Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
Rainey
“I can’t believe what a little champ he is with nursing,” Devyn declares with a loving smile as she watches her son suckling her breast.
“He’s a natural,” I agree. “And so are you, Mama.”
“Do you really think so?”
“I really do,” I assure her.
She pulls him away when he’s had enough and props him against her shoulder. “Thank you, Rainey. I’m starting to believe that it does get easier once your instincts kick in. The only part I’m really struggling with—well, besides feeling like a zombie all the time—is getting him to burp after he feeds. I can never seem to get a good one out of him, and the poor thing has been having the worst gas pains.”
I open my arms, gesturing for her to pass me the baby. “May I?”
She hands him over. “Be my guest.”
I hold Nathan to my chest with his chin resting on my shoulder. “I like to rub the back a bit to put a little pressure on the abdomen before I start patting. Sometimes babies just need a slightly firmer hand.”
I demonstrate by rubbing circles on his back, and then I give him a few good thwacks between the shoulder blades.
BURRRP!
Devyn beams when her son releases a belch worthy of a frat house. I, however, tense up when I feel the unmistakable sign of spit-up running down my back and my front. Damn, how much did this kid drink?
“He did it!” Devyn shouts excitedly.
“He did,” I agree.
She notices the mess he’s made all over my blouse and takes him from me. “Oh, Rainey! I’m so sorry. I should’ve given you the burp cloth before handing him over! You’re soaked.”
I hold my shirt away from my skin. “Yeah, he got me pretty good. I don’t suppose you have a top I could borrow?”
Devyn gets up from the bed and retrieves a T-shirt from her dresser. “Of course. This will probably be a little tight in the bust, but it should work.”
I grab the tee and walk toward the door leading to the hallway. Devyn likes to nurse in her bedroom, so she doesn’t have to be in the same room as her brother while feeding. I keep telling her breastfeeding is perfectly natural, but both she and Drew insist that he does not need an accidental boob shot. The nurse side of me thinks she’s being silly, but the woman with five brothers totally gets it. I wouldn’t want a nip slip around any of them, and I’m positive they’d tell you the same.
“I’m going to change in the bathroom so I can rinse this out. ”
“I’d be happy to throw it in the washer,” she offers.
I shake my head. “It’ll be fine if I can just run some water over it for now. I’m sure you have enough laundry on your hands with that little guy.”
She chuckles. “This is true.”
“I’ll be right back.”
I step into the hall and head over to the bathroom across the way. Once the door is closed, I widen the neck of my blouse as I lift it over my head, so I don’t get chunky breastmilk in my hair. Sadly, I get a lot of practice doing this at work. Labor & Delivery is messy business, folks.
The spit-up is a force to be reckoned with, as a simple rinse does not do the job. I wind up scrubbing with some hand soap and a good amount of elbow grease before I feel confident the stain won’t set before I get home.
“Holy fuck!” a deep voice shouts.
I jump and make a feeble attempt to cover my breasts with my arms. “What the hell?”
Standing in the doorway is none other than Mr. Viagra from the ER.
“ What the hell ?” he repeats. “What’s happening right now? What are the symptoms of a stroke, again? I’m pretty sure I’m having a stroke right now. Or maybe I died. I came in here to take a piss, and the next thing I know, I’m looking at the most perfect pair of tits known to man. If there’s a heaven, those tits are definitely in it.”
He’s practically staring holes through my boobs.
“Yep, I’ve gotta be dead. Or maybe I passed out, and this is a dream. A really good fucking dream.”
What is this idiot blabbering on about?
I grab the black T-shirt off the counter and hold it against me. “Turn around!”
He holds his hands up in surrender and turns away. “I’m not imagining this, right? The hot nurse I’ve been fantasizing about all week is standing two feet away from me in a see-through bra?”
I glance down at my chest before pulling the shirt over my head. Damn it , of course I’m wearing a bra that leaves nothing to the imagination.
Did he say he’s been fantasizing about me?
“Not anymore,” I huff. “I’m fully dressed again.”
He turns around with a shit-eating grin plastered to his face. “I prefer you with the shirt off, but this will do, I suppose.”
I give him the nastiest glare I can manage. “Have you ever heard of knocking?”
“Have you ever heard of locking a door?” he counters.
I roll my eyes. “What are you doing here anyway?”
“This is my friend’s place. What are you doing here?”
“The same,” I reply.
I’d say it was impossible, but his grin is even bigger now. “Well, what are the odds?”
“The odds of what?”
“I’m guessing you’re here visiting Devyn and the baby. Am I right?”
I lean against the vanity and cross my arms over my chest. “Yeah…and?”
“So am I. My buddy, Drew, wanted me to meet his new nephew.”
Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!
I wave him into the bathroom so I can leave. “Well by all means, take care of your business and get to it. I was just leaving.”
He blocks my exit and closes the door. “You know what this means, don’t you, Rainey? ”
I splay my hand against his torso to put some space between us. “ What does it mean, Brody ?”
I bite my lip, hoping that didn’t come out as breathy as I think it did.
Brody is now fixated on said lips. “The fact you remember my name tells me that I made an impression on you, too.”
“Will you get to the point?” I blurt. “And don’t flatter yourself with the name thing. Most of my patients are women, so of course I’m going to remember the guy with the boner that wouldn’t quit.”
He laughs. “My point is that we’re going to be seeing a lot more of each other… and I won’t be your patient. Now you have to consider going out with me.”
“I don’t have to consider anything,” I argue.
“Damn, I really wish I didn’t have to fly back to Boston tomorrow.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Boston?”
“Yeah. I’m in grad school.”
Thank God, he doesn’t even live here. As if he’s reading my mind he adds, “But don’t worry, beautiful. I’ll be back. I’m coming home after I graduate next year.”
“Home is Seattle?”
He steps back slightly to regard me. “Technically, I grew up about twenty miles south of the city, but this is where I plan on being if all goes well on the job front. I’m going into aerospace engineering. Convenient that one of the largest plants in the world is right here, don’t you think?”
I eye him skeptically. “You’re going to design planes for a living?”
He puffs his chest out. “I sure am. Are you impressed?”
“Meh, not really. ”
Okay, total bullshit right there. Smart guys are extra hot in my opinion, but there’s no way I’m telling him that.
He leans in to whisper, “You’re sexy when you lie, do you know that?”
I roll my eyes as I push him off me. “What makes you think I’m single?”
“Oh, you’re single,” he says confidently. “Or if you’re taken, you’re not with a guy that can hold your interest. You wouldn’t look at me the way you do if you were.”
“Last time I checked, being repulsed by someone looks entirely different than wanting to do the dirty with them.” I wiggle the fingers on my left hand in front of his face. “For your information, I am taken, and he holds my interest just fine.”
He stares at my shiny new ring. “You’re married ? You weren’t wearing a ring when we first met. Trust me, I checked.”
“I’m engaged actually. I don’t wear the ring at work because it would tear through my exam gloves.”
His frown quickly morphs into a smirk. “You can pretend all you want, Rainey. Ring or no ring, you and I both know I make your panties wet.”
“Wow, somebody sure is full of himself,” I scoff. “Can your ego get any bigger?”
“If you think my ego is big, you should see my dick.” He rubs his chin in mock contemplation. “Oh wait… you already have! ”
“And on that note, I’m leaving.” I scoot to the side and make my way toward the door.
He grabs my wrist. “Wait. I really think you should give this some thought.”
Pointedly, I eye my wrist, waiting to speak until he releases it. “What planet are you from? How much more obvious can I be? Even if I was single, I’m not interested, Brody!”
In an instant, his expression turns from playful to impassioned. Before I can register what’s happening, he grabs my arm and yanks me into him until my breasts are mashed up against his chest. God, he smells good.
“You’re interested,” he whispers into my ear, making me shiver. “Your nipples are telling me that you’re very interested. Now, I don’t normally make a habit of going after someone else’s girl, but I can’t seem to get you out of my head. I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t try, and trust me when I say I can be awfully tenacious.”
I surreptitiously glance down and see that my headlights are on high beam. Traitorous bitches! This guy’s proximity is making me lose my scruples. Why does he have to be so attractive? For the record, I do not normally react to a man this way. Not since Adam and I started seeing each other anyway. I don’t know why I’m reacting this way. I can’t stand that my body is betraying me like this.
“You’re a jackass,” I say, stepping away from him. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I think our bathroom rendezvous is officially over.”
I hear the smug bastard laughing as I step into the hallway and close the door.