Chapter 5
CHAPTER
FIVE
Casey sat in the hospital cafeteria, absentmindedly picking at her salad as she scrolled through her phone, checking out some of her favorite romantic suspense authors’ social media pages to see if they had any new releases. Not that she needed any more suspense in her life at the moment.
A full two weeks had passed, and there were no sightings of Michael. According to Tracy, he had been dealt a heavy surgery schedule since starting. That didn’t mean she wasn’t on guard while at the hospital because she knew he could make an appearance at any moment.
Her morning schedule had been hectic, and she was grateful for a moment to breathe and have a bite to eat, even though it was already two in the afternoon.
Just as she was about to take a bite, Tracy plopped down across from her, her expression mixed with disgust and bewilderment.
“You will not believe what I just found out,” Tracy said, shaking her head as she stabbed a piece of turkey with unnecessary force.
Casey looked up, curious. “What’s wrong with you?”
Tracy took a deep breath, clearly still processing whatever had just occurred. “So, you know how I’m cat-sitting for Irish and Bailey while they’re on vacation?”
Casey nodded, trying to suppress a smile. Tracy’s adventures in pet-sitting always seemed to end in some bizarre situation. “Yeah, how’s Mr. Whiskers? Still terrorizing the furniture?”
Tracy rolled her eyes. “Oh, Mr. Whiskers is fine. In fact, he’s more than fine. He’s been enjoying himself a little too much, if you know what I mean.”
Casey frowned, confused. “Enjoying himself? What are you talking about?”
Tracy leaned in, lowering her voice as if sharing some deep, dark secret. “I found out that Mr. Whiskers has been humping my pajamas.”
For a moment, Casey just stared at her friend, processing the information. Then, the image of the dignified, orange and white fluffy cat going to town on Tracy’s pajamas hit her, and she burst out laughing, nearly spitting out her mouthful of lettuce. “Are you serious?”
Tracy’s face twisted in disgust as she nodded.
“Dead serious. I couldn’t figure out why my pajamas kept ending up on the floor or in random places.
I thought I was just being careless or that they were falling off the bed while I was at work.
But noooo. This perverted cat has been dragging them off the bed and…
” she scrunched her nose up before continuing, “doing the nasty with them.”
Casey was laughing so hard she could barely catch her breath. “Oh my God, Tracy, that’s hilarious! Poor Mr. Whiskers, he’s just a lonely cat that wants some action.”
“Lonely or not, it’s disgusting!” Tracy exclaimed, throwing her hands up.
“I wasn’t even concerned at first. I mean, it’s a cat.
But last night, I went to get my pajamas and found them in the closet, Casey.
The closet! There’s no way I put them there.
When I mentioned it to Irish and Bailey when they called, Irish just laughed and said, ‘Oh yeah, we forgot to mention, Mr. Whiskers has a thing for clothes.’ A thing for clothes, Casey! The cat fucked my PJs!”
Casey wiped the tears from her eyes, her laughter still bubbling up uncontrollably. “That’s too funny. And you had no idea this whole time?”
“None!” Tracy said, exasperated. “I’ve been sleeping in clothes that have been violated. Ugh, I need a long shower just thinking about it.”
Casey grinned, trying to hold back another wave of laughter. “Well, look on the bright side. At least you know now. And you can keep your pajamas out of his reach.”
Tracy groaned. “You bet your ass I’m going to. As a precaution, I’ve already locked up all my clothes and locked my bedroom door. I am not letting that sex-crazed, fur-ball get his jollies on any more of my stuff.”
Casey shook her head, still chuckling. “I’m sorry, Tracy, but that’s just too funny. You must tell Irish and Bailey that they owe you big time for this.”
Tracy nodded, her expression softening as she joined in the laughter. “Oh, I’m definitely getting something out of this. Maybe I’ll make them buy me new pajamas since I had to burn my previous ones.”
Casey grinned. “Sounds like a plan. And hey, at least you’ll have a great story to tell people.”
Tracy rolled her eyes again, but she was smiling now. “Yeah, because nothing says, ‘life of the party’ like a cat with a clothes fetish.”
Ginny, one of the operating room nurses and a friend of theirs, walked in. “Do you ladies mind if I join you?”
“No. Have a seat,” Casey told her, pulling out the chair beside her.
Ginny plopped down as she puffed out a big breath.
“Oh no. I know that look. What did Wayne do now?” Tracy asked, looking angry.
Wayne was Ginny’s ex-boyfriend and a total douchebag. He was one of those controlling and possessive types. Thank goodness Ginny had the smarts to distance herself from him before it got worse.
“He won’t stop calling and texting me. Telling me how much he misses me and promises that he’ll change.”
“Girl, I hope you are not falling for that bullshit. How many times has he promised you that?” Tracy stated.
“Too many. And no, I have no intention of forgiving him and giving him another chance.”
“That’s my girl!” Tracy said, grinning. “Change your number,” she suggested.
“That might work. I’ll call my phone provider this evening.”
“Speaking of this evening, are you and I still on for dinner and drinks?” Casey asked Tracy.
“You betcha! I’ve been looking forward to it all week.”
“What time do you get off?” Casey asked.
“At five. How about you?”
“It was supposed to be five, but with all the surgeries this morning, I’m running a little behind on making my rounds.”
Tracy waved her off. “That’s fine. I can always find something to do around here until you finish up. I’m actually surprised that Max isn’t having dinner at the same place to keep an eye on you.”
“He just started his new job this week, and it’s been keeping him pretty busy. So, I’m sure he’ll be working late again. But he still calls and has me call him to check in,” she said with a grin.
“You are so lucky, Case, to have found yourself such a good man,” Ginny said, taking a bite of her sandwich. “How did you two meet anyway?”
Casey took a sip of her water, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips as she met Tracy’s eyes.
“Oh, Ginny! It’s a great story.”
Casey couldn’t help but laugh.
“Ginny, you’re in for a treat. I love listening to this story because it’s just too funny, and a little embarrassing, for Max, that is,” Tracy said, looking amused.
Ginny’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. “I’m all ears!”
Casey set her fork down and wiped her mouth.
“Okay, so this was when I was still working at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego. Max, at the time, was a SEAL instructor at Coronado. One evening, I’m working the ER, and in walks Max with his buddy.
Let me set the scene: Max is this big, tough Navy SEAL, right?
But he looks absolutely miserable, and I can’t figure out what’s wrong until they start explaining. ”
Tracy chuckled, already knowing where this was going.
“Apparently, they were out at a strip club for a friend’s bachelor party,” Casey continued, barely suppressing her own laughter.
“And someone, probably as a prank, slipped a Viagra or something similar into Max’s beer.
The poor guy ended up with a massive hard-on that just wouldn’t go away.
And when I say massive, I mean it was bad, like, really bad. ”
Ginny burst out laughing. “Oh my God, no way!”
“Oh, yes,” Casey said, nodding with a grin.
“And the best part? He was in so much pain, trying to explain to me how he’d been, um, trying to relieve it himself, but nothing was working.
It took everything in me not to laugh because I knew how serious it was.
But come on—this big, tough SEAL complaining about a never-ending erection? It was unreal.”
Both Ginny and Tracy were practically in tears from laughing so hard.
“What did you do?” Ginny asked.
“Well, it was actually dangerous because it looked like he was given more than one dose, judging by the side effects he was having. So, I had to do an aspiration decompression.”
“I’ve heard of it but never actually saw one being performed,” Ginny said, still giggling.
“So, basically, I had to drain the excess blood from his penis using a small needle and syringe,” Casey explained her tone a mix of professional and amused. “Not exactly what you imagine when you think of meeting your future boyfriend, right?”
Ginny’s eyes widened. “Wait, you had to…?”
“Yep,” Casey confirmed, laughing. “Who would’ve thought I’d get to see and touch his penis before we even went on our first date?”
Ginny shook her head in disbelief, wiping away tears of laughter. “That is the best ‘how we met’ story I’ve ever heard. How did you two end up dating after that?”
Casey smiled, her laughter fading into something softer. “After the procedure, once he was feeling better, Max was actually really sweet. He thanked me for helping him out, and we just started talking. He asked me out a few days later, and the rest is history.”
Ginny grinned. “I guess saving him from that predicament really sealed the deal, huh?”
“Something like that,” Casey agreed with a wink. “But yeah, it’s a story we both laugh about now. Though I must admit, it’s not the most romantic start, but it’s definitely memorable.”
They all laughed and then finished their lunch before returning to the hospital.