“This is my first beer. I’m sober. I’ll start off telling you that. OK. When I met you at Caroline’s housewarming, I thought to myself, ‘That girl is beautiful, but she seems like a party girl.’ You were the life of that party, dancing with everyone.”
“It was a party. Is there something wrong with having a good time at a party?” She took a small sip of her beer. It tasted as awful as beer always did to her.
“No, of course not. Then I saw you at the hospital and I saw another side of you.”
“Did it surprise you that I act different at work than I do at a party?”
“I’m making a mess of this conversation. I don’t know why I even started it. All I’m saying is, I’ve been trying to figure you out. You’re a woman with many facets. I haven’t dated many women. Every time I’d think I’d found one I liked, I’d bring her home to meet my family and every one of them recoiled when she met my brother. You didn’t. You’re good with him.”
“If those other women weren’t nurses, you could hardly expect them to know how to help take care of him,” she said. “It isn’t something most people expect.”
“I didn’t expect them to give him a bath. I did expect them to be kind. I was disappointed that they didn’t even try to talk to him or anything like that. Josh is always going to be a part of my life. Anybody I would ever date would have to accept that.”
“You say you can’t figure me out. Well, you’re no easier. I thought you were a greedy money-grubber. Expensive suits. Always trying to drum up clients, even in the Emergency Room. You aren’t exactly what you seem at first glance either, you know.”
“My dad told me tonight if I didn’t ask you out I was a lot stupider than he thought.”
“Are you asking me out?” She thought that if he was, it was by far the most awkward approach she’d ever experienced.
“Think I’d be breaking the rules if I told you I plan to ask you out about 30 seconds after your house closing?”
Lori laughed. “If you’re going to break the rules, make the most of it.”
He leaned across the table and kissed her, questioningly. She gave him her answer with her lips. It was awkward, leaning toward each other across the table. He stood up and went to her. She stood up. There, in her pajamas, makeup-less, no jewelry, in his parents’ little kitchen, she let him take her into his arms.
He kissed her deeply. He tasted of beer but she didn’t mind. She felt the slight stubble of his beard. His arms held her tightly and he kissed her as if he thought this was the only kiss he’d have for the rest of his life and he had to make it last. The kiss went on and on, just a gentle exploring that grew bolder and more intense. She followed his lead, responding to everything his lips and tongue did. She felt her nipples hardening and wondered if he could feel the braless shape of her breasts through the thin fabric of her pajamas. She could feel his excitement; even through his jeans, a considerable bulge was pressing against her and she gasped as he reluctantly pulled away.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” he said. He still had his arms around her. “But I’m not going to lie. I’m not one bit sorry it did.”
“Neither am I,” she said. “But I bet your parents would have a cow if they caught the nurse making out with their son in their kitchen.”
“My mom might. My dad would give me a high-five,” Jake joked. “But yeah. Right now, you’re the nurse and my client. Pretty soon you won’t be. We can start over then, if you want.” In answer, Lori stood on her tip-toes and kissed him again, sighing with contentment as he kissed her back. But they kept it short. This wasn’t the time, and they both knew it.
“I’m going to check on your brother, and then I’m going to go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning,” she said. They shared one last quick kiss on the lips before reluctantly parting, still holding hands as they drew apart. They squeezed each other’s hands and then smiled at each other as their hands slipped apart.
Chapter 10
The ER was hopping, and Lori’s bladder was about to burst. She hadn’t had a chance for even a quick bathroom break since she’d gone on duty that morning, let alone time to take lunch. She enjoyed being busy, but not this busy. Just when she thought she’d have a chance to dart into the restroom, Harriet called her over. Standing next to Lori was a handsome doctor she’d never met before. Young, tall, short dark hair artfully tousled, and two small gold earrings that signaled that even though he was a doctor, he was hip.
“This is Dr. Charles,” Harriet said. “Julian Charles. He’s replacing Dr. Withers.” Dr. Withers had recently announced his retirement, which had surprised everyone. He was one of those older doctors you thought would never retire, but quite suddenly, he had. Dr. Charles was the opposite in every way. “Maybe you can show him around — I’ve got a million things to do.”
“Sure thing,” Lori said, trying to ignore her urgent need to get to the restroom. She introduced herself and began showing the new doctor the exam rooms, where various pieces of equipment were kept, and explaining their general routines. “I’ll have to give you the quickie version,” she said. “We’re super busy today.”
“Your quickie version sounds right up my alley,” he said, and Lori thought he must not realize how that had sounded.
“Well, this is where we park our crash carts,” she said. “We have another one stashed at the end of the hallway, though, just in case we need one at the other end of the ER.” She noticed he was smiling a little too much. Maybe he was just excited to be starting his first job as a new physician, but he was beginning to creep her out a little bit, the way he stared at her. “We want one to always be accessible,” she said, her voice faltering a little as she stated the obvious.
He followed her down the hallway and they passed one of the staff restrooms. “Will you excuse me for just a moment?” she asked. “It’s been a busy shift.”
“Of course,” he said. “I understand. Totally.” She smiled and pushed the restroom door open, a bit embarrassed, but she’d been holding her bladder a supernaturally long time and there was no way she could wait much longer. But Dr. Charles followed her into the restroom, pushed her against the door and tried to kiss her. She squirmed away and he laughed.
“Oh, I’ve heard all about you. I knew what you really meant when you suddenly slipped in here.” He bent his face to hers again, as Lori twisted away from him.
“Get the fuck off me, asshole! I came in here because I’ve been taking care of patients for six hours straight!”
“You’re not as much fun as I’d been told,” he said, pouting, but he let go of her.
“Dr. Charles. Get out of here now,” she said. He did and she quickly locked the door and used the toilet. Sweet relief on that front, but what was she supposed to do now? Would it ruin his career if she reported this? Or, might it ruin hers? She washed her hands thoroughly and debated what to say. On one hand, the guy was just starting his medical career after long years of difficult training. She hated to derail him at this point. On the other hand, he’d tried to make out with her in an ER restroom. You didn’t get much less professional than that. And from what he’d said, somebody had gossiped about her in an ugly way, leading him to believe she’d welcome his advances. That was disgusting — and humiliating. What if she reported what he’d done and others questioned whether she’d led him on? That would be infinitely worse.
He was waiting for her in the hallway and seemed to be a bit chastened. “I apologize,” he said. “I misread your signals.”
“You did not misread any signals. You were completely out of line. I should report you, but I’ve decided to give you one more chance to show you’re a professional and not a creep. Don’t make me regret keeping my mouth shut,” she said.
“I get it,” he said. “Let’s just finish the tour.” She finished showing him around as quickly as possible and he said very little. She was relieved when she was able to get back to her patients. Soon she stopped thinking about him because she had a hundred oth
er things to occupy her mind. She saw him out of the corner of her eye a few times. He and Dr. Morrissey were seeing patients together today. Young doctors didn’t usually last long in this small-town Emergency Room. Dr. Withers had been an old-school exception. Dr. Charles would no doubt move on soon enough, and she wouldn’t have to deal with him for long.
But when her shift was over, her thoughts returned to what had happened. It hurt that he had implied she had a reputation. She knew she was a good nurse and felt her reputation as one was solid. She also thought perhaps she’d been wrong not to say anything. She decided to talk to Harriet, who was finishing up some paperwork.
“What’s up?” Harriet asked her.
“I really need to talk to you in private,” Lori said.
“OK. I’m just about done here. Meet you in the cafeteria?” Lori longed to leave the hospital altogether, but agreed. The cafeteria was mostly empty. The dinner rush hadn’t started yet. She got herself a coffee and chose a corner table. Harriet joined her shortly thereafter with coffee and an enormous chocolate chip muffin. Harriet was a heavy, older woman with short gray hair she had started perming in the ’80s and had never stopped. But she and Lori had always worked well together. They both relished the work. Harriet could retire at any time, but thrived on the ER atmosphere and said she’d never quit.
“You ever try these muffins?” Harriet asked. “I’m addicted to them. I just got done lecturing a diabetic patient about carbs. And then I ran right here to get some carbs of my own,” she said, taking a big bite. “Yum. Carbs are delicious!” Lori didn’t answer her.
“Something happened today. And I don’t think I want to officially report it, but I do want to tell someone, just in case. It’s that new doctor.”
“Dr. Charles?” Harriet raised an eyebrow.
“He tried to kiss me when I was giving him the tour,” Lori said. “And then he implied he thought it would be OK because he’d been told I’m fun. Whatever that means.”
“This should be officially documented,” Harriet said. “That’s sexual harassment.”
“I know it is, but today is his first day working as a doctor, not counting his residency,” Lori said. “Part of me thinks maybe I accidentally gave off the wrong signals or something. It’s a long, hard road to get to where he is today. I hate to see someone lose their career on their first day.”
“So he used extremely bad judgment in jeopardizing his career by sexually harassing a nurse on his first day,” Harriet said. “I became a nurse in the ’70s, and it was a different world. I was quite the looker back then, believe it or not,” Harriet said. She tilted her head and patted her gray curls in an exaggerated manner, making Lori laugh. “I attracted a lot of unwanted attention. It was just an unspoken rule that if a doctor felt like pinching your bottom, you had to put up with it. It was infuriating. It got better over time and now this shouldn’t be happening anymore. Tell me the whole story.” Lori did.
“I know he was wrong. But here’s the thing. I have been known to date a lot of doctors. I’m worried that nobody would believe me if I reported it. Or worse, they’d imply that I welcomed it. But I have never, not even once, mixed working and dating. I never dated a doctor I worked with in the ER. That would have been inappropriate.”
“Can I be blunt?” Harriet asked. Lori pressed her lips into a tight line. Had Harriet ever not been?
“Yes, maybe you do have a little bit of a reputation as a party girl. And yes, there might be some people who will question you if you report Dr. Charles for trying to kiss you. But he made the choice to behave inappropriately. Not you. And I’ve worked with you for a decade. I will completely back you up. Whatever you do on your own time has never in any way compromised your work in the ER. So report that little asshole.”
“I just don’t know,” Lori said. “I told him I would if he ever did it again. Part of me thinks I should just see if he’s learned his lesson.”
“The kind of man who would follow a colleague into the bathroom and try to kiss her on his first damned day of work? No, he has not learned his lesson. I can almost promise you,” Harriet said. “But it’s up to you.” Harriet had finished her muffin and took a last swig of her coffee. “I wish the concept of sexual harassment had been a thing when I was a young nurse. I’d have reported every one of them,” she said. “I’m going to keep an eye on young Dr. Charles.” She stood up. “See you tomorrow?”
Lori hugged the older woman. “Thanks, Harriet. You always make me feel better.”
Chapter 11
This was it! Her first day as a homeowner! Lori had a final walk-through of the house scheduled, and then she’d have her closing in the early afternoon. She looked at herself in the full-length mirror. Navy blue dress, check. Pearl necklace and matching little pearl earrings. Check. Navy blue pumps. Yep. Perfect, if she did say so herself. She hadn’t heard from Jake much since the weekend she’d helped with his brother, though they’d apparently found a good nurse to handle their weekend visits. All the paperwork and everything else having to do with the house purchase had sailed along. She wasn’t really nervous about the closing, except she was hoping very much that today would be the day that Jake would ask her out.
She had been given a key to get into the house so she could do the final inspection, just in case anything had changed for the worse, like a water leak or something of that sort. She excitedly let herself in.
The extreme ’70s décor hit her in the face. She’d forgotten just how crazy the dated furnishings and wallpaper really were. That conversation pit in the living room! It was like something out of a movie. Was she insane to choose this house? Well, like Jake had said, she could always update and have a house worth a lot more than what she’d paid for. And that’s what she’d probably do soon enough. For now, all she planned to do was clean and paint a bit, plus replace the appliances. The stove worked fine but the refrigerator didn’t. But that was OK. She had already arranged for delivery and installation of brand new fresh white appliances the following day. Everything seemed to be in order, and she locked the front door behind her and went to the closing.
She drove to the title company where the closing was scheduled and arrived early, excited. Jake arrived a few minutes later and she gave him a big smile. But he barely nodded to her, which she found puzzling. However, she understood that he wanted to keep everything professional during the closing.
There was a lot of paperwork, which she expected. She signed piles of it under the direction of the lady from the title company. Finally it was all done and the lady congratulated her and handed her a thick folder containing her copies of everything. She walked into the lobby and paused, waiting for Jake to follow her out. He took so long she wondered what the delay was. Well, he probably had stuff to sign, too, she thought. He finally walked into the lobby and looked surprised to see her still there.
“Well, Jake, it’s all done! I’m officially a homeowner, thanks to you. Are you ready for that congratulatory drink at The Clipper now?” she asked, beaming.
“I’m sorry, I have some showings to get to this afternoon,” Jake said. “But congratulations. You have a great house.”
“How about later tonight?” she asked, struggling to maintain her smile.
“I’m sorry, I’m busy,” he said. “Excuse me.” And he left, as Lori just stood there, shocked and confused. Her happy mood drained away. What had happened to the man who had kissed her that night in his parents’ kitchen? He had all but promised he wanted to date her as soon as she was no longer his client. And she wasn’t now. So what exactly had changed? She couldn’t think of anything she’d said or done between then and now that would have caused him to turn so cold. She fought to maintain her composure until she got to her car, where she let her feelings go, carefully wiping away the mascara-tinged tears before they could leave black tracks running down her face. Finally she got control of herself and decided to focus on the happy part of things. She had taken a few days of vacation in order to work on movin
g, and she wasn’t going to let any man keep her from enjoying her big milestone.
Molly’s husband, David, and her son, Tommy, had agreed to assist with her move. She didn’t have all that much, considering, so a small rented truck would take care of it in a couple of trips. She had already arranged to donate most of her furniture to charity. The new house was already furnished, and when she updated its look, she’d be choosing new furniture. She changed into jeans and a sweatshirt when Molly and her husband and son arrived. Molly couldn’t do any lifting in her present condition, but she said she’d help with some of the simple things, like cleaning the inside of the cabinets and putting away kitchen stuff. Lori was determined to enjoy the rest of this day, so she pushed away her hurt feelings to think about later.
“Hey, homeowner! How does it feel?” Molly asked, extricating herself with some difficulty from the front seat of her car. David and Tommy got right to work, carrying the boxes Lori had already packed and loading them into the truck.
“It feels good!” she said, pasting a bright smile onto her face.
“And Jake? Did he ask you out yet?”
“Not so much,” Lori said. “I would prefer not to talk about that right now. I want to concentrate on the happy stuff.”
Molly nodded, understanding Lori would tell her all about it soon enough. At the house, Molly went right to work cleaning out old cabinets. Some of them were still full of old dishes, which for the most part Lori planned to throw out or donate. She would keep a few of the cooler vintage pieces, but most of it was just trash.
“This place is just unbelievable,” David said. “I feel like I should be wearing love beads and maybe partaking of a certain substance,” he said, laughing.
“It’s groovy,” Tommy said.
A delivery driver rang the bell. Her new mattress had arrived. Mindful of the way the old one had puffed out dust when she danced on it, she had decided she wasn’t about to try to sleep on it. Plus, it probably had quite a history. She winced at the memory of dancing and singing in front of Jake, and determinedly pushed that memory out of her mind.
Kiss & Tell (Small-Town Secrets-Fairview Series Book 2) Page 6