by K. S. Smith
Neither one of them moved an inch. “Guys, come on, I’m tired.”
Megan jerked her hands to her hips and tapped her foot against the floor. “I’m not going anywhere unless G.I. Joe leaves too.”
We both stared at him, and he just shook his head side to side as he mouthed the word nope.
I slowly reached for the call button and pressed the picture of the blue nurse, hoping neither of them saw me do it.
A few minutes later, a short heavyset nurse with a southern twang came walking in. “What can I do ya for, sweetie?”
Megan laughed, instantly knowing my plan, and Duke glared at me from the corner of the room.
“I’m really tired and would like my guests to leave, but they seem to be having a pissing contest right here in my room. She won’t leave until he does, and he’s not leaving. Any help would be great.”
A loud laugh escaped her mouth. “Oh, honey, I've been dying to get my hands on you all night.” She walked over to Duke and slung her arm around his hip.
His body visibly tensed under her touch.
“I ain’t tellin’ ya you have to leave, but ya can’t stay here. This little thing needs her rest, and y’all aren’t helping.”
She dragged them both out of the room, and Megan hollered, “I’ll call you in the morning.”
Meanwhile, Duke looked over his shoulder and shot me an angry stare.
Finally, peace and quiet. I fluffed my pillow, adjusted the bed, and cozied up as much as I possibly could on the flat mattress, dozing off to sleep. And when I did, I dreamt about Duke Thrasher and those mysterious green eyes.
CHAPTER TWO
A few hours later, I awoke to a dark room, desperately needing to get to the bathroom to pee. I steadily picked myself up off the bed, just in case my head was still wanting to spin, and walked into the bathroom. I relaxed as I relieved myself of six glasses of wine. I washed my hands and then checked my stitches in the mirror for the second time that night, thankful it felt worse than it really was.
I flipped the light off, shuffled through the dark room, and climbed back into bed, catching a glimpse of a dark shadow in the chair next to the bed.
I gasped. “Holy shit, you scared the hell out of me. What are you doing here? I thought I told you to go.”
Duke stared at me intently before speaking softly. “I told you I’m not leaving.”
I got comfortable, resting on my side, and pulled the rail down so I could see him from where I was lying. Sleepily, I whispered, almost unable to hear myself, “I have to admit, you’re kind of creeping me out.”
He laughed quietly, and for the first time, his smile reached his eyes. “I’m not trying to creep you out. I just can’t leave you. Not until I know you’re okay.”
I sat up slowly and folded my legs again, leaning forward so I was sure to have his undivided attention. “Do I look like I’m not okay? I’m perfectly fine. The medical team already fixed me, and I’m just waiting to be released from this place.”
“And when you are safely back home, then I’ll go, but until then, you’re stuck with me.” He growled.
I huffed and threw myself back down on the bed like a child who hadn’t gotten her way.
Duke chuckled at my antics, and then we both sat there in silence until I thought he’d fallen asleep.
Quietly turning back to my side, I peeked up at his eyes. Shit!
“I don’t sleep much,” he said. “It’s another thing that comes with the job.”
I rolled my eyes and groaned. “You don’t sleep, you don’t talk…
What do you do, other than annoy me?”
He stretched his arms back behind his head, revealing further how muscular his biceps were. “I protect people... and I talk. I just don’t talk to strangers.”
“I’m not a stranger, well, I am, but I’m a nice stranger. Hell, I haven’t screamed at the top of my lungs yet to get you kicked out again, so if you’re going to stay here for the rest of the night, then we’re going to talk.”
He got up out of the chair and paced back and forth, almost putting a hole in the floor, before coming back to my bedside and sitting down. “Fine, let’s talk.”
I fist-pumped the air in victory before thinking carefully about my first question, not wanting to dive in too deep. I knew if I crossed the line, I wouldn’t get anything out of him, so I kept it simple. “Where are you from?”
His response quick, “Tampa.”
“Born and raised?”
“Yes.”
One word answer, Okay, two can play this game. “Where’d you go to high school?”
“Jesuit.”
A funny smile crept over my face. “An all-boys high school? That must have been…” I tried to come up with the best word but was interrupted when Duke interjected.
“Gay?”
I laughed hysterically at his word choice, “Well, I was looking for something a little more politically correct, but yes, that’s where I was going.”
His frame relaxed as he sunk into the chair and smiled up at me.
I continued my game of Twenty Questions managing to discover that he was twenty-seven years old and a single child. Both parents had passed when he was eighteen. He’d lived in North Carolina for eight years after his parents died, although he didn’t say why. But that was all of the information he was willing to give up before turning the tables on to me.
“What about you?” he inquired.
“Well, where do I start? First of all, unlike yourself, I’m a talker. Basically, if I’m not running my mouth, there’s a problem. I was born and raised here in Tampa. I graduated from Tampa Preparatory School and then shipped off to the University of Florida where I spent the best four years of my life partying and pursuing my degrees in education and political science, to which I have now been back for a little over a year at Tampa Prep teaching. I have an older brother who is an attorney in New York City, my mother sits on practically every nonprofit board of directors from here to the Florida/Georgia state line, and my father — well, he’s my father.”
Duke’s expression turned quizzical when I gave no information on my father. “What does he do?” he asked suspiciously, taking a sip of his water.
“He’s a porn star.”
The water flew out of his mouth and spewed all over the floor as he choked on my words. “A porn star? Your father is a porn star?”
I was doubled over, laughing loudly.
Duke stared at me, apparently hoping I was only teasing him.
After I caught my breath from laughing so hard, I wiped the tears from my eyes and began to speak. “I’m totally just kidding. He is definitely not a porn star, so far from it actually.”
The look on his face told me that he was still curious as to what my father did for a living when he asked again, “Well, what does he do?”
Saved by the doctor! “Good morning, Miss Hamilton. How are you feeling?”
Quickly adjusting myself on the bed, I smiled at the man in white. “Perfect. Ready to go home. Am I able to leave yet?”
He glanced over my charts before pulling a tiny flashlight out of his breast pocket and flashing it into my right eye, then my left. “How’s the head feeling?”
I gently ran my fingers over the stitches. “Good as new.”
He smiled at me and scribbled something down on the chart in his hand. “Alright, you are free to go.” He headed to the door before turning around. “Be sure to come back in immediately if you get any form of headache or blurred vision over the next forty-eight hours.”
I nodded, and he left the room. I hopped up onto my feet and reached for my phone. Duke stood from his chair. “Who are you calling?”
Lifting an eyebrow, I touched my nose. “Megan. I need a ride home. Not that it’s any of your business.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He shook them in the air. “I’ve got my car here. Let her sleep. It’s still early.”
I glanced over at the clock and realize
d it was only six in the morning. “What the hell.” I shrugged, “You didn’t kill me in my sleep, so I guess you’re not all that bad.”
He chuckled. “Come on.”
The ride home was quiet, almost too quiet, and I was beginning to wonder if Duke was crawling back into the shell that I’d half managed to pull him out of last night. I tried not to steal too many glances at him, but I just couldn’t help it. With each line of directions I’d given him, I found myself admiring his face longer than the previous gaze. The scruff on his chin and slight pout of his lips held all of my attention the entire trip home.
“Make a left at the next street. The gate code is 8486.”
Duke entered the code, and the car slowly crept down the long drive.
“I didn’t realize there were any subdivisions back here, so close to the water.”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as he rounded the corner of the drive, and my parents’ house came into view, all ten-thousand square feet of it. “It’s not a subdivision. Just one house with a long driveway.”
He parked along the drive and turned off the engine, then jumped out of the car and made it around in time to help me out. “You sure your father's not a porn star?”
Caught off-guard by his sudden one-man standup show, I laughed loudly. “Well, well, he has a sense of humor after all. I was getting a bit worried.” I rummaged through my clutch and reached for my keys, but the sudden sound of the front door flying open startled me.
“Brianna Elizabeth Hamilton! Where in God’s name have you been? I have been worried sick all night.”
Oh goodness, here we go. “Mom, stop. I’m fine. I just had a little accident last night and had to go to the hospital. It was nothing, I swear.”
Her hands gripped my shoulders, and she examined my entire body, eyes bulging when she noticed the stitches on my hairline. “How did this happen? Why didn’t you call me? Your father is not going to be happy about this, young lady.”
I shimmied out of her arms. “Mom, enough. Just go inside. I’ll tell you everything in just a minute.” I looked back at Duke who was blankly staring at my mother.
“Fine, you have two minutes, but before I go inside, I’d like to know who this young man is who brought you home.”
My head tilted back as I groaned upward toward the sky before whispering so only she could hear. “Mom, please…”
But to no one’s surprise, she stood there awaiting an introduction.
“Fine. Mom, this is Duke Thrasher. Duke, this is my mother, Amelia Hamilton.”
Duke climbed the steps toward the two of us and stuck his hand out to shake hers. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”
I watched as a perfectly fake smile spread over my mother’s face. “The pleasure is mine, Mr. Thrasher. Thank you so very much for bringing Brianna back home safely.” She pivoted and walked back into the house, closing the door behind her.
“I’m sorry about that. I had no idea she was going to be home. She was just in Tallahassee yesterday visiting my father. I just assumed she’d be there all weekend.”
His arms folded over his chest again. “What’s your old man doing in Tallahassee?”
I looked down, toeing my foot into the red brick of our entryway. “You know, work. He travels back and forth from here to there. But he’s mostly there.”
One of his eyebrows lifted. “Your parents aren’t divorced, but your father mostly lives in Tallahassee?”
“He’s a busy man. What can I say? Anyway, thank you for the ride home. I really appreciate it. And thank you for last night. I could have handled him myself, but it was exciting watching you beat the hell out of that jackass.”
Duke nodded. “Where’s your phone?”
I furrowed my eyebrows, confused before reaching into my clutch and digging it out.
Duke swiped it out of my hand, and a second later his phone was ringing in his pocket. “There, now you have my number in case you need anything, and I have yours.”
I couldn’t help but grin as I took my phone back from him, wondering who would be the first to call or text. “Thank you, again,” I said, smiling as I turned and headed into the house. Once inside, I couldn’t help but peer through the window as he got into his car and drove away. I followed the noise coming from the kitchen, and I stumbled upon my mother, obviously awaiting my arrival.
“Who was that man? You know it’s not wise to bring strangers back to our home. Your father would be less than thrilled.”
I swiped a bottle of water out of the fridge and laughed, annoyed with my mother. “I don’t care what dad thinks. He’s the one who chose this stupid life, not me. And as for Duke, I don’t even know him. I met him last night when he beat the hell out of some frat boy who knocked me over. Other than that, he’s just a stranger. Who knows, maybe he’ll come back while we’re sleeping and blow up our house.”
My mother's face twisted with anger as she retorted back to me, “Enough, Brianna, I will not have you disrespect me in my home. I’m not sure what has gotten into you, but I suggest you figure it out and fix it before your father gets home.”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as I headed upstairs to my bedroom, shouting back to my mom, “Yeah, you’re right, Mom. It’s probably the concussion I got last night. I’m sure I’ll sleep it off.”
My parents were so annoying. I loved them to death, but since my father’s political career had taken off they’d never been the same, and I no longer had my brother at home to commiserate with. I climbed into bed and shot a text to Megan.
Duke gave me a ride home this morning. Come over when you wake up.
I drifted off into a deep sleep and, for the next several hours, dreamt about those chiseled arms. I wondered what the rest of his tattoo looked like… if he had more than one… and where exactly they may be located on his delicious body.
CHAPTER THREE
“Brie!” The sound of my name being hollered through my bedroom door startled me. My body shifted to look at the time, and I froze when I realized I’d practically slept the entire day away. 7:30 p.m. Shit.
“Coming!” I hollered, stumbling out of bed to open the door.
Megan barged in. “What the hell? I’ve been calling you all day.”
I climbed back into bed and pulled the covers up to my neck, “Sorry, I didn’t get much sleep last night. Duke snuck back into my hospital room after I fell asleep, and when I woke up to go to the bathroom, he scared the hell out of me. We ended up talking for a while, and then he brought me home.”
Megan cozied up on my ornate California-king-sized bed next to me and sighed. “I knew he wasn’t going to leave. You should have heard him when the nurse was telling the two of us that we couldn’t go back into your room. He wasn’t a happy camper.”
I reached over for my phone and pressed my Pandora app, needing some music. “Don’t you think it’s weird? I have no idea who in the hell this man is, but he beats the shit out of someone for me, and then won’t leave my side until he’s delivered me home safe and sound. And to top it all off, he called himself from my phone to ensure that I have his phone number, and he has mine.”
Megan reached over me and changed my Pandora station from my Not too Gangsta channel to Today’s Country and hopped up onto my bed. She shook her ass to the tune of Luke Bryan. “I think it’s freaking hot. If he was a total creeper, then it would be weird, but dude, he’s sexy as hell. And the way you were shaking that ass last night, I’m sure he wants to tap that.”
My eyes grew as I gripped her wrist, pulling her back down onto my bed, laughing at her accusation just as my phone began to ring. My heart stopped when I saw his name on the screen. “Megan,” I said dryly, “it’s Duke. Should I answer it?”
She pulled my hand toward hers, nodded, and swiped the slide-to-answer bar on my iPhone, then quickly pressed the speaker button so she could hear.
Sometimes I wanted to kill her with my bare hands.
“Hello…” I answered, my voice a bit shaky
with nerves.
His response was fast. “How are you feeling?”
I couldn’t help but flush red, and Megan squealed. I did my best to shut her up by slapping her leg and pressing my finger to my lips.
“Take me off speakerphone,” Duke demanded, his tone angry.
My eyebrows shot up. Busted. I swiftly pressed the speakerphone button and slid off the edge of my bed. I hustled into my bathroom before Megan could follow me. “Sorry, I must have pressed it by accident.”
I could imagine him rolling his eyes through the phone. “You feeling okay?”
I smiled inwardly to myself and sat down at my vanity, staring at the stitches on my hairline. “I feel fine. I practically slept the day away, so I’m sure I’ll be up all night, but other than that, I feel great.”
“Good.” His answers were so quick I almost felt like it was his job to check in on me, and he was annoyed with the situation.
“Duke, did you call for any other reason than to check on me? I feel like it’s a hassle for you. You know I’m fine. You delivered me home. You saw it through. You can stop following up if I’m such a nuisance.”
His sigh was strong through the phone. “You’re not a nuisance.”
At those words, my curiosity kicked in, and I blurted out, “Then come over tonight. Keep me company. I’m not going to be able to sleep, and I still want to know more about you.”
He chuckled lightly into the phone. “That’s probably not the best idea.”
I cringed as his words stung, but I shot back before thinking. “Fine, then don’t call me again. You don’t need to check in on me anymore.” I pressed the end button and hung up, stomping back into my bedroom.