Chapter 15
noah
I looked around the living room at the concerned faces on the members of our polycule. Cynda was practically on Jason’s lap with Darth leaning on her shoulder. He even put his phone away. And Aris and Danielle were cuddled on the loveseat, looking cozy and so damn cute together. Danielle was clearly a part of us now. Once Aris attached himself to someone…well, just look at us.
Even Sushi, our newest family member besides Danielle, had wandered back into the living room and had made herself comfortable next to Darth. Huh. Of all the people in the room to trust. Interesting choice, Cat.
I felt the love and support radiating from these five people, these five hearts—six if I counted Sushi. Okay, I still wasn’t sure if Darth had a heart, but he was still here. He was still ready to find out what had been eating me up inside for the last week, twisting my guts and torturing my soul.
No one hurried me. No one looked impatient. They all waited for me to tell my story at my own pace.
“Last week, I got an email from my attorney. A former patient of mine is suing me for malpractice because her septoplasty collapsed, and she needed to have emergency surgery to repair it. She alleges that I was negligent in both my placement of the splints after surgery, and also in my discharge instructions—but, of course, those clearly state to be fucking careful with the splints holding your septum in place!
“Obviously, I performed her surgery and splint placement with the utmost care I give all my patients. She was discharged with a list of prohibited activities, and I am one hundred percent certain she did something she shouldn’t have to dislodge the splints. Even blowing your nose can fuck it up. She sustained a high-volume blood loss and had to be hospitalized, and another surgeon repaired the damage.
“Now she’s suing me for half a million dollars for her lost time and pain and suffering.”
Not surprisingly, gasps went up around the room. Aris looked positively stricken. I had never seen his skin so pale, and the look in his eyes was pure devastation. I swallowed hard. I didn’t want to see that look—that was a big reason I didn’t want to tell him what was going on.
That and my almost obsessive drive to handle things on my own.
I scrubbed my hand down my face, searching for my next words to shatter the silence that had now settled over the room once the gasps dissipated.
“It’s not just the money,” I continued. “If it was just about money, I’d settle this suit out of court. I’m sure she’s just looking to make a buck and thought I’d rather settle than dragging this through a long, drawn-out hearing. She obviously doesn’t know me very well as a kid who grew up in the foster system determined to make something of myself.” I snickered a little here because I believed with my whole heart this girl—and I called her that because her accusations were borne from a place of greed, entitlement and revenge—had picked the wrong man to fuck with.
“Dumb-ass bitch!” Aris interjected, and Cynda let out a whoop of support with her fist raised in the air. Jason joined in with his own fist.
“Who is she? Who the fuck does she think she is?” Jason growled.
I had to smile at how riled up they were on my behalf, but I ignored the questions about her identity. It only complicated matters. “So…my lawyer warned me that, a lot of times, these things turn into a character assassination if they go to trial. She said my life and life choices would be on full display.”
Aris spoke up then, “You hate having your private life on display.”
“I know,” I nodded, agreeing with him, “but it’s the principle of the thing, you know? I did nothing wrong. Settling out of court is not an admission of guilt, but it just doesn’t feel right to me. I don’t want patients to think I can be bullied into this sort of bullshit.”
“That’s right,” Cynda joined me. “Noah, you must know that we’ve got your back no matter what happens.”
“Well, that’s part of the problem,” I continued. “Tonight, my lawyer called to tell me she got a phone call from some reporter doing a story on the suit. An exposé, she called it. The patient has alleged that my distraction at work, as in dating people I work with—and she specifically said nurses, is what caused my negligence.”
Aris’s features pinched into a scowl. “She…what?! Is she talking about you and me?”
“I think so,” I answered, “because she told the reporter I’m gay.”
Cynda slapped her hand over her face. “Bi-erasure strikes again.”
I chuckled a humorless laugh. “I told my lawyer that I’m actually bi, and she said, sadly, that wouldn’t be any better for the bigots out there. Though, my lawyer did have a recommendation. An absurd recommendation, but a recommendation nonetheless.”
“What’s that?” Cynda was first to ask.
“She knows I’m going to the leukemia charity ball this weekend. I was planning to go stag—just drop in, shake a few hands, make my donation and leave…”
“But?” Jason prodded.
“She said I should take a date. A woman, specifically. Just to upend that ‘gay’ accusation.” I facepalmed myself.
“Maybe you should,” Jason suggested, shrugging.
“Why would I do that? There’s nothing wrong with being gay. I should take Aris and rub it in their faces.”
“Oh, that sounds fun!” Aris chimed in. “I don’t have a tux, but?—”
“Maybe you should take Aris and Danielle,” Cynda suggested. “Really blow their minds.”
“Well…” That wasn’t a half-bad idea.
But Danielle was on crutches, and I only had a plus-one with my ticket. Not plus-two.
“I’d go,” Danielle said, “but not sure you want me crutching around. Though—if you want to draw attention to yourself…”
“Maggie—that’s my lawyer—said she figured there would be reporters and other media personalities there. They might think twice about my patient’s accusations if I showed up with a woman.”
“Showing up at an event with a woman doesn’t prove you’re not gay,” Darth interjected. “Just ask any gay man from the past.”
“Well, what if they were engaged?” Cynda questioned. I could tell from her expression that she was seriously mulling over the options.
I should have known, if I opened this can of worms, I’d suddenly have a whole room full of PR experts trying to help me fashion my image. Maybe that was what I needed, though.
“Is this patient going to be there Saturday night?” Danielle asked. “At the event?”
My nostrils flared as I brought up a mental image of Alexandra Bagby. Just envisioning her made my stomach churn. I hadn’t shared the worst part of it all with them. Her dad held a position of power, and he would almost undoubtedly be at the event on Saturday. Alexandra likely would be there too.
I swallowed hard, then answered, “It’s possible. Even probable.”
Cynda’s eyes narrowed. “Who is she, Noah? She’s someone important, isn’t she?”
I huffed out a sigh, ready to let the cat out of the bag. And I didn’t mean Sushi, who looked downright cozy curled up next to Darth. “Her dad is the CEO of Midwest Health.”
There was silence as everyone’s jaws dropped.
Aris was the first to speak. “You mean the guy in charge of the entire network that employs us?”
I closed my eyes, wishing it somehow wasn’t true.
“Yes. That’s the one.”
“No wonder a reporter is interested in this story,” Cynda gasped. “Fuck, Noah—this is serious.”
Jason straightened his posture. “What can you do? Is there some sort of union or board that can help you?”
“I’m already in contact with someone at the American Board of Otolaryngology,” I explained. “Waiting to hear back. But I just don’t see how they can prove I was negligent. I think their best bet is to try to discredit me personally.”
“What aren’t you telling us?” Aris finally asked. “You’re leaving something out, aren’t you?”
I knew it would come down to this. This was the reason I wished I wasn’t so stubborn. Because, if I wasn’t, then maybe I would just settle this damn case and get on with my life.
“So, the real reason Alexandra hates me isn’t just financial, though I’m sure she also wants my money. Her father is notoriously conservative and religious. He and Alexandra’s mom have six kids. Half of them have gone into the medical field and work for him. And the other half he’s helped start local businesses. But he’s one of those ‘pull yourselves up by your bootstraps’ types. Alexandra’s business was hit hard by Covid. I’m sure she’s hurting for money. I’m sure that’s part of her motivation for suing me.”
“So what’s the other reason?” Aris probed.
“I used to date her best friend, Emma,” I admitted, “who started off as one of my nurses. Her dad has a pretty strict fraternization policy, so she ended up transferring to a different office when we began dating.”
“And?”
“And…we broke up when she caught me…”
“Caught you what?”
I groaned. I shouldn’t be ashamed of this because it wasn’t shameful. I knew Emma was upset, and I tried to explain to her, but she just wouldn’t hear me.
“Noah?” Aris pressed.
“She caught me looking at gay porn,” I confessed.
“So fucking what?” Aris fumed. “Fuck, I thought you were going to say she caught you fucking someone else.”
“No.” I vehemently shook my head. “I wouldn’t do that behind someone’s back. You guys know me better than that. I tried to tell her I’m bisexual, but—she ran to Alexandra, and Alexandra convinced her I’m gay and was hiding it from her because I wanted to pass as straight.”
“Was this before or after you did Alexandra’s surgery?” Cynda questioned.
“Literally a few days after,” I answered. “This happened last year. Before I met Aris. Isn’t it interesting that she suddenly had to get emergency surgery less than a week after I performed her septoplasty, and only a few days after her best friend and I broke up?”
“Fuck,” Jason said. “That sucks, man.”
“What took her so long to file the suit?” Cynda wondered. “If it happened last year, I mean.”
“I think she decided to do it when she found out about me and Aris,” I conjectured. “She’s seeking money and revenge.”
“That’s bullshit!” Aris yelled.
“I know. So, as you can see, I’m in a bad spot. And this is why I’ve been so distant and preoccupied in the past week or so. I haven’t treated you all like I should—especially you, Aris, and I apologize for that. And I admit I did consider breaking up with you because I don’t want to put you in the middle of this. You either, Danielle—you’re my patient, and?—”
Cynda stood up and wrapped me in a hug. Before I knew it, all the members of my polycule were hugging me. Everyone except Danielle.
When they pulled away, I noticed she had stood up and was leaning on her crutches, a determined glint in her eyes. “You need to transfer my care to your partner ASAP so I’m no longer your patient.”
“Why?” My heart sank at her demand. She wanted to fire me as her doctor because of all this drama?
“Because I’m going to that ball with you on Saturday,” she said, “and if I see this Alexandra Bagby woman, I’m going to pull her aside and give her a piece of my mind.”
My eyes locked on hers. “I can’t ask you to do that. You’re trying to heal from your injury?—”
“I just lost my role as Marian the Librarian.” She straightened her spine. “Let me take on the role of Noah’s fiancée. We’re gonna exonerate you and clear up this mess once and for all.”
I encouraged Aris to spend the night in Noah’s bed. He looked torn for a few minutes, like he needed to choose between us. So, I made it easy for him. Noah needed comforting tonight. I needed it last night.
I still needed it. Everything happening had shaken me to my core, but I was trying to take a page from Aris’s book and be a glass-half-full kind of person. It did not come naturally to me. I remembered reading something a while back about how, if you have negative thoughts, then negative things will happen to you. But if you have positive thoughts, you can manifest positive things happening to you.
Was my negative thinking to blame for my throat issues and the bike wreck? For me being forced to give up my dream role in my last semester of school?
I would never get a firm answer to that question, but I’d spent a lot of my life imagining the worst-case scenario. My fiancé, Nathan, who broke up with me after we graduated from college, told me once that I was a buzzkill.
“You’re no fun to be around, Dani,” he’d told me. “You don’t know how to let loose and have a good time.”
Being around Aris might help me with that. He was fun and serendipitous and sincere. He was good for me. I just knew it.
As I curled up in bed, I thought about what transpired between us the night before. It was the most incredible sex I’d ever had in my life. Then he spent some time with Noah, came back, and wanted more. I’d never been with a man who wanted to have sex more than one time in a night.
So, yeah, Nathan, tell me again how I’m no fun?!
It was so quiet in the house, and my pain medication was starting to make me sleepy, but I could have sworn I heard a rhythmic sound coming through the wall. Was that Aris and Noah going at it? My nipples hardened at the thought, and a tingle of desire fluttered in my core. Thinking about them together… damn… it turned me on.
What would they do if I snuck in and watched them?
Well, there would be no sneaking around on crutches and with this damn cast on my leg.
I’d have to just lie here and imagine…
“Aren’t you glad you finally told me what’s going on?” I slid my mouth down Noah’s cock and back up again, making a distinct slurping sound at the top.
“Yes…” the strangled sound rumbled up Noah’s throat. “Fuck, Aris…yes. Please…oh God, don’t stop…”
“Don’t stop what?” I teased him, twirling my tongue around the head of his cock. I gently squeezed his balls before making another pass down his shaft with my mouth.
“Fuck, I need to be inside you,” he groaned when I stopped again. “You’re killing me.”
“Taking your mind off things, though, right?”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about something else…to be honest…” He sat up on his knees and pushed me down on the bed. He stayed there for a moment, hovering over me. The look on his face told me he had another secret, and he couldn’t decide whether or not to share it.
“To be honest, what? Haven’t we learned that confessing our secrets makes us feel better? And earns us blow jobs?” I batted my eyelashes at him.
“Get on your knees,” he commanded. “I’ll tell you when I’m balls-deep inside that ass.”
“Oh, damn!” I moaned. I loved it when he took control. Not wasting any time, I rolled over onto my hands and knees and presented my ass to him.
He gripped both globes, smacking my flesh hard enough to leave a mark. When I winced, I heard a sadistic chuckle trickle past his lips. He took his time, kneading the firm muscles there, and when I least expected it, he parted my ass cheeks, and a warm, wet sensation sent a shiver down my spine. His tongue rimmed my entrance, making me weak in the knees.
“You did such a good job getting me nice and hard for this greedy hole,” his voice rumbled from behind me as he used a finger to prepare me to take him. Then I heard him grab the bottle of lube from the nightstand and squirt some out. “The least I can do is get you ready for me.”
“Mmm…thank you….” I gasped when he inserted his lubed finger and stretched me before inserting another finger. He fucked me with both fingers, and when he moaned, I knew he was stroking himself with his other hand.
“I need you.” I looked over my shoulder at him handling his hard cock. Fuck, he had a beautiful dick. Just thinking about it inside me made my balls tighten up and my own cock rock-hard.
“Already?” Now it was his turn to tease me.
“Tell me what you were thinking about a minute ago when you said ‘to be honest.’”
“Be good and take my cock first, baby.” He pressed the tip against my hole, stealing my breath.
I stroked my cock, willing myself to relax so he could penetrate me. Fuck, it burned and felt good all at the same time. He leaned forward and kissed my neck as he pushed inside me ever so slowly, nibbling at the spot where it met my shoulder.
“Fuck, Aris…you’re so tight. Feels so fucking good. You okay, baby?”
“Yes…fuck…oh god.” I tried to stabilize my breathing as the pain and pleasure mixed, sending conflicting impulses through my body.
“Almost there…oh, fuuuuuuck…”
He slid all the way in and stilled. His steady breaths were the only sounds as he acclimated to the pressure against his cock and allowed me to relax and enjoy the sensations slowly turning from discomfort to intense pleasure.
“Okay, baby,” I said over my shoulder. His fingers dug into my hips as I gave him permission to move. “Tell me now…you’re inside me.”
“Yes…” He stroked in and out a few times, slow, shallow strokes, still allowing me to adjust. “So, you know how I ran into you in the hallway last night?”
“After I fucked Danielle?” I clarified.
As soon as I said the words, I felt his dick pulse inside me.
“Yes.”
“What about it?” I pushed back against him, willing him to move faster.
“You know it made me hard,” he admitted.
“Yes, the gray sweatpants tell all.” I chuckled.
He slid halfway out and rammed in hard.
“Fuck!” I screamed.
He slowed down his pace. “I can’t stop thinking about you fucking her,” he said. “I woke up hard this morning dreaming about it.”
“You did?”
He began thrusting a little faster. “Yes. And right now, I’m imagining what it would be like to fuck you while you’re licking her pussy, or while you slide deep inside her.”
“You are?”
“I am… Fuck, if I keep thinking about it, I’m going to come.”
“Fuck…that’s really hot.” I began to stroke myself a little faster, the picture he just painted filling my mind with all sorts of interesting thoughts.
“You don’t mind if she goes to the ball with me?” he asked as his speed intensified again, his balls slapping against me as his thrusts went even deeper.
“No, I’m glad you are,” I admitted. “I hope you fuck her too.”
“I want you there when I do,” he said.
Before I could choke out any words, my climax rocked through me like a hurricane. As soon as it hit, Noah pumped into me so fast and hard, we both lost control. Only unintelligible groans and primal growls came out of our mouths now.
We just came to a fantasy starring Danielle.