Counting the Stars (The Starboard Beach #2)

1. Alex

1

Alex

“ D rop your drawers and bend over, princess,” the burly nurse orders.

“Oh, come on, Hilda, don’t you think we’re moving a little fast? I mean, you haven’t even bought me dinner.” I flash my megawatt smile that’s always a favorite of the ladies. Of course it does nothing for Hilda. She might as well be a troll that lives in the swamp and eats her young.

Figures I’d get the worst of the worst assigned to me. I know almost every worker in the Emergency Department of Starboard Beach Community Hospital. I’ve been working right next door at the firehouse for several years. Sometimes I even moonlight as a paramedic with the first aid squad, which is conveniently attached to the firehouse. As a matter of fact, our police station is directly across the street from the hospital. Basically, this section of Starboard Beach is a one-stop shop for all your emergency needs. Unfortunately, today, I’m the one in need .

The troll nurse pumps the syringe, letting a string of liquid spew onto the floor.

“Don’t tetanus shots go in the upper arm?”

“Not when you do something stupid and cut both shoulders,” she replies gruffly, nodding in the direction of my bandages. My scrapes aren’t too bad, but the gauze currently covering up my wounds does block access to where the needle would typically go. At least I didn’t require stitches.

“I was trying to save a kitten!” Okay, it wasn’t my smartest move. I cut my arms sticking my hands down a rusty drainpipe. I could barely reach the kitten’s whiskers, so I tried using my other arm…like that would be any longer. Not my finest moment. In the end, my buddy Mickelson was able to coax the little furball out and even offered to adopt it for his two daughters. He got the kitten. I got several scrapes and a trip to the ER for a tetanus booster.

“Survival of the fittest.” Hilda shrugs. “The kitten shouldn’t have been exploring in a drainpipe.”

“It was probably trying to seek shelter from the rain and—” I look at her stone-cold face. “Why am I even bothering explaining this to you?”

“Beats the hell out of me.” She grunts. “Now drop your drawers and bend over.”

Not wanting to offend the troll nurse, I do as she says. As I unbuckle my belt, I hear a small gasp and a shhh from behind the curtain. It’s then I notice several sets of shoes poking out from underneath. I smile and scan the shoes disappointedly. No purple Sketchers, a telltale sign that Gabby would be one of the nurses trying to catch a glimpse of my ass. It’s not like she needs to sneak around to see me half naked anyway. I parade around both of our condos in a lot less than what I’m wearing now, which happens to be my usual outfit of jeans and a dark blue SBFD T-shirt .

More muffled sounds come from behind the curtain as I pull down my pants along with just a bit of my boxers. I don’t feel like mooning half of the hospital staff, although privacy is not my strongpoint. I’ve always been a bit of an exhibitionist.

I’m also a bit of a genetic phenomenon. My mom is from Mexico and my dad is from Canada. They met while in college and decided to settle in the US. I inherited my mom’s tan skin and dark hair but have my dad’s blue eyes and stand at just about six-foot-two. I am the youngest of seven children. Half of my siblings look like my mom and the other half look like my dad. I am the only one who is a true combination. It’s the running joke that my parents stopped after me because why mess with perfection?

The cold sensation of an alcohol wipe on my skin makes me do a little jump. I don’t have a fear of needles, but I’m really not fond of Nurse Ratched anywhere near my nether regions.

“Is Gabby here today?” I ask.

“Haven’t seen Ms. Ramirez.”

Gabriella Ramirez will one day become Mrs. Gabriella Ramirez Jones. She just doesn’t know it yet. I, on the other hand, have known it from the moment we met.

It was a dark and stormy night (no, seriously, it was winter and the rain was coming down in buckets).

I had just finished up my shift when I pulled into the parking lot of the condo I share with my buddy, Carter. The wind was whipping so hard it was difficult to see a hand in front of me, but somehow, I noticed a small figure hovering over a light blue sedan.

“Do you need some help?” I asked the figure.

She turned to face me and at that moment, I swear the sky cleared and the clouds parted to reveal the most stunning woman I had ever seen. The streetlight shone down, giving her the look of an angelic halo. She was drenched from head to toe; her dark hair clung to her face. I never really believed in love at first sight, but when she looked up at me with those beautiful brown eyes, I knew at that moment, I was looking into my future.

“I locked my keys in my car,” she said, trying to brush back her hair.

“Ah! Well, it’s your lucky day because I have just the thing to help.” I ran back to my SUV to grab my Slim Jim. I don’t get to use this tool much since many newer car models have an electronic system you can bypass, but fortunately for this mystery woman, she was driving an older vehicle. I grabbed the tool from my car and in no time was able to pop her door open.

“Thank you,” she said quietly as I retrieved her keys from the driver’s seat. “I’m no damsel in distress, by the way.”

“I didn’t think you were. It happens to the best of us.” I placed the keys in her palm, noticing that her hand was absent of a ring. Perfect. I may have enjoyed the company of women, but I was no homewrecker.

“I do this all the time.” She shook her head, seemingly mad at herself. “I usually have a hide-a-key under my bumper, but I guess I forgot to put it back the last time I did this.”

“Well, lucky for you, I was here to help.” I stuck my hand out to shake hers. “I’m Alex.”

“Gabriella.” She reached out and shook my hand. “But you can call me Gabby.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Gabby. Are you visiting?” I noticed her license plates were from Arizona. I hoped her stay wasn’t temporary. That could put a damper on the whole meeting-my-future-wife thing.

“No, I just moved in yesterday.”

“Yesterday,” I repeated. “Are you Michelle’s new roommate?” Michelle lived in the condo adjacent to mine. She mentioned she was interviewing potential roommates, but I hadn’t been around much to know if she found anyone.

“Yes. You know Michelle?” She cocked her head to the side in curiosity.

“I live right next door in 310.”

“Oh, wow!” she stammered. “Are you roommates with Carter? I met him last night.”

Of course she’d met Carter already. He was like the damn welcome wagon for all of us on 3rd East. If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have met Michelle or Jax, who lived across the hall.

An icy gust of wind blew, making her visibly shiver. The rain might’ve stopped, but we were both soaked to the bone. “You must be freezing. Come on, let’s get inside.”

“Yeah, I’m not used to the cold like this.” She wrapped her arms around herself and followed me through the doors of the lobby. We had a nice little setup here at the Woodland Condominiums. The building was basically a square with each side named after the direction it faces. The main floor had a pool, small gym, laundry room, and mailroom; the condos started on the second floor. We lived on the 3rd floor on the east side, hence the 3rd East name.

“So what brings you to Oregon?” I casually asked as we stepped onto the elevator.

“Job relocation,” she replied, with nothing more.

“What do you do?”

“I’m a nurse.”

“No shit! Will you be working at the hospital?”

She nodded while staring at the numbers over the elevator door. “I start next week in the Emergency Department.”

“Well, I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. I’m at the firehouse next door.” I gave her a flirty wink, but her face seemed to wash over with sadness. I brushed it off. Maybe she was just tired from her move and getting caught in the rain.

“I guess so,” she replied noncommittally and practically jumped out of the elevator when it reached our floor.

I followed behind her like a lost puppy.

“Umm, what are you doing?” She turned when we stopped at the door of 312. I hadn’t realized I walked right past my place.

“Just making sure you get home safely.” I smiled and hoped that would save my blunder. I was usually much smoother with the ladies.

“Oh, okay, well…thanks again for helping me with my keys.”

“Anytime, and I know you’re no damsel in distress, but if you ever need help with anything, just remember I’m right next door.” I pointed in the direction of my place just as she slipped through the door of hers.

I stayed standing in the hallway until her door was completely shut. I couldn’t believe my luck. My future bride not only just moved in next door, but she would be working right beside me as well. This was going to be so easy.

“OW!” A sharp burning sensation pulls me out of my thoughts. I swivel my head to glare at Hilda. “You just stabbed me in the ass!”

“It was one little prick,” she says, holding up her weapon of choice. I swear there’s a drop of blood on it. Hilda disposes of the needle and stomps away, muttering something to herself just as a familiar face pops her head through the curtain.

“Now you show up?”