I propped my head up and peered over the side of my bed. My clothes were in a crumpled mess on my bedroom floor. I glanced at the clock. 4:33 AM. Crap, it was early.
Wait. Not blurry? Shit.
My contacts were glued to my eyeballs. My head was pounding. I reached into my night table drawer and grabbed a bottle of Advil. Popped three in my mouth and took a giant swig of the stagnant water sitting on my nightstand.
I vowed to NEVER EVER drink sake, or whatever the hell that was, AGAIN!
Rice wine, my ass.
I needed to Google sake, something wasn’t right. Better yet, my sophisticated city girl needed to enlighten me. Fifty-seven minutes until I had to be up. I was a sweaty mess and naked. I had a bad habit of unconsciously stripping in the night. It was like ninety effing degrees in my apartment again. I guess I had an excuse. No way in hell I was falling back to sleep with the night’s events on replay.
Those mesmerizing grey eyes, that sexy chiseled body, sake, sushi, my emotional drunken rehashing of my life in Wrangel (thank god, skipping the nightmare parts), the freaking tampon and thong pad debacle, those abs, the intimate hair moment, the elevator ride then car ride, inside my apartment, tucking me into bed, kissing my nose and whispering...
HOLY SHIT ... what did he whisper? The heat from his lips still lingered on my nose …
I grabbed my phone.
Sierra wake up, I don’t care that you’re gestating,
I need you!
“Doll, you look like hell, you all right?” Guy’s voice pierced my eardrums as I came off the elevator squinting, blinded by the fluorescent overhead lights.
“Shhh, Guy, my head is pounding. I think I have a migraine.”
“Let me get you something. I’ll find Leanne, she can bring you some Ibuprofen.”
“Guy, no, I’m fine. I took something already. It’s too soon for another dose. I think I just need to eat something. I was running late and didn’t have a chance to stop at the cart guy.”
“I got you covered, Dickhead isn’t even here yet. Come, sit down.” He grabbed my hand and led me to a chair behind the nurses’ station. “You sure you aren’t getting sick?” If he only knew how hung over I was … he was being so nice to me.
“No, I think it’s just a headache.”
“I’ll be back in a minute. Bagel with butter and a tea sound good?”
“Thanks, I owe you.”
He gave me a smug look. “Don’t worry, I’ll think of a way you can make it up to me.”
Is he really flirting with me at this ungodly hour?
“Petit, you got this. Cover for me, I’ll be back in a minute. Tell him not to get his panties in a bunch, I’ll join you on rounds.”
“Yeah, yeah sure. Just hurry. It’s Friday—I don’t want him pissed all day. I have plans tonight.”
“Oooo Sammy’s gettin’ some with the wifey,” Guy chuckled.
“Fuck off, Guy, just hurry up.”
Guy laughed his way into the stairwell and was gone. He loved teasing Sam.
Chime.
U better b dead or I’m gonna kill u myself
What the hell kind of text was that
This better b good
I guessed my text was a bit aggressive.
Lunch-noon-salad place
B on time
I hv an awake case at 1pm
I put my head in my hands and closed my eyes. I wished I wasn’t awake. The damn thing chimed again.
This better b huge
Rescheduling my dr appt for u
C u at noon
I prayed the mortification from last night would disappear. Maybe I dreamt it. If I squeezed my eyes tight enough maybe I would never lay eyes on him again.
“Good morning.” I heard the humor in his voice from behind me. God, I had no luck. He leaned down to hover over my ear. “How you feeling? That sake is some strong stuff, huh, Blue?” The heat from his breath on the back of my neck sent a shiver up my spine. So this was his way of telling me he enjoyed me making a total ass out of myself.
The floor was swarming with people. I wasn’t about to talk about last night. He moved to stand in front of the nurses’ station. His arms rested comfortably against the counter while he studied his tablet. Long chocolate brown eyelashes covered his eyes and his slightly dampened hair hung loosely across his forehead. A crisp white lab coat covered his faded light blue scrubs. This man was going to be the death of me.
“Petit, where’s Hunter? I have cases all day.” He glanced up, catching my eye, before I averted my gaze.
I totally got caught checking him out.
“It’s Friday. I wanna get going,” he barked.
“Oh ... um ... he had to run get something,” Sam stuttered.
“Guy ran to get me some breakfast. I have a little headache and thought food might help. He should be right back,” I interrupted.