31. Epilogue - Three Months Later
Epilogue - Three Months Later
Annaliese
I turn to face the beads of water, hoping the cabin’s pressure can hold out for another few minutes while I wash the conditioner from my hair. I need to savor these quiet moments in the shower after days like today.
The heat was nearly unbearable, and an influx of mosquitoes swarmed us the entire day as we worked the triage tents. My neck is raw, red, and rashy from my mosquito net rubbing against it all day. There were more tears than expected, both from workers and the families begging us for their help. We’ve been docked at this port for three days, and it seems like the influx of those needing help hasn’t slowed.
I’m sunburnt, starving, dehydrated and in need of twenty hours of sleep, but food and rest likely won’t happen soon.
If my internal clock is correct, I have about ten minutes before Colt’s jeep should arrive at the port. He’s been traveling for the last twenty-five hours, and should have landed at the Kismayo International Airport roughly thirty minutes ago.
I can imagine how twisted his brows will be as he takes the bumpy, dusty drive down the single lane roads that weave through the wilderness. He’ll question if he’s even in the right vehicle, with the right person, headed somewhere toward me or possibly being led deep into the jungle. I know he’s wondering what the hell I’ve convinced him to do, and I smile at the thought of him whining about the lack of luxury amenities waiting for him on the ship.
Wait until he sees that we’re sharing a nearly twin size bed for the next three weeks.
Three whole weeks with my man.
After the night I left my dad with his jaw hanging open at the restaurant, I also decided to end my residency at Grace General. With Colt’s help, I left on good terms, and was able to spend two weeks packing up my apartment, planning my move, and relaxing at his house waiting for him to come home to me at the end of every day.
We didn’t get our trip to Aruba, but we were able to explore the city we both grew up in with a new perspective. And we could do it together.
We strolled downtown, hand in hand, and it didn’t matter who we saw. Sometimes we’d just spend the day on the streets, wandering until we found something that sparked our interest. We found a guy selling tamales on a street corner from a cooler. They looked and smelled delicious but Colt was too sketched out to eat one, so we settled for tacos at Big Star.
We found our slow, acoustic setting at The Hideout, sitting in a corner booth sipping a beer while we lost ourselves for hours at a time.
We danced in front of strangers simply because we didn’t have to hide, and the last few weeks in the city with him were some of the best days of my life.
My dad, on the other hand, is living through some of his worst.
His years of inappropriate sexual advances and sexism finally caught up with him. In the weeks following that fateful dinner, several surgical staff came forward to file a sexual harassment suit against him. That, coupled with some new information regarding gender discrimination, forced him into an early retirement, denying him the glory of naming the next Chief of Surgery. His precious ego and reputation are officially tarnished and he has no one else to blame but himself.
My dad hasn’t tried to reach out to either myself or Colt. And right now, we both don’t care. It’s been a healing journey for each of us, and it’s likely a journey that will take some time. My dad deserves to know what it’s like to lose something that meant so much to him–whether that’s his relationships or his career, I’ll never know.
Colt realized that he didn’t care to be the Chief of Surgery. He had wanted the title, hoping it would give him the sense of accomplishment he’s been chasing his whole life. But when he took a good look at the career he built, the talent he has, and the other friendships that were right in front of him, he realized he’s happy right where he is.
And once my residency is over, that’s right where I plan to be. Back at Grace General, forging my own legacy as Dr. Annaliese Keeton with Dr. Colter Andrews by my side.
I smile at the thought of us working together again as I shut off the water and reach for my towel. A rap on the door of my cabin sounds, and I yelp, wrapping the towel around myself and not taking the time to dry the water from my skin or hair before racing across the small room to look through the peephole.
The figure on the other side practically blocks out the hall lights. I fling the door open, coming face to face with the man I’ve only been able to see in my dreams and in the naughty video chats that get us through our days apart.
His face immediately bursts out in a smile, and while he appears exhausted and disheveled, he looks as dreamy as I remember. His brown hair is a little longer and curling a bit due to the extreme humidity. The gray still peppers his temples and his beard in the best way. His navy tee stretches across his broad chest, and I can see the lines of sweat and dirt that cover his skin from the ride out here.
Tugging him by the arm, I pull him into my cabin and slam the door behind him. My towel drops to the floor the same time he lets go of his bag, and he reaches for me as I go to climb up into his arms.
“Baby,” he rasps, burying his head into the crook of my neck. I’m sure my wet hair is sticking to his sweaty skin, but I don’t care. The dirt from his body is going to cling to my still wet one, but it doesn’t matter. I wrap my arms and legs around him so tightly he might find it hard to breathe, but again, I don’t care. He moves us the few paces to the bed where he lays me down, and the second my back hits the bedding I reach for his face and crash my lips to his.
I can feel the tears welling at the corners of my lids, and he kisses me like he needs each kiss to breathe again. Each move of our mouths, each sharp inhale and breathy moan has me wanting—no, needing— more. My hands find the hard plane of muscle on his back beneath his shirt, and I tug, guiding the fabric over his head.
His bristly chest hair scratches my sensitive skin, and I welcome it.
He rises on his knees, and my hands go to loosen his belt, but he stills me. “I haven’t even properly said hello yet, baby.” His words say wait, but his eyes and hands say otherwise, moving across my chest to immediately squeeze my breasts.
I grin as I continue to rip open his belt. “Hi, I hope your flight was good. I love you. We will be together day and night for three weeks straight, crammed together in this twin-sized bed, so there will be plenty of time to talk. Now let me see that dick.”
He chuckles, stilling my hands once again. “I’ve been traveling for damn near thirty hours. I’m sure I smell, and I think a bird might have shit on us on the drive. Do you want me to shower first?”
I lift each of his hands from his belt and move them to hang at his sides, and he doesn’t fight me. “Colt, you’ve got to know by now that I’d likely drink your bathwater. I don’t care if you stink or are dirty or whatever you think, I’ve missed you for three long months. I need you right now or I’m going to lie here and touch myself while you stand and watch.”
He moans at the thought of that, a deep, hearty moan that has wetness pooling between my legs.
He leans over me again, kissing me passionately as he whispers sweet nonsense about how much he missed me. I rip his belt through the loops, yank open the button and zipper of his jeans to shove his pants and briefs down his massive thighs. His cock springs to life, and I immediately reach for it, stroking in long smooth motions as his eyes fall shut.
“Condom,” he rasps, but I shake my head, never stopping my strokes.
“Birth control,” I whisper back.
Colt’s eyes flutter shut, and he doesn’t even bother taking his clothes off all the way. With one arm bracketed at the side of my head, and the other pulling my leg up and open, he sinks into me.
We both groan once he’s fully seated, and I can visibly see the tenison evaporate from his shoulders. He moves to lie on top of me, propping up on his elbows as he pauses any movement and takes time to stare into my eyes.
He leans down, brushing a kiss across my lips as he whispers to me, “God, Annie, you have no idea how fucking good it feels to finally be home.”