Dana"The kitchen is right over here. Help yourself to anything you want." He pointed to the various rooms as he gave me a tour of his large four-bedroom house. I couldn't help but wonder why he would have such a big place all to himself.I dropped my bag off in one of the spare rooms and walked down the hall, stopping to look at all the pictures of him and Amanda. Several had an older woman in them as well, whom I assumed was his mother."There isn't much I wouldn't do to save her." He crossed his arms over his chest and pressed his shoulder against the wall. "I'd give up my house, my money, my nice car, my job that I've worked so damn hard for...""Your life?" I whispered and turned to walk toward him. I hated his pain, and yet I understood it all too well. Losing my father gave me far more experience with pain than I would have ever wanted."Absolutely." He reached for me, gripping my hip and pulling me flush against him. "Why are you here?""Because you said I wasn't safe in my ap
KendalA huge part of me wanted to crawl on top of her and make love to her until she couldn't stand, but it wasn't right to do it. I'd just berated Heather and Terri for being whores, and here I was wanting to be one. Besides that, a one-night stand wasn't in the cards either. I was ready to try again, and Dana was the woman I was hoping to try with.I left her a note the next morning on the night stand closest to her and changed into a pair of oxfords and a golf shirt. I had forgotten about scheduling a golf game with Damon and Matt, but thanks to the reminder going off on my phone at five that morning, I was on my way to see them both.The taste of Dana lingered on my lips, and I couldn't seem to get the sound of her moans out of my head. It was like getting access to something new and exciting and having to play with it later. It was less than couth to think of her that way, but the old parts of me would forever be lingering around in the dark, hoping to come out and stretch from
Kendal"He's a beast in the bedroom. Puts us to shame." Damon patted me on the back as he moved toward the cart."Do I wanna know how you know this?" I mumbled and pulled my phone out to read Dana's text. She was on her way to the hospital and would get the new locks done hopefully that day. The beautiful girl was already trying to run out of my life and we'd not even gotten to really know each other yet.I didn't wanna overreact, so I didn't. After hitting the ball past both of my friends’ balls, I got back in the cart and took a long drink of my beer."So what the fuck is up with Heather Turner?" Matt turned around and pressed his forearms to the back of our seat."She has a job at the college and is promising to ruin my life if I don't give her blow jobs from time to time." I smiled over at Damon. We'd spent four years jacking around with Heather in college and had agreed more than once that the woman had far bigger balls than we ever would. She was insatiable."So do it," Matt huf
DanaI dropped my phone on the bedside table and let out a long sigh as I lay in Kendal's bed the next morning. The smell of him rolled over me and I flipped over to lay on my stomach so I could press my face to his pillow and breathe in deeply. I was class-A stalker material, and didn't give a shit about getting caught. Not that it would be him catching me. He was out playing golf with a few friends from what his note said.After snuggling down into the covers for a few more minutes, I decided it was time to get my happy ass up and get to the hospital. I had another hour before I had to be there, but being in someone else's house without them there was less than comfortable.The kitchen was stocked with all kinds of fruits and goodies, like Kendal had a private chef that came. Did college professors make that much money?"Maybe so," I mumbled and made myself something quickly, cleaned up and changed into my scrubs. I realized as I walked toward the front door that I was stranded with
Dana"Here you go, hon. Let me know if you need to talk to a grief counselor. Sometimes being new to all of this is a little overwhelming. Most of the other nurses will tell you that it's just better if you don't get emotionally involved with anyone, but I think that's hogwash. I love letting my patients know that they're cared about. It's too sterile in here in the first place." She sighed and dropped back down in her seat."Thank you. I appreciate it." I lifted the letter in the air and turned to go. I needed to find a quiet place to sit down and read the letter, but now wasn't the time. Even though my heart ached for my loss, there were things to be done. If Jackie could move past falling for a playboy doctor and being made to feel like a piece of ass and still get her rounds done, then I could too.I made my way back to my side of the floor and stopped beside Jackie as she counted out pills."You okay?" She glanced over at me."Yeah, I think so. I just really liked that old man."
KendalGolf with my friends was exactly what the doctor ordered. Between listening to Matt whine about Erica being too much woman for him, and watching Damon mope around the fucking golf course all day, I was reassured that dating Dana was a great idea. I didn't wanna search for someone else who might be a little older, or look less like Ana. Neither of those things mattered seeing that the level of physical attraction I felt for her was off the charts. That combined with the fact that I loved her sweet spirit, her honesty and innocent persona, and I was sold. The thought crossed my mind to call the apartment and tell them to not fix the locks until Monday, but that would have been a dick move and knowing my luck, I would have been caught in the center of it all. I rarely got away with anything and usually got blamed for things that I had nothing to do with.I walked into the house and called out to her, hoping that she was still there. "Dana?"Nothing. I realized after searching the
Kendal"No. His mom died awhile back from cancer. About the time Damon decided he was going to tell his dad everything, his mom got sick and that ended his bravado." I shrugged and let out a soft sigh. "The poor guy just can't seem to catch a break either. He's never been in love before, but finally found the right woman."She turned and lifted her eyebrow. "Uh oh. Why does this feel like the good part isn't coming?""Because it's not." I pushed the meat around the pan as my stomach contracted tightly. "He's fallen in love with his father's new wife's daughter.""Wait..." her eyes moved around my face slowly, "... his stepsister?""Exactly, and things were fine between their family because they're not blood, but who knows what the hell went wrong. Beth is a young woman with too much fear over losing everything and Damon is a hothead who doesn't think he should have to explain himself. Their communication sucks and it's going to be the end of them.""How serious were they? Sounds like
DanaThe rest of Saturday night had been spent around the dining room table, eating pasta until our sides hurt, and telling stories until we knew each other better than we might have wanted to. We fell asleep snuggled up on the couch, and after a long kiss at the door on Sunday morning, I headed home. I wanted to get my life back in order and to make sure that I was still capable of breathing without Kendal snuggled up beside me.I missed his warmth the minute I left. It wasn't until I woke up alone on Monday morning in my bed that I realized just how guilty I felt for spending the whole afternoon and evening with him on Saturday and not mentioning anything about Amanda. I just couldn't force myself to share an estimate that had turned out to be wrong. She wasn't dead or the hospital would have called him. I urged him to go up and see her a few more times in the coming week while we snuggled on the coach and he promised that he would, but of course questioned my reasoning for poking h