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
KendalI couldn't seem to shake the desire to make a stop by the hospital to check on my sister. Part of it was to make sure she was doing better today than she was the day before when she had her melt-down. The other part was the hope of running into her nurse, Dana.Jogging up the stairs to the business building, I tried to let my wayward thoughts go and get focused on the meeting with Dean Durham I had in twenty minutes. He was a great guy, but a hard-hitter. He was the kind of guy that could look at someone and assess any situation in a matter of minutes. He was classy and the kind of guy I wanted to be when I got older. Running the accounting department was a dream I hadn't shared with anyone, not even Damon. It seemed too farfetched after being put under probation for two of my six years on staff. Getting tenure was at the top of my list of things to do just to ensure I could cover my ass should another false allegation arise."Kendal. You got a minute?" Eliza Turner moved up be
Kendal"Family problems. You're going to mentor our new professor." He turned and spoke to the woman for a few minutes as I tried to figure out how I was going to nicely tell him no. Where we were close enough to talk sex, women and past failures, he was still my boss.I stood up and figured I would suck it up and help him out until we found someone else to do it. No reason to deny him my help when I had the time and he'd finally come through on the promise to give me an advanced class to teach. Hopefully the woman's legs were no prediction of her body. I didn't need a fox beside me to tempt me into being the man I was in college. I'd buried him in the sand six years back, and fuck if he didn't try to poke his ugly head up from time to time."Kendal, this is Heather Turner. She's from UCLA and has been highly recommended for this new spot with us. You'll be her mentor until she gets her feet wet." He moved back, and I nearly choked. Not only was she ten steps past gorgeous, but I didn
DanaThe smell of bacon and eggs woke me up the next morning, my stomach grumbling loudly at the idea of something beyond delicious to start the day. I rolled onto my back and let out a long sigh. Cameron's side of the bed was made already, his pillow in its place. What I wouldn't give to wake up to a man wrapped around me, his body hard and ready for another round of what happened the night before. Where I couldn't help but tease Jackie about everything in her world being about sex, the truth of the matter is that I was hella jealous. Love seemed a far off desire, incapable of being reached by the average commoner, but sex? Lust? They were waiting for a spin around the dance floor of life, and weren't choosy at all about which partners they got.So why not me? I slid my hands over my breasts and down my stomach to linger at the top of my panties. How nice it would have been to lay there and enjoy the softness of my skin, the tight warmth between my thighs, but by the sound of things
Dana"Why do you let him talk to you like that?" Jackie walked beside me as we finished making our rounds together."What exactly am I supposed to say? I did ask for help on watching my weight." I put my hands on my hips and tried to keep my voice down."Helping someone with their diet is different than demeaning them. You don't even need to be on a diet. You look great, Dana. So you have curves... kick-ass awesome. Most men would love to latch on to your hips or your ass while fucking you half the night. Don't you know how this works?"Heat burned my neck and face as a group of doctors walked through the hall, the youngest-looking one turning to look over his shoulder and smile."Ahh... you're so fucking embarrassing." I ran my hand over the top of my hair and tried to think of some way to get away from her. I loved Jackie like a sister, but she was far too open for me. My family was close, but we didn't talk about intimate things - ever."Dana! They need an extra set of hands in the
KendalThe hangover I was struggling with was well deserved after losing myself in a bottle of jack the night before. Between Damon being a dick, the situation with Heather joining the university, and my sister's condition worsening, I was lost. Emotionally I wanted to crawl in a ball in the closet and hide for a week or so, but it wasn't going to happen. Over two hundred students were showing up in the next few hours to learn about the weaknesses in inventory systems, and I was the guy teaching it.For the first time in a long time, I didn't wanna teach anything. My passion was tucked behind the dark cloud of shit life was kicking my way once again."Hi Dr. Tarrington. How are you?" Jake opened the door and gave me a warm smile as I moved past him. Bethany's best guy friend from college was my second TA for the semester. The poor kid had been through hell recently. The other part of their friendship trio, Bethany's roommate Krista, had fallen in love with Jake and not taken it so wel
KendalBethany was waiting for me when I walked to my car that afternoon, which surprised me. I needed to get up to the hospital, but I would delay the trip for a few minutes for her."Hey," she mumbled as she wrapped her arms around her chest. Her intelligent green eyes were filled with unshed tears."Hey." I reached out and touched the side of her arm before pulling my hand back. I couldn't be kind or loving toward anyone on campus. Everyone would start to talk. "You all right?""Yeah." She sighed and pursed her lips as a tear dripped down her face. "No. I'm not.""Beth." I reached for her, not caring for a few minutes about myself. I wrapped her in a tight, friendly hug and brushed the back of her hair like I would Amanda. "You guys don't have to keep this shit up, you know.""He hired Christa's sister, Kendal. His ex-girlfriend's twin sister. Why would he do that?" She moved back and brushed her tears away angrily. "He hired Philip to come work for the firm. He knows Philip has fe