Chapter Three

 

 

 

 

 

Kelly

 

 

 

 

 

I went to work Monday and pretended like nothing had happened. Mondays were one of my busiest days appointment-wise and it was easy to keep my mind off of my crappy love life. After the day was over, I didn’t have time to dwell because my sister wouldn’t leave me alone. With her boyfriend working his twenty-four hour shift, she focused on keeping me happy. We sat on the couch together as we watched trashy TV, ate junk food, and laughed about anything.

Nick was constantly texting me, too, as if he was worried I was sitting in my bed crying. Even if I’d been madly in love with Devin, I still wouldn’t have done that. If I shut myself away and cried after every failed relationship, I would never come out of my room and wouldn’t have any tears left in my body.

“Are you guys gonna come to the city with us Friday?” I asked my sister around a piece of licorice I’d just shoved into my mouth.

Megan nodded and let out a yawn as she dropped her head onto my shoulder. “Tori, too.”

Victoria Jones was the only female member of Simon and Nick’s company at their station. She was a total hard ass because she had to be in a sea of men, but she had slowly become another one of my favorite people. When it was just her, Megan, and me, she let her hair down and became a completely different person.

“Awesome. It’s going to be fun.”

We finished the episode of whatever reality show we were watching and my sister stood from the couch with another yawn.

“Okay. It’s almost eleven. I’m going to go to bed, Kel.”

I stood, too, and started to take our stuff back to the kitchen. “Hey, do you think you can get me in with Dr. Michaels tomorrow?”

Megan was a registered nurse and she had worked at a family practice for years. Dr. Michaels had become my doctor because it made things easier with Megan there.

“Depends. What’s wrong?” She gave me a concerned look as she leaned against the counter. I shook my head quickly and put our dishes in the dishwasher.

“I want to get tested for STIs,” I replied quietly, not looking into her eyes as I did. “Devin and I always used a condom even though I’m on the pill but they don’t protect against everything. I don’t know who else he was sleeping with…” I trailed off and my sister nodded in understanding.

“Can you come by at noon? Russ will fit you in during lunch if I ask.”

“You’re the best, Gan.” I wrapped my sister up in my arms. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. Don’t stay up too late, okay?” She squeezed me once more before giving me a smacking kiss on my cheek.

The next day, I took my lunch break and headed over to the building where my sister worked. She’d text me earlier to confirm that Dr. Michaels would see me during their lunch break and I was so thankful to them both.

I walked in a few minutes before noon and headed right to the reception desk where a blonde and a brunette were sitting. I knew from Megan’s stories and from experience that Raquel and Katrina were both huge gossips, so I wasn’t surprised to find them with their heads together as they spoke quietly. When I cleared my throat, they both jumped guiltily.

“Can I help you?” Katrina asked with her eyebrows raised. “Our next appointment isn’t for an hour.”

I smiled and adjusted the purse on my shoulder. “Actually, Dr. Michaels was going to see me at noon. I’m Kelly Gold, Megan’s sister.”

“Oh.” She offered me a placating smile and picked up the phone. After she’d pressed a button, she waited a second before speaking again. “Megan, Kelly’s here for you. Okay.” She hung up the phone and nodded. “She’ll be right out.”

The door to the back opened less than a minute later and my beautiful sister appeared in a pair of pale pink scrubs. Her brown hair was darker than mine and pulled up in a ponytail on the back of her head. She smiled when she saw me and her hazel eyes shined.

“Hey. Come with me.”

I followed her into the back and she made me get on the scale before taking my oxygen and blood pressure. She handed me a cup after that and pointed to the bathroom.

“Go pee in that then come back here and strip down.”

I did as she said and she left me in the room by myself to undress. A few minutes later, a young guy with blonde hair that fell to his neck walked in. His blue eyes were bright as he smiled at me.

“Hey, Kelly. Good to see you again.”

I nodded and returned his smile from where I was sitting on the exam table in nothing but a tacky gown. “Hi, Dr. Michaels. Thanks for taking the time to see me today.”

Dr. Russ Michaels wasn’t that much older than us and he was constantly judged because of that and how he looked. He didn’t wear a lab coat but instead usually wore jeans and sneakers. His hair was always at least as long as his ears, sometimes brushing his neck, and he had several earrings in one of his ears. Megan raved about him, though, and loved to tell people what an amazing doctor her was.

“It’s not a big deal at all. I usually spend my lunch hour surfing Facebook anyway.” He opened the door and called for my sister before sitting on the stool. “It’s a rule of mine that I have someone in the room when I do any sort of pelvic exam. Are you comfortable if that person is you sister?”

I nodded as Megan came into the room and closed the door behind her. “Megan’s seen me naked plenty of times.”

“At least a million,” she agreed with a small laugh as she walked over and took my hand.

Dr. Michaels just smiled at our interaction and nodded. “Okay. I’m going to go ahead and do your annual exam since we’re already in this position. I can refill your birth control that way, too. This will be quick. I’m just going to take a look, take some swabs, and you’ll be good to go.”

Megan looked down at me while the doctor did his thing. “The guys reserved a suite at the Bellagio for Friday night. Sounds like the new guy, Tyson, might come, too.”

“It’s going to be fun,” I replied as I raised my brows. “I have the cutest dress for you to wear.”

“You make me crazy.” My sister rolled her eyes but kept ahold of my hand as she handed the doctor different things he needed from the tray.

After a few minutes, Dr. Michaels nodded and pat my knees to let me know I could drop my legs. “To the naked eye, everything looks great. We’re going to send this swab to the lab with the urine sample and I’m going to have Megan take some blood, too. We should have the results back by Thursday or Friday and we’ll let you know. I’ll also send in a year worth of refills on your birth control.”

I sat up and nodded with a smile. “Thanks, Dr. Michaels.”

After he’d left the room, my sister handed me my clothes and pulled some stuff out of the cupboards. Once I was dressed in my shorts and work polo, she stabbed me with a needle and took a few vials of blood.

“Okay. You’re good to go, babe,” Megan said as she dropped the used needle into a bin. “Are you going back to work?”

I nodded and put my feet into my sneakers. “I have an appointment at one so I need to go, actually. Thank you for doing this, Gan. You’re my favorite sister ever.”

“If we had any other siblings, I might have taken that as a compliment.” She wrapped me in a tight hug and led me out the front. The receptionists were gone so Megan checked me out and walked me to the door so she could lock it behind me.

I made it back just in time for my one o’clock appointment and forty-five minutes into our session, I shook my head at the man in front of me.

“Do not give up. I know you can do this, Zander.” I leveled him with a serious look. “Five more steps and you’re done.”

Zander’s light brown eyes glared at me and he gripped the bars next to him. For a minute, I thought he was going to yell at me but he took another step instead. And then another. I nodded and let my lips turn up into a smile.

“You’ve got this.”

When he made it to the end of the bars, I immediately moved forward and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. He leaned all of his weight into me and I walked him to the wheelchair he’d been in before. Once he was sitting, I crouched in front of him with a cocky grin.

“I told you.”

He let out a huff of laughter as he tried to catch his breath. “You are such a pain in the ass, Kelly.”

“I know,” I agreed, patting his hand. “But I do it for your own good. I promise. You couldn’t bear any weight on those legs a month ago. Now you’re taking steps.”

The thirty-one year old had been hit by a drunk driver ten months before and suffered a spinal cord injury. Everyone had said it was unlikely that he would ever walk again but he’d come to our practice three months ago and said that he had to at least try. Well, we were on our way. He would walk again.

I stood and grabbed his water bottle from the counter. He accepted it gratefully and nodded his head at me.

“When I’m walking again, I’m going to take you to dinner.”

I let out a small laugh and shook my head. “You need a better incentive than that, Z.”

“Okay,” he replied with a grin. “I’m going to take you dancing, too.”

Instead of replying, I reached up and ruffled the sweaty, bright blonde hair on his head and smiled. We spent the last fifteen minutes of his appointment making light conversation while I massaged his calves to ensure the blood flow was as it should be. Shortly before two, I straightened up and smiled at the woman who walked to us.

“All set?” she asked and I nodded as I put my hands on my hips.

“Good to go, Laura.” I looked at Zander as his sister moved to the back of his chair. “Rest. I don’t want any more weight on your legs today, even in your walker. Alternate ice and heat for any sore muscles. Same time next week?”

Zander nodded and grinned at me as Laura began to push his chair towards the exit. “See you Tuesday, Kelly.”

“You’re doing great with him,” Chuck, one of my co-workers, commented when I opened Zander’s chart to scribble some quick notes. “You should be proud of yourself.”

Chuck was a great guy and had taken me under his wing when I first started at Southern Nevada Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation. He was about ten years older than me and was someone I considered both a friend and mentor. Praise from him made me want to puff out my chest.

“Thanks, Chuck. His dedication makes this easy.”

I flashed him a grin before grabbing the chart for my two o’clock appointment. I continued in the same pattern until my last appointment of the day was gone. After that, I went by the gym and spent an hour on the elliptical and half an hour doing circuit exercises.

Once I’d showered, I got into my small Honda with my smoothie and headed towards the apartment. Simon’s truck was in the parking lot, parked in a visitor spot. He’d moved in a couple of months before and there was something about seeing his truck that made me feel comforted. I knew they would want their own space soon, though, but I refused to dwell on it.

I spent the evening hanging out with my sister and her boyfriend before going to bed and repeating the same routine over the next three days, minus the mid-afternoon doctor visit. Dr. Michaels had called me Friday morning to let me know that all of my labs came back negative and I breathed a sigh of relief. I had been really worried that Devin had given me something. When it came to my physical health, I was kind of a nut.

“Are you kidding me with this?” Megan said as she looked down at the dress I’d made her pull on. “If I bend over, everyone is going to see my vagina.”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud because she was right. And it never got old listening to my shy sister talk about genitalia.

“You mean pussy, right?”

“No,” she replied, shooting me an annoyed look that was completely fake. “Pussy is such a gross word.”

“Okay, okay. Wear the pink one. It’s not as sexy, though. Kind of like the word ‘vagina’.”

Megan shook her head as she tugged off the bright red dress. “I’m pretty sure Simon would prefer a bit more modesty. Besides, I’m going to get laid tonight no matter what I wear.”

“Rub it in, why don’t you?” I replied with a smile as she pulled on the pink dress. I turned to the dresser to finish my make-up. “Not all of us have a sexy man to ride at our disposal.”

My sister’s cheeks flamed but the smile on her face was beautiful. She was so in love with that man and I loved how happy he made her. I’d also witnessed how easily he could hurt her, though. He’d broken up with her on New Year’s Day after one of his co-workers had died on the job. Simon had claimed he didn’t want to risk dying and leave Megan in pieces so he left her while she was whole. What he didn’t realize in the moment was that she was in pieces either way and she’d rather be in pieces with the memories of having him than be in pieces without him at all.

She pulled on the pink dress that was a perfect mix of sexy and sweet and I finished curling her hair before pinning up one side of it. We did her make-up after that and I gave her a satisfied nod before doing my own hair.

Someone knocked on the bedroom door and I paused my brush for a minute. “Who is it?”

“It’s me.” Tori’s muffled voice could be heard and I told her to come in. She pushed open the door and shook her head with a smile when she caught sight of me. “I swear, I see you in your underwear more than in clothes.”

“I’m basically a nudist.” I glanced down at the strapless bra and the black thong I was wearing and smiled. I looked at her outfit and my smile turned to a frown. “You’re not wearing that.”

Tori was gorgeous. She had cut her platinum blonde hair a few weeks before so it barely grazed her shoulders. It was usually kept up in a ponytail and tonight was no exception. Her green eyes were so bright and piercing that it was almost unnerving when she stared at you, as if she could see all of your secrets.

She was about four inches taller than me and in such good shape that she made me look like a marshmallow. Although she tried to hide it from her co-workers, her body was very feminine and very desirable even with the muscles she was rocking. But in the black pants and grey shirt she was wearing at the moment, she just looked frumpy.

“Why not?” She glanced down at her outfit before giving me a clueless look. “What’s wrong with it?”

I disappeared into my closet and came back out with a bright blue dress that went to my knees. I knew it would be perfect for Tori. She immediately shook her head and I just stared at her.

“Gan. Back me up.”

My sister was watching our interaction with a smile and she nodded at Tori. “Come on. Just for tonight?”

We argued with Victoria for about five minutes before she agreed to change into the dress. When she came out of the bathroom, I released a low whistle and nodded. The sleeveless dress showed off her figure well and accentuated her flawless boobs. It was the perfect length and fell about three-fourths down her thighs.

“Damn,” Megan said as she shook her head. “You look hot.”

“I feel fucking naked.”

“Guys are going to me imagining you naked in this, Tor.” I grinned and ran my eyes along her amazing body again. “When’s the last time you got laid?”

Her cheeks blazed with color and she shrugged her shoulders. “It’s been a while. I don’t want to talk about it.”

I didn’t push her and instead let it drop. I made her sit so I could straighten her blonde hair and I applied some make-up to her face that really made her green eyes stand out. She drew the line at heels, though, and agreed to wear a pair of black ballet flats instead.

I clipped half of my hair up on my head and left the other half down before stepping into the strapless, dark green dress that I’d planned on wearing. It gave me a lot of cleavage, far more than I needed, and hugged my waist perfectly. It flared out at the bottom and stopped mid-thigh. I paired it with a pair of silver stilettos and did a slow twirl in front of the mirror.

“What do you think?”

Megan nodded in approval with a smile on her face and Tori shook her head, also with a smile.

Tori and I grabbed our overnight bags and the three of us walked out to the living room. Simon, Nick, and Tyson were all sitting out on our couch and Simon was on his feet the second he saw Megan. He stalked towards my sister and immediately pulled her into his arms for a long, hard kiss.

We all turned away as he began to whisper in her ear and I smiled at the two remaining men. Nick’s eyes were running up and down my body slowly. When he brought them to my face, I raised my brows and he just grinned without saying anything else. We finally broke contact when he looked at Tori.

“Damn, Jones. You look amazing.”

Tori glared at Nick and shook her head quickly. “Shut the fuck up, Christos.”

I noticed Tyson was observing Tori, too, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to, honestly. His facial expressions spoke volumes and told us that he liked what he saw.

Tyson Lennox was new to Simon and Nick’s company. He had transferred in about four months before to replace the member who had passed away. I’d only met him twice but from what I knew about him, he was quiet, kept to himself, and worked hard. I was honestly really surprised he was going out with us. All three men were in nice jeans and Simon and Nick were both wearing button-up shirts. Tyson, on the other hand, was wearing a black polo that hugged his broad chest perfectly.

“We need to take two cars,” Simon said when he finally disconnected his mouth from my sister’s. “I have room for five in my truck.”

“Let’s do my car and your truck,” Nick said as he nodded at Simon. “Four and two since the backseat of the Camaro is kind of tight. Kel can ride with me.”

I nodded as I grabbed my water bottle off the kitchen counter. “Tori and Ty would probably both kill you before you made it to the city.”

Everyone laughed and began to file out the door. I went last so I could lock it and Nick pulled my bag from my arm and stopped me before I could walk out of the apartment.

“You look fantastic,” he murmured as he pushed my hair off my neck. I felt goosebumps rise on my flesh when his fingers barely grazed my skin. “It’s going to be a long night.”

I grinned at him and used my thumb to rub his scruffy chin. “It’s going to be a fun night.”

We walked out to his car and I fell into the front seat as he held the door open for me. We followed Simon’s truck out of the complex and to the highway. The two of us talked the whole way to Vegas about the most random things. I loved the way I could be myself with Nick and that he accepted me unconditionally.

My arm was draped across the back of his seat as we drove and my fingers lightly scratched his scalp automatically. As the city came into view, I tugged on a strand gently.

“Don't let me go to some random guy’s room tonight, okay?”

Nick glanced over at me as he nodded. “I won't.”

“Don't let me bring one back to our room, either,” I added quickly and he chuckled.

“I promise, Kel. I've got you.”

I didn't doubt that one bit.