Chapter Twenty-Two

 

 

 

 

Simon

 

 

 

 

 

Megan was up at six the next morning and I felt bad as I watched her yawn while she got ready. I lived off of little or interrupted sleep, but she didn’t and I’d kept her up way too late. It wasn’t the first time, either, and I realized that she must have been exhausted after each night we spent in front of the TV.

I knew she thought I was asleep because every movement she made was slow and quiet. Once she’d come out of the bathroom with her dark brown hair dry and falling at her shoulders, she pulled on a pair of light purple scrub pants and a white, very tight tank top that hugged the curves of her breasts and waist perfectly. I loved everything about her body. She wasn’t toned and tight like her sister but curvy and soft in the places that mattered. When she moved to put earrings into her ears, her eyes caught mine in mirror.

“Hey. You should be asleep.”

I smiled and shifted so I was sitting up against the headboard “Firefighters are light sleepers, babe. Besides, the bed is lonely.”

“Yeah?” She turned around and came to sit on the edge so she was facing me. “What are you going to do today?”

“I’ll probably head home and get some laundry done and then I have a baseball game tonight.”

Megan nodded and reached up to run her fingertips across the stubble on my cheek. “Sounds exciting.”

“Almost too exciting.” I caught her fingers and brought them to my lips. “Can I take you to lunch?”

“Well, you still owe me a meal from yesterday.” Her hazel eyes twinkled and she leaned forward until her mouth was on mine. She tasted like cinnamon, which I now knew was from her toothpaste, and I groaned before tugging on her so she was in my lap.

“When do you have to leave for work?” I mumbled as I ran kisses down her jawline.

“Fifteen minutes,” she breathed as her hands clutched my forearms.

I grinned and pushed her gently until she was on her back. “Plenty of time.”

Fifteen minutes with Megan wasn’t nearly enough but I wasn’t sure any amount of time would be. After a quick session in the sheets that left us both satisfied, I pulled a clean pair of clothes from my bag and accepted the homemade muffin she’d given me for breakfast. I walked Megan to her car and pressed my lips to hers.

“What time is your lunch break?”

“From noon to one,” she replied as she slid into her driver’s seat. “Do you want to meet somewhere?”

I let out a long sigh and I shook my head. “I’m coming to you, Megan. Just assume that I’m picking you up for everything from now on.”

“Okay.” She smiled and gave me one last kiss before I pulled away to shut her door. I waited until she was out of the parking lot before I headed to my truck. I ate my muffin as I made the trip back home and Alex’s car wasn’t in the driveway when I pulled in. I got my laundry going and cuddled with my pillow so I could take a nap.

My alarm went off at eleven and I jarred awake before I realized it was just the alarm on my phone and not the call alarm at work. I heaved myself out of bed so I could throw my clothes in the dryer and I almost collided with Alex when I came out of the laundry room.

“Hey, Al. I didn’t know you were home.”

He raised his brows as he grabbed his work shirt from where it was hanging over the dryer. “Says the man who’s been MIA for days. Did you work all weekend?”

“I had to work a bit over because of the Quincy Hill fire.” I didn’t mention that it was just an extra seven hours but Alex accepted the answer easily. I knew if I told him I had stayed the night with a woman he wouldn’t pry but I couldn’t bring myself to tell him.

“When’s your next shift? Wednesday?”

“Yeah,” I replied with a nod as I sat down at the kitchen table to put my sneakers back on. “What are you doing without the kids this week?”

“I picked up a few extra shifts but I also have a date on Wednesday night.” He flashed me a grin and I returned it easily.

“Yeah?” I nodded to him as I tied my other shoe. “Who is she?”

Alex chuckled as he made himself a sandwich. “Oddly enough, another nurse. She works at Clark County Memorial. We’ve flirted off and on for like six months so I finally asked her out.”

“Good for you, Al.” And good for me. Maybe if he really like this girl, he would take the news of Megan and I better when I told him. I stood from the chair and lightly punched him in the shoulder before grabbing a drink from the fridge. “Can you give you a little tidbit of advice?”

He looked up from his sandwich and rolled his eyes. “Sure, master of love. What?”

“Put her first when you can. Pick her up, let her order first, hold the door, ask her questions, and spoil her. If this woman ends up being important to you then you should prove that to her every day.”

Alex stared at me and, for a moment, I thought he was going to argue with me or roll his eyes again. I was surprised when he didn’t do either and instead nodded. “I will. Thanks, man.”

“I might not be home tonight but let’s do lunch or dinner sometime this week, okay?”

“Yeah,” Alex replied as he took a bite of his sandwich. “Sounds good. I’ll see you later.”

I left my brother’s house and headed towards Dr. Michael’s office. I was five minutes early so I hopped out of my truck and walked inside the glass doors. The waiting room was empty and the woman at the front desk gave me a curious look.

“Hello. Do you have an appointment?”

I shook my head and flashed her a smile. “I’m here to pick up Megan for lunch.”

“Oh,” she replied as she looked me up and down. She turned her head and exchanged a look with the woman behind her. “I’ll let Megan know you’re here if you want to have a seat.”

I thanked her and did as she said, watching as she and the other girl spoke quietly and giggled together. The first one picked up phone and spoke in low tones for a moment before hanging it up. They were still whispering when Megan appeared behind the desk and rolled her eyes.

“Stop it fawning over my boyfriend.” She moved so she was leaning over the counter and smiled at me. “Hi. I still have a patient back here. Give me a few minutes?”

I held up the ‘US Weekly’ magazine that had been on the table in front of me. “Take all of the time you need. I have my celebrity gossip to catch up on.”

Megan’s smile widened as she stared at me for a beat. “Be right back.”

I flipped through the magazine for about thirty seconds before I was bored with it. I tossed the tabloid aside and pulled out my phone instead. Megan appeared ten minutes later after a woman exited the door to the back office.

“Ready?” She offered her hand and I stood to take it before waving to the ladies behind the desk. Megan scoffed with a small shake of her head.

“Don’t encourage them.”

I laughed and walked her to my truck, holding the passenger door open so she could climb in.

“Your boyfriend, huh?” I looked up to where she was in her seat and grinned.

Megan smiled as she shrugged her shoulders. “Aren’t you? I could just call you ‘The man that I love whom I also happen to be sleeping.’ The only problem is that it doesn’t really roll off the tongue.”

“You’re such a smart ass,” I said with a chuckle as I squeezed her knee and shut the door. Once I was behind the wheel, I turned to look at her. “There’s a Mexican restaurant nearby that’s delicious and quick. How does that sound?”

“That sounds perfect.”

We spent her entire lunch hour talking and laughing about the most random things. Megan told me a little more about the culture in her office and her eyes sparkled as she did. She was passionate about her work and, having witnessed it firsthand, I knew that she was the kind of nurse everyone should aspire to be.

When she mentioned she had to get back, I sighed and pulled out my wallet to pay the check.

“I feel like we never have enough time.”

Megan laughed and held out her hand to me. “I know how you feel. I just have to remind myself that we have forever.”

“Forever,” I repeated as we walked out into the blistering heat. “I like the sound of that.”