Chapter 6
noah
“How was your date?” I posed the question as I passed Aris the steamed broccoli. We were gathered around the dinner table with the polycule, and my handsome boyfriend had just walked in the door, sniffed the air and grinned as he plopped down next to me.
“Oh, it was lovely!” he gushed, scooping some broccoli onto his plate. “We had coffee at this little place near campus, and then we went back to her place.”
Jason laughed. “I need to take notes, hold on.” He pretended to get out a pad of paper and a pen. “How do you move it to the bedroom so fast? Teach me your ways.” He put his hands up and performed a mock bow.
Cynda elbowed him. “What, second date wasn’t fast enough for you?”
Aris took it in stride. “No sex. We just cuddled, made out, and listened to the rain. That was one hell of a storm that passed through here.”
“Just be glad it wasn’t snow,” Darth entered the chat room—I mean the conversation. “A few degrees colder, and it would have been.”
“I really like her,” Aris continued, ignoring Darth’s weather report. His commentary was usually a little off, but we were all used to it. Sometimes Cynda reminded us to try to include him more, but the dude was just a little on the weird side. But, hey, they liked him, and Cynda and Jason were good people.
“That’s great, Aris.” Then Cynda shifted the conversation to Jason and Darth’s plans to play Dungeons and Dragons at the comic book store that evening. “Say hello to Poe for me, will you?”
Jason’s sister Poe played as well. She used to live with us until she moved in with her girlfriend and her girlfriend’s boyfriend, Lachlan. Strangely enough, Darth had been Lachlan’s roommate, so we all shifted around. Now there was one more empty bedroom in the house, which we used as a den.
My train of thought was interrupted when Aris leaned down close to my ear. His strong hand gripped my thigh as he whispered, “I’m horny as fuck, love. What are your plans tonight?”
I met his glimmering hazel eyes with my dark brown gaze. “Taking care of you?”
“Mmmmm…that’s what I like to hear.”
As we cleaned up the dishes after dinner, Aris couldn’t keep his hands off me. He grabbed my ass, then he snapped a dish towel at it. I didn’t typically bottom, but I had a feeling he needed that tonight.
It was all good. It would keep him from asking me too much about my day. I didn’t want to tell him about my appointment with my attorney, and I definitely didn’t want to tell him about the malpractice lawsuit.
“Shower?” I suggested when I loaded the last dish in the dishwasher.
“Thought you’d never ask!” Aris bit his lower lip as his gaze trailed up and down my body. “Been wanting to get you out of those scrubs ever since I walked through the door.”
I was still wearing scrubs—a comfy pair in a deep jade color. He was wearing khaki pants and an olive-green Henley and looked pretty damn delicious too. I took his hand and pulled him down the hallway toward the bathroom, perhaps a bit too eagerly.
I started the water, knowing he liked it warmer than I did. Hopefully I’d be able to handle the heat. “So, tell me more about your date with Danielle—if you’d like.”
“She’s so sweet, Noah. She’s kind, funny—she has this self-deprecating humor. I think she tries to come across really confident when it comes to acting and being a presence on the stage, but when it comes to her body and to intimacy…she’s actually very shy. She just wanted me to hold her and kiss her.”
I tried to match that up with what I surmised during the short time I’d spent with her. “Hmm…I wouldn’t have guessed that from when I met her in the office. She seemed pretty assertive.”
“She’s super frustrated with her voice. She has an audition tomorrow for the spring musical, and it’s really important. She was nervous about it—that might be another reason she wasn’t in the mood for more than cuddling.”
“She’s seeing me tomorrow,” I let slip. “Shit, I shouldn’t have told you that.”
“She already told me. I think her appointment with you is after her audition. You better take care of her throat, Doc. She has great aspirations!”
“I know she does, and I’ll do my best. Now…I think this water is probably warm by now. Care to join me?” I began to lift my shirt over my head, and Aris froze, his bottom lip trapped under his teeth while he watched me strip off the shirt and bare my chest.
“Damn, Doc…” He glided his finger between my pecs, over the bumpy ridges of my abs, and all the way down to the waistband of my scrub pants. “These need to come off too.”
“Feel free to do the honors…”
“Don’t mind if I do.” He bent down, sliding the pants over my thighs and knees until I could step out of them. Only my boxer briefs were left, and he made quick work of those too.
My cock thickened under his hungry gaze, and he stripped off his own clothes, revealing his luscious tan skin and white ass. I loved that he still had tan lines from the summer—it hinted at the fun we’d have this summer on Lake Monroe. My doctor partner had a pontoon boat and a ski boat, and she’d invited me out on the lake several times. This summer, I’d actually go now that I had someone to bring with me.
Well…if this all worked out.
I tried to block it out of my mind so I could enjoy the shower with my man, but it loomed like a specter in the back of my head, reminding me what was at stake.
Come summer, this could all be stripped away.
My relationship.
My housing.
My livelihood.
The woman suing me had a personal vendetta against me—I had dated her best friend, and it ended poorly. Despite her poor attitude, I treated her to the best of my ability—because the Hippocratic Oath and all that. There were some extenuating circumstances, including her family connections. But I was trying not to let any of that influence my decision to defend myself in court.
“Earth to Noah,” Aris growled as he leaned in to nuzzle my neck. Hot water sprayed down on our heads, rushing in rivulets between us as his hands roamed the hard planes of my body. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“Oh, sorry…spaced out there for a sec. Just thinking about work.”
Aris frowned. “Don’t think about work when you can think about me.” He reached down and cupped my balls, squeezing ever so slightly. “I need you nice and hard.”
“Oh, you don’t want to top tonight?”
His brow quirked. “I mean, it is tempting…” He reached around and took an ass cheek in each hand, squeezing and pressing my body into his. “But, no, I need your cock inside me tonight. And maybe if you fuck me hard enough, you can forget about work for a minute or two.” He rolled his eyes.
I felt terrible that he was feeling neglected. It wasn’t my intention. “Sorry I’ve been so preoccupied lately. I’ll make it up to you, baby.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that…” He stroked my hardening cock from base to tip, making my eyes roll back in my head. If he kept that up, I was going to take him right here in the shower…
“What are you going to be singing for us today?” Raine had pulled her glasses to the end of her nose and was tapping her clipboard repeatedly with her pen. She was trying to simulate the directors who would be casting the show I was auditioning for tomorrow.
I cleared my throat and gave her my “most winningest smile”—the one my mother taught me when I auditioned for my very first show back when I was six years old. I played one of the orphans in Annie, and a star was born. Or something like that.
“I’m going to sing ‘Goodnight, My Someone.’” I pressed play on my phone, and the music my accompanist recorded for me filtered out of the speakers. It didn’t sound as nice as a real piano, but I would at least be able to stay in tune.
I belted out the lyrics, trying to keep my face and throat relaxed, even as the latter burned with strain. Immediately afterwards, I gulped down ice water from my Yeti bottle while Raine pretended to take some notes.
“Well?” I asked, prompting her to jerk her head up from the clipboard.
“Are you okay?” was the first thing out of her mouth.
My heart sank. “Was it really that bad?”
“No, you sounded lovely—just looked like you were in pain.”
“Dammit! I was trying not to show it.” I sighed. “I can’t believe this is happening to me in my last semester.” I threw myself down on the sofa and pouted. The tears stinging in the corners of my eyes only made my throat hurt worse. Thick phlegm gathered in the back of my throat, and I tried clearing it for the four millionth time.
“Stop doing that,” Raine admonished me. “You’re only going to strain your voice further if you keep clearing your throat like that.”
“I can’t help it! It’s driving me crazy!” I didn’t mean to sound like I was flying off the handle, but—I was. I couldn’t help it. I was devastated, lost, and so upset.
Was my career over before it even began?
“Let me get you some wine,” Raine offered. “Stay put. And then I want to hear about your date.”
I waited for her to return, grateful my best friend was taking such good care of me. I would return the favor. We always took care of each other.
She handed me a glass of Moscato. “Now. Spill it.”
I took a sip, but my lips involuntarily spread into a smile when I thought of Aris. “Oh…he’s just so fucking hot, Raine. I mean, he’s also kind and smart and funny, and sweet and gentle—but, damn, he makes my mouth go dry every time I see him. Not exactly helping my predicament, ya know?”
She looked about to burst with excitement. “So what ended up happening?”
“Well, he could tell I was a little nervous. I had planned to jump his bones. You know, Confident Dani made these plans. Take The Bull by the Horns Dani. But when he came over, Regular Old Dani was the one I was stuck with. So there was no bone-jumping at all.”
She sighed. “Then what did you do?”
“It was storming…and he had me curl up in his arms, and we made out for a little bit. And then I took a nice snooze, right there against his bare chest.”
“Wow, really?” She clutched her hand to her heart. “That’s so fucking sweet!”
“I know!” I took another sip of the wine. “I can’t believe he even likes me. I have no idea why.”
“Stop it!” Raine insisted. “You are beautiful, talented, smart—you are the whole package, girl.”
I rolled my eyes. “If you say so.” I needed to get Confident Dani back. This issue with my throat was zapping all of my mojo.
“So when do you see him again?” Her eyes were sparkling as she awaited my answer.
“I don’t know. We didn’t make firm plans. I have an appointment with Noah tomorrow, though, for my endoscopy. It’s right after my audition. It’s going to be a crazy day. I figured I’d get through that first, and then I’ll text him. But I also know he’ll want to spend time with Noah too, so?—”
“So there’s no chance of you getting busy with both of them?”
I reached out and swatted her. “No! Noah’s my doctor. Get your mind out of the gutter, girl.”
“Sorry, but it’s hard not to fantasize about being the meat in a Noah/Aris sandwich.” She sighed. “Wait, I thought that was your fantasy too? If not, I guess I’ll be forced to keep that dream alive.” She fake-swooned over the back of the couch.
I swatted her again—she deserved it for teasing me. “Hey, if anyone’s going to be the meat in that sandwich, it better be me!”