Chapter 28
Jaxon
Monday morning brings a whole new group of faces. My blissful month off is over, and I’m back to the grind. I say my good mornings and shake hands as Dr. Angler introduces me to the staff. I recognize one of the nurses from my stint here earlier this year.
I spend the morning going over the ins and outs of the office protocols, see two patients who called for a sick visit that were willing to be seen by me since Dr. Angler was booked solid, and make small talk when I get the chance to help build rapport with my new colleagues.
Overall, this is the opportunity I’ve been working for.
A normalish schedule with the occasional on-call rotation so that I can actually settle down and breathe outside of the hospital.
The staff seems nice. The ladies were ecstatic when I answered a ringing phone while they were busy and realized I’m willing to do more around here than they’ve been accustomed to in the past. I didn’t see any work relationships here that appeared to be toxic.
By the end of the day, I’ve got a few patients scheduled and hopes of more moving over to my care from another doctor in the hospital who is planning to retire soon.
A knock on my office door has me looking up from my notations on a patient chart.
“I’m heading out. Great first day. I’m glad to have you as a new part of the team. See you tomorrow.”
“Have a good one, Dr. Angler, and uh, thanks.”
The older man nods, reminding me that I can call him Jim.
I follow in his footsteps and finish up my dictation.
I didn’t want to be the first one out the door on my first day.
Nodding to employees I recognize along the way, I navigate the hospital halls until stepping out into the fresh, warm, May afternoon.
Memorial Day weekend is coming, which means summer will be here before we know it.
Part of me longs for the heat, and the other part of me is already yearning for sweats and hoodies to be a day thing again, instead of just knocking out the chill in the evening.
When I pull into my driveway, I notice two things.
First, light glows from behind the front curtains of my living room.
Second, Cupcake’s SUV is in my driveway.
She let herself in with my spare. Is it too soon to just make her a copy of my keys?
This, I could get used to. I push open the front door, instantly hit with the scent of something baking.
Smiling, I kick off my shoes and hang my keys on the little hangymajig on the wall above the entry table.
Cupcake is not in the kitchen. My brow creases as I pad down the hall, tugging at my tie before loosening the top buttons of my dress-shirt.
I stop dead in my doorway, eyebrows flying high in delighted surprise at what greets me.
“Since I didn’t get to stay last night, I was hoping to give you a nice ending to your first day back on the job.”
“Well, I, yeah…pshhh–” I sputter, not able to come up with an intelligible answer.
Pressing a palm to the doorframe, I begin unbuttoning the rest of my shirt, yanking the bottom from my slacks as I drink in the sight of Holly spread out on my bed before me.
A bottle of cold beer rests between her thighs, both of which lie open and waiting for me as the beer obstructs my view of her pussy.
In her hand, she holds one of her vibrators with an open circle at the end as a sort of handle, twirling it around a finger, pushing the on button before sucking the tip of it into her mouth, then running it around a peaked nipple.
“The food should be ready in about an hour.”
I step into the room and kick the door shut with a low rumble from the back of my throat. Her eyes darken with arousal upon hearing it.
“I’m ready to eat now.”
“Thought you might say that.” She smirks naughtily, lifting the beer to take a sultry sip while revealing herself to me and pulling the air from my lungs.
My hungry eyes find hers as I prowl toward the bed.
I lift the bottle of beer from her hand, taking a slow swig of it while relieving her other hand of the toy, dragging it down her belly toward a more decadent destination.
“I’ve never shied from eating my dessert first.”
???
Holly
A while later, we’re curled up on the couch watching reruns of How I Met Your Mother and chuckling over Marshall singsonging everything he's doing. It's that episode where Lily really notices it, and it drives her absolutely crazy. I could rewatch this series over and over.
Jaxon turns sideways on the couch in his delectable gray sweats that only give me insanely naughty ideas and pulls me up onto his chest. I sigh against a pec and soak up the feeling of his fingers combing through my hair as his little rumbles of laughter vibrate through my cheek.
This is the life. It’s everything that was missing in my last relationship.
This need to be close while doing absolutely nothing and all the little touches that convey a level of adoration I'd never thought I'd be on the receiving end of.
I knew it existed after seeing all my friends find it.
I just never thought I would be so lucky.
It's mind-boggling to be honest, and it totally has me fighting feelings I'm really scared to name.
I trail my fingers through the small dusting of hairs that pepper his chest, and Jaxon reciprocates by slipping his fingers below his shirt that I'm wearing to lightly scratch my back. This is heaven…
???
“Holly. Baby.”
A deep timbre prods at me, and I'm gently shaken until I jump, realizing I've fallen asleep. I look around, not seeing the TV, and Jaxon's face comes into view in the dim glow of his bedside lamp. I'm in his bed. He carried me to bed. Swoon…
“Babe, what time do I need to set an alarm so you have time to get ready in the morning? Is your stuff here?”
I nod, still half-asleep, and hold up six fingers to indicate wayyyy too fucking early of a morning, but such is life.
I flop back onto the pillow. After several clicks and a chuckle, Jaxon is settling in next to me, pulling me onto his chest with a manly noise I’ve come to love as I burrow my face into his neck and start drifting off back to sleep.
“You really are spoiling me. If you keep crawling into my bed, I’m not going to be able to sleep without you curled up next to me.”
“Hmmm…” That sounds nice. I don’t hate the idea, but with that thought flying through my brain, a smidge of panic latches onto the hem of its trousers for dear life, and try as I may, I can’t shake it off.
I have got to let this go. Jaxon is not Michael, and he has already proven himself more than worthy and deserving of my love and trust. Gah…
“I’m glad you let yourself in after work,” Jaxon mumbles nervously, and all my senses go on alert. What is he working up to here? “I hope you’ll do that more often, because finding you in my bed naked with a cold beer between your legs is pretty much top tier, wife-you-up level shit for me.”
Wife-you-up…
My stomach drops, and I squeeze my eyes tighter.
Why do I have to be so fucked in the head when a fantastic guy is mumbling his heart out to me?
I should say something, anything, but I just come up empty.
Is that saying something in itself?! Fuck, act asleep.
My brain screams at me that that is avoidance and quite immature.
Hell, I know it is, but I just have absolutely nothing, NOTHING, that I can say right now that won’t sound as absurd as the intrusive thoughts running rampant through my brain.
Jaxon sighs, scooting from beneath me to lie on his side as he scoots down the pillow to come face to face with me. I feel his eyes on me as I concentrate on appearing as serene as possible. His fingers tuck a fallen hair behind my ear.
“Give it up, Sweetheart. I know you’re not asleep yet. You’re not snoring.”
I crack a scowl and squint through one eye at him to show him my disdain for that statement, catching his amused expression as he nibbles on his bottom lip and holds back a snicker.
“I do not snore.”
“Only lightly when you are really, really tired. It’s breathy and cute.”
Shit.
“Cute, huh?”
“Super cute. It’s also how I know I did a good job.”
“So it doesn’t happen often then.”
Jaxon guffaws, and a bubbly laugh erupts from my chest, lightening the mood. His fingers trail across my jawline as he watches me closely, a light in his eyes that quells so many of my fears.
“You sure do keep me on my toes, Cupcake.”
I poke his chest.
“Uh-uh, don’t you ‘Cupcake’ me and get any ideas. I am all ‘Cupcaked’ out for the night. I close my eyes and nuzzle my face into the pillow while enjoying the sound of his deep chuckle. I nailed that on the head because that sounded full of ideas.
“Alright. I’ll put those to bed too. Can’t help that your sass piques my interest.”
“Too many words…”
Another deep chuckle tickles my cheek as his soft lips press gently against it.
“Sleep tight.”
“Mmmm…” I hum in agreement, soaking in the feeling of his knuckles gently brushing back and forth in a languid pace along my jaw.
“So pretty.”
???
Mid-morning, I’m in the middle of the History lesson about World War II when the sudden urge to toss my cookies hits, and I break out in a sweat. No, no, no! I cannot be getting sick!
“Gabby, can you take over reading? I need to step out for a minute. Finish the chapter, then Aiden, you lead the end of chapter questions. Okay?” I look at two of my very responsible students with hope, and they nod back enthusiastically.
I nod and slip from the room, practically running for the bathroom at the end of the hallway.
Summer’s door is open, and I notice her head fly up from her paperwork as I run by.
I barely make it to the first stall before my breakfast decides to make its appearance.
“Good gracious, Holly! I haven’t seen you peel by my room like that, like ever. I knew something wasn’t right.” I hear Summer pulling paper towels and running water from one of the sinks.
A cold, damp towel is thrust in front of me as the last heave finishes. Hopefully, it’s all out. I reach to grab it and say thanks when another wave of nausea has me bending back over the rim and emptying my gut again. Hell, are my intestines coming up with it?
“I can’t think of any students out with a nasty virus. What’d you eat?”
I grab the cold paper towel and press it to my forehead, dabbing and not caring if I screw up my foundation. Glancing down, I check to make sure I’m not wearing puke.
“Graham crackers. I thankfully wasn’t in the mood for much else.”
“That sounded like you threw up breakfast burritos.”
“Ewww… Don’t talk about food right now.”
“Sorry, chica. I’ll peek in on your class while you clean up and decide what you’re going to do.”
“Thanks, Sum. You’re the best.”
Summer’s walking away when she stops at the door and turns.
“Hopefully whatever it is passes soon! At least it’s not morning sickness.”
With that, she closes the door behind her, the thud landing hard like my aching stomach just did.