Nicole didn’t know Easton was coming either. The only thing I was going to tell her was that the roses were from Easton for Brooke. I didn’t know that Easton had gotten Brooke red roses until he was shoving them in my face to bring with me. I’d already bought Nicole roses, so I hoped she didn’t think I only did it because he had done it for Brooke.
“Fuck off. Yeah, okay, all your talk about finding the one and love at first sight—I was wrong. Now get the fuck out of my sight, and don’t ruin the flowers!”
“Damn, I thought love was supposed to make you happy,” I said, shaking my shaggy blond hair. I needed a haircut.
“It would if I were in love with you.”
“You know you love me,” I said, puckering up to give him a fake kiss.
I laughed as he pushed me away. “I’ll punch you in the face so fucking hard if you ever do that again!”
Still laughing, I got in my truck and drove onward to my girl.
If I didn’t slow down, I’d get pulled over for speeding, but I couldn’t wait to reach the city limits of Boston. Four and a half hours on the road were tough. I thought the drive would go by quickly as I listened to the radio and sang at the top of my lungs, thumbing the beat on the steering wheel. But every song made me think of Nicole and the miles weren’t behind me fast enough.
I’d drive every time I had two days off just so I could see her—hell, I’d do it if I only had a night off, but the longer I drove, the more I just wanted Nicole to tell me that she’d given her two-week notice at work and she was moving in with me. I didn’t care if I barely knew her. Sometimes dating is a waste of time, especially when you know they’re the one. Nicole was my one and all the days that I didn’t see her were wasted time.
I’d been searching for the one for a long time. No one had ever affected me the way Nicole does. This past week was the longest, most painful week of my life, but I knew I couldn’t tell Nicole that I wanted her to move in with me. Not only was her life in Boston, but so was Brooke, and Brooke needed her more now than I did.
I needed to man up and bide my time; wait until Brooke was healthy. Maybe by then, Easton would wise up and get that girl to move in with him too. Crazy as it sounds, they were perfect for each other, and I regretted that I doubted my best friend when Brooke really needed him.
Finally, I reached the city limits and punched in Nicole’s address in my GPS. To get Brooke’s mind off her biopsy, I was taking the girls to dinner. Part of me just wanted to stay at Nicole’s condo and not leave, but this wasn’t about me.
When I reached Nicole’s place, I was nervous. I wasn’t sure why. I spent seven nights with her and saw her for eight days straight, but I was nervous. My palms were sweaty and I was anxious—and excited. My emotions were everywhere as I stepped out of my truck and made my way to her front door, roses in hand.
Lifting my hand to knock, it swung open before my knuckles connected with the door. Nicole launched herself in my arms, still dressed in her purple scrubs.
“Perfect timing,” she said against my lips.
“Did you just get home?”
“Yep, about ten minutes ago.”
“I hope you greet me like this every time.” I smiled.
“I will.” She smiled back, her legs still wrapped around my waist as I held her in my arms.
“Promise?”
“Promise.” I leaned forward, taking her lips again. “I’ve missed this,” I murmured.
“Me, too. I need to take a shower before dinner. Do you want to join me?” she asked, biting her lip.
Fuck I’ve missed the lip bite.
“You know I can’t say no when you bite your lip,” I groaned.
“And if I didn’t?” She smirked.
“Well, I wouldn’t pass up the chance to shower with you regardless.” I laughed, then walked more into her condo and closed the door behind me, Nicole still wrapped around my waist.
“Are those for me?” she asked, finally realizing I had flowers in my hand.
“Yeah, and the other ones are for B.B.”
“From you?”
“No,” I shook my head. “From Easton.”
“Aw, I love it!”
“Which way?” I asked with her still wrapped around me.
She pointed to the door straight ahead and I set the flowers on her breakfast bar as I passed by. I continued walking, not setting her down until I could sit her on her bathroom counter. My dick was already hard, remembering the way her naked body looked as water poured over it, and I moved quickly, lifting her scrub top over her head and onto the floor.
She moaned in my mouth, causing me to groan in response. Her hands fisted in my hair and a shiver ran down my spine. I couldn’t wait to have her naked—to feel her smooth skin in my hands, on my chest, on every inch of my body.
Unclasping her bra, I pulled it away from her body, down her arms and onto the floor. Palming her breast in my hand, I caressed it, squeezing it lightly and brushing my thumb over her nipple. Her nipple puckered and I bent down, tasting it against my wet tongue.
“Ah, careful,” she hissed.
I lifted my head. “I’m hurting you?”
“No,” she shook her head. “My boobies hurt like a bitch.”
“Why?” I asked, my eyebrows bunched together in confusion.
She shrugged. “I’m going to start my period soon.”
It had been years since I’ve had to hear that word—period. During my lousy dates over the years, the women booked them around their schedule I’d assumed. None of them were ever on their period and none of them had ever talked about their monthly visitor. But now that I was in a real relationship—yeah.
“I don’t need to know that,” I groaned.
“Babe.” She laughed. “It’s natural.”
“Just tell me when it starts,” I said, returning my tongue to lightly lick her nipple.
Being away from Nicole for six days made me go through withdrawals. I missed her body. I missed her smile. I missed her lip biting. I missed—her.
My dick was straining, wanting to break free and seek out her warm heat. Her hands dropped from my neck to the front of my pants, and she slipped the button of my jeans through the slit. Lifting my mouth from her breast, I brought my mouth to her lips and our tongues lapped at each other. My hands glided down her arms, feeling her silky skin as I hooked my fingers in the elastic band of her scrubs.
She tugged at the zipper of my pants and I stepped back, helping her as I pushed them down my legs, stepping out of them until they joined her pile of clothes. She lifted her butt off the counter and shimmed her scrubs down over her legs and I threw my shirt on the pile until we were both left naked, gaping at each other. I wanted to burn it into my memory so I’d get through the next week without her.
I stepped over, turning on the water in the walk-in shower and testing it until it was the right temperature. When I turned around, Nicole’s ocean blue eyes were staring at me and I smiled. I felt like it was only a dream; that I’d wake up and it would only be Wednesday and not Friday night. But it wasn’t a dream. Nicole was sitting on the bathroom counter less than five feet away and naked.
She started to jump off the counter, but I stopped her, scooping her in my arms and carrying her until we were both under the warm spray of the water. Water cascaded down our bodies, our mouths tasting each other.
“I’ve really missed this,” I said.
“Me too.”
“I mean, I’ve missed you more, but this is worth missing too.”
“I’ve missed you like crazy. This week was tough.”
I pressed her back against the tiled wall away from the water, and her legs wrapped around me as I held her up by her butt.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” I said, kissing her neck.
“Brooke has had it worse obviously. When we pick her up for dinner, let’s try and talk about something else.”
“You got it.”
She bit her lip, causing me to groan and I
brought my lips to hers again, kissing her hard. Every fucking time she bit her lip, it stabbed me in the dick, but in a good way. My cock was throbbing with need. I wanted to be the good boyfriend; make sure that she knew I was there for her and not just sex, but I couldn’t keep my hands off of her.
Setting her down on her feet, I reached for my jeans to pull out a condom.
After I’d covered my dick with the latex, I turned to see Nicole under the water, her back towards me. Stepping behind her, I reached around, grabbing her breast in one hand out of habit as the other glided down her flat stomach, not stopping until it found her sweet spot. She moaned, maybe from the pain of her breast, maybe from the pleasure. I removed my hand from her breast and braced myself on the wall near the shower head, kissing along the back of her wet neck.
She spread her legs farther apart, giving my hand room to insert two fingers in her. The moment I slid them in, she moaned again, leaning her head back against my chest with her eyes closed. She lifted her leg, resting it on the edge of the lip of the walk-in shower. My fingers pumped, my thumb rubbing circles over her clit and my dick poking her in the ass.
Her hands found my hair as she reached up behind her head. My fingers played, bringing her close to shattering in the palm of my hand. The water cascaded down her stomach, lubricating my hand to easily thrust into her. My body was hard—every inch as I felt her perfect body in my hands, on my tongue, on my legs. My balls ached, my dick throbbed and just the friction of her ass on my dick was enough to make me come. She moaned again, her body tensing as it pulsed and squeezed my fingers.
Before I lost my shit, I removed my fingers, licked off her juices and spun her until her back was pressed against the tiled wall. I knew my girl liked it hard and fast and that was what she was going to get. I couldn’t wait another minute.
I’d missed her.
I craved her.
I was addicted to her.
I picked her up, her legs wrapping around me again and I guided myself in, bracing myself with my arm on the wall so I didn’t slip. If I weren’t careful, we’d have another falling episode.
Grabbing her ass in both hands, my legs spread apart enough to brace us, I began moving her up and down my shaft with my arms. Her back glided against the slippery wall, helping me as I hit deep each time her pussy met the base of me. My hand over the week was nothing compared to the feeling of Nicole’s warmth wrapped around my dick, and I wasn’t sure how I would make it through the following week without her.
My arms started to burn, my ass clenching to stabilize my core, and with each thrust, I was that much closer to blowing my load. She brought her mouth down to mine, kissing me as we rocked. I loved the feeling of her in my arms—me buried so deep that I could feel the end of her pussy with the tip of my dick and her mouth on mine.
I groaned, pumping faster as I jammed into her over and over. She gasped, her body tensing, and with one more thrust she was screaming in my arms as she came. The vibration of her pussy around my dick was enough to send me over the edge after her.
I don’t know how I did it, but we didn’t fall. I made a mental note to keep working my legs on leg day because this wouldn’t be the last time I fucked my girl in the shower.
I was exhausted by the time I got off of work, but knowing that Avery was minutes away from showing up at my doorstep, gave me an afternoon boost. Once I saw him walking towards my door, my heartbeat kicked up a notch and I almost threw the door open with too much force that would cause it to fall off the hinges. I was excited to see him, to say the least.
After our shower, we dressed and then left to pick Brooke up for dinner. I didn’t want her sitting at home, stressing about the biopsy. I was stressing myself and I wasn’t the one going through it. I wasn’t the one getting a needle stuck in her neck to have a sample of her tumor withdrawn, so it was my duty to distract her.
We knocked on her door and when she opened it, Avery greeted her with the flowers from Easton.
Brooke’s eyes lit up—something I hadn’t seen her do in a very long time—and she took them, smelling the red roses as if she could smell Easton on them. “Thank you,” she said and then her smile faltered. “I wish he were here.”
I gave a tight smile because I knew what it was like to wish the person you wanted to be with was standing in front of you and not hours away.
“He does too. Trust me, B.B.,” Avery said.
“Well, let’s go eat. I’m starving and I feel like I could eat for two.”
After dinner, the three of us went for ice cream and then coffee. I didn’t understand why Avery was insisting we stay out late, especially since Brooke’s biopsy was in the morning and we couldn’t stay in bed all day, but I didn’t say anything. Brooke needed this. It was as if she was our baby and we were trying to wear her out so she’d sleep through the night.
It was after ten when Avery finally wanted to call it a night. I was exhausted again. Since coming home from the cruise, it was as if I couldn’t get enough sleep and I was in bed by nine. Ten was after my bed time. So when we dropped Brooke off and made it back to my condo, I changed into my pajamas and was out before my head hit the pillow, Avery snuggled behind me.
I woke up nervous. Today was Brooke’s biopsy and I had to be strong. I couldn’t show her that I was scared. None of us could. Medicine was different from sixteen years ago when my grandma had passed away. I was hopeful that whatever the tumor was, there was a cure; some sort of solution.
“Today makes me wish I’d gone into Oncology,” I whispered, staring out the window of Avery’s truck as we drove to Brooke’s.
“Babe…we don’t know if she has cancer.”
“I know.” I sighed. “But what if? What if she does? What if she has cancer, and I have to watch her die like my grandma?”
“You can’t live life thinking “what-if.” Brooke’s strong. She’s been dealing with this for over two months. And between you and me, Easton will make her fight. He thinks it’s his fault his ex died. He’ll do anything and everything to make sure Brooke’s okay.”
“He can’t cure cancer.”
“I know.” He paused for a beat, my mind still wondering to all the what-ifs. “How about this? How about we not think that she has cancer until we know for sure? How long does it take to get the biopsy results?”
“A few days.”
“Great. This weekend and until Brooke finds out for sure, you act like everything’s normal.”
“How can I act like everything’s normal?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Look, Baby, I’m just saying you need to think positive.”
“I know,” I sighed. “I just don’t want to lose her too.”
“I know you don’t.” He grabbed my hand and held it until we arrived at Brooke’s.
If the biopsy came back that Brooke had cancer, there was a chance doctor’s could remove it.
I really hoped it turned out like that.
We pulled into Brooke’s apartment complex and parked, going up to have a cup of coffee before we needed to head to the hospital. We were early, but I was a Nervous Nancy and felt like if we showed up early, then it would all be over faster.
“Hey, why are you guys here so early?” Brooke asked, opening the door.
“Early? This isn’t early. We need to leave in thirty minutes,” I said, stepping past her. “Oh, shit! I didn’t know you were here, Easton.”
“You didn’t?” he asked. “I thought Avery would have told you.”
“Well, he didn’t,” I said, lightly punching Avery’s arm.
Why didn’t he tell me that Easton was distracting Brooke? I thought for sure she’d be up all night, tossing and turning. Okay, maybe she was, but it wasn’t alone, if you know what I mean.
“Wait, I thought you knew he was coming and that is why you were stalling after dinner?” Brooke asked.
“No?” I said, raising my eyebrows at Avery. Seriously, I wouldn’t have told Brooke. Well…my words wouldn’t h
ave told her, but no telling what I would have done to give her clues.
“Don’t forget to brush your teeth before you go to bed.” “Maybe you should use that new perfume Lucy got you for your birthday after you shower.” “Don’t forget to shave your legs so the doctors don’t see your stubble.”
“I didn’t tell her, and it slipped my mind when we got back to her condo,” Avery said with a mischievous smile.
I didn’t know why he was smiling. I’d passed out on his ass.
“Enough said,” Brooke said and left for her bedroom.
The inside of Avery’s truck was silent as he drove the four of us to the hospital. No one wanted to bring up what was going to happen in the next few hours. I glanced into the backseat where Brooke and Easton sat and the sight made me want to bawl my eyes out, but with happy tears.
Easton was holding Brooke’s hand, brushing his thumb across her knuckles, and at that moment I knew the cruise changed all of our lives forever. Jared would have never done that. He would have let me take her to her biopsy while he slept the whole day then played Call of Duty while Brooke rested at home. I guess it was true; things happened for a reason.
Still no one talked as we walked into the hospital and checked Brooke in for her biopsy. Easton held her tight and Avery rubbed circles on my back, trying to calm my nerves. I wasn’t sure if I was more nervous than Brooke was, but I tried really hard not to show it.
Finally, a nurse came and called Brooke. Brooke looked to me and I knew that she needed Easton and not me. I was okay with that because I needed Avery. If I were to go back with her, I would have been kicked out while trying to tell the nurses how to do their jobs.
“It’s going to be okay,” Avery said, rubbing the back of my neck and trying to relieve some of the tension that was built up from my stress.
I didn’t respond. What would I say?
I knew nothing except I couldn’t lose my best friend.
If you would have asked me a week ago what I’d be doing the first weekend with my girl, I wouldn’t have told you that we’d be sitting in a hospital while her best friend had a biopsy done to see if she had a cancerous tumor. I thought we’d be shacked up in her condo naked for the whole weekend. After all, that was what you did in a new relationship.
The One (The Halo Series Book 2) Page 10
