by Gallie, DL
“I need to go into work early. I know we were going to have dinner—”
“Don’t apologize, we can do dinner another time.”
“You really are amazing, Avery Evans.”
“I know,” I confidently reply. “I’m finished, you hop in and I’ll make you a coffee to go.”
“Thank you,” he says, his voice saddened by having to leave. Stepping out, he grabs a fluffy white towel and opens it for me. He wraps it around my body, enveloping me in. He holds me closely to him. Resting my head on his chest, the thrum of his heartbeat relaxes me. Squeezing my arms, I look up at him. He really is sexy; looks, personality, he’s the perfect complete package. He places a kiss on my nose and hops back into the shower.
Stepping into his room, I redress in my clothes from earlier and head to the kitchen. I go about making his coffee and I clean up our cupcake mess. I’ve just finished wiping down the counter when Flynn walks out. Our gaze locks across the room. Neither one of us says anything. I’m just about to say those three words when my phone rings, glancing down I see it’s Bay. Sending the call to voicemail, I ignore her. I’ll call her back after I say goodbye to Flynn. I look up and see he’s slipping his coat on. I realize the moment to tell him has now passed. It’s probably a good thing, it’s too soon to be feeling this. We’ve only known each other for a short time but when I’m with him, I feel different.
Picking up his coffee, I walk toward him and pass it to him. Slipping on my coat, we exit his apartment and hop into the elevator. He gets off at the lobby and walks me out to my car. After a NSFP—not suitable for public—kiss, I climb into my car and leave Flynn standing on the sidewalk. He watches as I drive off and with a smile on my face, I head home.
21
Flynn
Walking away from Avery just now is the hardest thing I have ever done. In a few short weeks, this woman has taken up residence in my heart and for the first time ever, I think I’m falling in love. To reiterate that point, “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis begins to play. If that’s not a sign—not that I believe in that shit—then I don’t know what is.
Walking into the hospital, a melancholic feeling washes over me, but it quickly passes when a multi-vehicle accident occurs. The ER is swarming with people and I don’t have time to think. It's the wee hours of the morning when Helen comes wandering into the ER, a scowl on her face. “Hi, Helen,” one of the triage nurses says.
“Hey.”
“To what do we owe the pleasure, Helen?” I ask.
“Marvin in missing again.”
A laugh breaks free but I quickly stop when I see the murderous look on her face. “Want some help looking for our resident Houdini?”
“Please,” she says, “This shit is getting old, he’s worse than the kids in the children’s ward.”
“Well, they do say that’s life's cycle. Baby. Child. Adult. Child. Death.”
“That’s a pretty morbid way to think of life,” she replies.
“It’s true though, when you look at it.”
Stepping into the ER waiting room, I look around and sure enough, Marvin is in the corner chatting/flirting with a group of young girls. “Found him,” I say, nudging Helen in the arm. She shakes her head and storms over to him.
“Marvin Marshall,” she scolds, and from my spot next to her even I flinch, not Marvin though. He enrages the beast that is Nurse Helen and turns to his new friends. “Ohh oh, I’m in trouble.”
The girls all giggle. He says goodbye to his friends and follows a still fuming Helen back toward his ward and room. “Dr. Kelly,” Helen says as they walk past.
Marvin mimics Helen, “Dr. Kelly,” garnering another evil glance from Helen.
Shaking my head, I walk back into the ER and decide to tackle the paperwork I have been putting off. With my arms laden with charts, I head toward the doctors’ lounge. Dropping off the paperwork, I head across to the coffee shop and grab myself a coffee—the coffee in the cafeteria here tastes like shit. With my coffee in hand, I head back and get into the paperwork.
Before I know it, the sun is shining and it’s morning. My shift will be over in a few minutes and I want to see Avery. I decide that today, I will be the one to surprise her. Grabbing a quick shower, I change into denim jeans and a green Henley. Saying hi/bye to the doctors in the lounge, I race to my car and drive over to Avery’s.
Traffic is a shitshow this morning and it takes me forever to get to her place. I’m agitated and antsy when I pull up out the front. Taking a few calming breaths, I cool down and climb out of my car. Looking at my watch, I hope she’s awake, I don’t want to wake her, but if she does happen to be sleeping, I’ll just climb into bed with her. Either way it’s a win/win.
Stopping at her door, I raise my hand and knock. The door opens and I’m pleasantly surprised when I see what she’s wearing, then movement over her shoulder catches my eye and I realize it’s Baylor at the door. She flirts but I ignore her advances, my eyes are locked on Avery’s. She is unbelievably sexy this morning. Like me she is wearing denim jeans and hers hug her curves in that sexy as fuck way. She’s wearing a black tank that accentuates her tiny hips and shows off the perfect amount of cleavage. “I’m here to pick up your gorgeous sister.”
When I say this, Avery’s face lights up. We say our goodbyes to Baylor and I escort my girlfriend to my car. On the way over, I planned a spur of the moment date. Sleep can wait, today is all about Avery Evans.
22
Avery
I’ve just finished applying some lip gloss when there’s a knock at the front door. Looking at the clock on the wall, I see it’s still early and wonder who could be at our door at this time of the morning. Walking out of my room, I stop midstep when I see Bay walking to the door. She’s in a sheer negligee that leaves NOTHING to the imagination, and I notice she’s not limping or wearing her walking boot, seems she only wears it when it suits her. She opens the door and I see a smiling Flynn standing there. “Flynn, babe,” she singsongs, “what are you doing here?”
His eyes rake over her body and my blood boils. I shake my head and roll my eyes and then his eyes find mine and his grin morphs into a megawatt smile that lights up his face; and mine. Ignoring Bay and her shameless flirting, he says, “I’m here to pick up your gorgeous sister.”
“Awww, are you admitting I’m gorgeous?” He looks at Bay and scrunches his eyes in confusion. “You just said my sister is gorgeous. I’m her twin, therefore you think I’m gorgeous too, since we are two in the same.”
She thrusts her tits toward him but his eyes are locked on me. Ignoring her he says, “You may be her twin, but I only have eyes for Avery.” He steps around Bay and stalks over to me. “I only want her.” Wrapping his arms around my waist, he pulls me into him, and kisses my cheek hello.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, as I stare up at him.
“We have a breakfast date,” he matter-of-factly says, before he gently places his lips against mine for a sexy hello kiss that leaves me breathless. He pulls away and brushes a tendril of hair behind my ear. “Morning, beautiful.”
“Morning,” I manage to squeak out ‘cause I’m kinda stunned right now. “I didn’t realize we were doing breakfast this morning.”
“Surprise!” he says, tapping the tip of my nose. “Ready to go?”
Nodding my head, I see from the corner of my eye Bay is still standing in the doorway. She’s shooting daggers my way, she’s pissed at being passed over by Flynn; again. “Sure. Let me grab my purse and we can go.”
Grabbing my things, I link my fingers with his and we walk toward the door and Bay, who is still standing there. “Have a good day,” I say to Bay as we pass. We step through the door into the hallway. Bay slams the door behind us, the frame rattling from the force, and through the wood I hear her mumbling profanities, presumably toward me. That seems to be the only way she talks to me at the moment. I can’t do anything right when it comes to her right now. Something is definitely up with my twi
n, and normally we’d talk to one another about our worries and bounce ideas around to fix the problem. But for the last few weeks, even longer, she’s been pulling away and changing before my eyes.
Flynn squeezes my hand and I can’t help but smirk, for once a guy wants me and not her. I know it's petty to feel like this but I’m happy to win for once; score one for me. I play over the scene when he arrived in my head and my grin widens. Flynn ignored her advances and when he saw me, I became his sole focus. It was all about me and it felt pretty good to be the center of attention. I’m so happy right now, it’s not often I get one up on her, and Flynn just helped me achieve that.
Looking over at him, I squeeze his hand back. “Thank you for that.”
“Thanks for what?” he questions, his forehead scrunched in confusion.
“For ignoring her skanky, ho slutty, see-through nightie.” I pause, then add, “For being you.”
“Ave lass, I didn’t even see what she was wearing. Well, I did, don’t get me wrong.” I eyeball him but he is correct, he is a man after all, and they don’t always think with the right head. “I was surprised you’d wear something like that, but then you moved and my gaze gravitated over to you and from that moment, you were all I saw. Ave, when you are around, it’s you and only you I see. No one else enters my mind.”
My mouth drops open at his frank confession. “I feel exactly the same way when I’m around you. More often than not, I feel you before I see you.” He nods in agreement. “Now, let's go eat. I’m starving.”
“Well, I need to get you fuelled up because after breakfast, you are going to need lots of energy for what I have in mind.”
At his words, my clit begins to throb between my thighs and suddenly I’m not hungry for food. Flynn whisks me to Maggie’s, a small mom-and-pop diner just around the corner from my place. We each order pancakes, bacon, and coffee. After an amazing breakfast, we leave and I think we’ll be heading back to Flynn’s for some naked between the sheets fun, but he surprises me; again. Rather than heading back to his place, he heads to the The Morton Arboretum and drags me toward the Maze Garden. It’s an amazing one-acre, living hedge maze, and the maze changes with each season. “Ohh my God, Flynn, this place is amazing, I haven’t been here in forever The last time I was here was with Cress for Lexi’s fourth birthday.”
“I’ve never been. I’ve been past here many times and this morning I thought, today is the day. I’m happy to pop my maze cherry with you.”
“And I’m happy to pop your cherry.” Taking his hand in mine, we head toward the entrance. Flynn and I spend hours chasing each other through the maze. We get lost many times but we have an absolute blast together. We manage to find all seven of the plant rooms, something I’ve never done before. I cannot remember the last time I laughed this much. We finally make our way out of the maze; I was starting to think we’d be trapped in there forever. I’m sweating like a pig and I feel gross. We head into the Ginkgo Restaurant and Cafe and I take the water the he offers me. Twisting off the cap, I take a mouthful. “That was so much fun. Not what I thought would be happening today.”
“What did you think I had planned for today?”
My cheeks darken and I lower my head. Flynn places his finger under my chin. “What did you think, Ave?”
“I…ummm…ahh…I thought you were going to take me back to your place and you know—”
“You know what?” From the predatory look on his face, he knows exactly what I’m referring to.
“I thought we’d be naked and doing stuff, other fun stuff.”
“Why you, little minx you.” He places a kiss on the tip of my nose and gazes at me. He leans down and whispers, “Let’s get out of here and then we can definitely do that.” He nibbles my earlobe, gently sucking.
Swallowing deeply, my body quivers when I think about what’s going to happen as soon as we get back to his place. Then I remember I’m all sweaty and dirty and feel yucky. “Can I shower first? I’m all dirty and sweaty.”
“Lass, you will be even dirtier and sweatier when I’m done with you, but I guess we can always start in the shower and see where we end up from there.”
“I like the way you think, Dr. Kelly. Let’s go,” I say.
We head back to Flynn’s and he makes good on his promise to get me even more sweaty and dirty. Flynn ravishes my body from head to toe, repeatedly.
All
Afternoon
Long…and well into the evening.
23
Flynn
After our amazing sex-filled afternoon and evening, life as I knew it at the hospital became hectic. It feels like I live there at the moment and I haven’t seen Avery in days. I’m missing her like crazy, which surprises me. I’ve never missed anyone before and people can tell that something’s up. I’m grouchy with the staff. I’m not myself. I know I’m being a total asshole, but I can’t help it. I miss Avery. And to top it off, on Wednesday something weird happened. I was walking in for my evening shift and I bumped into Baylor. I knew it was her from the way she was dressed—short, short Daisy Dukes and a pink top, if you could call it a top, as it left nothing to the imagination. She was heading out after her a physical therapy appointment and as usual, she flirted up a storm with me. And like always, I brushed her off but she was definitely different today. She was more forceful than usual and she even tried to pass herself off as Avery at the beginning, but the walking boot clearly gave her away. Orthopedic boot aside, I’m pretty sure I know the difference between my girlfriend and her twin. She’s pretty persistent, that’s for sure. That girl just won’t take a hint but what frustrates me the most, is that she’s doing this to her own sister. Who does that? We are interrupted by a sketchy-looking guy; he grabs Bay by the arm and drags her away. She smiles at me as he pulls her away but it doesn’t feel sincere. I’m not sure if she’s going willingly but that thought changes when she catches me staring at her. Lifting her hand to her lips, she blows me a kiss, and then turns her attention back to the guy she met up with and begins flirting with him. That chick clearly has issues, how she’s related to Ave is beyond me. They are polar opposites…just like us really.
Shaking off the encounter, I head into the doctors’ lounge to get ready for my shift. I’ve just pulled on my scrubs when my phone rings, glancing down I see Avery’s smiling face on the screen. Picking it up, I answer immediately, “Ave lass, how are you?”
“I’m great. I just received the most gorgeous bunch of reddish-pink roses. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
“Maybe.”
“Seriously, Flynn, they are gorgeous. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome, lass. I’ve missed seeing you this week, but I wanted you to know that I’m thinking of you.”
“Flynn, it's been three days.”
“That’s forever in Avery time.”
“Aww, are you missing me, baby?” she teases, but she’s correct. I am a lovesick fool missing his girlfriend, and I’m man enough to admit it, well to myself that is.
“Hell yes, I am. Any chance you can swing by the hospital later?”
“I was there earlier visiting Marvin.” Dammit, I missed her. I pout, yes, I pout…thankful no one is around to see me acting like a pansy.
“How is our resident escapee?”
She swallows deeply. “Not doing too good. I’m worried about him.” Her voice is laced with sorrow and sadness.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, as I sit in front of my locker.
“He wasn’t as spirited as usual.” She sniffles, “I think he’s going to die, Flynn.”
“Ave lass, I’m so sorry.” Wishing right now I could take her into my arms and give her the comfort that she needs. “If you like, I can check on him in the morning, and send you an update before you go to work.”
“You’d do that for me?”
“I’ll do anything for you, Avery.”
“Thank you, Flynn, I’d really appreciate that. Thank you.”
&n
bsp; “Anything for you, Avery.” We both go silent but it's not awkward or uncomfortable. “Sorry to cut this short, but my shift is about to start.”
“No need to apologize, it's fine, now get to work and go save some lives.”
“Will do. I’ll call you in the morning with an update on Marvin.”
“Thank you.”
“Night, Avery.”
“Night, Flynn.”
Hanging up, I smile when I realize I’ve fallen head over heels for Avery Evans. I’ve never felt like this about a woman before. It’s new territory for me, and I’m scared to death I’m going to fuck it up, but at the same time, I’m excited for the adventure ahead.
Finally my super busy nightshift is over. I’d love to just head home and crash, but I promised Avery I’d check in on Marvin. So here I am, in the elevator on my way up to his floor. When I walk into his room, I freeze midstep when my eyes land on him in his bed. He really has deteriorated since I last saw him. He notices me standing by the door and smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes like it usually does.
“Doc, how are ya?” he says, as he shuffles into a sitting position
“I’m good. You?” I ask, as I walk into the room.
“Fit as a fiddle.” And then he coughs. It's a deep belly cough and the doctor in me winces, that’s not a good cough and just as I think that, he goes into a coughing fit. He’s struggling for breath, his body heaving as he tries to suck in oxygen. Racing to his side, I help him attach the breathing mask and then I take a seat and stare at him. It takes almost ten minutes for his breathing to return to normal. He pulls off the mask, “Water?” he asks, and points to the cup on his bedside table.
Picking the cup up, I hold it and the straw to his lips. He drinks and lies back down. He closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep. Not wanting to leave him alone right now, I sit back in the chair and run my fingers through my hair. Dropping my head back, I too, nod off to sleep.