Sack Time

by A. M. Willard

  With wide eyes, I glance toward Ava to get the nod of approval that I'm back to being human, leaving the canine species in the past.

  "Can you ever stay awake?"

  "I manage a few hours a day," I say, shrugging her off. It's not my fault that I need to sleep like twenty hours a day. Wait, I have two cats, so maybe they are rubbing off on me. You know how when you and your best friend sync up in cycles? Maybe me, Mr. Tinkerbell and Miss. Peter Pan are twins. Don't snicker at his name… I thought he was a she when I adopted him. Hint to the reason it's now Mr. Tinkerbell. It's also why his sister is Miss. Peter Pan. Apparently, not only do I have a problem with staying awake, but I also can't read the check box on the sex of my feline friends. It's not like either of them had balls or a penis sticking out saying, ‘Hey look, don't call me Tinkerbell, I've got nuts.'

  "Seriously, you need to see a doctor about this, Sherry. How did you manage to live alone before I moved back in?"

  "Alarms, timers, oh and really loud alarms. Look, Ava, it's nothing new, and I can deal with this," I say while standing. Once I'm upright, I stretch and work out the kink in my neck from sleeping on the hard-plastic lounge chair.

  "People are starting to show up, let's get a drink and eat so we can bust out this joint," I say before walking toward the reception section of the pool patio.

  "I'll follow, don't need you sleepwalking again." Ava's snide remark causes me to laugh. I can't be upset with her, because I know she's right. It's happened in the past, and pretty sure I might repeat it in the future. I'm a sleeping time bomb… I question it myself daily.

  Grabbing one of the small white ceramic plates, I lean over to get a napkin and a few utensils. It's then that I drop the plate and send it crashing to the brick pavers below us.

  "What the hell, Sherry!" Ava's voice booms from beside me. Quickly I grab her arm and pull her closer to me to whisper, "That's him, Dr. Tunnel Love who wants to violate me."

  "He's hot as sin, and I think I'm about to change doctors now."

  "Ava Williams, do you hear yourself? Come on, we need to go, now."

  "Calm down, he hasn't even seen you, and why would we pass up on these mini egg rolls," she says before popping one in her mouth. I take a chance to glance at him again, and sure as shit, he's spotted me. Dr. Davis is standing with his broad shoulders across the way, sporting that sideways smirk he was giving me in the office this afternoon, and I swear he just winked at me. Who does that with their girlfriend standing next to them? Oh, the man who has no morals, that's who.

  "Oh, he sees me… Smug bastard," I say, snatching another plate from the stack as I give a sad smile to the guy cleaning up my mess.

  Ava nudges me in the shoulder, causing me to snap my eyes back up at her. That's when I notice him walking toward us both with the model-like female following close on his heels.

  "Evening, Miss. Wilde, and…" he questions as he thrusts his hand out to Ava. Of course, my best friend breaks all code as she takes his hand. "Ava Williams, it's a pleasure to meet you."

  "It's a pleasure to meet you," I repeat to myself as I shove mini egg rolls and some Bruschetta on my plate. I don't hang around and listen to them make conversation, nope I hightail it out of that tiny space and make my way back to my lounge chair. Just as I take a bite of my egg roll, I notice them walking toward me. No, not just Ava, but all three of them. Heat rushes through my body. At this point, I'm not sure if it's because they're following Ava, or just the fact that he's here at our monthly party. With eyes wide, it dawns on me. Dr. Davis doesn't even have a chance to sit before I practically scream at him, "Do you live here? I mean, in this building or are you using your powers to follow me?"

  "Sherry," Ava says as she knocks into my shoulder.

  "No, I'm not misusing any superhero powers that you think I have. I live here, well, since about three days ago that is."

  "Oh," is the only thing I can manage to say while I calculate how many months we have left in our lease. Shit, six months before I can move.

  The arm candy sitting next to him glances between us, then pipes up with her mousey voice. "How do you know each other?"

  "We don't know each other. Greyson happens to have taken over my doctor's job."

  "You really have a hang up over that, don't you," he says while placing his hand on my knee, causing me to jerk it back from his light touch.

  "So she's your patient," the girl with no name states. I can't help but glare at her. I mean, how did she not understand my last statement. Usually, if someone takes over your doctor's job, that means you have become a new patient to said new doctor.

  "Who are you?" I ask.

  "Oh, this is a friend of mine, Suzanne. We go way back to our high school days."

  "How sweet," I say as I divert my attention back to my plate.

  Silence overtakes our little foursome we've got going on over here. Ava sits next to me, looking at us all. Suzanne stares up at Dr. Davis with eyes of hunger. I, on the other hand, am trying to get the hell away from them all. It's bad enough that he got to see a peek at my goodies today, which by the look on his face right now, he's thinking back to them.

  Standing, I almost knock the small table over that's situated between the two lounge chairs. "Alright, well it was great meeting you, Suzanne. Ava, I'll see upstairs."

  "Aren't you going to tell me bye, welcome to the club, or something," he questions me. I turn, square my shoulders, and glare like no other stare down before, "Nope." And just like that, I walk away from the person who causes my body to tingle in areas that shouldn't be.

  Once I'm in the lobby waiting for the elevator, my back slinks against the wall, and I let out a long breath of air that I've been holding since I spotted him. The ding from the doors opening causes me to push off and enter. Hitting the button to my floor, an arm blocks the two doors from meeting. Just as I go to move away, I see him enter.

  "Seriously, are you kidding me right now? What is your problem?"

  "I wanted to officially introduce myself since we're neighbors; you know, to see if we can be social."

  "For the record, I am social, and this is totally not acceptable."

  With his hand out to me, he prompts, "Hi, I'm Greyson, and I just moved here, and you are?"

  I linger for a moment as I take a quick glance to the lit up floors above the door. I know the eleventh floor is coming soon, and I give in.

  "Sherry Wilde, pleased to meet you Greyson, and welcome to the building," I say with my hand in his. Even though I'm done, I can't seem to let go of his hand as the door opens for me to exit. Our eyes are locked together, not blinking, not making a move to redirect the other. The doors close and before I know it we're headed back down to the lobby.

  "I think you missed your floor."

  I gulp down the connection. "I guess you're right."

  He steps closer to me, not breaking our hands apart but allowing them to fall in between us. "Does this mean we can be on talking terms, or are you going to hold being your doctor against me?"

  "Technically, you never saw me, and I don't know how to answer that."

  "Have dinner with me," he says, causing me to turn my head sideways as my eyes flutter up toward his. The one side of my brain is telling me to say no, while the other says yes. Then again, I know I have to say no because according to the five other offices that accept my insurance in this town, no one has any openings for new patients for at least four months or longer.

  "I don't think so, Dr. Davis," I say, tugging my hand out of his grip before the doors open again. When I take a chance to look out, I see Ava and the one named Suzanne.

  "That's a shame," he says low enough for only me to hear before stepping away from me. Now that there's space between us, I can finally breathe to slow my heart rate down and ignore the questioning eyes of my best friend. The elevator is so quiet that I can hear myself breathing. Which means everyone around me can too. When the doors open I practically race out and toward my apartment door with Ava fast on my heels.


  Not wasting time, Ava starts in, "What was that in the elevator? I swear if those doors didn't open he was going to kiss you."

  "You must be seeing thing's; it wasn't like that. We were just doing the official introduction of names and starting over. That's all."

  "Oh you like him, don't you?"

  "Like is not even a factor in any of this. Greyson could still end up being my doctor, and that would violate some kind of law and rule. Even if it doesn't, it breaks mine."

  "Why do you find reasons to push every single guy away from you? When are you going to let someone get close?"

  "Ava, you know it's not that simple for me. What kind of relationship would we have? I can't even stay awake long enough to drive myself to work, much less through a date."

  "That's your choice; not the reason why, and you know it. I'm just saying, that man has eyes for you, and you had something going on. Plus, if you want to stay awake, you know what you have to do. It's easy, Sherry, just own up to it is all."

  "I know… Look, I'm going to shower and go to bed. It's been a weird day, and I just don't think I can take anymore."

  "You know where I am if you need me," Ava says as she picks up Mr. Tinkerbell and heads toward the couch. It's funny that I'm the one who rescued him, but he's closer to her than he is me. I shrug it off as I don't need to cuddle tonight with him anyway and head to my room.

  The whole time I shower, I can't get Greyson out of my mind.

  Yes, he's handsome.

  Okay, he's more than just good looking. Can you call a guy pretty or beautiful? I don't even know these rules. All I do know is that he is so off limits for me that I need to watch out and, not to mention, I need my birth control pills before I run out. Hell, I don't even know if I have to have them; you're supposed to be having sex at my age. I'm twenty-five, single, not bad looking when my curls decide to not look like I stuck my finger in a light socket. But hey, I live in Miami, and it's humid. Not to mention, the sea breeze likes to wreak havoc on my hair. I'll sit on what to do, and until then I'm not too worried. I pat the side of the bed for Miss. Peter Pan and snuggle down as I listen to her purr me asleep.

  Greyson

  Either my day just got better, or shittier. I'm not sure which one it is yet as I watch Suzanne walk out my door. Apparently, my actions from the elevator didn't win her over, which also means she left after telling me never to text her again. Okay, I admit I might've ignored her, but I couldn't help it. The moment I noticed Sherry laying in the lounge chair, everything went into high gear. Something about this chick makes me lose my mind. Like to the point that I want to break every rule there is. The desire to run my hands over her porcelain skin, the need to taste every inch of her. That's all a first for me, and trust me, I've been with my share of ladies. But they were a quick fix, something to get out of my system or blow the stress from the day off. No, Sherry is more, and that should cause me to run for the hills. She's the one that you don't play like a fiddle. No, you play her like a classic violin, making sure you hit every string at the perfect moment for complete gratification. Sliding the glass doors open, I step out onto my balcony that overlooks the pool yard. I take a moment to search her out, just in case she might've gone back down. With no luck, I prop myself up on the banister and run my fingers through my hair. A part of me is curious about her. Twice now I've seen her asleep, and it makes me wonder if there’s something wrong with her. We live in Miami, a few blocks from the beach, and she's pretty pale compared to most people in the community. I know it's unethical, but I'm going to do it anyway. Tomorrow, I'll pull her file back out and take a peek. She seems healthy, other than the sleeping and paleness. Don't get me wrong. She has color, it's just not a bronze glow that I'm used to.

  Making my way back inside, I head to my office to go over more paperwork that my father had sent over. It seems that you have to sign your name more than you do when buying a house or car when you plan to take over the practice. Insurance, liability claims, property papers; you name it, it's on my desk. I grab a beer from the fridge and stroll toward my office where I'll spend the next few hours locked away before I get some shut eye. I look at my schedule for tomorrow, and from the looks of it, it's going to be a busy day.

  After taking a long hot shower this morning, I dress in a pair of dark washed jeans and my black button-up shirt that I roll up to my elbows. Dad wouldn't approve, but since it's my office, I want to be me. He, on the other hand, wore suit pants and ties each day when he wasn't in scrubs. Don't get me wrong, I have scrubs, but I only keep a few here at my place as the rest I moved to the office and to my locker at the hospital. If anything I can always grab a set from there if needed. I never wanted a job where I had to wear the monkey suit. No, I wanted to be my own person and feel like myself in my own style of clothes. As you can tell, this has been a topic of family discussion from time to time. Not to mention, my father hates my hairstyle. It's cut down on the sides, but the top is long and messy. If I have to go deliver or into surgery, it fits under my cap with no problem. At times I even let my facial hair grow out for an added touch to my style. Back in Savannah when I was doing my residency it didn't affect my job to perform, nor were there any complaints. With my satchel packed full of files, I head down to the parking garage.

  When I pull out onto the street, I happen to notice the barely five-feet-tall blonde who's invading my thoughts walking down the sidewalk. I slow to a crawl before I pull over and hop out.

  "Morning, care for a ride to… Where are you going?"

  "Morning, no and work," she says as she continues to walk. I take the chance and reach out for her arm and pray that she doesn't turn around and smack me this early in the morning.

  "Will you let go of me? I don't have time for your games today."

  "Not playing games, Sherry. Just get in the car and let me take you to where you're going."

  She chews on the inside of her lips and cheek as she thinks about it. Before she agrees, she looks back at my car then over to me. "Fine, it's en route so we better get moving or you'll be late."

  With a smile, I place my hand on the small of her back and lead her toward my car before opening the door for her. Okay, I might have a smug smirk plastered on my face because she said yes. I know, playing with fire and breaking the rules once again. We'll just call this carpooling. Nothing wrong with giving your possible patient/neighbor a lift, especially when you're headed in the same direction; right—right.

  Buckling up, I toss the car drive and head toward the office. "Do you not drive?"

  "No, I do; I just don't like to."

  "Okay, I can understand that, I guess. Where do you work?"

  "Dawson's Realty, two blocks down from your office. Just park there, and I'll walk," she says as she stares out the passenger-side window.

  "I can drop you off at the door, you know I don't mind."

  "It's cool."

  "So you're a realtor?"

  "What's with the twenty questions this morning? Are you always this chipper?"

  "No, just trying to get to know my new friend and neighbor," I respond.

  "Let's leave it to the neighbor, okay, and how about the quiet game?"

  "Sure," I say and hit the button on the radio for some background music. I drum my fingers against the leather steering wheel, letting the beat move through me as we sit quietly. I take a chance to look over at her, hoping she might be enjoying the tunes, and notice that her head is propped up against the door and she's fast asleep. I can't help but let a low snicker out in this situation. I've never met anyone who seems to sleep as much as she does. Maybe it's her iron level? Maybe she has Narcolepsy? I remind myself to pull her file again to take a look to see if Dad ever made a note about it. Thirty minutes later we pull up to her office building, and I park on the curb where the yellow paint alerts me. Not turning the engine off, I get out and walk around to her door. Gently, I open it to where she won't fall out face first on the pavement. That's all I need at this point. My hand rests
on her shoulder as I softly nudge her. Sherry's ice blue eyes open and stare into mine as I offer a smile in return. "We’re here," I say.

  "Guess I fell asleep, sorry," she says, shrugging it off before grabbing her bag from the floorboard. I step back and allow her space to exit the vehicle. Standing here, I rock back and forth as I don't know what to say. I'm waiting for her to speak first, as I don't want to make her uncomfortable. I could just ask her about the sleeping, but she just met me and why would she tell a stranger about a medical problem? "Thanks for the ride, have a good day," her voice filters in the morning air, sounding peaceful like an angel.

  I smile and give her a curt nod before responding, "Welcome, and just call the office if you'd like a ride home. It's not safe to be out alone."

  "It's okay, I can manage, but I'll let you know if I change my mind."

  "See ya later," I say and retreat back to my side of the car. With one last look before I pull away, I still question everything about her and this pull that I have toward her. Shrugging it away as I need to keep my eye on the whole picture—that being the practice.

  Sherry

  As soon as I get to my desk and boot up my computer, I head in to get me some coffee. I shouldn't have agreed to ride in with him, but something about the way he was looking at me–I couldn't say no. Not to mention the fact that I fell asleep on the ride in with a stranger. Yes, he seems like a nice person, but when I doze off, I go out like a light. Pull yourself together, Sherry. Maybe I should've pinched myself the whole way in and admired the way he looked this morning. Oh and don't get me started on the way he smelled. Never has a guy almost caused me to lean over and sniff him. His scent still lingers with me, a mixture of leather, cedar, and maybe a hint of lemon. I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I'd like to smell him again. Maybe bottle it up and spread it on my pillow for good luck. Making my way out to my desk, I blow out a breath of frustration. It's crazy how I've ended up here in this office answering phones and making appointments. Not to mention the fact that I'm now studying for my realtor's license. It's not what I dreamed of doing after I graduated high school or college. Nope, I spent four long years getting my registered nurse degree before this. It appears that if you fall asleep three times during your national exam, you're blocked for some time before you can take it over again. It is what it is at this point, and once I get my license to sell houses, it'll keep me busy and awake. See that's the key here, keep me awake, and I can do anything I put my mind to. Of course, I could change this direction of my life and forever be awake, but that’s just not in me. Maybe one day I'll change my mind.