Chapter 19

Reed

Not sure how it’s become my favorite thing to surprise Josie in the parking lot when she gets off work, but I find myself doing it more and more. Most often, I’ll just take her somewhere close by for a late dinner and then back to her car, where I’ll follow her home.

Sometimes I’ll just bring her home with me in my Tahoe and we’ll eat pizza in bed and rock the headboard hard. On those nights, I get up early to take her into work the next day if she has a shift.

I know all of this is going to change drastically when the training camp starts in less than thirty days, so I suppose I’d better take advantage of my free time and use it all on Josie so we cement what we have into something solid and long lasting. I’m definitely ready for more.

I’m sure Josie got that message today when I had flowers and a song delivered to her at the hospital. God, she was fucking adorable when she called me.

Reed, she’d said in a breathy, awed voice. What am I going to do with you?

Whatever you want, Doc, I’d replied.

The flowers are gorgeous, she had murmured, and as if she was taking a moment to reflect internally for the right emotion, she added, That song…it’s just…perfect.

Man, the feelings she provoked within me right at that moment were overpowering. All I could do was respond lightly, saying, I’m glad you liked it, Josie.

I loved it, she’d said, and I knew I was a goner.

It’s muggy out tonight, but that won’t dissuade me from taking Josie to see an outdoor movie at the NC Art Museum. They’re showing Forrest Gump, and it’s her second favorite movie, only losing to Titanic by a little bit harder crying at the end.

Or so she said.

I hear her voice across the parking lot before I see her. I can’t make out exactly what she’s saying, but her tone is serious and professional. As she comes into view, I see her walking beside Aiden, and I push up from the hood of her car where I’d been leaning.

They stop a good fifty feet away and continue what looks to be an intense discussion. I thought it would bother me that Aiden is working at the same hospital as the woman I currently like and whom he formerly screwed over, but it actually doesn’t. All I have to do is remember she’s in my bed at night and it’s my name she’s screaming when she comes.

Josie nods at something Aiden says, and then he reaches out and cups her elbow briefly in farewell before turning around and cutting across a row of cars until he’s out of sight.

Turning toward her car, Josie locks eyes with me and I get that same beautiful smile I get from her every night I come out here to meet her. She walks toward me, hitching her leather satchel over her shoulder a bit.

“So, what’s the plan tonight?” she asks as she gets closer to me.

I don’t answer her direct question, and instead ask one of my own. “Where are your flowers?”

“I decided to leave them since I’m on shift tomorrow so I can look at them all day,” she replies as she steps right into me for a kiss.

When she pulls away, I tell her, “You’re so smart.”

Her grin lights up and she pats the satchel. “But I’ve got the iPod and I plan on listening to that song all night.”

“You do, do you?” I tease her. “How do you know you won’t be listening to me talk dirty to you?”

“Oh, that’s a given,” she says with a sexy purr. “But I’ll have the song playing in the background.”

I loop my arm around her neck, pulling her into me. Her hands go around my waist and we share a quick squeeze.

When I let her go, I take her hand to guide her to my Tahoe, which is two rows over.

“Where are we going?” she asks. “Do I need to get changed?”

“Outdoor movie,” I tell her. “Forrest Gump. And you’re perfect the way you are.”

Josie groans and I look down at her as she walks by my side. “What? You said you loved that movie. Second favorite and all that.”

She looks up to me and smiles. “First, it’s totally sweet you remembered that. Second, I don’t know if I’m ready for you to see me cry yet. I don’t like being vulnerable.”

I release her hand to drape my arm over her shoulders. “Oh, Doc…I totally want to see you cry. Want you a puddle of melted goo in my arms. Gives me all the more reason to touch you and feel you up.”

Josie laughs and gives me a tiny elbow to the ribs. “Seriously, though. I’m not a big crier and it embarrasses me. Let’s skip the movie and just go straight to the dirty talk.”

“Movie first,” I say adamantly as we reach my car. “Dirty talk later.”

“You’re sadistic,” she mutters as I help her into the passenger seat.

“You’re adorable,” I tell her just before I shut the door.

When we’re headed to the museum, which isn’t far from the hospital, I ask her, “How do you feel about going to the mountains day after tomorrow for a little getaway? You’ve got three days off and I thought it would be cool to go kick around Asheville.”

“That sounds awesome,” she says with clear delight in her voice, only to slap her palm on her forehead. “Crap…I can’t. I forgot I committed to work on this project with Aiden, and while it won’t take up all my time, we’re just getting started on it and we’re going to buckle down on these next days off to get started. He’s got the same shift schedule as I do.”

“What project?” I ask curiously, although I’ve got deep disappointment swirling within me. Not only does that mean no mountain trip with Josie, but I won’t get to do anything with her.

“He’s going to do a comparison project on field versus urban medicine, and what practices can be used across the two fields to further better the treatment. He’s hoping to get it published and asked me to coauthor it with him.”

“That sounds like a pretty big deal,” I say, and I’m happy I don’t have to force enthusiasm into my voice. I get off on the fact that my girl is a doctor and I’m proud as shit of her. I want her to have every success she can. I also refuse to be bothered by the fact it’s Aiden she’s going to be working with. Aiden has easily insinuated himself back into her life, and now he’s actually commanding her attention away from me, but past the whole teddy bear gift thing, he’s acted like nothing but a friend to Josie.

“It is a big deal,” she says, and continues to chatter on about the project. I listen to her talk with an excitement I’ve not heard from her before about anything, which makes me realize that there are layers upon layers that go into the makeup of Josie Ives, M.D. I knew she got off on the thrill of emergency medicine and was immensely fulfilled from her work, but I didn’t understand that there was more. That she is still striving to learn and pioneer her field, and that fucking makes me even more proud of her yet.

When she winds it down, I ask a few follow-up questions. “So you think it will take three months?”

“Maybe four,” she says, and turns slightly in her seat to face me. “But I told Aiden that I wasn’t giving up all my free days to it. He said we’d put ten to fifteen hours in a week, as it’s really just compiling existing data, and I can do that in just one day off. Except for this week when we start it.”

This satisfies me, because really, I would never stand in the way of her doing this. Doesn’t matter that it’s with her ex-almost-fiancé who has come back into her life, or that as my summer off winds down, my time with her will be more limited. Nothing about this even makes me think about looking elsewhere for my jollies, because Josie is the only one I want them with.

That makes me snicker, and Josie asks, “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing But you tell Aiden if he tries any funny business, I’m going to kick his ass.”

Josie is the one who snickers. “I’ll totally tell him that.”

“Seriously,” I say a bit hesitantly, because Aiden hasn’t been a subject between us at all. “He might be doing this to get close to you.”

I know those were the wrong words by the way she turns even more in her seat to face me. I glance at her and her expression borders on livid. “You don’t think he could ask me to do an important research project because of my brains and medical talent?”

“Jesus, Josie,” I chastise her. “You know that’s not what I was saying. I know you’re brilliant and talented, and so does Aiden. I’m just saying there could be an ulterior motive.”

As quickly as she was pissed at me, I can actually feel her surrender as she leans back into her seat. “Sorry. Not sure why that made me so testy.”

I reach over and take her hand in mine. “I think you’re amazing, and Aiden is lucky to have you on this project.”

She blows out a hearty gust of air and squeezes my hand. “Actually, I hate to say it, but that was the first thing I thought when he asked me, but you know, he’s been nothing but professional at work. He was even there when I got your flowers, and he didn’t seem bothered by it at all. So I think he’s really moved on too.”

“You’re probably right,” I tell her as I cruise down Wade Avenue, noting traffic starting to slow for the turn lane into the museum parking lot. “But you see, I’ve got you now, Josie. So I know what he’s missing, and he’d be fucking crazy not to want it back again.”

“Well, he can’t have it,” she says with a firm nod of her head and another squeeze to my hand. “Because I’ve had me some of Reed Olson and I don’t want anything else.”

I laugh and Josie joins in. I release her hand so I can make my left turn into the museum, following the cars to the lot nearest the outdoor area they use to project the movies. I’ve not been here before, but I figure everyone in front of me knows where they’re going.

I’m here with Josie. She’s here with me. We’re going to enjoy a nice evening watching a movie, then we’re going to go back to her place where I can fuck her brains out. Or she’ll fuck mine out. Whatever. I’ll wake up early with her and take her into work, and everything is going to be awesome.

Besides, I’ve got another surprise for Josie tomorrow and she’s going to flip out when she sees it.