21. Talia
twenty-one
Talia
I turn the corner into my favorite patient’s room and watch from the door as she reclines in her bed, her best friends at her side. Emma listens as the girl on her right goes on and on about some boy in her biology class while the other paints her nails.
“This color is perfect for you,” the girl holding the nail polish gushes.
Emma lifts her hands and examines the pale purple.
“I agree,” I say, striding into the room. Pulling up Emma’s chart on my tablet, I scan last night’s nurses’ log. I fight the urge to frown. Her oxygen levels were low during last night’s checks. “How is my favorite patient today?”
“Hey, Nurse T.” Emma smiles. She looks happy, but I don’t miss the strain around her eyes. “I’m good.”
A few months back, Emma went into cardiac arrest after being in a car accident with her mom. They hit a center guardrail on the freeway after getting sideswiped by a drunk driver. She had been hiding her symptoms and if it wasn’t for the accident, her parents might not have known she was born with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy—HCM—until it was too late. It breaks my heart that her disease progressed to the point of necessitating a new heart .
“Emma,” I chide. I’ve only been her nurse for a few days, and I’ve learned she’s a lot like me in that she doesn’t want her family and friends to worry.
One day she’s a normal teenage girl on her way to buy a dress for the spring dance, and now she’s in the hospital with a heart disease she never knew she had. She spends more time consoling her loved ones than she does worrying about herself.
She answers with a teenage eye roll. “I’m a little tired. I didn’t sleep well.”
“Are you eating?”
“Yes.”
“Have you done your walk today?”
“Yes. My besties made sure I did the required daily exercise. This is Sierra.” She points to the teen on her right.
Sierra smiles and waves. She’s cute, with sandy blonde hair set in waves around her face and shoulders. “Hi.”
“Nice to meet you, Sierra.”
Emma points to the pretty girl with dark skin and perfectly coiled chocolate braids. “And this is Trinity.”
Trinity’s gaze takes me in from head to toe before she grins. “Wow, you’re hot.”
“Oh my gawd, Trin. You can’t say stuff like that,” Sierra hisses at her.
Trinity throws her hands up. “Why not? She is hot. It’s the eyes and the ass.”
Her friends groan, and I can’t stop the bark of laughter that escapes. Oh, to be a teen again.
“Thanks.”
“Do you have a boyfriend … or girlfriend?” Trinity winks at me.
I like this one. She’s not afraid to be herself. I envy her sixteen-year-old confidence. I wish I had that kind of courage now, let alone when I was her age.
“Nosy, aren’t you?” I tease.
Trinity laughs and shrugs. “I live my truth. ”
“I applaud you for that. To answer your question, I do not have a girlfriend,” I admit while I don’t deny having a boyfriend.
The girls catch it too and latch on.
“So, there is a boyfriend.” Trinity rubs her hands together.
Emma chuckles.
I walk over and check the monitors, looking for any signs of change in her heart rate and oxygen before putting the buds of my stethoscope in my ears and listening to her heart. The beating of her heart gives me the assurance I need.
“I think she’s avoiding the question,” Sierra whispers, making the other two giggle.
Fighting my smirk, I look up to find all three girls staring at me. “Your vitals are good. I want you to eat and walk every day like we talked about. I need you to be in good shape and ready when we hear from UNOS about a new heart for you.”
Emma grins. “She’s totally avoiding the question. If I promise to follow all your rules, will you tell us about the guy?”
“No.” I point at her, shaking my head. “You have to do what I say, no matter what.”
She sticks her tongue out at me.
“Boo. At least tell us he’s hot,” Trinity says.
My mind drifts to Cam. Thick curly brown hair. Warm hazel eyes. Full muscular chest and arms. Washboard abs and firm butt. Big soft lips made for kissing. He is hot.
“Look at her cheeks; they’re red. He’s totally hot, isn’t he?”
Glancing at the door, I make sure Dr. Winters isn’t around. She is the best doctor at the hospital. I’ve been lucky to be placed on her service, to train and learn from her, but I’m still new, and I don’t know how she feels about connecting with patents.
The coast is clear.
“Yeah, he’s hot.”
The girls giggle and ask for details.
I feed their teenage imaginations and tell them about my stethoscope and our upcoming dinner date. They swoon over my not-boyfriend boyfriend. I enjoy listening to the three of them give me tips on my hair and clothes—hair down, wear a dress. I promise to follow their advice and tell them all about my date next weekend.
When I leave, Emma appears to be in better spirits than when I walked in. There is color in her cheeks. Her vitals are strong and stable.
This is the part of my job that I love—watching my patients gain the strength to push through even the worst of odds. Hope blooms in my chest for Emma. She’s resilient. She can get through this.
We just need a call from the transplant registry to come through soon.
“I missed you, itty bitty,” Cam croons, his voice low and gritty. He’s on his way home from the airport where he and the team returned after three long weeks on the road.
I step in front of the storage closet and look both ways, checking to make sure the coast is clear before opening it and stepping inside. Shelves line the small room from wall to wall, with neatly labeled bins filled with every medical supply you could think of.
“Can I see you? I’ll drive there right now, even if I only get to see you for a second.”
My stomach dips and soars, taking away the anxiety and replacing it with a tingling sensation—a feeling I now associate with Cam.
“I want that too, but I’m crazy busy. I barely had time to hide in the storage closet to talk to you. We are short on nurses, and I offered to help until they could find someone else to cover.”
“You have a good heart. I hate it,” he groans, making me chuckle .
“No, you don’t.” I spy an upside-down mop bucket in the corner and take a seat. It seems like I’m not the only one who slips away for a second to rest their aching feet.
“No, I don’t. What time should I pick you up for dinner tonight?” he asks.
“Cam.” I sigh. “You know you can’t do that.”
“I know.” I can hear the frustration in his tone.
I hate having to sneak around too, but we need time to figure out if our connection is just infatuation. What if the forbidden aspect is all we have?
“I fucking hate this. It should be me picking you up for our first date.”
“This isn’t our first date.”
“This is our first date at my house.”
And just like that, my panties melt. He’s irresistible when he’s swoony. It’s stuff like this that makes my worries about him being infatuated disappear.
“You’re crazy. My shift is over at six, and I’ll drive over to your place as soon as I can. What’s your address?”
“Hell no,” he growls. “You’re not driving. It’s too far.”
“It’s not that far, you caveman.” My eyes roll to the back of my head at his tone.
His protective side is showing. If this was Nico, I’d tell him to shove it. He’s always bossing me around like he knows what’s best. But when Cam gets all bossy, it feels more like support. He’s trying to take care of me without suffocating me. He’s keeping me safe without smothering me.
“One, I know you rolled your eyes at me, and you’re going to pay for that later.”
My thighs rub together in anticipation. Damn Cam for knowing what to say to turn me on. This is the worst time to think about his sexy punishment.
“And two, you’re exhausted, Tals. I can hear it in your voice. You’ve been at the hospital since five this morning. I doubt you’ve eaten breakfast. I bet this is the first break you’ve taken since you got there. Am I right?”
How does he know me so well?
I have been running nonstop. From the moment I stepped into the hospital, it’s been go, go, go. While I am extremely tired, I’m also learning so much from Dr. Winters. Shadowing her has been eye-opening on so many levels. I’ve been on this crazy adrenaline high watching her work.
“Yes,” I huff.
Cam’s deep chuckle sends shivers down my spine. “Let me send a car to get you. Then you can rest on the way here, and I won’t have to worry about you getting into an accident.”
He’s sexy when he’s worried and protective like this. “Fine. You win.”
“Thank you. And to make you feel better, I’ll let you win later.”
I hum. “I thought professional athletes hate losing.”
“If losing means I get to taste your sweet cunt and make you come on my tongue, then I’ll lose to you any day.”
“Cam,” I whisper, biting back a moan as my core spasms. “You can’t say things like that while I’m at work.”
“Hmm. Did my filthy mouth make you wet?”
I hesitate. “Yes.” I rub my thighs together, using the starchy fabric of my scrubs to create a sliver of friction against my most sensitive area.
“Good.”
I shift uncomfortably on the bucket, aching for relief. “No, not good. I have to walk around like this all day.”
“Don’t worry, itty bitty. I’ll lick you clean later.”
No one has ever made me feel as wanted as Cam does.
“Stop that,” I groan. “You’re the worst.”
“I know.”
The wicked undertone to Cam’s laugh has me shuddering in anticipation. I can’t wait to find out what he has in store for tonight .
“I’ll have a car outside waiting for you at six. Take your time. The car will wait as long as you need.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you tonight, baby.”
“See you tonight, big guy.”
The line goes dead, and I bring my phone to my chest, letting my eyes fall closed. Breathing in and out, I slowly bring my heart rate down.
Talking to Cameron is like getting on a rollercoaster, only better. The twists and turns on Cam’s ride are filthy words that send my lady bits into a tizzy, and I am so here for it.