34. Lauren
34
LAUREN
I woke with a mess of post-sex moisture dried to my thigh and a bladder so full I couldn’t hold it. The sun was peeking in through the curtains, and for the first time in my life, I walked naked through the apartment to the bathroom where I relieved myself then turned on the water for a shower. David was sleeping so peacefully, I didn't want to wake him. The emotion of everything had exhausted us both to the point of breaking. He deserved a few more minutes of rest.
The water was hot when I climbed in, but not as hot as last night's shower. My phone, still on the bathroom counter, displayed no new messages or calls. I was slightly disappointed that now, at just before seven a.m., Amber hadn't called yet, which meant no change in Jason's condition. Either they hadn't tried to wake him again or when they did, he got feisty again and they put him back out.
I relaxed into the water and let it saturate my hair as I shut my eyes and felt the sticky mess from last night be rinsed away. I never heard him enter the bathroom, and when David stepped into the shower with me, I jumped, startled by his touch. But then I snickered as he pressed his lips against mine under the stream of water.
I smiled against his kiss and wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders as his hands rested on my hips. The kiss was sweet and short, not too much—I hadn't brushed my teeth—and when his lips traveled over my jaw to my earlobe, it sent a shot of warmth through my groin.
"Dr. Park, you're making my body get all worked up and you know you'll have to fix that problem." I reached around to grab a handful of us butt cheek, and he bit down on my neck.
"Dr. Newhouse, I'm fairly certain I'm going to have to examine that problem for you." His fingers snaked to my breasts and he kneaded one of them. "I think I can fit you in right now if you have time."
"I think," I told him, giving him a gentle nudge, "that I need to get cleaned up. Amber could call any minute. Besides, I told her I'd go back to the hospital as soon as I woke up." I hated disappointing him, but morning sickness was the worst when I first woke up, and though it hadn’t hit yet, I didn't want to do anything to encourage it.
"You're killin' me," he groaned, but he backed away and smiled. "Let me wash your hair." David grabbed the shampoo bottle and squeezed some into his palm as I turned around and wrung the excess water out of my long, dark locks. His hand expertly massaged the soap to a lather and he turned me back to rinse.
"Were you serious?" I asked, relaxing under his touch.
"About?"
"About me moving in with you. Us, I mean. Me and Jason." After everything that had happened, I was just happy to be speaking with David and not playing phone tag or ignoring each other. What he spat out last night sounded too good to be true.
"Yes, I was absolutely serious, Lauren." He kissed my forehead and grabbed me by the hips, turning us both so that he was under the water and I was at the far end. "I want you to live with me. I want to help you with Jason, and though it'll be weird because I'm a bit older than you, maybe old enough to be his dad, I want to really help him." He hunched over to get his hair wet and then reached for the shampoo.
"But you don't think it's too fast?" I wasn't concerned, but the questions came up. What if people talked? What would the interns say? I wouldn’t be working there to catch the heat, but he'd have to live through that.
He lathered and rinsed his hair and then grabbed me gently by the elbows. "Don't worry about a thing, baby. I'm not put off by any of it. Let people judge or talk. We are happy, and that's all that matters."
He took the bar of soap and began to lather my body judiciously, but when he got to my thighs, I took it. I didn't need to get all worked up and be right in the middle of something when Amber called, which was exactly what would have happened. My phone started ringing just as I stooped under the showerhead to rinse off.
"I'll get it," David offered, and he stepped out of the shower. He bent over the phone and dried his hands on a towel. "It says Amber…"
"Yeah, answer it." I scurried to get all the soap off my body and rinse even as he swiped to answer and held the phone up in the air, speaker mode engaged.
"It's David and Lauren. You’re on speaker."
" Uh, hey, guys ." Amber sounded a bit confused and awkward. I shut the water off and grabbed another towel.
"Amber, what's going on?" I was breathless, anxious about whether this was good or bad news. It could go either way, and I felt guilty for indulging in personal time when Jason was still suffering.
" He's awake, babe. He's asking for you. They lowered the sedation, and I talked him through staying calm as they removed the tubes. When can you get here? "
My heart exploded with joy. "I'll be there in under thirty minutes. Just have to dry off and get dressed." Tears were coming again, but this time, they were happy tears. I had a solution for us and it had come out of the blue. David was my knight in shining armor.
" Good, bring some Micky D's. I'm starving !" She chuckled, and I heard Jason chime in for some McDonald's too.
"Be there soon," David said, then ended the call only to wrap his arms around me and squeeze. "Everything is working out now. And I can't wait to tell Jason the news. How do you think he'll take it?"
I sighed happily and shrugged. It didn't matter how he took it. It was happening. "Like any almost-adult teenager will. He'll have an attitude, but when he's clean, he will appreciate your help. I already do." I laid my head on his chest and he kissed the crown of it.
"Well, let's get dressed and go. I'm excited to get yelled at." David laughed and took my hand. We each carried our towels and dried off as we walked to the bedroom. Things really were working out, finally, and I couldn't help but wonder how much faster they'd have worked out for us if I had just accepted his help earlier.
My future looked brighter now, and it wasn't because David was throwing money at my problems. I felt steady and balanced for the first time in a very long time, since my father had died. David was more than my future life partner. He was my rock, and I knew I could do anything with him at my side.