His grin widened. “Too late. I already told Jaelyn to set it up.”
Shit. The text he’d just sent must have been to her. Saying no to my boss was hard enough, but Rand would have my head if I disappointed his girlfriend. It looked like he’d backed me into a corner, and I had a blind date to look forward to.
2
Mia
“We've got it from here.” I finished taping up the last box of kitchen stuff in Jaelyn’s apartment before I glanced up at my friend’s new boyfriend, Rand.
“With the muscle you hired, I'm sure you do.” I stood and set the tape dispenser on the counter. “But I was planning on counting them as my workout for the day, so do me a solid and let me carry a few things down to the truck. Otherwise, it’ll be the lamest workout in the history of exercising.”
The sexy fireman’s biceps bulged as he crossed his arms over his chest and grumbled, “I don't think—”
Jaelyn sidled up next to him and gently elbowed him in the side. “No bossing my friends around, remember?”
Rand’s entire demeanor changed as he looked down at Jaelyn, his eyes softening and a grin tugging his lips upward. What I wouldn't give for a guy to look at me the same way, even if my schedule was too jam-packed for me to spend any time searching for one. Which reminded me…
“I need to cancel that blind date you set up for me tonight.”
Jaelyn dragged her gaze away from Rand to narrow her eyes at me. “Why?”
“I have study group this evening,” I answered as I pasted my most innocent expression on my face.
“Nice try,” Jaelyn sighed, shaking her head. “Your study group won’t last until eight o’clock.”
“It could,” I argued. “We have a big test coming up next week.”
She tilted her head to the side as she searched my face for any sign that I was trying to pull a fast one over on her just to get out of the date. Her suspicion was fair, considering that was exactly what I was trying to do. “What time are you supposed to meet up with your study group?”
Crap. It looked like I’d been busted. “Five.”
“I’m sorry.” Unfortunately for me, she didn’t sound the least bit apologetic. “Could you repeat that? Because I must’ve heard you wrong.”
“I’m meeting them at the library on campus at five o’clock,” I grumbled, knowing darn well there was no getting out of the blind date since I didn’t have an excuse Jaelyn would accept.
“Pull up your big girl panties”—her eyes twinkled as she wagged her brows—“and make sure they’re pretty because you’re definitely going on the date.”
“Just because I show up to meet this guy—”
“Aha!” Jaelyn interrupted with a grin. “We’re making progress now since even you are admitting that you’ll be there tonight.”
“Doesn’t mean he’s going to ever see my panties,” I continued as though she hadn’t said anything.
“Never say never.” Rand chuckled and pulled Jaelyn closer as she added, “When you meet the right guy, you find yourself doing all sorts of things you never expected. Like moving in with him after less than a month.”
“Whoa! Slow down there.” I held up my hands, palms facing her. “How did we jump from a blind date to moving in together?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m just saying; if it happened to me, it could happen to you, too.”
“Nope. No way.” I shook my head.
“Well, yeah,” she agreed with a sigh. “Not if you remain so closed to the possibilities out there.”
“Hey! You’re supposed to be my friend. Cut me some slack.”
“Yeah, I’m horrible.” Sarcasm was thick in her voice. “Doing things like giving you my living room furniture so you’re not stuck sitting on those folding lawn chairs anymore.”
One of the first things the movers had done was haul her couch, loveseat, and end tables up to my apartment. “You know how much I appreciate that.”
“And I’m willing to bet you’ll appreciate me setting you up on a blind date just as much once you meet Rand’s friend,” she countered with a smug grin.
“Whatever,” I huffed. “Can we quit the interrogation and help get the rest of your stuff down to the truck?”
“As long as whatever you carry down weighs less than ten pounds, that works for me,” Rand conceded. “And you keep an eye on Jaelyn to make sure she doesn’t try to lift anything.”
“My purse weighs more than that,” Jaelyn muttered with a roll of her eyes as Rand padded across the room to talk to the movers before they carried her bookshelf downstairs.
“Tell me about it. With all the books in my backpack, it’s more like twenty pounds. It’s like carrying around a stack of bricks all day,” I complained.
She glanced over at Rand. “It doesn’t matter. He wasn’t kidding when he said he didn’t want me carrying anything. He’ll go all caveman over me if I try.”
“Judging by the gooey look on your face, you don’t mind his alpha male ways even the tiniest bit,” I teased as I picked up a lamp.
“That’s because I don’t.” Her lips curved up in a smile of pure feminine satisfaction. “I really, really don’t. Especially since I shared some happy news with him this morning.”
“Happier news than that you’d officially move in with him?” She cradled her belly with one of her hands, and my eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, my gosh! Are you pregnant?”
“Shh,” she hushed me. “I’m not sure if we’re ready to tell anyone yet. It’s all so new.”
“I’m so happy for you,” I whispered back at her with a grin.
“If you give your blind date a real chance, maybe you’ll find the same kind of happiness I did.”
“You’re like a dog with a bone,” I sighed, following her when she headed for the stairs.
By the second trip down, she finally dropped the blind date topic and told me about Rand’s house on the outskirts of town and all his remodeling plans. It sounded like a great place to live, but that wasn’t too difficult compared to our apartments. Our building wasn’t awful, but it also wasn’t a place to write home about. Not that I could complain after having surfed couches at friends’ places for the past three weeks while the building had been cleaned after a small fire had done a ton of smoke damage.
We carried the last few things on our fourth trip down. When we reached the sidewalk, I looked over my shoulder to say something to Jaelyn and didn’t realize I’d stepped into the path of a messenger zooming our way on his bicycle. “Watch out,” he yelled.
My head whipped back in his direction, but I couldn’t move fast enough to get out of his way. And with some of Jaelyn’s stuff stacked up on the sidewalk next to where the moving truck was parked, there wasn’t anywhere for him to go but smack dab into me. The box of bedding I’d been carrying protected my upper body when I fell, but my legs didn’t fare as well. I felt a sharp sting of pain in my right calf and saw blood oozing from a deep cut that looked to be at least a couple of inches long.
“Shit! Sorry! You okay?” the messenger asked, barely pausing to see my distracted nod before he pedaled off.
“Oh. My gosh! I can’t believe that just happened,” Jaelyn cried, kneeling on the sidewalk next to me. “Are you okay? What am I saying? Of course, you’re not okay. You’re bleeding everywhere.”
“It isn’t as bad as it looks,” I reassured her in a weak voice.
“I shouldn’t have agreed to let you help. You guys would’ve been safer in the apartment.” Rand handed a box off to one of the movers and dropped down next to Jaelyn. “The cut is bad enough that you’re probably going to need stitches.”
“I don’t have time for a trip to the emergency room or even an urgent care.” Between the pain and frustration, I barely held back the tears welling in my eyes. “Even if I did, it’s not like I can pay for it anyway. My insurance sucks. The deductible is crazy high, so I’d be stuck paying for the whole visit.”
“There’s no way in hell you’re
paying. Not when you got hurt helping us move Jaelyn’s stuff,” he growled.
“That’s very generous, but you covering the copay doesn’t help with getting it done in time for me to make it to my clinicals without being late,” I pointed out with a wince when I shifted positions and pain shot up to my leg.
Rand pulled his cell phone from his pocket and punched in a number. “I need you to come to Jaelyn’s old apartment building and stitch up a friend of hers who got hurt helping her move.” There was a brief pause while whoever answered must’ve said something. “Quit busting my balls and get your ass over here. The movers are just about done loading up, so if we’re not still here, then you’ll find her in”—I mouthed my apartment number when he looked at me—“unit 306.”
3
Tyler
When I pulled up in front of Jaelyn’s apartment building—or at least where she used to live since Rand had apparently lost his mind along with his heart and was moving her in with him permanently already—there wasn’t any sign of my boss or the movers he’d mentioned. After swinging my truck into a spot in the parking lot, I grabbed my first-aid kit and headed inside. Jogging up the steps to the third floor, I quickly found the apartment number Rand had given me when he’d called and knocked on the door.
My frustration at having my day off interrupted disappeared at the sight of the pocket Venus standing in front of me. She barely came up to my shoulder and had curves my hands ached to touch. Her long, dark hair was loose and went almost all the way to her waist. Her bright green eyes widened as they swept down my body, and I cursed myself for not changing out of my gray sweatpants. I moved my first-aid kit in front of my body, but there was no way in hell I was going to be able to hide my hard-on while I was taking care of her leg.
“You must be Rand’s paramedic friend, right?”
I heartily approved of the fact that she didn’t open the door any wider as she waited for me to answer. “Yeah, he asked me to come over and check out your leg because he thought it might need to be stitched up.”
“More like ordered, like he seems to do with everyone,” she muttered before flashing me an apologetic smile. “I hate to be a pest, but is there any chance you have proof of who you are?”
“You’re not being a pest at all. It’s smart for a beautiful woman like you to be cautious with who she lets into her home.” I grinned at the faint blush on her cheeks before opening my kit to pull out my EMS badge. I’d gotten in the habit of keeping it in there when I was off duty in case I needed to provide assistance in an emergency. “I’m Tyler Jennings, one of the paramedics who work out of Rand’s station.”
“Thanks for coming over, Tyler.” She swung the door open farther and stepped to the side to let me in her apartment. “I’m Mia Bell, by the way. Since Rand neglected to give you my name over the phone like he forgot to give me yours before he and Jaelyn left with the movers.”
I followed her over to the couch, enjoying the sway of her lush ass as she walked in front of me. “The captain doesn’t usually skim over details like that. He must’ve been in a rush.” More like he couldn’t wait to get Jaelyn back to his house since she’d agreed to live with him for real. I hadn’t been exaggerating when I’d ribbed him about being pussy whipped the other day, but my reaction to Mia was eerily similar to how Rand had acted the day he’d spotted Jaelyn at that softball game. I was starting to wonder if maybe the tables had turned, and I was going to end up eating my words.
“Yeah, he, uh, really wanted to get Jaelyn home.”
I wasn’t sure what was causing her blush to get deeper and her to stumble over her words. Knowing how hard Rand had fallen for Jaelyn, I figured maybe he hadn’t held back on the PDA around Mia or something. Deciding to let her off the hook, I suggested, “How about you sit down and let me take a look at your cut?”
“Oh! Yes, good idea.” She perched on the edge of one of the couch cushions and stretched her leg out.
Kneeling in front of her, I set my first-aid kit on the floor. After I put on a pair of exam gloves, I pulled the bandage off to take a closer look at her injury. The cut was a little more than three inches long, and blood was still oozing from it. “You did a good job taking care of this while you were waiting for me, but I'm still going to clean it again before I do the stitches. It’ll take about a dozen.”
“Thanks, I probably would have tried to do the stitches on my own except I knew my hand wouldn't stay steady because of the pain.”
My head jerked up at her confession. “I'm glad you didn't try. Stitching yourself up is hard-core.” Trailing my fingers over the sun-kissed, smooth skin next to her wound, I added, “It's bad enough that I'll probably leave behind a little scar on your perfect skin. Are you sure you don’t want me to take you over to the hospital to have a plastic surgeon do it instead?”
Her blush came back full force, and it just made her even sexier. “I don’t care about a scar, so there’s no need for a plastic surgeon to do the stitches. Thanks for fixing me up since I’m sure the nurse who oversees my clinical hours at the hospital would have something to say about the stupidity of me doing it myself.”
Pulling supplies out of my kit, I asked, “Are you going for your nursing degree?”
“Yup. After this one, I only have three more semesters to go.”
I grinned at her. “Maybe by then you'll be ready to stitch yourself up.”
“No.” She giggled, her hair sliding over her shoulders to cover her round tits when she shook her head. “I don't think I'll ever be ready for that. I’m not that great with pain. My threshold is pretty low.”
I grabbed the local anesthetic from my kit and asked, “Will you be okay with me administering this?”
“Yes, please.” Her chest rose and fell on a relieved sigh. “I wasn't looking forward to toughing it out while you stitched me up. That'll help a lot.”
I asked her some basic medical history questions to make sure she could tolerate the anesthesia before numbing the area around her wound. Then I waited until she relaxed against the couch cushions before I began stitching her up. I talked her through the whole process, very aware of her green gaze on me as I worked.
When it was done, I slathered some antibacterial ointment over the area and applied a bandage. “You probably already know all this, but you’ll need to keep the wound bandaged and dry today. Tomorrow, you can wash around it with water before covering it again with a thin layer of petroleum jelly and a nonstick bandage, replacing it as needed. The stitches can come out in five to ten days, depending on how quickly the wound heals. If you’d like, I could come over on one of my days off and take them out for you.”
“It’s so nice of you to offer.” Her smile was shy. “But I should be able to handle that part.”
I pulled a notepad and pen out of my kit to jot down my number. Tearing the sheet of paper out, I handed it to her. “Feel free to call me if you change your mind.”
“Is that the time?” she asked, pulling my arm closer so she could see the face of my watch more clearly. “Crap! I have to run or else I’ll be late for my clinical.”
I hated the idea of leaving her, but I quickly stowed my supplies back in my kit because I didn’t want to fuck up her day. When she walked over to the door and opened it for me, I paused before walking through it. “I meant what I said. Call me if you want help taking out the stitches. Or for no reason at all.”
Her cheeks filled with heat once again, and I couldn’t help but wonder how far it went down as she expressed her gratitude. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for fixing me up!”
As soon as the door shut, I yanked my phone out of my pocket and called Rand. When he didn’t pick up, I fired off a quick text to him. He hadn’t called back or replied to my message when I made it down to my truck, so I tried again. And again. And again.
An hour later, I was certain that Rand was trying to avoid me because he knew I wanted to bail on the blind date he and Jaelyn had set up for me. He probably thought it was becau
se I had cold feet when I actually had a damn good reason. I’d already met the only woman I was interested in spending time with. “Fuck.”
4
Mia
Between helping Jaelyn move, my clinicals, and study group, my Saturday had been even more hectic than usual. That hadn't stopped me from daydreaming about Tyler, though. Which just made me even more irritated about this blind date than I already had been.
I tried to get a hold of Jaelyn a couple of times throughout the day, but she hadn't called me back yet. As I pulled up in front of the restaurant where I was supposed to meet my blind date, I tried one last time. Once again, it rang several times before going through to her voicemail. “I can’t believe you’re avoiding me tonight of all nights! I don’t even know why I let you talk me into this in the first place. It’s not like I have time to date anyway. But just so you know, I met someone today, and this stupid blind date is the only thing preventing me from using the phone number he gave me.”
I wanted nothing more than to go back to my apartment, change into comfy pajamas, and stare at my phone while I worked up the courage to call Tyler. Instead, I was forced to come here. I didn't want the guy to think that I just stood him up if I didn't show up, but I also had zero interest in having a drink with him, let alone dinner. My plan was to go in there, find the guy at the bar who was wearing a blue button-down shirt, and let him down quick and easy. Best-case scenario, I figured I could be in and out of there in like five minutes.
“If she’d just given me his phone number, I could've texted him or something,” I muttered to myself as I walked into the restaurant.
Although I was right on time, I wasn't in a rush to find my blind date. Instead of turning left to head into the bar, I went right so I could hit up the ladies’ room first. Looking cute didn't matter when you had no intention of sticking around and didn’t care about impressing a guy, but that didn't stop me from heading over to the sinks to fix my hair and swipe on some lip gloss. My intention had been to delay the inevitable, but it turned out to be a really good decision because the first person I spotted when I walked into the bar was Tyler.
Alpha Heroes: A Me, Myself & I Collection Page 12