath. Matt follows and stands in the doorway, not helping the situation by laughing at her.
“Well, yeah. If they’d given you the right dates in the first place, then we wouldn’t be standing here, arguing over the fact that your parents are flying in tomorrow and we have no room to put them up.”
“Well, what do you want me to do, put them up at a hotel?”
I wince, because they’ve been like this all morning, and I’ve just about had enough, especially when the solution is so blatantly obvious that it’s staring them in the face. I slam my fist down on the table, causing them both to turn to me in surprise. It’s like they’d forgotten I was even there, which is easy to do when you’re at each other’s throats, I guess.
“Guys, relax,” I say, shaking my head. “There’s a very easy solution. I’ll just go and stay in a hotel.”
“Really?” Annie sighs with relief.
“No way, man,” Matt protests at the same time. Annie glares at him. “What? He’s our guest, and I said he could stay. We can’t just kick him out.”
“We can when the alternative is kicking my parents out.” She winces and clutches onto her stomach, then reaches behind her to balance herself against the counter. Matt races over to her, full of concern.
“I’m sorry.” He sighs and walks over and wraps his arms around her waist. “I’ll sort something out, okay? Don’t worry about it. The last thing we need is you stressing out more.”
Annie smiles, kissing him on the lips.
“Hey, what about Laura?” she asks.
“Laura?” Matt repeats her name, like the idea never even entered his mind. I laugh because this should be entertaining. “Hey, that’s not a bad idea. She’s thinking about leasing out her spare room, anyway.” He nods his head slowly, looking more into the idea by the second. “This is perfect, actually. She’s lives just around the corner from where you’ll be working. In fact, she starts there next week too,” he says, looking at me.
“At Mercy?” I say, my eyebrows shooting up.
“Yeah, I told you that, didn’t I? She’s a doctor, like you.”
I start to laugh. This just keeps getting better and better.
“What’s so funny?” Matt frowns.
“Uh, were you not at dinner last night? Your sister doesn’t seem to like me all that much,” I point out.
“True, but what’s to say she’d like anyone she let her room out to?” he says with a shrug. “At least you’re a safe bet. You’re a known evil.” He nods, as though it’s been decided already. “No, this is a great idea. Trust me.”
I shake my head and let him go with it.
It’s a fucking fantastic idea, but one that she’s never going to agree to.
Chapter Four
Laura
“Ugh.” I climb into bed, still fully clothed. I face plant onto my pillows and then lift the covers over my head, wanting nothing more than to forget the last week. Tonight, was a disaster—from start to finish. Walking in there and seeing him sitting there at that table was like fate shitting all over me. That’s the only way to describe it because why else would this happen? How unlucky does a person have to be to go through this sequence of events? I mean, what next? What else can be thrown at me?
It’s like every time I actually manage to forget about what happened, something happens to throw it back in my face. I roll over, ignoring my phone as it vibrates madly on my bedside table until I can’t listen anymore. I reach over and switch it onto silent because even the soft vibration of my phone is making me cringe. I can see whoever it is isn’t giving up, so I give in and answer it.
“Hello?” I don’t even bother to lift my head as I speak into the phone.
“Hey, it’s me.” Becca. I burying my face farther into my pillow and mumble something incoherent. “Are you okay?” She laughs. “How was the dinner party?”
“Bad.” I swallow and force myself to sit up, so she can understand me. “Really bad. In fact, it couldn’t have gone much worse kind of bad.”
“Oh, it probably could have if you think about it hard enough,” she says, attempting a joke. “You could’ve been set up on a blind date with that hot doctor from the other night.”
Silence.
“No!” I can tell she’s trying to hold back both her shock and laughter.
“Yes. Just come over. Bring a hammer or a bag to suffocate me or something because I’m done,” I grumble.
“I really feel for you,” she admits. “I want to tell you it’s not that bad and how much worse things could be; but hell, I’ve got nothing.” She chuckles. “I will come over though if that’s okay? I think you need something that will take your mind off this.”
“And what’s going to do that?” I ask suspiciously.
#
“This.”
I stare at Becca and laugh as she holds up the copy of Mean Girls that I got her for her twenty-first birthday. Tucked neatly under her arm is a jumbo bag of buttered popcorn, with extra butter. She hands me the DVD and tosses the popcorn on the couch, then walks into the kitchen. I smile as I examine the cover because I’m already feeling better.
This movie has been our go-to flick since Becs sneakily—and illegally—filmed it on her dad’s camcorder for me when I was too sick to go and see it at the theatre in 2004. We watched the fuck out of that tape right up until her parents accidentally recorded themselves having sex halfway through the movie. It was the best way to recover from my fourth major surgery in twelve months. I nearly died laughing, while poor Becca was distraught. She couldn’t look her parents in the eye for weeks. I knew that camcorder was trouble the moment I saw it.
“I’m surprised you can watch this without cringing.” I giggle.
“Don’t even go there.” Becca groans, covering her face with her hands. “You know, I don’t think they even realize to this day that we saw that.” She gives me a sympathetic look as she pours us both a drink. “So, what happened?” she asks. “Because you totally made it sound like Matt tried to set you up with Doctor Hottie.”
“Yep,” I say, nodding grimly. “Even worse than that, it was a dinner party. Couples hell and no escape.”
“No way!” She giggles, her eyes growing wide. “I’m sorry, but this is gold, Loz. This even beats slouch on the couch night.”
“Oh, it gets better. You know what he said to me? He’s getting a good vibe from me that I’m a buzz to be around.”
Becca clutches a hold of her stomach as she dissolves into laughter, tears streaming down her cheeks. She shakes her head and puts her hand out as if saying she’s sorry. Hell, even I’m smiling, because I can almost see the funny side of it now. Almost…
“He said that? Loz, I love him. If you’re not going for it, then I sure as fuck am.”
“Keep your panties on. Nobody loves anyone,” I assure her.
“So, what did you do?” she asks.
I shrug helplessly. “What can you do when your brother tries to set you up with someone who’s been elbow deep inside you before the first date? I panicked and ignored him.”
“It’s okay,” Becca says. She takes my hand, locking hers around mine. “This feels like a much bigger deal than it has to be. You said yourself that he’s only staying with your brother while he gets set up, right?”
“A few weeks,” I tell her.
“So, this really is only a short-term problem, then,” she reasons. “He’s obviously not that close a friend, or you would’ve met him years ago.”
“True,” I say, nodding my head.
“So, once he leaves, you’ll never have to see him again. Until then, just don’t hang out at your brother’s house.” She shrugs. “Problem solved.”
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