Dana"And then there he was. His eyes as big as saucers, his lips ruby red like those shiny-ass slippers from The Wizard of Oz movie back in 1939. You should have seen him." Mrs. Delmaz laughed, her eyes closing as she relaxed against the white sheets and chuckled. "He was my favorite husband. Great guy. Really. Too bad he up and died. Old bastard."I pressed my hand to my mouth as she opened her eyes. It was hard not to giggle at her ridiculous stories. She had a million of them, and I was quickly becoming addicted to them."He sounds great."She reached out her hand. "Dana. Do you have a beau?"I took her hand and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. I knew better than to let another one of my patients into my heart, but I couldn't help it. I would always lead with my heart instead of my head where people were concerned."I did, but we broke up recently." I shrugged, hoping she would let it be."That's no good. A pretty girl like you deserves a beautiful man." She smiled and studied
KendalI dragged myself out of bed the next morning after hitting the snooze button ten times. A groan left me as my head pounded. Drinking in my thirties was hella different than drinking in my twenties, or maybe I was used to burning the liquor out of my system through sex.Something had to give. I'd have to find a different way to dull the pain. Liquor just gave a temporary reprieve only to show up the next day in a new way.The alarm went off, and I growled and walked toward the phone. "Alright. Fuck. I'm up." I turned it off and pulled my T-shirt over my head and kicked off my pants on the way to the shower.Leaving the light off, I started the hot water and got in, letting the warmth pour over my shoulders and chest. I bowed my head and ran my hands over my face as relief swam through me."God, I miss you so much," I mumbled softly and turned, putting my back to the water. Memories of Dana danced through my skull, leaving my stomach tight, my cock rock hard.I wanted to offer my
Kendal"Mark's advice to take care of Heather didn't make much sense either, but he's more interested in getting a promotion than taking care of the fucking department.""Yep, and that leaves all of us in quite a predicament." Her phone rang and she glanced at it. "That's my granddaughter. Let me get it and I'll come down to your office when I'm done.""No, it's okay." I stood up and picked up my bag. "I'll catch you later.""Alright. I'm here if you need me." She gave me a tight smile before I turned and walked out into the hallway.Mark nodded as he caught sight of me and motioned for me to come closer. "Dr. Tarrington. Good to see you. Some of your students have been asking about the accuracy of your office hours.""Yeah, losing my little sister has me a little off." I extended my hand to shake his. "I'll be back on track starting next week. I'll have one of my TAs send out a note letting everyone know.""Sounds great." He shook my hand with vigor. "You know the Fall Festival for B
DanaGoing on a date with Talon was the last thing I wanted to do, but of course the guy called shortly after I got off the phone with Brandon. He didn't even ask, but simply assumed I was willing to go seeing that my brother already made the confirmation with him.I grumbled all the way to work the next morning. My evenings were my time to soak in a hot tub, drown myself in ice cream and wine and cry until I had no tears left inside of me.It was becoming a tradition. A very fucked up, nightly tradition."Dana. You have a minute?" Dr. Lewis stood beside the ER reception desk. "I apologize about having to miss our meeting yesterday. Something came up with my wife.""Sure. No problem." I readjusted my backpack on my shoulder and moved up beside him as we walked down the hallway. "I hope your wife is okay.""She's undergoing cancer treatments." He glanced over at me, the worried expression on his face shooting an arrow through my heart."Oh. I'm sorry." I tried to think of something bet
Dana"That was fun." Talon glanced over at me from the driver's side of his beat-up pickup truck. "You want me to take you back to your Mom’s or do you maybe wanna-""My Mom’s." I gave him a shy smile, feeling like shit for pretending to have a good time. The date wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. It felt like going out with a stranger that I never planned on seeing again. Weird. Awkward. A lie."Oh okay." He chuckled nervously. "I was just going to see if you wanted to have a drink back at my place.""Maybe next time." Fuck. Had I just agreed to a next time? It wasn't happening. I'd have to tell Brandon to let his friend down softly. He'd set the poor guy up with his broken-hearted sister, he could let him down.I was an idiot for agreeing to it."Oh yeah. For sure. Next time." He snorted and pulled up in my mother's driveway. "You want me to walk you to the door?""Nope." I opened the door and got out, turning back toward him. His spiky blond hair had enough mousse to last a we
Kendal"Why is this fucking me up so much? My stomach is a wreck and I can't get my heart to stop racing." I paced the floor in my office late Friday afternoon. I had a few minutes before I needed to head over to help set up for the Beta Alpha Psi Fall Festival.College kids just used Halloween as an excuse to dress like hookers, naughty nurses and vampires. And I remember loving it when I was younger. My cock twitched at the idea of seeing Dana in any of those costumes. Hell, a T-shirt and jeans would have me crippled if I wasn't careful."Because you're in love, man. Go with it." Damon cleared his throat. "What are you dressing up as?""Nothing." I snorted and pressed the phone tightly to my ear. "I'm there as the Chaperon. I'm not dressing up. I'd look like an idiot.""Go as something, dude. Bethany is going to kill you if you come in slacks and a button down.""Why aren't you coming? Bethany is a post-grad student. She should be chaperoning with me and Dana.""She's trying to help
Kendal"No! Not me." I handed her the phone. "I was on the phone with Damon. We were talking about... fuck it. Never mind. You talk to him."She rolled her eyes, took the phone and walked toward the door. The conversation behind me where she was trying to convince him that she thought it was Dana on the phone and we were making her jealous was almost comical. She was in trouble. About as badly as I was."Well. Thanks a lot." She handed me the phone back and growled. "He's in alpha ass mode now.""Nothing new." I put the phone in my pocket. "Are you guys dressing up for this tonight?""Yes, and you are too." Dani Bruce moved in front of me, her voice soft and teasing, her eyes filled with the promise of a long night of spreading her legs for the right man."I didn't bring anything, but good try." I smiled and turned back toward Bethany and Jake. "I was talking to you two.""Yeah. We're dressing up. I'm a pirate and Beth is Little Red Riding Hood." Jake grinned like a Tom-Cat."And I'm
DanaA sad sound left me as I dropped the call with Kendal. Were things going to be awkward between us now? Without a doubt... Yes.I parked outside of my apartment and sat there for a few minutes, trying to decide if I should just cancel. Nothing good could come of us having our first meet up at a large University event. The school was half the reason we couldn't be together.He moved past that... remember?"Yeah, but now I get to move past him dating my sister?" I got out of the car and walked to the front door as my mind spun a long trail of lies. My hands were shaking by the time I got myself undressed and stood in front of the mirror in my bra and panties.I wanted so badly to feel beautiful in front of him, and I was getting there... slowly. But knowing that he'd been with my model-like sister? Who was I kidding.After turning around and making a few disgusted sounds at myself, I finally gave up, put on a clean pair of nursing scrubs. I wanted to see him, and that trumped everyt