by Ali Parker
She jerked her arm away from me. "You know nothing about me. Don't touch me again."
I moved back and let the door close, riding the elevator all the way to the top. I wasn't going to let Tinsley of all people get me down. I had Kendal back and I was hoping to meet up with Ana for coffee later that day. After I cleared everything up with her, there was nothing else that could mess things up for my future.
I was in love with a handsome bad boy professor who was willing to break the rules for me. It was hot and made me feel like I was flying.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out as I reached up and pressed the button to be taken back down to my floor. Talon.
I growled and waited until the door opened to call my brother, Brandon. He answered just before I hung up, the phone ringing five times.
"Hello?" He sounded sleepy.
"Hey. Can you do me a big favor? It's Dana."
"I have caller I.D., silly girl." He snorted and I smiled.
"Is that a yes?"
"You drunk and stuck at a bar without a license again?" He huffed. "You're always getting in trouble. Jeez!"
"That was you, and no, I'm at work." I let a smirk lift my lips as I walked toward the nurse’s station. "Can you tell Talon that I'm back with my ex-boyfriend?" I rounded the corner to find Jackie standing there.
She turned, her eyebrows lifted and mouthed, 'back with your ex-boyfriend?' The grimace on her pretty face let me know quickly that she thought I was talking about Cameron.
"What? Awww, man. I was hoping things would work out with you and my main man."
"If he's your main man, then you need to put a ring on it." I snorted. "He's a great guy, Brandon, but Kendal and I are working through things. I'm in love with him."
"The guy that dated Ana?" His laugh hurt my feelings a little. "You sure that's a good thing? Keeping it in the family and shit."
"Ouch," I barked into the phone and leaned against the counter beside Jackie.
"I'm sorry. That was shitty of me." He huffed. "I'll let Talon know. Be careful though, Sis. He hurt Ana really bad back then. I remember listening to her cry in her damn room for a year. Now granted, Mom’s walls are fucking paper thin, but still."
"I understand. I'm good. Thanks for the help with Talon. I'll check you later." I dropped the call and slipped my phone into my scrub's pocket. "Brothers."
"Are you and Kendal back together? That's great news." Jackie reached out and squeezed my shoulder. The woman was hot and then cold and then hot again where Kendal was concerned. It was a little unnerving not knowing what she was thinking, and yet if I were being honest with myself, I really didn't care.
He meant the world to me and things were looking bright. I refused to be the type of person who was waiting for the other shoe to fall.
"Yeah. We stayed together some over the weekend." I turned and reached up to grab a few towels from the cabinet above my head. "It felt like coming home. He loves me. I know he does."
"And the shit with Ana?"
"They talked through it." I shrugged and turned back to face her. "I'm going to text her and see if she can meet with me for a few minutes later today."
"You think she will? I never can really get a read on you and your sister's relationship. Seems like it's on and then off again." She pressed her hand against the counter and leaned toward it, looking innocent in her question. I almost laughed. She was the wildest woman I knew.
"What's your point? Everyone's relationship is on and off again. That's the nature of family in general." I pulled down my list and thumbed through it. "Mrs. Delmaz is acting up again?"
"Yes, but you're diverting." She reached up and pushed the clipboard down. "Your sister says she's not in love with Kendal, but what if she is? A lot of times when people care about each other, they'll say one thing, and mean the total opposite. You know this."
I nodded. "I know, but Kendal doesn't have feelings for her."
"So you say." She put her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow.
"Jackie." I turned to face her. "Are you for Kendal or against him? I'm confused."
"I'm for you. No one else." She reached out and tugged at a strand of my hair. "I'm just worried. This is a really weird situation, and I thought you told me that he couldn't date students."
"We've been over this." I turned and walked toward the door. "We're going to wait until I graduate, sneak around or one of us is going to make a change that allows us to see each other."
"Right. You going to Baylor." I didn't like the tone of her voice.
I glanced over my shoulder before turning to face her. "I love him. I don't want to lose him. Doing something as simple as changing schools is easy."
"I get it." She shrugged, not seeming at all like herself. "But if you're the one willing to make a massive change and he's not, then what do you have to change next? You're thinking about being a doctor instead of a nurse and your best shot for that is in New York, right?"
I could see where she was headed with her questioning. "Yes." I held back a loud sigh of aggravation.
"I'm just saying that you better be careful. This relationship isn't just about the here and now. It's about what he expects you to be willing to do in the future for him. What's he willing to do for you now?"
"He said he would leave the University, but I don't want to ask that of him."
"And that's smart. Men don't change for women, Dana. Believe me. I've tried to get a few to change for me, and nope... not even a little bit." Her expression tightened and I finally caught up. She was upset. About Parks most likely. The conversation had little to do with me and Kendal and everything to do with her and the sexy bastard of a doctor that stole her heart and set her panties on fire.
I'd kick him in the nuts if I ever saw him again.
"Why would he say that he would leave UT if he wasn't really planning on doing it?"
Jackie put her back to me. "Men are liars. I don't know what to tell you."
"I'll be upstairs if you need me." I turned and pushed the cart into the hallway. Jackie was being a bitch because of her own life falling apart. And where I should have ignored it, something nagged at me. Kendal had brought up leaving UT, but did I really believe he would?
A huge part of me wanted to. It was the most sensible option for us to be together now. Me moving to Baylor would only put an hour and a half drive between us, but studies at Baylor were incredibly hard, and it was a private school. It was expensive.
"He didn't let you consider that option either. Stop it," I grumbled at myself as I stopped by the first door for my rounds. I couldn't let everyone else's problems or opinions become my own. My relationship with Kendal was unique.
Focus on the good stuff.
I had a bounce in my step an hour later as I approached Mrs. Delmaz's door. It didn't take much to get me feeling good again when I let myself dwell on how right it was to belong to such an incredible man. Nothing was going to get in the way of that. He was worth fighting for. Hell, I was worth it.
"Mrs. Delmaz?" I stuck my head into the door to find her sleeping. Her blanket was wrapped around her legs as if she'd been kicking a few minutes before. After unwinding her legs, I pulled the blanket back up to just under her chin and squeezed her hand. "I hope you're okay."
She was sleeping peacefully from what I could tell. I half expected her to wake up, but she never moved an inch. I stood there for a few more seconds before realizing what a creeper I looked like. All of my patients were important to me, but it seemed like the ones that threw fits and acted like crap were the ones that drew me in deep.
They were looking for attention. For love. I wanted to offer that every time if I could. It was a far better answer than treating them like they were crazy, besides, karma had to play a part in the bigger scheme of things.
I pulled my phone out and texted my sister, hoping she would be free later. Her text back said she had about ten minutes at the top of the hour. That was it.
"Snippy." I checke
d the time. If we met at the park, I'd have to go... now. Shit.
After rushing through the rest of my rounds, I put my stuff up, explained myself to Jackie and jogged out of the hospital and down the street to the pretty little park half a mile away. I was panting by the time I showed up.
Should have driven.
"Dana. Over here." Ana waved me over, her long hair down around her shoulders, slightly curled. Her makeup was perfect and the outfit looked like someone had designed it just for her.
Great. Nothing like feeling second best every time I had to see her.
I checked my phone as I walked toward her, realizing that I had a text from Kendal, inviting me to go to Damon Bryant's father's house the next night. He had something he needed to take care of that night, but would see me soon.
Something about the message set me on edge. Why wouldn't he want to spend the evening together? We hadn't seen each other in two days because of my night shift on Sunday an early morning one that day.
"Hey." I stopped in front of my sister. "Thanks for meeting me. I figured we need to get this worked out between us." I reached up and brushed my hair over my shoulder. "I don't want things to be weird between us."
"You're dating the guy I thought I would spend my life with, Dana. Why wouldn't it be weird." Her smile faded. She was upset. Fuck.
"So you are still in love with him." I crossed my arms over my chest as if I had a chance in hell of protecting my heart from her. She knew just where to shoot her arrows.
"It doesn't matter. He's in love with you." She shrugged and looked around as if wishing she could be anywhere but with me.
"I didn't know you guys had-"
"Save it." She lifted her hand. "I realize that. I'm not an idiot."
"So what do we do."
"Nothing. He chose you. It's for the better. I fucked up all those years ago running when I should have stayed. He's yours now, but I'll tell you straight up... if you guys date while you're a student and he's a professor and someone finds out-"
"We're going to put things on hold until I graduate." Why was I explaining myself to her? Obviously her intentions by going over to his place weren't nearly as noble as Kendal made them seem. That or he was completely oblivious to her feelings.
"Right." She gave me a sappy look. "We were too, but he's not the kind of man that wants to wait on anything. He'll force you to change to make things work. He's not going to give an inch."
"You don't know that." I hated her all of a sudden. My whole life she's been in the background, making me second guess myself. Never once had she supported me.
"Sure I do." She laughed and pulled out her phone. "It was our story once, but another time. I gotta get back to work. Best of luck with things. Don't say I didn't warn you."
I didn't say a word. There was nothing else to say. She was most likely right, but I hoped for the sake of my heart that she wasn't. It couldn't take another hit.
I wouldn't let it.
Chapter 52
Kendal
I should have stayed home, but I wanted to see Eliza to have someone to talk things through with. After spending the day pacing the floor at my house, I'd finally resigned myself to needing to see Dana. I had to tell her what the hell was happening. At least if we met up at Damon's and things went to shit, I could get drunk and drown myself in the pool.
"One step forward and three steps back." I pulled open the door of the accounting building, praying like hell that I wouldn't run into anyone, especially not Mark. Heather was on leave for three weeks because of the trauma of everything. Fucking lying bitch. I should have put her in her place the first time she showed up in Mark's office. Now I was the villain.
It seemed like that was always the way my stories ended. Me holding the bag, broken hearted or the false villain who ruined lives and ripped panties. Crazy.
"Dr. Tarrington. You weren't in class today. Everything okay?" One of my senior students stopped me as I jogged up the stairs to the second floor.
"Yeah. Just had to deal with a few things in my personal life."
"Okay. Hope everything is alright." He smiled and jogged down the stairs as I continued to make my way up. There were many reasons why I loved my job, and I could fool myself all day long, but a huge part of me still loved my job. It was who I was at this stage in my life. I was an accounting professor. And in my early thirties to not be a husband, a dad, a t-ball coach... being a professor was all I had.
Luckily enough, I made my way down to Eliza's office without another interruption. She was typing away on her computer, so I gently knocked on the door. The look on her face told me that the staff was already privy to what was going on.
"Oh, Kendal. Come in. Jeez." She hopped up and walked toward me, closing the door behind me and letting out an exasperated sound.
"Now is a good time? I know you're-"
"Stop that. It's fine. Come in and sit down."
"No, I'm not staying long. I was just driving myself bat-shit crazy walking around the house." I put my hands on my hips as a million thoughts raced through my mind. "You guys know about Heather's claims?"
She nodded. "Unfortunately, their investigations always include taking witnesses from both sides of the story."
I snorted. "Heather has someone on her side of the story?"
Eliza pressed her hand to her face and glanced down. "Yes. Unbelievably so."
"Who? Eliza. What are you not telling me?" Sickness rolled around in my stomach as I moved toward her desk, but stopped short of reaching her. The last thing I needed was to have someone walk in and find me standing too close to another female professor, regardless of her age. I was a pervert. We did weird things.
"Daisy." She ran her fingers down her face. "I have no clue why. I guess she's planning something and thinks that Heather is an ally.
"What? That makes no sense at all. Heather is just like Mark. She's the viper in the bird’s nest, not the goddamn bird." My voice rose and Eliza lifted her hand to warn me. "Sorry."
"It's okay. I understand your frustrations. I'll keep my ears open and let you know if I hear anything. I'm planning on talking to Daisy tomorrow to see what she thinks she's doing. I swear someone just needs to blow the lid off on all of this madness."
"I should have done it while I had the chance. At this point, it will simply look like retaliation for getting caught with my pants down."
"You didn't-"
"No. Of course not, but you get the point. Now is the worst possible time I could bring all of this up. They'll crucify me. You know they will." I ran my hand over my chest, rubbing my heart.
"You okay?" She glanced toward my movement.
"Yes. Just trying to stay calm. There's only so much someone can take before they fucking snap, you know? I went through this same nightmare two years ago. I would never touch a woman without her consent. Hell, even then I probably wouldn't come close. I've been burned too many times."
"Don't say that." She walked around her desk and laid her small hand over mine. "Hold tight. It's going to get better. Just keep your nose clean and try hard to steer clear of all of them until we work it out. I'll figure out what's going on with Daisy and let you know. Maybe Heather went to her."
"I don't know. I hate drama so damn much. Just keep me in the loop." I took a few steps back and paused. "The other professors don't think that I... that I would..."
"No. Not most of them. The ones that do are just jealous."
"Right. Okay. Thanks, Eliza." I turned and opened the door, walking out and trying hard not to let my skin crawl. I'd worked so hard to redeem myself, but it didn't matter. It was taboo to date a student, even though I was twenty-five and Ana was twenty-two. That part was irrelevant. The college looked at it as if I were a pedophile. Everyone did. It would be no different with Dana now.
I kept my head up as I walked down the stairs and started for the door. I couldn't let anyone know how bad I was hurting. It wasn't their business anyway. Hell, it'd probably start more rumors or help i
n convicting me further.
"Dr. Tarrington."
I turned at a familiar voice. Bethany. I relaxed a little as she walked toward me, her smile warm and welcoming. She reached out and touched my arm. "Where were you today? Damon said you were coming to dinner tonight."
I pulled her hand off of me carefully. "Some shit happened yesterday and I've been asked to go on voluntary leave."
She gasped and reached up, pressing her fingers to her mouth. "Seriously?"
"Yeah. I need to go, but I'm headed over to Kent's now. I'll tell you all about it over there."
"I'm done for the day. Let me just catch a ride with you. I'll get my car tomorrow."
I glanced around, not too sure that was a good idea. "I don't know. Might be best if we-"
"Kendal. It's me." She gave me a stern look. "Let me grab my bag and I'll meet you outside."
"Alright, but if they call you in as my next rape victim, you better tell Damon that nothing happened." I forced a smile and turned, trying to get away from the concern on her pretty face.
The idea riding with her to Kent's lifted my spirits, though it shouldn't have. Where she was quickly becoming a friend, it was a friendship that would have to remain secret much like mine and Dana's relationship. She was a student. I was taking a chance in having anyone see us as we left campus. It felt like a chance I couldn't afford.
I texted Damon so he could let Bethany know as I walked to the parking lot, got in the car and drove off. She'd understand. I'd explain myself at dinner. She'd have to. I didn't need someone else angry or disappointed in my life.
"Hey. What's the big deal with standing me up?" Bethany walked into the kitchen where Matt and I stood. Damon was on the back patio with Karen and Kent, working on getting the grill started.
"I'm sorry." I lifted my hands and walked toward her, pulling her into a quick, friendly hug. "Heather Turner claimed rape on me and I'm back where I started two years ago. I've been warned not even to be seen with anyone at UT. Adult, child, bookshelf."