DanaNurse Barry had a note on her door that said she was unavailable because of an emergency at the hospital. I was almost grateful to see it seeing that I wasn't really sure what I was going to tell her. I'd met with her the week before and locked down my schedule and my graduation. The only other thing she could help me with was dropping my classes and trying to transfer to another University for graduation, but after talking with Olivia, that option felt ignorant.I'd been at UT since I was a starting freshman. With my mom being a single mom and having to raise three kids, paying for the prestigious college had taken its toll on all of us. Me turning my back on that in hopes of being more available to Kendal was over the top. It was eight months. Eight months until graduation. If nothing else, I could wait that long for him. The only real question was whether he would wait for me.I walked back through the nursing building at UT and waved at a few people who greeted me. No matter
KendalI called in on Monday and moped around the house, sleeping off and on until the sun set and another day was officially over. I'd planned to do the same the next day, but the sound of someone banging on my front door at seven in the morning said otherwise."I'm coming. Shit." I grabbed a pair of sleeping pants and pulled them over my legs before stumbling down the hall. The last few days had been a blur and not the good kind. I was pretty sure I'd kissed Dana in my living room after Mandy's funeral and then told her we were nothing more than friends, but maybe not. My daydreams were starting to mix with my reality and I wasn't doing so good at telling which way was up.Damon gave me a cocky look as I opened the door. "You look like shit. Get dressed. We're going to breakfast.""No. I'm not hungry." I growled as he moved past me, hitting me with his shoulder."Don't care. I'm hungry and it's your turn to buy. Get dressed or I'll fucking dress you myself.""This I gotta see." I cl
KendalWe sat down and gave the waitress our drink orders before Damon turned the conversation back to Dana. Something told me that he wasn't going to relent until I made a few promises to get my love life back on track. Sadly enough, she was the only woman I wanted to do that with, and she was officially off limits."So tell me specifically what these rules say. It's the UT code of conduct? Like the exact verbiage.""I don't know the exact verbiage, but I know as a professor, I'm not allowed to date any student or another professor on campus. It's pretty simple. She's a student at the college I'm teaching at, and she's off limits." I narrowed my eyes at him, as if I had any hope of intimidating the dick in front of me. He'd been muscling me around since we met a million years ago."So you sneak around." He shrugged and pulled his napkin into his lap. The look on his face said that his idea was not only brilliant, but something we should have thought about already."No." I smiled up a
DanaAfter another restless night of sleep, the last thing I wanted to do was head back to the hospital the next morning. I was almost looking forward to the mini-mester starting just so there would be something in my life that wasn't the hospital or my empty-ass apartment.The flashing lights by the ER entrance caught my attention as I drove toward my usual parking spot. Where it wasn't anything out of the ordinary to have several ambulances at the hospital, I couldn't pass up the curiosity bubbling inside of me.I jerked the wheel to the right and parked in the first spot I could find. After grabbing my backpack, I jogged toward the ER entrance and walked in to see a bit of mayhem."Young, good." Dr. Lewis walked by the entrance and motioned for me to join him. "Multi-car pileup on I-45. We need you in trauma. Wash up and be prepared to help however we need you to.""Yes, sir." I jogged behind him as adrenaline filled me completely. I loved the rush of knowing I was heading into a s
Dana"Wow. I swear you always end up at the right place at the right time." Jackie pulled her hair into a high ponytail and gave me a cheeky grin.I dipped my spoon into my frozen yogurt and glanced around at all the mall-goers before turning my attention back to her."Are we really going to New York this weekend?""Yes." She tilted her head a little. "You're not backing out. I already got the tickets.""And where are we staying when we get there?" I already knew the answer."At Parks' apartment. It's the top floor of some ritzy apartment building right near Times Square."I shook my head and took a quick bite of my yogurt. "You're not going to be completely butt-hurt if I stay with my best friend from high school, right? She lives in the city. I'll hang out with you when you want me to, but you know you're just going for a bootie call."She snorted. "I don't care if you stay with your friend or me. I just want you to go with me up there. I hate flying by myself.""All right. I'll cal
KendalWas she beating herself up over Mandy still? She had no control over when my sister died or how long she lived."No one knows the day and time of our deaths. That date on a folder doesn't mean shit. Let it go." I brushed my fingers down the side of her neck, her skin like silk. "And honestly, I've heard of people dying on the date the doctor prescribed as if they had no other choice. I wish they would do away with their fucked up estimates. People would do better with not knowing.""I couldn't agree more. I wanted to tell you that I'd seen the date the last time you and I shared dinner, but I couldn't force myself to do it. It felt too much like a death sentence.""Is that why you were so upset? It wasn't Mr. Jackson, then?" My lip lifted in a smirk. She wanted to condemn herself and there was no way I was letting that happen. The two of us had been hurting enough already. It was time to move past the darkness and take for ourselves what little bit of happiness we might find in
Kendal"Baby." I reached out and pulled at her wrist. "Come here."She moved into my lap and I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her down for a long kiss. I took my time exploring the soft wetness of her mouth, worshiping her tongue and running my fingers down every inch of her back before she finally pulled away."I'm going to New York this weekend. Come with me. We can be a couple there together without having to worry about anything, right?" She cupped my throat and leaned in for another long kiss, leaving me to my thoughts.Getting out of town for the weekend sounded like a plan. I needed to get outside and breathe the air a little. I'd been cooped up in the house every chance I got since Mandy died. Being with Dana and getting to hold her hand in public, or pull her close when I wanted to sounded blissful."Will you come?" She smiled, already so full of herself.I chuckled. "Yeah. I need to get a plane ticket, but I'll come with you.""Yes!" She jumped up and did a little jig
DanaTwo Days LaterOlivia still hadn't returned my call about coming to stay with her in New York for the weekend, which was starting to get on my nerves. I knew she was under a lot of pressure and had been traveling a lot with her job, but still.I put the broom up after running it across the kitchen floor in an effort to feel like I was doing something domestic. I hadn't seen Kendal in two days, which was good and bad. He was working to get himself back in the groove of being at the college, and we were playing lovers under cover. The only thing missing was the sex. Damn Jackie for losing her keys. There was no way we'd have ended the night with a few kisses and nothing else if she hadn't jacked everything up."It was for the better," I mumbled and picked up my phone to try Olivia again. My definition of “better” felt rather fucked up at the moment. The best thing would have been spending the night trapped beneath Kendal, letting him take out every torrid emotion he had on my willi