Beautifully Awake

by Riley Mackenzie

  “I’m okay, Guy. I just, um ... had to take care of something this morning. How are our patients?” I took a play from Sierra’s book and tried to change the subject.

  “They’re fine.” He deadpanned, cocking his head to the side to stare directly in my eyes.

  “What happened to you Friday night?”

  “Hey, Lil, there you are, 508 needs rehab.” Saved by Sam’s voice. He slapped my back “So nice of you to grace us with your presence.” He laughed.

  “Whatever, Sam, quit it,” I sneered.

  “What? Just because you’ve gotten dismissed from morning rounds and Jackson walks on water, whatever, I’m stuck doing all the shit work. Damn, I totally picked the wrong profession.”

  “Dismissed from morning rounds?” A ping of irritation resurfaced. I thought it was my decision when and if anyone found out about our relationship.

  “Yeah. Colton made it pretty clear that you weren’t going to be rounding with us anymore in the morning.”

  Guy’s eyes bored into me. He hadn’t missed that conversation, yet he was totally prying me for information.

  “Um, well, yeah this morning I had to take care of something, and then he said going forward I could come in later, like nine.” I hated lying; it wasn’t me. I sucked at it. I reopened my tablet and loaded my discharges, hoping everyone would stop drilling me.

  “Shit.” Sam’s phone chimed with a new text. “Um, guys, since you’re all here, I’ve been meaning to tell you something.” Sam was my saving distraction again.

  “Sammy, whatcha hiding?” Leanne silently emerged from the supply closet. She never missed a trick.

  “Not hiding anything, just some news.” Sam grinned. “I’m gonna be a father.”

  “What! Sam that’s so exciting, congratulations.” I jumped up and pulled him in for a bear hug.

  “Dude, that’s so cool.” The boys shook hands and slapped each other’s backs.

  Leanne joined me with a big kiss on his cheek. “Sammy’s gonna be a daddy! Good for you, buddy.”

  “Thanks, guys, we’re psyched, but I really need a favor. Becky has her first big appointment today, and I promised her I would try my hardest to go. Can you guys cover for me? I think I should only be gone an hour or so.”

  “Of course, dude. That’s an important visit. Chase only has one case slated today and so far there aren’t any new admissions. We’ll be fine.” Guy mimicked me. “Besides, Chief seems to be in a surprisingly good mood today.”

  Oh, I wonder why.

  “Thanks, I really appreciate it.” Sam’s excited energy was contagious.

  My phone vibrated.

  Beautiful, you in yet?

  Yes I’m working.

  Just spoke to your boss,

  I think you’re in trouble.

  He wants to meet with you immediately

  In private.

  Oh, does he now?

  “Whatcha smiling at, girl?” Leanne did that weird thing where you half talk and half sing.

  I was so absorbed in texting I totally forgot where I was for a minute. I looked up and saw that Guy and Sam were gone. For now. No way in hell Guy was going to let this go.

  “Oh nothing.” I stood ready to retreat to my office. “I gotta run. I have a shitload of paperwork to get done.”

  “I call bullshit. Be that way, you’ll spill the beans eventually.”

  I must have had “giddy” stamped across my forehead. I was definitely not getting off this floor without giving Leanne something. That girl smelled freaking sex.

  15 minutes-

  Your office.

  The smile spread across my face.

  “Lee, Lili.” Kate was hysterically crying, looking completely disheveled when she flew into the nurses’ station.

  “Hey, hey. What’s going on?” I tried to calm her.

  “Shit, Kate, what did he do now?” Leanne didn’t waste a minute. “Let’s go somewhere more private.” Leanne coaxed her down the hall to an on-call room.

  Kate paced back and forth. “I’m such an idiot. I knew I should’ve stayed away from him this morning. I knew something wasn’t right.” She grabbed her forehead and squeezed, slumping into one of the desk chairs. I hated seeing her like this … or any woman like this.

  “What the fuck, you’re a mess!” Leanne was definitely losing patience. I crouched down in front of her.

  “Kate, sweetie, talk to us,” I whispered. My experience with abused children and women told me the last thing Kate needed was another person badgering her.

  “He looked at my phone this morning, and I had one missed text, from Sierra. She’s not programmed in my phone yet, so it came up as an unknown number. I ran into her yesterday and I quickly gave her mine. He … he lost it. He was screaming like a lunatic, calling me a whore and asking how could I cheat on him like this, how could I let him find out this way, that we were done, over.”

  “Was the text about meeting for lunch?” I questioned.

  “Yeah, all it said was don’t forget-lunch at noon, love. You know how Sierra is, she always uses endearing sentiments, that’s just her.”

  “You’re kidding me, right? He saw a fucking text, and that’s it? Goes ape shit on you. Didn’t ask for an explanation,” Leanne hissed. “This is crazy. He’s a loser, you need to dump his sorry ass.”

  “You guys don’t understand, he was never like this. I’ve never, ever seen him lose his temper like this before. I don’t understand. How could he ever think I would cheat on him? I love him.” Her tears reignited, while Leanne and I exchanged what-the-hell-are we-going-to-do looks. “I know what you’re both thinking.” She choked on a sob. “How could I love him? And he’s nothing but a stranger to you.”

  “Um Kate, sweetie, look at me.” She uncovered her face. “Maybe you need a little break; he obviously has some anger issues. He needs to sort himself out. Let him figure out how totally irrational he’s being. Let him cool off and come find you. He needs to apologize without you running back to him.” She silently looked me in the eyes. “Promise me you’ll wait until he finds you, please don’t go running back, you need to be strong here. I know you love him and you may not want to hear this, but you need to worry about you.” I sat back on my heels waiting for her to agree.

  “Lili.” A loud knock and a steel voice that made my heart flutter interrupted our conversation. Leanne spoke up. “Yeah, she’s in here. Give us a minute.” I knew a minute was going to be way too long for Dr. Impatient.

  The door flew open. “Blue, I’ve been looking all over for you, I thought something hap-” He stopped mid-sentence and took in the entire scene. “Shit, what happened? Kate, are you all right?”

  Kate quickly wiped away her smeared mascara before glancing up. I hoped she and Leanne were consumed with the drama of the situation to miss the whole Blue part.

  “Lee, hun, you got this. I’ll be right back.” I stood and gave Chase a get-the-hell-out-of-the-room look. He retreated out the door and I followed.

  “Baby, you freaked me out, I thought something happened to you. You didn’t return my text, so I thought we were meeting in fifteen minutes. When you weren’t there in twenty, I texted again and still nothing. You can’t do this to me.” Hmm, Dr. Possessive and Dr. Ramble. One cute; one not so much.

  “Um, Chase, if you didn’t notice, something urgent came up that I needed to deal with.” I rolled my eyes. I was annoyed and he needed to know it.

  “I can see that now, but I didn’t know that fucking five minutes ago when I thought something happened to you.”

  “I’m sorry I scared you, Dr. Handsome, but I’m a grown woman at work. What was going to happen? Besides, I’ve been doing a pretty damn good job taking care of myself the past twenty-seven years.” That got me a very public, very aggressive kiss in the middle of the fifth floor hallway. I melted into his chest for a second. “Chase, what are you doing?”

  “I told you I’m not a very good actor.” He smirked. “And you call me Dr. Handsome like that
again, fuck, baby, everyone will see what a bad actor I am.”

  I blushed, big time.

  “Come to lunch with me, I’m starving. Had to skip breakfast. I had a very hard time getting out of bed this morning.” He wryly raised his brow and a current shot straight to my sex. “Also, I have a long case this afternoon, so I’m not gonna see you for hours. Unless you’re interested in sitting in on a spine case?”

  No chance. That wouldn’t be obvious or anything. Not that a case manager sitting in during brain cases was routine or anything, but no one seemed to flinch at the idea. Since patients were woken up mid-case, I at least served a purpose, keeping them calm and focused.

  “Fine, lunch, but I need to check on Kate, then I’ll meet you.” I should have said no, said that I already had plans, but damn he was irresistible.

  “Let’s do 11:30 so we can eat and then I can take care of some business.” He grinned.

  “You’re insatiable, Chase.” Super fast food sounds perfect. His light blue scrubs and what was hiding underneath were reason enough to eat fast.

  “You love it, Blue.”

  Love it, or you? That thought had to go, stat.

  He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed my temple. “What’s going on with Kate, she okay?”

  “We’ll talk at lunch, and no, she’s not okay. Now, please leave so I can tend to my friend.”

  “I’m going. I’ll have Pete meet us out front; we aren’t eating around here. I’m not sharing you.”

  “Shocker.”

  “Always something sassy, baby, I think I know exactly what that mouth needs.”

  And just like that I was soaked.

  Don’t be mad-hv to bail on lunch.

  Kate’s a hot mess.

  Already a long morning.

  Promise to call as soon as I’m done tonight.

  You’ve gotta be kidding me asshat.

  You’re ditching me again.

  Dr. best friend stealer better not hv anything to do w this!

  Guilt shot through my stomach. Damn, she knew exactly what to say to push my buttons.

  “Why are you flirting with the security guards, baby?” Chase jeered on our walk back to my office after a spectacular fast lunch on the other side of town. He said the sushi was better there. But I had his number, Dr. Jealous. And I hated admitting it, but the whole sushi thing was growing on me. I saw another addiction in the making.

  “What, you can’t be serious. We’re scone buddies. Especially on Wednesdays.”

  “You’re what and when?”

  “We’ve been doing it for years, every week I grab a couple extra scones and bring them to the guys. Wednesdays are always the best. Jorge, my cart guy friend, gets them fresh from some South Jersey bakery. Anyway, it’s the least I can do. They’re always looking out for me.”

  “Really,” he whispered in my ear. “You’re pure sweet.” We pushed through the door of my office. “So this is where you hide out?”

  “I don’t hide out, I work.”

  “Mm-hmm, well the only thing you’re going to be working right now is your next orgasm.”

  I gasped and he slammed his lips to mine, pushing me on my desk.

  “Chase,” I moaned. “We can’t—it’s my office. What if someone comes in?”

  “Then quit talking, baby, and concentrate.” My skirt was around my waist and my thong was pushed to the side within moments. His fingers plummeted deep inside me. “Fuck baby, you’re soaked already?”

  My sex dripped. I was always so ready for him. I couldn’t help it. He swirled and teased me. His tongue matched his fingers perfectly, driving me to the edge within seconds. He broke our kiss and pushed down his scrubs to free his straining cock. While stroking himself with one hand, he licked his fingers from the other. I swear to god I almost came just watching him. In one smooth forceful motion, he drove himself deep into my hilt, lifting my ass right off my desk. My legs immediately wrapped around his waist, and my hands found their way to his silky hair. He snaked his hand between our bodies and began to give me the perfect amount of pressure.

  “Oh yes, Chase, faster.”

  “You gonna come for me, Lili?” he asked, his voice hoarse and strained.

  “Yes, Chase. I’m gonna come.” Nothing was going to stop me from splintering into a thousand pieces on my own goddamn desk. Chase thrust one last time, sending me into oblivion as he shoved hard against me, rocking with his own climax.

  “Damn, baby, that was hot.”

  I beamed at his candor and kissed him lightly on his lips.

  “Don’t move, let me grab something to clean us up.”

  I just got screwed on my desk. Oh my god. “Bathroom through that door, should be paper towels,” I squeaked, still coming out of my haze. Moments later he returned with a warm paper towel, and he patted my sex and washed my legs. “You’re gonna make me keep extra underwear in my bag, huh?”

  “If you would wear the damn crotchless all the time, we wouldn’t have to worry about it.”

  I slapped his arm and teased, “Go. Don’t you have a brain to save?”

  “I’ll text you when I’m done, I’ll probably miss rounds tonight. This is going to be a long case. Where are we sleeping?”

  My heart that was just returning to normal picked back up. I loved how that was always on the forefront of his brain.

  “I don’t know. I have to see Sierra. She’s pissed at me right now, so I’m gonna head to her place right after work. I’ve bailed on her twice, and she’s not your biggest fan right now.”

  “What’d I do?”

  “Stole me.”

  “Well, I’m not going anywhere, so why don’t you set a night we can all get together and she can really meet me. See you later, Blue.” He kissed my nose and strolled from my office, leaving my very naked ass sitting on my desk.

  I sat at Sierra’s computer scrolling through pages and pages of beach-inspired invitations. I stumbled across the cutest beach baby shower theme. It screamed Sierra, full of preppy greens, pinks, polka dots and stripes. There were all sorts of beachy decor and nautical goodies.

  “Sierra, I think you’re right, Cape Cod is a must.”

  “You think?” She yelled from the depths of her closet.

  “And what about a Jack and Jill? We’ll have so much fun.”

  “Oh, I see what you’re trying to pull—beach getaway with your new Dr. Boyfriend.” She peeked around the corner of her closet door to gauge my reaction, as if I couldn’t see her.

  “I see you, Asspuck.” I laughed. “This is all about you, Mama. Since there’s no way I can surprise your nosey ass, you might as well have it the way you want it.”

  “You make a good point, so fine, let’s do it at the Wychmere.”

  “Isn’t that the beach club down the street from your parents’ house?” I asked.

  “Yep. Hey, do you remember that night we snuck out and went skinny dipping in that pool with the guys from next door?”

  “How could I forget? That’s the night you, um, you know.”

  “Yeah, I remember, Asshat. My point is that was the pool at the Wychmere. They renovated a couple years back and it is absolutely gorgeous now. We can block rooms for the guests and make a weekend of it. We better shoot for soon. I’ll be a beached whale if we wait much longer.”

  “Ha-ha, seems fitting, doesn’t it?” She didn’t find me all that funny. She rolled her eyes and retreated back to her wardrobe. “Let’s do mid-August, the weather will be amazing and you’ll be thirty-four, thirty-five weeks, that’s perfect. Etsy has adorable invitations, come look. You good with pink and green?” I logged into my Pinterest page to pull up the invite.

  “On what? Is this another one of those dumbass sites you’re obsessed with?”

  “Whatever. Get your ass over here and look at it. If you like it, I’ll order them. You have your list, right?”

  “Yeah, my freaking mother keeps adding people, we’re up to like 100. I really would prefer it to be a bit m
ore intimate; you think people won’t make the drive?”

  Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. Sierra’s mother liked everything to be over the top. Sierra would never admit it, but the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.

  “Don’t roll your eyes, you just wait until you’re pregnant...”

  I felt the color drain from my face. The punch was a direct blow.

  “Lili, shit, you know I didn’t mean it like that.” She rushed to my side and gripped my cheeks. “Look at me, please Lil, I’m such an insensitive bitch, please, please forgive me. You know you’re my best friend, I would never intentionally hurt you.”

  “I know, Sier.” I stood and walked to her bedroom window. “I just haven’t, I don’t know, thought about it in awhile. You just caught me off guard.” I played with my ponytail and sighed. “You know I haven’t been back to Cape Cod since...”

  She darted to my side and flung her arms around my neck, squeezing me tight. She gripped my shoulders and examined my eyes.

  “I know, Lil, we don’t have to do the shower there ... we can do it anywhere.”

  “No, Sier, we aren’t changing it. The Cape also has so many wonderful memories, and this will just help erase the other ones.” My throat clogged with emotion just as my phone chimed, giving me a much appreciated pause.

  Just got out, beautiful.

  Still have some work to do-

  Finishing up a presentation.

  Where are you?

  I held my phone toward Sierra and she pierced her lips together and squinted her eyes. Even though my BFF seemed to be happy for me, she wasn’t big on sharing either.

  At Sierra’s.

  Good. Stay.

  Won’t steal you yet.

  But you’re mine in an hour.

  I’ll pick you up.

  Funny how twenty minutes ago I would have loved this text. Now I was a little sad and needed some alone time.

  “He wants to pick me up. I can’t go, not tonight.”

  “It’s totally my fault, I’m sorry. I should have never brought it up.”