by J. L. Drake
“Buddy got hurt.”
He ignored me and looked at Mia. “We still on for tonight?”
You have got to be shitting me! She swallowed hard then gave him a nod.
“Great, see you at eight.”
Once he left, she was about to leave, but I stopped her. “Really? The doctor?”
“He’s a friend.”
“Does he know that’s what he is to you?” The look on her face told me I stepped over a line. “I’m sorry.”
“No.” She shook her head. “People seem to have a lot to say to me today.”
“When can I see you next?”
“I don’t know.” She turned and left.
Fuck.
“You fucked up,” Paul mumbled around a mouthful of nasty green Jell-O. “So fix it.”
“How?”
He laughed. “You’re asking me?”
“You have a sister.”
“We don’t discuss those things. Ask June or Abby.”
I pulled out my phone and made a quick call to June.
“Hello, Marcus. How are you, dear?” Within ten minutes, a plan was born, and I had the dirty little Nurse Vikki Taylor on board. I hurried down to the lobby to see what I could find.
I waited out of sight of the nurse’s station and watched as Vikki called Mia over.
“Hey, sweetie, these came for you.”
Mia smiled. “Really?” She touched the petal of one of the roses. “Who sent them?”
“Not sure, but there’s a card.”
She pulled the card free and read my note. “Where is he?” Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the hallways.
“Who?” Nurse Taylor shook her head at Mia, who made a face. “It’s sweet, though.”
“Mmmhmm.” She tucked the note in her pocket and touched the flowers one more time before she left.
Nurse Taylor turned to me and shrugged.
***
Manuel
My leg bounced wildly under the table as I waited impatiently for the sergeant to call me in. I wanted a smoke, but I wasn’t about to leave and have him hunt me down. Instead, I twirled the long Marlboro between my fingers like a drummer with his stick.
My partner was told to wait in another room. Why we were separated was beyond me. Finally, the door opened, and in walked the sergeant and two people I didn’t recognize. If I were to guess, I’d say they were corporate.
“Mr. Lopez, my name is Connie Wilson. I’m with Internal Affairs.” A tall, broad-shouldered woman took a seat across from me. Her pantsuit looked as if it were tailored for a man. “Do you know why we called you in today?”
I shook my head. “Nope.”
“Do you live locally, Mr. Lopez?” I didn’t respond. I knew she would have read my file. She pulled out a pair of square framed glasses and placed them on the bridge of her nose while she read a document. “You’ve been on the force for how long?” I held my ground and stayed silent. “Would you say your partner and you are close?” With a sigh, she unbuttoned her jacket and leaned back to study me. “Okay.”
She glanced at the man next to her, and he gave her a terse nod. She opened the file and handed me a photo.
Fuck me upright, this was not happening.
“You care to comment?”
I handed her back the photo and scratched at the two-day-old beard I was sporting. “I want a lawyer.”
A grin almost slipped as she pushed to her feet. “That might be a wise idea.”
***
Mark
I waited in the same spot and watched, ready for attempt number two. My morning effort was a bit of a failure, but this afternoon I was ready.
Mia came around the corner, looking tired. She spotted the red box and eyed it carefully.
“Nurse Taylor?” she called out.
“It arrived ten minutes ago.”
She opened the card with a sigh. The firm line of her lips softened into the beginning of a smile. Her finger ran under the cover and opened the box of Godiva chocolates.
“Where is he?” she asked again. This time I stepped around the corner and she saw me. “You need to stop sending me gifts.”
“Why?”
She glanced around before she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“Because people think we slept together.”
“Okay?” I didn’t get the big deal.
She took my hand and led me around the corner to an empty hallway. “Mark, we went on one date.”
“I remember.”
“We didn’t even sleep together—”
“No.” I stepped closer so her back pressed flat against the wall. “Seems to me, my lips were busy doing other things.” She blinked a few times as if she were remembering. I stood straighter. She needed to know I wasn’t playing around. “I’m sorry, Mia, I really am. Will you please give me another chance?”
She placed her hand on my chest to keep me back. “You’re going to get me into trouble, Mark.”
“Then have dinner with me tonight.” My fingers moved to play with a piece of her silky hair. “Come on, Mia, you know there’s something between us.”
“Honestly, I don’t want to be just someone you play with while you’re here.”
My head snapped back at her accusation. “You think that’s what I’m doing?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Oh, Mia.” I tilted my head, a little thrown off by the thought I would treat her that way. “That’s so, so far from the truth.”
“Look, I have to show up tonight. It’s a staff thing.” She sighed. “But I’ll call you when I’m done.”
“Thank you.” I leaned down and kissed her cheek softly. My phone rang in my pocket, so I stepped back to let her go. She gave me a tentative smile before she hurried around the corner.
“Lopez,” I muttered into my phone while I watched her walk away. She had a gorgeous sway to her hips.
“He is now on suspension. They got a tip from another cop that he was up to something, which made them check the tapes. Sure enough…” Frank rambled in his normal manner. “You know what that means.”
My throat grew thick. “Yeah.” I hung up and pressed number one on my speed dial.
“Cole, I need to get a tail on Manuel.”
“Considerate it done. When will you be back?”
“Not sure yet.”
“Do what you gotta do.”
“Thanks, man.”
Molly was visiting Paul when I came back into the room. I shook my head at Paul not to mention Mia.
“Hey, Mark.” Molly smiled around a plastic spoon. “You want?” She held up some Jell-O.
“No, God, no.” I made a face and tried not to watch it jiggle in her hand.
“The man doesn’t stop eating, ever, but you show him Jell-O and he wants nothing to do with it.”
“That’s because it isn’t even in the food groups.” I sank into the chair. My stress was high, and I wasn’t sure how to deal with it.
“You have plans tonight?” Molly popped the last spoonful of Jell-O in her mouth.
“Not until later.”
“We’re all meeting up at The Blue Room at eight thirty. You should come.”
A grin broke across my face. “You know what, that might be fun.”
She beamed. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I glanced at Paul meaningfully. “You wanna go out tonight?”
“I just got cleared, so yeah, I could use a drink.”
Paul and I met in the hotel lobby at nine. We took a cab to The Blue Room and walked through the doors around 9:15.
Mia was next to Dr. Evans, and they seemed to be hitting it off. She was laughing, and his arm was behind her chair.
“Hey, boys!” Molly yelled, waving as she jumped to her feet.
Mia turned, and her jaw nearly hit the table.
“You may have to run interference,” I muttered to Paul, who knew Molly had a crush on both of us. Really, she wasn’t particularly picky. She just wanted any one of the Bla
ckstone members. She was great, but far from my type.
“Hey, I’m Mark.” I introduced myself to a few people I didn’t recognize. I gave Nurse Taylor a wink. “Now, are you going to behave tonight?”
“Oh, Mark,” she said, blushing, “you’re so bad.”
“Molly, I didn’t know you invited guests,” Dr. Evans muttered into his beer.
“They were in town and had nothing to do, so I invited them along.”
Mia glanced at me, and her gaze dropped down my front. I did the same to her, letting my focus run down her red halter, stopping at her cleavage. Oh, how I missed that cleavage.
“Mia, you look nice tonight.” I smiled, not caring that the pretty doctor glared at me.
“So do you.”
“I heard what you did today,” Dr. Evans said, interrupting our little moment. “It was extremely dangerous. If that patient had a spinal injury, you could have done some real damage.”
“But he didn’t.”
His eyes went wide. I took it not many talked back to him. “And you know that how, exactly?”
Paul smirked.
“Where did you go to school?” I asked.
Dr. Evans glanced at Mia before he answered. “Boston.”
“Ever have to determine whether or not to remove someone’s leg, while being fired at from three different directions? Or tuck in your buddy’s organs and hope the stitch job you did will last until you hit the chopper?”
He didn’t answer.
“I may not have gone to Boston, but I’ve done my share of patching up. Paul’s spine was in line, no swelling, no slipped discs, just a dislocated shoulder.”
“You could have been wrong,” he challenged pathetically.
“Not likely,” Paul added, “because he was the one who popped it out.”
“What?” Mia looked confused. “On purpose?” Paul smiled as he took a drink from his beer. “Why would you do such a thing?”
I looked directly at her. “You know why.”
“That’s insane!” Dr. Evans blurted out.
“Nah,” Paul chuckled, “we’re actually even.”
I leaned over and clicked his bottle to mine.
“I don’t think I want to know the rest of that story.” She held up her hands, and a small smile played with the corners of her mouth. “Come on, Francis, why don’t you buy me a drink?” Mia walked toward the bar with the doctor, not missing the smirk that passed between me and Paul.
Francis!
Nurse Taylor started to share a few ER stories, so I decided to mingle with some of the other staff. They all seemed pretty friendly.
After a bit of time, I could see the girls were tuning into the music. It was only a matter of time before…
“Who wants to dance?” Nurse Taylor clapped her hands together.
“I want to!” Molly chimed in.
Dr. Evans whispered in Mia’s ear, and she shook her head as he stood and headed for the bar once again.
“Oh, I love this song,” Molly squealed. “Come on, Mia, dance with me.”
Mia’s face fell. “Oh, I don’t really—”
“Now, that’s a flat-out lie.” Nurse Taylor nearly lifted her out of her chair. “We all know you can shake it.”
I twisted in my seat so I could see the dance floor better. Justin Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body” boomed through the speakers.
She started to move to the beat. Nurse Taylor pointed to the screen where the video was streaming. Just as I wondered why, Mia started to mimic JT’s dance moves. Paul laughed and slapped my shoulder as she moved her hips in a way you’d only see on the video. I couldn’t hide my amusement.
“Where is everyone?” Dr. Evans asked one of the other girls.
“Dancing.”
“Oh, shoot me now,” he muttered before taking a shot of tequila.
Paul looked less than impressed himself.
“What’s the matter, Francis, you don’t dance?” I asked. He didn’t answer, and I threw back my drink and stood.
The crowd was thick, but I moved easily across the floor. Molly spotted me first and yelled.
My body was right up behind Mia’s when the song changed to “Imma Be” by The Black Eyed Peas. I watched to see what speed her hips would go and matched it before I slid my hand around her stomach.
“Mark,” Molly mouthed to her with a strange expression.
She reached back and grabbed my thigh as she ground her behind into my nearly painful erection. I couldn’t help but watch the skin that peeked out on her lower back when she leaned forward. My hand roamed around her stomach, occasionally dipping low. Her head leaned against my shoulder, but as soon as the song picked up, she moved away and started dancing, then pointed at me to show my moves.
Oh, Mia, I always loved a challenge.
I pulled out the best moves I had and popped my body to the music. I spun on my toes and dropped to the floor, all my weight balanced on my wrist, then bounced to my feet. When I bent back down, I sent a wave through my body. I came up directly in front of Mia. She had on a sexy smile as she looked at up at me.
“I’m impressed,” she said, laughing.
My arm hooked her waist, my knee wedged between her legs, and we started to dirty dance.
The music morphed into Tove Lo, “Talking Body.” When the chorus came on, I gripped her tighter.
It wasn’t until the song ended that we realized everyone else had gone back to the table.
“Drink?” I pointed to the bar. She nodded, and I took her hand and led her to the counter. I had to move her in front of me since there was only enough room for one. I locked my arms on either side of her and pressed my sweaty front to her back.
“Beer?” She looked over her shoulder. I leaned down and nearly brushed my lips over hers.
“Long Board.” I handed the bartender my credit card.
She looked away. “Long Board,” she called out, but the guy couldn’t hear. She hopped up and leaned her body over the counter.
I had to blink back the dirty thoughts and force my hands to stay down. When she went to move, I helped her to her feet, spun her around, and leaned into her ear.
“I want to get out of here. I don’t know how much longer I can behave in public.”
The excitement in her eyes told me she felt the same.
“Let’s finish our drinks, then we’ll leave separately.”
I shook my head. “Together.”
“Mark,” her hands went to her hips, “I work with these people. They already know too much about me. I don’t want to be on Francis’s shit list.”
“That might be too late.” I flicked my head toward where the man in question stared at us.
“Shit.” Her eyes closed.
This was ridiculous. I ran my hands through her hair and lowered my lips to hers. I waited for her to meet me halfway. I would never force myself on her.
“Kiss me, Mia,” I muttered across her lips. My heart beat like a drum. I wanted to feel the way I did before.
Her hands braced on my stomach as she stepped up on her toes and met me with the same intensity that was coursing through me.
I felt her moan travel over her tongue and vibrate against mine. Jesus Christ, this girl was going to kill me. My hand moved under her shirt and swiped along her smooth skin. She pulled away. “We should go.”
I paid the bill, and we hurried over to the table.
“Where were you?” Paul grinned. I gave him the finger but made sure Mia didn’t see it.
“I’m going to go.” Mia grabbed her jacket from her chair next to Dr. Evans.
He put his hand over hers. “Can I speak with you for a moment?” She glanced at me before she gave a quick nod.
***
Mia
I was so incredibly pumped up on lust that I could barely walk. My thighs practically screamed to be spread open, but instead I had to try to act normal and in control while I spoke with one of my superiors.
We stepped outside the building and
into the chilly night air.
Dr. Evans stopped in front of me and turned with a strange expression.
“Call me crazy, Mia, but I thought we had something going on here.”
“Oh! I…” I felt my face heat up. Why was it, when a woman found a male to be friends with, one of them had to screw it up with emotion? When would we learn? I guessed we could never be friends now.
“Maybe I need to be blunt.” His lips twisted to one side. “I like you, Mia. I think you’re funny and smart. I do think you’re wasting your skills just being a nurse—”
…and there it was…
I stopped his chatter. “Dr. Evans, ah, Francis. For lack of a better expression, I’m flattered, and if we rewound to a few months ago, maybe some more could have happened. But where our biggest problem lies is that I love being just a nurse.”
“But—”
“Please let me finish.” He nodded and closed his mouth. “And I also met Mark, and we are really hitting it off.”
He waited a beat before he spoke. “What kind of a future are you going to have with someone who disappears days—no, months—on end with no explanation? How do you know he doesn’t have lots of you in different countries?”
Ouch. I hate doubt.
“I don’t,” I shrugged, “but that’s something we’re going to have to work out if this continues into something.”
“Well,” he sighed, “I guess there’s nothing else to talk about.”
“I’m sorry, Francis, I really am.”
“Me too. I really hope you don’t get hurt, Mia.” He leaned down, kissed my cheek, then left.
I sagged against the window and whispered, “Me too.”
“Hey,” Mark called out softly. I looked over and saw he had his hands in his pockets. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I pushed off the glass. “Let’s go.”
Through the whole cab trip and elevator ride, we remained quiet. Dr. Evans’ words bounced around in my head, making me questions things I didn’t want to.
Mark had my hand, and a few times I caught him studying me.
I locked the door behind us and tossed my purse on the table. “You want anything?”
“Water, please.” He sat on the stool and rested his elbows on the counter, watching as I moved about. “You know, I can speak five languages fluently, read lips, and I can bring a grown man to his knees just by tapping him hard on the side of the neck.” He paused for a moment. “But for the life of me, I can’t figure out why you’ve shut down on me tonight.” He took the bottle of water from my hand.