Chapter 42
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Leena
I am burnt out.
This week has been long and busy with call-outs and post-calls.
Due to the short staffing, I’ve needed to run the desk and surgery board, and give breaks and lunches when I usually spend my days working on timecards, pulling productivity reports, attending scheduling request-staffing meetings, working on schedules, along with a myriad of other tasks.
To keep up with falling behind, I’ve been staying later than normal or taking work home with me.
This is Julian’s second week-long shift on duty since we’ve officially been together.
If this was taking time away from him, I would be even more disgruntled.
But he has been just as busy, working extremely late or through the night.
When I get home, I fall into bed, and if he makes it home, he's crawling into my bed and asleep before his head hits the pillow.
Leaving another meeting and needing a few moments alone, I decide a break is definitely needed. Stopping first at the coffee shop in the lobby, I head to a deserted hallway with a partially hidden alcove that I have never seen anyone else use before.
Sinking on the bench, I lean my head back against the wall and close my eyes.
Trying to clear my mind is almost impossible with my endless to-do list repeating on a loop.
It's days like these that I sincerely miss being a staff nurse assigned to a room, just keeping my nose to the ground, chugging away at the array of cases, only focusing on what our patients require.
“Pretty girl.”
The deep voice startles me. My eyes fly open, and I’m staring up into the stormy blue-gray eyes of the man I have irrevocably fallen in love with. His handsome face is so strikingly beautiful, I have to take a moment to catch my breath before I can speak.
“Julian, what are you doing here?”
Sitting next to me, he stretches his arm behind me and gathers me into his side. If I wasn’t so tired, I’d slip out from under his arm and away from him. But I can’t make myself do it, so I rest my head on his shoulder.
“I saw you on the catwalk in the atrium and followed you,” he says. His eyes scan the secluded nook before he glances down at me and adds, “I’ve never been down this hallway before.”
“Yeah, it’s almost like no one knows it exists. That’s why I think of it as my hidden spot.”
Soaking up a few uninterrupted minutes, we sit nestled together. “I almost didn’t think this place got this busy. Feels like I’m back in Philly.”
Looking up at his handsome face, I ask, “Do you miss the constant hussle?”
“Nah. The pace here is actually really nice, so I don’t actually mind when the patient load increases like this.”
Julian brings his hand to my face, cupping my jaw and sweeping his thumb along the shadows under my eyes. “It’s almost the weekend. You’ll be able to catch up on rest.”
“Maybe,” I trail off. The furrowed brows and nod of his chin have me continuing. “It would appear, Doctor, that I truly only sleep well when you’re next to me.”
A charmingly cocky smile spreads across his face. “Oh, really? Is it because I wear you out by constantly fucking you into the mattress?”
Tittering, I reply, “That’s one reason.” Snuggling deeper into his side, I hug my arm around his torso. “You’re also a really comfortable pillow.”
“Mm-hmm.”
My fingers become restless, repeatedly rubbing over a tiny fabric snag in his scrub top. When I scratch a nail over it in a particularly firm pass, he grunts. “Sorry.” I curl my fingers into a fist and then, just as quickly, lay them flat against him, but my fingers twitch anyway.
He places his palm over my hand, stilling it. “What’s going on, pretty girl?’
I sigh, then turn my head to rest my chin on his chest as I look into his eyes. “Well, I know you’re on call this weekend but I was . . . uh, wondering if you would be up to meeting my family at the following Sunday dinner?”
His dimple twitches and the corner of his eyes crinkle, but his tone is steady. “Really? Are you sure?”
With a nod, I say, “I love you. I’m ready for my family to meet you and see why.”
A full smile erupts on his handsome face, dimple on full display. “Then, of course, yes. I’ll come to Sunday dinner.”
With an equally big smile, I rest my head back on his chest. Content and still.
We stay like this, cozy and silent, him gently massaging my neck until my phone dings. Checking the message, I turn to Julian. “Duty calls.”
I smack a peck to his lips and stand, but I don’t get very far before he yanks my hand and pulls me into his lap.
“That was a poor excuse for a kiss.” Then he’s latching onto my lips, devouring me in a very inappropriate way for the work place, even hidden away in the alcove.
I’m unable to resist falling into the kiss with equal abandon.
The way I get lost in him, it could be hours later when he’s lifting me to my feet and turning me in the direction I was going. “Get to it, pretty girl.” With a slap to my ass, he sends me on my way with a giggle. I blow him a kiss over my shoulder.