KendalI'd never seen Damon look so dejected, so fidgety, so lost."What can we do to fix this?" I leaned back in my chair and let my hands drop into my lap. We had ordered lunch, but it had yet to be served. Where I'd usually love to hang out with my best friend for an hour, today wasn't one of those days. I was sliding into a dark place in my own life, and watching Damon head-dive into depression wasn't helping much."Nothing." He glanced up from staring at his hands and shrugged. "I fucked up.""Everyone messes up, Damon." I reached for my water, enjoying the coolness of the glass in my hand. Life was a torrential accumulation of painful fuck-ups, but I thought it was only my life that told that story. It would seem that I was wrong."Right." He chuckled and let out a sigh as his eyes moved around the quaint restaurant in front of us. "All these women and any one of them would be mine with very little effort.""But you don't want any of these women." I took a quick sip of my water
Kendal"No, you idiot. Listen to what I'm saying and stop reading into it a million meanings. She was nice and I took it as a come-on because I'm hyper sensitive to women as I should be. I can't tell you the number of innocent looking college girls that basically throw their panties at me. It's disturbing."Damon's turn to laugh. "Wait, are you saying that all these women are attracted to you, and you, being the upright citizen that you are, turn them down?""Of course I do, asshole." I picked up my burger. He was getting to me... though I promised myself he wouldn't. "It's not like I have a choice. I don't own my company, and my fingers aren’t stuck up my dad's ass, timing his pulse for the right moment to seize the opportunity.""Oh shit. I hit a nerve." Damon laughed and glanced around the room. "You assume these women are stealing glances at me, Kendal. What if they're not? What if it's you they’re looking at?""It's irrelevant." I worked on my burger while he glanced around as if
DanaThe loud crying that filled the hallway broke my heart. I quickly finished tying my scrubs and tugged my shirt over the top of my pants before jogging that way. Amanda Tarrington was one of my favorites on the floor, and I'd only been at the hospital for a few weeks. My internship with Memorial was turning out to be an overwhelming and eye-opening experience, if nothing else."It's okay. I'm right here, Mandy." The deep rumble of a male voice rolled over me as I stopped just inside the hospital room. Two nurses were standing on the far side of the bed, one giving the thrashing girl a shot while she wept loudly.The handsome man leaning over the top of her had to be her brother. I'd yet to meet him, but the girls on the floor spend half the damn nights talking about how handsome and good-hearted he was. From what I could see from behind, handsome wouldn't exactly cover it.I moved back out into the hall and took a shallow breath before turning and heading for the nurses’ station.
Dana"Liar. You haven't sounded happy since high school and you know it." I smiled at the memories we had from high school. Growing up sucked seeing that it took away your excuse for being a relationship-idiot. I was still floundering around on the topic of making a relationship work. It would seem I was handicapped in that area, as I'd always been."Don't start this again. Luke and I are going to get married eventually. It just works.""It? What's it?""Him and me together." She cleared her throat. "Enough about me... how are things at the hospital? You started your internship, right?""Yeah." I glanced back as the door opened and three nurses I didn't know walked out. "It's good. I love the work and the patients. The nurses are bitches, but I guess that happens to some people after years of working around misery. There has to be some way to protect yourself from feeling too much.""I can see how you might get emotionally wasted by it day after day.""I love it here." I stood up and
KendalThe dark-haired beauty that calmed Mandy walked out of the room, and I was grateful for the quiet. My baby sister slipped into a restful sleep as I brushed my hand down the back of her hair and rocked her as best I could. Every part of me hurt for her, longed for a way to transfer my good health to her and let me take on her disease for her. It wasn't going to happen, but it didn't stop me from wanting it.I laid her down and moved back from the bed as my heart ached in my chest. She was the perfect replica of our mother at twenty-four. Long brown hair and green eyes, pale skin and a huge smile that pulled everyone in to see what she had to say. Too bad I hadn't seen it for the last two to three years.I glanced over my shoulder, wanting to chase down the nurse that had the power to calm my sister. I needed to thank her, and truth be told, I wanted to study her unabashed. Her long dark hair was a beautiful accent to her tanned skin and hazel eyes. She had to have been a head sh
Kendal"It's obvious." She crossed her arms over her chest, accentuating just how full her breasts were. Need pulsed through me as my mouth grew dry. How nice it would be to make love to a woman and feel her body bend to my will, to touch her and taste her in ways that left her begging for more. There wasn't much I wasn't willing to do for the girl I took to my bed, but it had been too long, and I was almost too needy. Damon would have had a field day giving me shit over my sensitive nature should he have known about it."How so?" I slipped my hands into my pockets and tried to turn my attention to anything but her. I failed in my efforts and decided flirting wouldn't be a bad thing necessarily."I could just tell." She shrugged. "Your sister is a great girl. I'm sorry for all she's going through."My bravado waned a little. "Yeah. It's been a long life for her.""You as well." She tilted her head to the side a little. "Are you always having to fend off women?"I chuckled. "More often
Dana"Happy hour!" Jackie bounced on her feet beside me as I tried to finish logging in my rounds for the afternoon."It's Monday. Where is there a happy hour around here?""No clue, but we're going to find it, and if not, we'll flirt with the right group of guys to get a free beer or two out of the deal." She pushed her blond hair off her shoulder and gave me a warm smile."Maybe you can flirt your way into free liquor, but I've yet to learn that skill." I smirked before glancing down and trying to wrap up. It'd been a long day, and the encounter with Kendal had me second-guessing my relationship with Cameron. It was sad that meeting someone new would leave me recycling the same tired conversation in my head, but there it was again...I deserved someone better. Someone that would see me for who I am and not pick at the extra fifteen pounds I'd gained. Someone who could appreciate me as a nurse and not see me as a student who needed to be coached through life."You want me to invite t
Dana"Is everything about sex with you?" I'd known her for four years since starting the nursing program together at UT Dallas. Everything was most certainly about sex for her, and from what I could tell, no one was going to be changing that anytime soon."I take that as a no." She sat back as the server appeared beside us and smiled warmly."Ladies. Can I get you anything to eat tonight? It's happy hour in the bar, and I'm happy to give you those discounts if you want something." His eyes lingered on me a little longer than was comfortable, which was odd. Jackie was stunning, and I looked like a tired, overweight nurse with no hope for a good time anytime soon."Buffalo wings or potato skins?" I asked her and tried not to let the guy's stare unnerve me."Both." She handed the server the menu and waited until he was gone to let out a sharp laugh. "Did you see the way he was watching you? Did you know him?""No." I turned and let my eyes follow him as he disappeared behind the bar. "He