Being With You (The Redemption Series)

by St James, Hazel

  “Oh my, Sus. Whatcha listenin’ to?” he teased.

  Without missing a beat, Susy made bigger movements with her arms and got her shoulders in on the dancing, too. She kept on, and sang a bit of a country song off-key, making Tristan roll his eyes. He acted like she was being a dufus, but he was really excited that Susy wasn’t acting differently around him.

  Well the intimate kissing, hand holding and touching had stopped, but otherwise, she was the same Susy. And it took a huge weight off his shoulders knowing they could still be friends. Not just roommates, co-workers and ex-lovers, but best friends who accepted each other just the way they were, and were there to help the other…no matter what.

  Susy stopped her bed-dancing act and hopped out when the door to the room opened and Peyton came in. No scowl, or grimace or death stare from Susy, though. She didn’t jump up and hug Peyton, either, but at least there wasn’t any immediate hair pulling.

  “Hey, Peyton. Did he get his walking papers yet?”

  “Yup. Hot off the presses, in fact.” She handed the papers to Tristan and read from the set that was in her hands. “Dr. Sheridan has you scheduled for lab tests to monitor your kidney functions, and you are to continue with your new medications as per your psychiatrists’ instructions. If you have any problems, you are to call the nurse line and they will get Dr. Sheridan for you right away. Did you have any questions or concerns before we cut you loose?”

  Tristan pulled his coat on and nearly sprinted for the door. “Nope. I’m outa here.”

  Peyton nearly tackled him as he rounded the corner of the bed. “Uh uhn, Tristan. Hospital policy says that you have to ride out in a wheelchair. No exceptions.”

  Rolling his eyes for emphasis, he told her, “For fuck’s sake Peyton. I’m fine.” He hoped she would back down and just let him walk out, but she glared at him for a second and stood in front of him. “Then you won’t mind waiting a second until your wheelchair gets here.”

  Right on cue, there was a knock at the door, then it immediately opened and another hospital staff member came in pushing a wheelchair.

  “There you go, Peyton,” the cheery woman in bright yellow scrubs chirped, almost hurting Tristan’s ears and the color of her clothes burned at his eyes. She looked like a great big banana and needed someone with some fashion sense to slap her upside the head.

  “Thank you, Meredith,” Peyton told her and smiled brightly at the woman before she walked back out the door, humming the whole way.

  After she was out of the room, Tristan turned to Susy and poked her in the ribs to get her attention. “There is the Man With the Yellow Hat in that cartoon and now there is The Woman In The Yellow Scrubs at the hospital in Colorado Springs Health Systems.”

  Susy squeaked before she burst out laughing, trying to contain herself, but it wasn’t working. Quickly the pair was belly laughing, and Peyton stood there with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot against the floor. “You two are so frickin’ childish! Meredith is a wonderful person and doesn’t deserve to be ridiculed.”

  Tristan and Susy stopped laughing immediately, but Tristan scoffed at Peyton, while Susy had the good sense to turn her head down and appear ashamed.

  “Peyton…” he groaned. “You can’t tell me you didn’t think her clothes were a bit much, can you?”

  Peyton raised her eyebrow, but at the same time she smiled. “I agree, she dresses like that chick with the troll earrings and the blue eye shadow from TV, but…but….Oh for Christ’s sakes, you two…” Peyton was laughing and smiling now, too. “She’s loonier than a pet coon, but it’s not polite to tease someone because they’re different.”

  Tristan knew from experience that kind-hearted Peyton had taken to protecting Meredith and she wasn’t really mad at either of them. It was hard for her to see someone in need, and not immediately do everything in her power to make things better, no matter what the cost. Seeing Peyton acting so protective of someone who hadn’t even asked for her help just solidified the fact that she was filled to the brim with her own issues, just a whole ‘nother set than his.

  It made sense to him now as he stood there watching her eyes dart back and forth between him and Susy that something in Peyton’s life made her desire to save everyone around her…make their lives better. It had to be hard to always put yourself last, but she did it, without even thinking. And it was one of the biggest problems in their relationship, but maybe seeing it like this made it easier for Tristan to understand.

  Maybe that just laid one of the first bricks on the bridge between Tristan and Peyton.

  “All right, you two yahoos,” she laughed as she said it. “You can go home now, Tristan. And God help you, Susy. You’re one brave woman.” She accentuated her words with a hug to each of them, whispering something in Susy’s ear before she left the room.

  After she was out of the room, Tristan asked, “What did she say, Sus?”

  “Girl talk, big guy.” She smiled at the empty doorway before turning to him with glistening eyes. “Let’s get you home, Tristan.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Hey Sus!” Tristan yelled from the shower. “Can you come wash my back, please? I can’t reach…” he was whining loudly as he teased her.

  Susy opened the door of the bathroom just enough to peek in and yell back, “Wash your own damn back, pervert!” and slammed it again.

  Tristan just laughed at his own flirtatious teasing of his roommate slash best friend and finished his shower.

  It had been over a month since Tristan had been released from the hospital after his near fatal kidney infection. It was also a little more than a month since Peyton was his nurse and he’d figured out something as she kept a professional relationship between them. Without knowing it, she’d answered some questions about where they’d failed the first time without a gigantic blow out that included their feelings, their past and what could be their future.

  She proved to Tristan once and for all that she wasn’t trying to fix him to make him a better man for her to love. All by the caring manner she took care of him as her patient, and he was sure all her other charges in the hospital. Plus, she protected others who didn’t even know they needed it. Being a caregiver was more than just in her blood…Peyton needed to be needed, and at the time, she and Tristan needed each other too much. It was too much strain for their budding relationship to handle, and, luckily, it gave way before one of them broke in half.

  Susy was in her bedroom with the door shut when Tristan came out of the bathroom wrapped in his towel. He only wanted to get to his bedroom quickly so he could get dressed for work, so he hadn’t bothered with a robe. As he walked past Susy’s door, he thought about how cute she looked that morning when he peeked in at her as she slept in nothing but her undies and a tank top, leaving her door open so she could hear Tristan if he needed her in the night.

  It had been a solid week or even longer since he’d had nightmares that woke him out of a dead sleep and put him into a severe panic attack. That was most likely because his psychiatrist had perfected the combination of anti-psychotics and anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications to make his brain feel like it wasn’t covered in plastic wrap and his mind racing from one set of thoughts to the next.

  He’d also met with a therapist that was more of a talk when you’re ready kind of gal, and wasn’t one to preach about anything, or force him into a corner. Their weekly discussions were about everything from his job, to Peyton, to Susy, and even last time they talked a bit about his family and childhood.

  But just because he was feeling more human than he had in the last few years of his life put together, didn’t mean he wanted to be alone. Or that he didn’t need Susy anymore. Far from it. She was still his rock of strength when he felt like shit…his motivator when he was ready to give up…his best friend when he was standing alone against the world.

  But there was something else about their relationship right now that was at the forefront of his mind, and it was hard to shake. It
was four weeks ago that Tristan had been with a woman. The same woman who was on the other side of this door getting dressed to go out for the evening after their relaxing day at home with each other.

  They’d spent their Saturday afternoon lounging around together, watching reruns of NCIS and pigging out on junk food. Susy never even got out of her pajamas for the day, she just added some lounge pants and a pair of slippers to her ensemble. She was the cutest little thing in ratty ole’ clothes he’d seen in a long time, and his libido seemed to be controlling the show right now.

  Tristan and Susy mutually agreed to stop sleeping with each other because it would only lead to heartache. Especially because he’d already given his heart away to Peyton and never really got it back. But things between them hadn’t moved any farther forward since they’d seen each other at the hospital. In fact, he hadn’t seen Peyton at all since he’d come home with Susy to their apartment.

  The apartment where he’d taken Susy in all sorts of different ways in…from his bedroom, to the living room and even once in the shower. He quickly remembered her hot little body and the way she screamed her release as she clutched at anything she could hold onto.

  The cotton material around his waist was tenting from his carnal thoughts of his roommate and it brought Tristan out of his lust-filled haze long enough to see reason. He was horny…there was no way around that. But he needed to pull his head out of his dick and not think about Susy like she was a plaything. The girl fucking did everything she could to help him, not once asking for anything in return. And he’d even admitted to being in love with his ex-girlfriend still, right after he and Susy had slept together numerous times.

  She was a saint…

  And he was the fucking devil incarnate…

  Tristan turned away from Susy’s door and leaned his head against the hallway wall right next to his room. He pulled his head away and tapped it against the wall fairly hard and did it again, not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough he hoped to knock some sense into himself. Because right now, he didn’t have any fucking sense at all if he thought about starting something up again with Susy just because he was in need of getting laid.

  She must have heard the commotion because her door flew open behind him and she laughed at him as he continued to bang his head against the wall. “What are you doing, Tristan?” she seriously said, then chuckled.

  He stopped with the last thud against the wall and left his forehead there. “Going crazy. It’s gonna be a short trip. Wanna come along?”

  Susy pulled him away with her hands around his bare mid-section, and grazed the top of the towel and his upper groin. It took everything in him to not groan in near orgasmic pleasure to have her hands on him like this, but he needed to pull away. Needed to get control of the situation again; otherwise, Susy would be getting a reminder of what he brought to the party.

  “I gotta get dressed for work, Susy,” Tristan told her as he opened the door to his room and scooted inside. Of course, she didn’t know that he was trying to get away from her and marched inside before he could shut the door.

  “What’s wrong with you, Tristan. You’re acting like a dork.”

  Sighing as he hung his head forward, he said without turning around, “I’m beyond turned on right now, Sus. I’m trying to keep myself from jumping you. Just go before my control snaps and I pin you to the mattress.”

  Susy gasped and Tristan was waiting for the yelling to commence. Instead, she chuckled before telling him, “You need to pull your head out of your ass, Tristan and call Peyton. That girl isn’t going to fall over with her legs in the air, I bet, but maybe you could start putting your relationship back together.” The door to his room opened and Susy added to his still turned back, “I wondered how long it would take you before you caved. Grow a pair, Tristan, and go talk to your girl.”

  Tristan dressed for work after a few minutes of hand-to-hand communication with his cock then left his room to get his coat and shoes on for work. He was surprised to see Susy standing in the kitchen in just her bathrobe and her hair up in a towel from a shower of her own. He no longer had any intentions of molesting her, but after the disgusting way he’d talked to her and nearly treated her moments ago, he was surprised she was anywhere in the apartment at all.

  “Susy, I just wanted to apologize. That was completely uncalled for and I…”

  Interrupting with a wave of her hand, she spoke over top of him, “Oh, Tristan. No need to apologize, big guy.” She moved her bowl of cereal over and stood close to him as they leaned against the counter. “As long as you take my advice, you’ll be able to fill that void in no time,” she teased with a hip check.

  Tristan didn’t reach out to touch her, still feeling crappy about his actions. Instead, he grunted and sauntered away to find his shoes for work. He needed to get going if he was going to make it on time; he hated being late.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Gabriel’s Restaurant was completely swamped that night. It was the end of February and winter doldrums were alive and well in Colorado. The entire city was out in full force. It was a cloudless sky and completely frigid, but that didn’t stop anyone and everyone from packing every local eating and drinking establishment to the brim.

  The crowds were finally dispersing and it was a blessing in disguise. Most of the coolers were emptied; they didn’t usually get this large of a crowd during the winter and they weren’t prepared. He’d run out of two kinds of tap beer an hour ago and was close to running out of the last one.

  Tristan was just working on pulling another keg in from the side room when someone called out, “Hey, sweets. You need some help with that?”

  Turning toward the sound of the voice, Tristan was pleasantly surprised to see Peyton standing at the edge of the bar wrapped up in a long fuzzy coat and furry boots with a black knit hat pulled over her head, leaving her dainty ears exposed. She had pulled off her gloves and was undoing her coat and pulled it off, revealing a long sleeve t-shirt-like dress with a deep V-neck that accentuated her cleavage and left little to the imagination. Not that he needed any, but it had been a while and things weren’t as clear in his memory as they used to be.

  “I’m good, fancy pants. Whatcha up to?”

  Peyton shrugged. “I just got done with work and I’m hungry. Thought maybe I could eat here. If you don’t mind.”

  Tristan gave her his full-fledged megawatt smile and felt himself truly relax for the first time today. “I don’t mind, Peyton. In fact, I would love it.”

  Peyton choose a simple grilled chicken sandwich for supper and she ate while she and Tristan caught up on some of the mundane parts of each other’s lives. He told Peyton about his uncle’s failing company and how he’d been doing lately with his new meds and the new doctor. She told Tristan about how she got the job working at the hospital, and about her baby brother coming home from being overseas in the military.

  “Caleb has decided not to re-enlist, so he’s coming home to stay. He’ll be living at the house with me, I’m sure, so I won’t be in that big old house by myself anymore. Thank God…”

  Tristan had been pretty sure she hadn’t moved; her house was a simple split-level home that no one would really consider either really big or really old. “You don’t like your house? It seemed pretty comfy and warm to me when…” He stopped talking the minute he realized he was going to start talking about their previous time together, and that was not a subject he was ready for…yet.

  Quickly changing the subject, he added lamely, “Your house was really nice, Peyton.” It was an awkward way to change the subject, but it was all he had. She sensed it, too, and quirked her eyebrow and laughed. “Well, that was a delicious supper, Tristan. Please tell the cook he did fabulous.”

  Peyton was reaching into her purse and pulled out her wallet. Tristan growled at her playfully and told her, “Your money is no good here, fancy pants.”

  “Well, then I won’t be back if you don’t let me pay for my supper,” her words wer
e said with a smile, but Tristan could hear the seriousness behind them.

  Thinking quickly, he decided to take another proverbial step forward. “You can buy my dinner tomorrow night, then. You pick the restaurant. Deal?”

  Peyton’s resulting smile was absolutely breathtaking and Tristan had a hard time containing his own elation. The glee was written all over her face, and he knew she was going to accept before she even answered his question.

  Time was ticking by at a snail’s pace and every second was torture. Tristan was having a hard time keeping himself occupied Sunday as he waited for his date with Peyton. Susy was working the morning shift for the after church goers, but there wasn’t a reason for him to open the bar that early, so he was usually off on Sundays. Which was fine, but today, he really needed something to do to pass the time.

  He’d woken up early and fixed Susy breakfast before she left…toast and orange juice, but it was the thought that counted, he knew. Then he did his laundry and most of Susy’s as well, but left it all lay on his bed to be put away. He’d do it later, or he’d figured that maybe he’d get his loving roommate to take pity on him with a pleading look and puppy dog eyes. She’d probably just tell him to get fucked and laugh, but maybe she’d for once just do it.

  Then, he went to work out, spending two hours there on every machine in the circuit until his body felt like jelly. Tristan knew he was overdoing it, but he needed to kill some of this extra energy. He was home from the gym an hour before he was supposed to pick Peyton up at her house and was showered, dressed and ready to go with forty five minutes to spare.

  He sat on the couch and flipped through the channels on the tv, bouncing his knee about as he waited. When that didn’t keep his attention, he flipped it off and scrolled through his social media page, commenting on a few things and posting a picture of himself he’d taken as he worked out at the gym. Selfies of a sweaty, muscled man seemed to get a lot of reaction and increased not only his friends list, but also the number of female customers that came out for Happy Hour on Friday nights. It was a win win for everyone.