by Iona Rose
“Are you ready?” I ask. She’s already getting to her feet before I even finish the question and I laugh. “I’ll take that as a yes then.”
“Oh God you have no idea. I am so ready to get out of here,” Erika says, moving past me through the door I’m holding open. We head for the exit.
I can’t help but wonder if she means to get away from me, but I dismiss that as stupid. She just means she’s glad to get out of the hospital and of course she is. Who wants to be stuck in hospital once they’re feeling better? It’s bad enough being stuck in there when you’re feeling ill.
As though she can read my mind, she flashes me a quick sideways look and smiles at me.
“I’ll miss our little chats though. It was nice having you keep dropping by my room.”
“I can still drop by and see you while you’re at Nadia’s,” I point out.
She smiles again, a teasing flirty smile this time.
“Whatever will your sister think if you come and visit me in my room?”
“That’s not exactly what I meant,” I say quickly, afraid I’ve upset her.
“Shame,” she grins.
I don’t quite know what to say to that so I go with the safest option; saying nothing. We’ve almost reached my car so I’m saved from an awkward silence when I point to my car and tell Erika it’s that one. She veers off towards it. I take her bag and put it in the trunk and then we get into the car. I thought about going around and opening Erika’s door for her, but she was already in the car before I decided whether it would be too much or not. She doesn’t seem annoyed that I didn’t open the door for her.
“So where’s your sister’s place then?” Erika asks as I fire up the car engine and start to pull out of my parking space.
“It’s not far from here actually. It’s over on the west side of town,” I say.
“Oh that’s only a couple of blocks from my place. That’s good because if I stay a while, it means work will still be easy enough to get to,” Erika says.
“Where do you work?” I ask her.
Now we’re off the hospital property and out of the grounds, I am officially not Erika’s doctor anymore and that means it’s ok to ask her personal questions not related to her medical history or anything. It also means its ok to date her. It still feels kind of like crossing a line dating an ex-patient, but if Erika agreed to date me, I wouldn’t care about that. I mean it’s not like she came in for anything intimate or that I learned anything weird or personal about her during her stay.
“At the North Fell Nursery. I’m a nursery nurse,” Erika says.
“No wonder you didn’t complain about your head,” I grin. “You must have an almost permanent headache.”
“You get used to it,” Erika says.
“The headache?”
“No.” She laughs and puts her hand on my thigh for a second as she does it. I feel my cock responding to her touch almost instantly and I’m glad my t-shirt and jacket are covering my crotch. “The constant noise and activity. You get used to that. It even becomes kind of strange not being surrounded by it all on your day off. I miss it now and to be honest, the only reason I really agreed to having a few weeks on sick pay is because the bruises around my neck would scare half of the kids.”
“You don’t want to rush back to work Erika. Even aside from the bruises. You have suffered a trauma that was bad enough for your mind to block out the memories of it. That’s not something to make light of.”
“I know what you mean, but it’s funny. Because I can’t remember the attack, I guess it’s also easy to forget how serious it could have been if that makes sense,” Erika says.
“It does. And that’s often why your subconscious blanks the memory out so that you’re not constantly reliving it and making yourself ill with worry,” I say. “But don’t be fooled into thinking that means you can go off and run a marathon tomorrow.”
Erika laughs softly.
“Shame. That was exactly what I was going to do tomorrow as well,” she says.
I shake my head but I’m laughing. I pull onto Nadia’s street and park my car out in front of her building.
“Here we are,” I say.
Erika
I smile as I look at the building we have pulled up outside of. It’s a nice building, in a nice, quiet area of town. It looks clean and welcoming and that’s a relief. I also can’t help but feel instantly safer just for knowing that there’s an intercom system so no one can get into the building without permission. This is good because it means that random people looking to cause trouble are unlikely to target the building knowing they can’t just knock on a door and then force their way inside.
We get out of the car and head to the door. Aidan presses the buzzer for apartment number seventeen. That’s another good thing. The apartment is listed as being on the third floor. I like the idea of not being low enough for someone to break a window out and get inside of the apartment that way. Although I have just told Aidan that I forget how serious the attack could have been, and that’s true, I am also aware that the attack has made me more conscious of home security, maybe even to the point of paranoia.
A female voice greets us through the intercom and I forget my worries for a moment and focus on that.
“It’s us,” Aidan says.
“Come on up,” the voice replies.
There’s a buzzing sound and Aidan pulls the door. He holds it open and I step into the building. It smells of disinfectant and cooking smells. That’s good. It feels both clean and homely. Aidan follows me into the building and leads me to the elevator. He presses the button for the third floor and we ride up in the surprisingly quick elevator. We come out in a carpeted hallway and Aidan turns to the right. I follow him. Apartment seventeen is the second door down from the elevator. Aidan knocks on it and it’s pulled open in seconds.
A woman smiles as she stands back and lets us in. She looks a couple of years younger than Aidan, probably about my age. She has long dark brown hair which she’s wearing half up and half down. She’s wearing neon blue leggings, sneakers and a white crop top. Her figure is stunning.
“You must be Erika,” she smiles warmly.
I nod my head and extend my hand. Nadia ignores my outstretched hand and pulls me into a hug.
“I’m Nadia,” she says. “And whatever my brother here has told you about me is lies.”
“Well, all he’s really told me is that your name is Nadia and you wanted a roommate but didn’t like the idea of advertising for one,” I tell her.
“Ok, strangely, that’s not lies,” she laughs. She steps back and gestures down to her clothes. “Excuse the outfit. I have my yoga class soon. Don’t worry though, I’ll have time to show you around first. Aidan? Why don’t you start the coffeemaker?”
Aidan gives her an amused look and then he heads off to do what she asked, going through a door off the hallway. Nadia points to the door Aidan has just disappeared through. He has closed the door behind him so I don’t get to see a glimpse of the kitchen. It’s a shame because the kitchen is usually my favorite room in any house, but I’m sure I’ll see it soon enough.
“So obviously that’s the kitchen and dining area,” Nadia says. She nods to another door. “Through here is the living room.”
She walks away and I follow her into the living room. It’s fairly big and it’s decorated nicely in understated creams and terracotta colours. She leads me through the living room and down another short hallway.
“The door at the end is the bathroom,” she tells me. “The one on the right is my room. And this one is your room.”
She opens the door and I step inside to take a look. It’s a small room, just big enough for a double bed, a dresser and a chest of drawers and pretty much nothing else, but it’s not like I need anything else. It’s only a temporary arrangement, and really the only difference between this room and my room at home is I have a nightstand at home. I guess I’ll just have to live with no reading lamp and get up to turn t
he light off after reading in bed.
The walls are a pale lilac colour. The curtains, carpet and bedding are a darker shade of purple. A white lightshade matches the white paintwork. I move to the window and look out. I find myself looking down into a good sized outdoors area with a small pool surrounded by sun loungers and plenty of grass and flower beds.
“We can use this area?” I ask.
Nadia nods and smiles.
“Yes. Although I have to warn you the pool is by far the coldest pool I’ve ever been in.”
I wince and she laughs.
“Yeah exactly,” she says. “The coffee should be ready by now. Let’s go through to the living room and sit for five minutes before I have to go and then you can get yourself settled in.”
She’s already walking away towards the living room as she says it and I follow her. Aidan is sitting on the couch, his legs crossed. He holds a steaming mug of coffee and two more sit on the table. Nadia picks one up and takes the chair leaving me to share the couch with Aidan. I can’t say that is a bad thing. I sit down and sip my coffee as Nadia goes over the building rules and the rent payments and everything. I like her. She’s to the point and she seems nice, like someone I would be friends with.
At the end of the conversation, she hands me a key on a little blue heart keyring. I thank her and push it into my pocket. Nadia checks her watch and jumps up.
“Well I have to go. Get settled in Erika, make yourself at home. I’ll only be about an hour or so and then maybe we can have dinner together and get to know each other a little bit better?”
“That would be nice,” I smile. “It won’t take me long to unpack. I’ve only … dammit.”
“What is it?” Nadia asks frowning.
“My bag. I left it in the car.”
I start to stand up, but Aidan jumps up and waves me back down.
“It’s ok, I’ll go,” he says.
I smile my thanks at him.
“I’ll get Nadia to let me back in so you don’t have to buzz me up,” he adds.
I watch them leave and then I go to look at the kitchen. It’s much bigger than I was expecting it to be and the little dining table for two I was expecting is actually a huge wooden thing with six chairs fitted comfortably around it. The kitchen itself has a large stove, a microwave and a massive refrigerator freezer. I am going to be in my element here. I have always enjoyed cooking and I love the freedom of a big kitchen so I can move around easily.
I leave the kitchen behind and cut back through the living room and go to check out the bathroom. It’s basic but functional with a bath/shower combination, a sink and a toilet. It’s all covered with shining white tiles and I am pleased that everything is clean and neat. Nadia and I are going to get on just fine. I don’t think I could live with a slob, not even for a little while.
For half a second, I debate looking into Nadia’s room but I decide against it. Talk about a good way to piss off your host before you’re even unpacked. Instead, I go back into my room and look out of the window again. I hear the front door open as I look down at the garden area.
“I’m through here,” I call out.
For an awful second, panic grips me as the footsteps come closer to me. What if my attacker followed me and found me here? I tell myself to get a grip and I am back under control when the door opens and Aidan appears with my bag.
“Thanks.” I say. “For getting my bag and for getting me this place.”
“Anytime,” Aidan smiled as he holds my bag out to me.
I take the bag, feeling his fingers brushing against mine and in that moment, I want nothing more than to throw the bag aside and pull Aidan against me and kiss him. And then push him back onto the bed and climb on top of him and make love to him. I can feel my face flushing at my thoughts, but I force myself to keep my eyes on Aidan’s eyes without letting embarrassment turn me away from him. His eyes seem to hold mine in place and after a moment, I become aware that we are both panting slightly as we stand looking into each other’s eyes, the air around us strangely charged.
Aidan looks away, looking flustered suddenly.
“I should get going then,” he says.
He turns and heads for the door and I can’t think of what I can say to stop him. I don’t want him to leave, and certainly not like this. His hand is on the door handle when suddenly, he turns back to me. He closes the gap between us in two strides and pushes his hands into my hair, his lips finding mine.
I’m a little shocked at first, but I soon recover and I melt into Aidan’s kiss, my body responding to him instantly, my pussy wet and my nipples hard. I move closer to Aidan until I am pressed up against his body. I wrap my arms around him, kissing him deeper.
His kiss is every bit as amazing as I thought it would be. He tastes of sweet coffee and cinnamon and his lips move perfectly in sync with mine as if they have just been waiting to meet. He moves his hands from my hair, running his fingers gently over my face and then he moves his hands down over my ribs and rests them on my hips. His touch spreads liquid fire through me and I shiver as he moves his hands again, cupping my ass and pulling me tighter against him.
He starts to walk me backwards and I let myself be moved. My hands push underneath his t-shirt, running over the smooth muscular skin on his back. His hands move back to my hips again and he pushes me against the wall. He moves his lips from mine, kissing over my chin and then he starts to kiss down my neck. his touch there is painful and despite me trying to keep it in, a gasp escapes my lips and Aidan looks up at me in time to catch my grimace of pain.
He jumps back from me as if I am suddenly burning him.
“Shit. Erika I’m sorry. You’ve just been assaulted and here I am throwing myself at you, and … I should go.”
He starts to move towards the door again, but this time, I do stop him. I step forward and grab his wrist.
“Aidan wait,” I say.
He looks back at me, the pain and embarrassment on his face clear to see. I lead him to the bed and sit down on the edge of it, patting the spot beside me. Aidan hesitates for a moment, but then he sits down beside me where I touched. I can feel his thigh touching mine and I know I am right to sit him down and talk to him now. I can’t lose him because of one stupid, awkward moment.
“I’m sorry I flinched. I really didn’t mean to,” I start.
“You have nothing to apologize for. I’m the one who hurt you,” Aidan says.
“But it was an accident. I know it was. And I don’t want you to go running off before I tell you this.” I pause and look at Aidan, waiting until he looks back at me before I go on. “I want you Aidan.”
Aidan swallows hard. I see his Adam’s apple move in his throat. He looks a little taken aback by what I’ve said but he’s smiling.
“I want you too,” he says. “Like I’ve never wanted anyone. But not yet. Not until you’re feeling better.”
I nod my head. I want him now. I don’t care if it hurts my neck, I would put up with the pain to have him, but I know that’s an argument I’m not going to win. He leans in and kisses me on the lips, a soft kiss this time. His lips linger on mine for a moment and then he gets up.
“I really should go though. It wouldn’t look too good if Nadia comes home and catches me in your bedroom on your first day at her place would it?” Aidan laughs.
I laugh and shake my head.
“No. It’s not exactly the impression I want to make on her,” I agree.
I stand up and walk Aidan to the door. He kisses me again in the open doorway.
“I’ll stop by some time tomorrow and see how you’re doing,” he says. He digs in his pocket and hands me a card. “In the meantime, here’s my number. Call me anytime if you don’t feel right. Or just, you know, because you want to.”
I pull my phone out of my own pocket and quickly enter his number in it. I hit call and his phone rings in his pocket.
“And now you have my number. Call me whenever you want, but I have to say, if you don’t
feel right, you’re probably best off calling someone else,” I say. “You know, like one of the hundreds of actual doctors or nurses you know.”
Aidan laughs and kisses me again and then he’s walking down the corridor.
“I know you’re watching my ass,” he calls over his shoulder.
“Busted,” I giggle.
I close the door, still laughing. I go back to my room to unpack my tiny bag and it’s clear to me almost immediately that tomorrow, I’m going to have to pop back to my place and collect some more of my stuff. I need more clothes of course, but it’s other stuff too like towels and bedding, cutlery and pans. I can’t just expect to keep using Nadia’s things.
I unpack quickly – I don’t have enough stuff with me for it to take long – and then I wander back through to the living room. I debate starting to make some dinner for Nadia and me. It was her idea for me to have dinner with her, so I don’t think she’ll mind me using some of her food. I decide against it. It feels too forward. I have no idea what she likes to eat or how she likes stuff cooked. I’ll wait for her to get home and then offer to cook.
Erika
Nadia came back home not long after I had finished unpacking my few things. I was lying on the couch watching the TV when I heard the front door open and Nadia shouted hello. I almost jumped into a sitting position but I reminded myself if I was going to be living here now that I was allowed to sit comfortably.
I had offered to cook dinner for us, but Nadia insisted on calling for pizza, saying it was her treat. By the time she had showered and changed, the pizzas had arrived. We ate them at the dining room table discussing my rent and the house rules. Nadia seemed pretty chilled out and the rules she had were the sort of rules I would have had too if the roles were reversed. They were common sense rules like who would clean what and when and how we would go about having house guests. We organized a schedule for the cleaning in the apartment and agreed that guests where fine. We also agreed there and then that if either of us had a problem with the other one, we would speak about it immediately instead of letting it fester out of control. The more we talked and established how this was going to work, the more I liked Nadia’s straight forward approach to things.