“Yes, why?”
“Slut Juice.”
“Excuse me.”
He grins, “Vodka, orange juice, and lemonade. It is a fan favorite for bachelorette parties.”
“Okay, then.” This bartender is testing me for sure. He is hot and his smile is about to knock me on my ass. Yep, our Lord, our Savior, is making a spectacle of me. Awesome. I watch as he prepares the shots and shakes the cocktail shaker. His triceps bulge as he moves the shaker up and down. Fuck me. He continues to eye me.
He pours our Slut Juice into nine shot glasses. He pushes the shot glasses directly in front of me. I lick my lips. The sexy bartender says, “Here you go, red. I hope you enjoy them.”
“Um. How much?”
He winks. “On me. Have fun tonight.”
“I don’t know if I should say thank you or ask you what you want in return.”
He chuckles, “You’re a little uptight, red. I figured I would help you out a bit.”
“So…Thank you.”
“Your welcome. My name is Clint.”
Fucking hot name for an equally hot bartender. Abort mission. Abort.
Fumbling over my words, I say, “Okay. My name is Paige.”
“Nice to meet you, Paige. Hope to see you up here again.”
I quickly grab the tray with the shots on it and walk my happy ass back to the table of friends. That is twice in twenty-four hours that God has put a gorgeous man in front of me. I will not fail. All I want is Leo. I will not let a smoking hot ginger or manly sex in a bottle bartender tempt me.
I sit down by my girls and pass out the shots. On the count of three, we all take our Slut Juice. The only one who didn’t take a shot was Karrie. Her reason is that somebody needs to make sure our drunk asses get back to the hotel in one piece. Mother Karrie has done her good. We love her for it.
***
As the night progressed, drinks and shots are going down too easy. Yeah, we are all getting blitzed. We have this whole itinerary of going to several different bars and clubs in Vegas, yet we stay at Sunshine Drinks. I think this is the small city woman in all of us. We find a place we like and we stay put. Clint has been very flirty with me. I just smile and walk back with the drinks. I will not give into his flirty ways.
Del is definitely letting loose tonight. She is smashed and dancing. I watch as she climbs up on one of the platforms and starts dancing with one of the dancers. We all laugh at our friend making a fool of herself. But she doesn’t care, she is having fun. That is the whole purpose of tonight. My best friend is getting married tomorrow and I pray she is not too hung over to enjoy it. Thank goodness it is in the evening. She can sleep it off.
Del yells from the platform, “I need another shot. Paige, get me another one of those Slut Juices. It is soooo tasty.”
I shake my head at my friend. Here I go again, up to the bar to be greeted by Clint. He meets me at the bar. He asks, “What would you like, red?”
I have no clue what came over me. Maybe it was the alcohol and the confidence booster it can provide. I probe, “What is your deal?”
Clint gives me a perplexed look. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve been flirting with me all night. What do you think is going to happen here?”
“Nothing.”
Confused with his answer, I question, “So, you’re not flirting with me?”
“Maybe a little. But I know it isn’t going anywhere.”
“How is that?”
“You’re taken.”
“Uh? How do you know? I mean, I’m not.”
He winks. “He is a lucky man,” he pauses, “What do you mean, you’re not?”
Well, I am about to get chummy with the bartender. “We’re not together, yet.”
“Yet. Please explain.”
I sigh, “I can’t believe I’m about to tell you. But here it goes. I’m in love with him and he loves me, but we are not together. Several months back, I chose another guy over him after he told me how he feels. Now, I’m trying to get him back, but I’m failing horribly.”
He nods.
I ask, “Why are you nodding?”
“You want a guy’s opinion? A non-bias opinion.”
“Sure. Amuse me.”
“Stop trying.”
“What?!?!”
“If you made it clear that you want him back, then stop trying. He will get the hint. If he doesn’t, then move on. It will be his loss. A girl like you won’t have any problems finding someone who wants you.”
The realization of what Clint just said is sinking in. He is so right. I need to stop trying. I’m making everything too easy for Leo. I have shown and proved myself to him. But what if he doesn’t come back to me? Is it a risk I’m willing to take? If he doesn’t come back to me, maybe it is the closure I need from us. I pray the door doesn’t shut. This will be my last effort.
Chapter 16
The night is winding down, we are all loading up into the excursion limo. Lots of laughs, hiccups galore, and a few Midwestern girls stumbling and falling into their seats. Del is sitting by Brit and me. She slurs, “Girls, this was the bestest time ever. I love you ladies.”
Brit slurs back, “I lerve you.”
I snicker, “Del, you’re my siester from another miester.”
We all continue to laugh. Then Del jumps out of her seat with hands up in the air. “Hold up. Hold up.”
The drunk bus of girls sits there staring and giggling.
Karrie asks, “What’s up?”
Del pulls out her phone. “I have a text message.”
More laughs.
Karrie, the only sober one, says, “You have a text?”
Del garbles, “It’s from Greg. After party!”
Karrie again. “Are you sure you ladies are up for it?”
Brit comments, “Hell yeah. Bring on the boys and my girlfriend.”
Minus Karrie, the whole limo cheers, “Wooo.”
She shakes her head at us. “I guess we are partying with the boys tonight. What happened to not seeing the groom until the wedding?”
Del proclaims, “Fuck that. I want him.”
I whisper to Brit, “She is going to pass out once she hits the bed.”
Brit chuckles, “Damn straight.”
Before we know it, the limo pulls up to our hotel and we stumble out. We have to be completely annoying to anybody in our path to the elevator. We are loud, obnoxious and oblivious to our surroundings. Karrie is trying her best to point us in the right direction, but half us would get distracted at something shiny.
Karrie is able to get us on the elevator and up to the boys’ suite. I can see it in her eyes, she’s annoyed and tired. More than likely, once she gets us to the room, she is heading off to her suite where her husband is waiting for her.
With her heels in her hand, Del knocks loudly on the door. Michael opens the door. His orange hair was all over the place. I really don’t want to know what happened. He hollers to the boys, “The girls are here.”
Del trips over herself as she walks in their room. She makes it known, “The party is here motha fuckers.”
Karrie comments, “I’m out. Have fun ladies.”
Del yells, “Greg. Where is my Greggy pooh?”
I say goodbye to Karrie as she quickly leaves.
Brit runs over to what looks like a very drunk Steponowski. I was kind of surprised that she was wearing a black bra that I could see underneath her white boy beater tank top. Brit pounces on her girlfriend and kisses her, giving the boys a lesbian show down. The majority of the guys raise their drinks and cheer to the girl on girl kissing. What is really going on in this place?
I walk over to the kitchen to grab myself a beer. After grabbing a beer, I skim the room looking for Leo. I’m not seeing him. My thoughts start to circulate on where or who he is with. Praying he is not with anybody, it hits me. I need to do as Clint says. Stop trying. I take my beer and walk over to the living section where Del is now sitting on Greg’s lap. I ca
n’t make out what they are talking about with other wedding party members. They are talking loud, but the music in the background is blaring. I just take a sip of my ice cold beer.
Out of nowhere, Del screams, “This is my song. Girls, dance with me.”
I listen closely to the words and it is Dance for You by Beyonce. Del grabs my hand and leads toward an open spot near the window overlooking the strip. I’m drunk and I don’t care. I play along, dancing to the song. Del and I are all over each other, dancing as if we are in a strip club. I look to my left to see a dark silhouette standing in the doorway to one of the rooms. I squint my eyes and notice who it is, watching me. It is Leo.
Game on.
The following lyrics have a whole new meaning. Beyonce sings, “Tonight I’m gonna dance for you. Tonight, I’m gonna put my body on your body. Boy, I like it when you watch me. Tonight it’s going down.”
I start to dance my way toward Leo. He continues to watch me. I know Clint said to stop trying, but my gut is telling me to dance for Leo.
We are face to face as I look into his hazel eyes as I put my body on his. I turn around with my rear facing him, as I drop down and shimmer my body up along his. I sway my hips back and forth, as my finger runs through my long hair. I don’t care who sees what I’m doing. It is just Leo and me right now. As the song is about to end, I drop down, turn to face his body and pop myself up. I move my hand to caress his face.
He inhales with my touch.
The song ends.
Me looking at him.
Him looking at me.
Our hearts beating as one.
Don’t kiss him. Let him grab you.
Leo hisses, “You just don’t know what you do to me?”
I note, “You know exactly what you do to me.”
“Room, now!”
I shake my head. “Not that easy.”
“Excuse me. I told you, ‘room now!’”
“Show me you want me.”
“Fine.”
Leo grabs and picks me up, hoisting me over his shoulder like a caveman. He kicks the door closed behind us as he carries me into the room. Leo throws me down on the bed. The tiger in his eyes excites me. He is going to make me his. He crawls up and over my body.
Want. Desire. Passion. Love.
He slams his lips to mine. Fuck not trying. I’m going to let him try to fuck me, love me. My mouth cracks open, receiving his tongue to dance with mine. He palms one of my breasts. Leo removes his lips from mine and groans, “You. Are. So. Sexy.”
Those words cause me to tense up.
I moan, “Leo.”
“You. Are. Mine.”
“Yes.”
Without realizing what is happening, both of our clothes are off and he is entering me. There isn’t an inch of my neck that Leo’s eager kisses haven’t touched. His hips touching mine with delicate force. I caress his body tighter to me. Just when I think he can’t dig any deeper, he presses harder. Leaving me weak for every ounce of him. Moans escapes from our mouths. My hold becomes tighter on his sweaty back. My legs grip tighter around his waist. He pushes slowly yet harder finding my spot, our spot. I tense up more, ready to unleash the only gift I have to offer this man. All of me. I cry, “Leo. I. Love. Only. You.”
He groans as he releases all of him inside of me.
His head falls to my shoulder. My legs still glued to him. He sighs, “I love you.”
Tears form and drop from my eyes.
This wasn’t just another fuck. It was more than that. We connected on a whole new level of intimacy. He showered me with love.
***
The sun peeps above the horizon, waking me up. I am wrapped in Leo’s arms. After we made love last night, there was no pillow talk. Just us holding each other. I cried. He cried. Where are we now? In my head, it is clear that we are together. But that is my thoughts. What are his thoughts? It is now or never. Take it or leave it.
I nudge Leo.
His hold on me loosens up. He groans, “Yeah.”
I comment, “We need to talk.”
He sighs, “I had a feeling you were going to say that. Will you let me wake up?”
“Fine.” I push him off of me, sit up, and glance around the room for my clothes. I stand up once I spot them on the floor.
Rubbing his eyes, Leo sits up as I put on my bra and matching purple panties. Anger starts to brew within, I demand, “Either you want me or not.”
“Fuck, Paige, can you let me wake up before you start demanding answers?”
“Why wait? Do you want me or not?”
“Paige, it isn’t that easy.”
I stomp my foot down. “I’m done. This is not good for me. For us. I want everything with you. Life, family, kids, the entire fucking package. You cannot keep punishing the both of us because you can’t forgive your father. I know he has burned you numerous times. Yes, I burned you too, but I made a mistake. I have learned from that mistake I made and have been doing everything possible to make that up to you. Now, you are the one making the mistake. You either want all of this or not.”
Leo stares blankly at me.
I stick out my wrist. “Feel my pulse.”
“Why?”
“Just do it!”
He grabs my wrist and feels my pulse. “You okay? You’re tachy.”
“This is what you do to me all the time. It was dead before you. You brought me back to life. You saved me.”
“I saved you?”
“I’m trying to save you, so we can save us.”
He starts to chuckle. What the heck? Why is he laughing at me?
“What is so funny?”
“Why is it that when we reference our relationship, we reference our jobs?”
“Seriously?”
“You told me to feel your pulse. I’m going to have to charge you for that.”
“For fuck’s sake.”
He stands up, facing me and grabs my hand. “You’re a stubborn little nutritionist, aren’t you?”
“I’m not a nutritionist and you know this.”
He laughs again. “But you are my nutritionist and I expect a lesson on how to eat strawberries again.”
Leo just said I was his nutritionist. I can’t even be mad that he called me that. My eyes start to water again. I cry, “Leo.”
“Paige, I love you.”
“And I love you. Always have, just too blind to notice it.”
“You must have been eating carrots recently.”
“What?”
“Do carrots not help with blindness?”
“They keep you from going blind.” I laugh, “I just told you I love you and you ask me about carrots?”
“Paige.”
Rolling my eyes at him, I muffle, “Yes.”
Straight face and all, he whispers, “I have a carrot for you to suck on.”
I shake my head and roll my eyes again at him. “Ass.”
“I love you. Now, let me examine your insides with my probe.”
Shaking my head, I laugh, “I love it when you talk shop to me.”
Of course, we do what we do best before seeing our best friends get married. It is a beautiful wedding. Leo and I are pretty much inseparable and we couldn’t wait until the reception is over. We just want to lay in bed together and make up for the time that was lost between us. This is us, for sure. Crazy, wild, dominant sex but with a lovely dish of love. Yep, I love Dr. Leo Davis and one day, I will be Mrs. Dr. Leo Davis. Here is to a bright future with the one I love.
Epilogue
The ED has been extremely busy lately. Something about the holidays that causes people to forget where they are and their surroundings. From a medical standpoint, I hate this time of year. On top of everything with the holidays, Omaha is getting its first snow of the year. We are supposed to get six inches. I have a feeling I will be pulling twenty-four hours at the hospital today. Not by choice, though. The joys of a snow storm and working at not only a hospital but a Level One Trauma hospital.
Steponowski strolls on by me and says, “Looks like it’s going to be a long night for us. I guess Smitty is about an hour or so out.”
I roll my eyes. Annoyed, I say, “Why does the night doctor have to live in the country? It is going to take more than hour.”
“Tell me about it. I’m just glad we finally get a minute to breath.”
“Yeah, I should be getting a text from Paige saying she is home.”
“You and that woman of yours.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing but that you are obsessed with her.”
“Fuck you.”
“Oh, did I hit a sour spot.”
Both of our pagers go off. I look down at mine. Steponowksi comments, “Finish your charting, I will take this call.”
“Thanks.” She steps away and I go back to staring blindly at the computer screen. I grab the transcriber to dictate my note.
She sets the phone down and looks at me. The worry in her eyes tells me we have a trauma coming in. I ask, “Do you need me to take lead?”
“You know the drill? It’s your turn to take lead.”
“Trauma team been notified?”
“Yep. The patient will be here any minute. You ready to head down to the trauma bay.”
“Yeah, let’s walk and talk. Tell me what happened.”
We start to head down to the trauma bay. Steponowski continues, “Pedestrian and car collision. Patient is unconscious and bruised badly. Possible broken bones.” Our steps pick up in pace when we hear the sirens. We see the majority of the team waiting for us. The team consists of nurses, EKG/X-ray techs, CNAs, respiratory therapists, residents, and a few student stragglers. The ambulance pulls up to the bay and we are ready to go. I live for this. The part where I start saving lives instead of stitching up patients and prescribing pain pills. This is adrenaline junky at its finest.
The emergency responders open up the door of the ambulance and out pops a female body on the gurney. Her strawberry blonde hair highlighted with blood. One of the trauma nurses takes over and grabs the bag that is helping her to breath. Her body lays still, her head and neck supported by a c-collar. The responder demands, “She needs to be intubated.”
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