by Amy Daws
His words make me smile. “Would you ever leave London?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like if you got an offer to play somewhere else?”
He exhales. “Footballers go where contracts are, especially if they aren’t married with kids. I have nothing tying me down, so yeah, I guess I’d leave London.”
His words hurt me because they speak some of my truth, too. I have Indie and we’re incredibly close, but that’s it. It’s a rather lonely existence when you think about it.
I turn in his arms and thread my fingers through his hair. “Don’t you forget I’m tying you down for the next month.”
He stares at my lips and tweaks his eyebrows. “I hope that means to your bedpost.”
I laugh and drop my face to his chest. “I would love nothing more.”
He kisses the top of my head and I hear the sound of a camera shutter go off. I turn my head to see Indie holding her mobile up and capturing a picture. That simple sound effect brings me right back to reality.
“SIT ON MY FACE,” I command, seated at the foot of Belle’s bed with my bare feet on the ground, naked as the night she picked me up.
“What?” Belle’s brows crinkle as she steps out of her attached bath, unabashedly mirroring my nakedness. God, she’s sexy.
We’ve been at it like rabbits since the second we left Cam and Indie. I’d like to say I was able to hold out until we made it upstairs to her bedroom, but I’m afraid her staircase suited us just fine for round one. I can still picture her perfectly sculpted arm reaching out and gripping the iron railing as I pounded into her as fast as my footballer legs would allow.
Round two took place on her bed where she fulfilled her promise and tied me down with scarves, going as far as blindfolding me and dominating me like the wild temptress she is.
“Sit on my face,” I repeat.
She crosses her arms and leans against the doorframe. “Tanner, this is stupid. I appreciate that you want to have ‘dinner beneath the bridge,’ but why can’t I lie down on the bed like a normal human?”
“Because I’ve wanted to taste you since forever, but I can’t seem to stop myself from fucking you. So I want your sweet little pussy to use my face as a chair until I beg for air.”
“God, you’re a sick fuck,” she scoffs.
“Stop acting like it’s not turning you on.” I crack her bare arse with my hand as she walks by me and stretches herself out on the bed.
As far as coming back for seconds of sex, Camden was right. This isn’t bad so far.
Belle’s hands are stretched out above her head, and I smirk at the bite mark I left on the inside of her bicep. “Is it weird I like my mark on you?”
She looks at her arm and rolls her eyes. “Of the list of creep-factors you’ve wowed me with this evening, this seems rather adolescent in comparison.”
I climb back up onto her bed, hovering over the top of her. Her cheeks are flushed red from our exertions, but I’m pleased to see she’s abandoned any self-conscious ideas she had about her body. Every inch of her is stunning, even down to her smart mouth.
I bite down on her nipple until she screams. “Your fucking mouth gets you into a lot of trouble, doesn’t it?”
She grabs my hair and yanks my head up so I’m looking at her. “Probably not as much as your dick gets you into trouble.”
Touché, Belle Ryan. Touché.
I drop all pretenses. “Now, climb on my face already before I decide to tie you down this time.”
I spent the night with a woman for the first time in my entire life and I didn’t die.
I woke up with all my faculties still about me and my limbs all intact. Though, my dick is a bit on the raw side so I can’t imagine how Belle is feeling, the insatiable minx she is.
After our epic fuckathon last night, I intended to go home. I really did. But screwing Belle Ryan most of the night was more exhausting than two-a-day workouts for Bethnal Green. Believe me, I’m not complaining.
When I finally muster up the strength to sit up, I see Belle stride out of her bathroom in green scrubs. Her eyes are bright and alert, her black hair is pulled back into a high bun, and she’s got a bag over her shoulder. She looks intimidating.
“Morning,” she says with a small smile.
“Off to work already?” I ask, feeling like a lazy sod.
She nods and bites her lip. “I have a special patient coming in this morning so I’m heading in early to prepare.”
“Are you…erm…operating?” I suddenly feel very weird about fucking her like an animal last night when she’s about to go and save a baby’s life or something.
“No, it’s actually just an ultrasound appointment, so no surgeries scheduled.”
I nod. “That’s good. I erm…feel kind of bad keeping you up late like that. I forget that you’re not suspended from your job.”
She baulks, “If I needed to go to bed, I would have said. Have you ever known me to hold back on you?”
This makes me smirk. “No, certainly not.”
“I’ll be fine.” She begins rummaging in her bag and pulls out a set of keys. “But can you maybe lock up after you leave? I mean, you don’t have to hurry out or anything. I just erm…There’s no other way for me to lock my flat. Or if you want, I can give you a lift home.”
“I’ll get dressed.” I move to get out of the bed.
“I didn’t mean to rush you.”
“No, it’s fine. I need to work out anyway.” I stand and stretch, my morning wood still at an honourable salute. I tweak my brows right at Belle.
“Hurry the fuck up, Tan,” she grumbles and strides out the door.
I laugh. There’s my girl.
I’M NOT SURE WHAT I expected Dr. Miller’s daughter to look like, but I’m certain I never would have envisioned the woman sitting on the exam table before me.
Reyna is a short, curvy, brunette vision with deep, soulful eyes that haunt you if you stare into them for too long. As if her face wasn’t striking enough, her artfully inked arms peek out from beneath the sleeves of her pale blue hospital gown. I’ve never seen body art so…suiting. Without knowing anything about her, I can tell that this ink is the story of her life, from the pocket watch to the sunflower bouquet and everything in between.
Her husband sitting beside her is a much more traditional sort of bloke. Liam is handsome but has a cleaner, more prep school sort of appearance with no alternative edge to him whatsoever. But the way his eyes stay trained on Reyna, even as I introduce myself, makes me weak in the knees. It’s a look of complete and utter devotion.
“So you’re eleven weeks, two days?” I ask, pulling out the transducer and covering it with a condom. Reyna nods, swallowing nervously as she watches my actions. I reach out and touch her arm. “Take some deep breaths and try to relax.”
“Easier said than done,” she mumbles, and Liam leans down and whispers something in her ear. Whatever it was seems to comfort her. He kisses her temple and she looks at me with a wobbly smile. “I’ll try.”
I return the smile as I squirt some gel on the tip of the probe. “Your last ultrasound was vaginal, correct?”
She nods and lies back, propping her feet in the stirrups and shimmying down to the end of the table. “I know exactly where you’ll be shoving that long thing.”
This makes Liam and me both chuckle.
“All right then,” I reply. “This gets us the best pictures this early in the pregnancy.” I position the probe between her legs. “All set?”
Reyna gives me a tight nod and I insert slowly. The screen is a mess of blotches until I twist and focus in on the three tiny figures. Reyna and Liam press their foreheads together, their eyes shut tightly, almost as if they are bracing themselves for bad news. I let them have their moment as I confirm what I hoped to see right away.
“Have you guys heard their heartbeats yet?” I bite my lip as Reyna looks at me with a shake of her head, tears slipping down her cheeks.
“T
hey said it was too early before,” Liam adds. His eyes are wide and grave as they flick between me and the screen.
I quickly move my free hand from the keyboard to the audio monitor and twist the knob until a sound erupts in the room.
A sound similar to that of a galloping horse.
“Those are your babies.” I beam and then add, “Well, one of them right now, but I can see all their hearts drumming away.” I turn the screen so they can see it better and point to the tiny spots contracting and expanding at high speed. “Right there, there, and there. Three babies, three heartbeats.”
“All three are still there?” Reyna’s voice croaks.
My heart falls at the desperation in her tone, but I inhale deeply and give her all the confidence I can muster. “Yes, all three are there. I still have to take measurements, but at a glance, they all look to be about the same size, which is a good sign.”
Liam looks at me with concern. “Are the heartbeats supposed to be that fast?”
I nod. “Foetal heart rates usually peak around ten weeks and then slow as you go into the second trimester.”
“They’re all still there.” Reyna’s voice is breathy as her chin begins to wobble. She looks up at Liam and tears fall down her face one after another. Her belly shakes with a small cry. “I know we still have so far to go, but they’re all still there. I can hardly believe it.”
Liam kisses her hard on the lips, cupping her face reverently and stroking his thumbs down the lines of her tears. He sniffs through his own tears and murmurs, “I believe it.”
I feel inappropriate as I watch them, but I can’t look away. She smiles in a way that only a woman accepting the role of a mother could. It’s inspiring. My eyes begin to sting and I’m a bit mortified when Reyna turns to look at me.
“Would you mind doing me a favour?” Reyna’s voice sounds urgent. “Can you page my mother to come in here?”
I smile around my emotions. “I’d love to.”
As I leave the hospital, I’m on a high I haven’t been on in months. The images I captured for Dr. Miller’s daughter and son-in-law were some of the best 4D images I’ve ever seen, let alone produced myself. The pride that Dr. Miller had in her eyes when she thanked me and the look on Reyna and Liam’s faces…It just gave me life!
I grab my mobile and call Indie.
“Hello, Belle,” she answers on the second ring.
“Indie, darling. I had the absolute best day. We need to celebrate. Tequila Sunrise style.”
“Oh…erm…yeah. I think I could do that! Don’t you have to work tomorrow, though?”
I sense her hesitation has something to do with Camden, but I’m glad she’s willing to put him aside for the night and be my wing-woman.
“I was able to secure a personal day for tomorrow. I miss our girl time.”
She sighs. “Me, too. Great then, I’m looking forward to it.”
“See you at home?” I ask.
“See you at home.”
I stop at the store to pick up the necessary items for our drinks. It’s a recipe the paediatric doctor on call gave us the night the baby came into the hospital DOA.
Tequila Sunrise:
1 part Grenadine
3 parts Tequila
6 parts Orange Juice
Do not mix.
The recipe was a metaphor for life that changed my outlook on everything. The simple words that doctor uttered to Indie and me still ring so true in my soul. “There’s always sunshine above the chaos, ladies. Celebrate it.”
I hope that even in our old age, Indie and I are still celebrating life together because it can be so rewarding sometimes.
Reyna, Liam, and their three little babies are on my mind the entire time I get myself ready for the night. The hope and possibility I saw in their eyes…the transformation from complete and utter fear to total blissed-out acceptance was magic.
“Is this good enough?” Indie asks, her mouth sucking down a gulp of her colourful drink as she materialises in my bathroom doorway.
I’m seated crisscross on the counter as close to the mirror as I can get, wearing nothing but my black bra and knickers. I pause my mascara application to appraise my best friend. Her hair is down and in a riot of untamed red curls that only she can pull off. She’s dressed in a black jumpsuit that plunges deeply to her cleavage.
“That’s fucking hot. Put on my Stuart Weitzman’s and you’re all set.”
“Oh! The strappy ones!” Indie turns to rush over to my closet and I hurry up to finish my makeup.
Once complete, I hop off my counter and grab my simple black jersey dress that I have laid out on a towel warmer. It’s long sleeve and venturing on too short, but when I pair it with my lambskin Chanel, over-the-knee boots, it’s the kind of outfit that gets me noticed by both males and females.
“Yes!” Indie croons as I stride out with my drink in hand, ready and raring to go.
“It’s the boots,” I reply knowingly. Shoes are an indulgence that I can’t seem to kick. “Ready for Club Taint?” I ask.
“So ready.”
It’s eleven before we arrive at Club Taint, and Indie and I are already feeling fucking fantastic as we push our way through the crowd to find the dancefloor. The beat of the music calls to me like a drug. A drug that wants me to lose myself with it for hours.
I pull Indie out with me and we dance and dance and dance, throwing ourselves into movements that feel so good I never want them to stop. Hours tick by, drinks get drunk, laughs get had, dance partners come and go, all while I allow the synthetic melody breathe energy into me. All of it helps me forget everything horrid in the world. All the crap, all the sadness, lives lost, vacant parents, arsehole brothers, babies dying…all of it, gone. Evaporated with the swirling pink fog of the club.
Indie smiles, locking eyes with me, a look of exhilaration and sublime happiness spreading over her features. She pulls me in for a hug. “I miss you, Belle.”
My eyes sting at her words. “I miss you, too, darling.”
“I miss working with you.”
I pull back and look into her eyes. “I miss working with you!”
“I hate not seeing you in the on call room.”
“I hate not seeing you in the on call room.”
“I know we live together now.”
“We do.” I nod, my vision blurring so I widen my eyes to focus more fully on her.
“But it’s different now.”
“It is so different.” My face falls with sadness.
“I love Cam.”
I smile sadly and nod. “You love Cam.”
“But I still love you.”
“Me, too!”
“Let’s do this more often.”
“Abso-fucking-lutely! Tequila Sunrise!” I cheers my beer with hers and chug the rest down. I drop the bottle and begin swirling Indie around in a childish spin that sends us both flying in different directions and crashing to the ground. Hot, sweaty hands wrap around me and pull me to my feet.
“Thank you, Good Samaritan,” I slur, turning to face my gallant saviour.
When my eyes glance up and focus, I’m stunned by the bearded vision before me. “You look like a guy I know!”
He clutches his hands firmly around my waist and holds me to him. “You look like a girl I want to know.”
I laugh half-heartedly and try to pull away.
“Are you trying to leave me, lass?” he slurs into my ear.
I frown and my head bobbles. “How could I leave you, Jesus? You’re God’s son…You’re everywhere.” I throw my hands out wide to punctuate my “everywhere” and attempt to stumble away.
He grabs me again, this time his hands dipping lower to my arse. My good mood evaporates instantly. “Hey!” I shout. “Watch your fucking hands!”
I attempt to shove him away, but he feels like one of those doors that you push when you’re supposed to pull. He doesn’t budge. He leans in close and whispers in my ear, “I’d like to put my hands on your tigh
t little—”
Right when I’m about ready to punch the wank stain in his vile mouth, I nearly fall over as a strange momentum spins me away. The man’s hands are no longer groping me. They are now pinned deftly behind his back by no other than—
“Tanner?” I utter with a gasp, my hands covering my mouth at the shock of the scene before me.
“Shove the fuck off, you disgusting prat, before I turn your wrist into a pretzel.” Tanner pushes him into a nearby table, and the man almost topples over but catches himself before scurrying away without a look back.
Blue, angry eyes swerve to me. “Ryan,” Tanner growls, slicing a hand through his hair to get it off of his face. “I’ve texted you like twenty times.”
“I…I…I haven’t looked at my mobile in a while.”
“No fucking shit.” His bearded jaw is taut with anger. “I’m taking you home.”
He reaches out for my arm but I yank it away from him.
“No, you’re not.”
His shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath. “I’m taking you home. You’re completely pissed.”
My eyes narrow. “Of course I am. It’s Tequila Sunrise night.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” he snaps. “Let’s go.”
I shoot him a murderous look when a voice interrupts us. “I’ve got mine. You got yours?” I turn to see Camden holding a sleepy-looking Indie against his body.
Determination slices through Tanner’s voice. “I’ve got her.”
I turn to face him, stumbling a bit as I wag my finger in his face. “Hey, I am not yours!” Suddenly, Tanner bends over and I’m airborne for a second, landing heavily on top of Tanner’s shoulder. “Are you fucking kidding me, Harris?” I begin pounding on his back but it’s to no avail. “I’m in a dress. My arse is hanging out for all of England!”
“Your arse was hanging out when you spread out on the floor a minute ago. I’m taking you home, Ryan. Even if you’re kicking and screaming.”