I filled a Styrofoam cup. I sat on the bench in the doctors’ lounge. It had been three days since Brett had dropped me off on my front porch.

Life had flipped upside down. The only thing that made me feel grounded was work. I examined patients, prescribed medications, and slept. I extended my shifts, not wanting to go home. I didn’t know if I was worried he would be at the house waiting, or if I would be crushed if he wasn’t.

The crazy sex humming that had coated my body had finally evaporated. It was easier to think without feeling like I was always on the verge of spiraling into another orgasm, but my craving for Brett hadn’t stopped.

I missed him.

I wanted to know where he was. I wanted to hear his voice. I wanted to feel his lips on mine. I wanted his hands on my hips. I tipped the coffee to my lips and spit it back in the cup. It tasted strange and the smell made my stomach turn. I tossed it in the trash.

None of it made sense. How could someone I just met have this effect on me?

I walked to the nurses’ station and pulled a clipboard from the top stack.

“You have a patient in room one,” Darla called over the counter.

“What’s that smirk for?” I asked.

“Let’s just say I’d like to take his vitals.” She winked.

“Oh, good grief.” I pulled my hair on top of my head, before charging into the room. The chart was practically blank. The patient was listed as John Doe. The injury was a six-inch laceration to the arm.

“Ok, Mr. Doe, I’m Dr. Forrest. Let’s take a look at your arm.” I closed the door behind me and looked at the man in the bed.

“Hi, doc.” Brett smiled.

I stopped at the end of the examination table. “What are you doing here?”

He shrugged. “I had an injury, and I only want the best doctor looking at my arm.”

I pursed my lips together. “I thought you said you were going to give me some space.”

“I did. I am. But I needed to see you. It’s been three days, doc. Plus, I have an injury”

I sat on the stool next to the bed and rolled toward him. “And what is that?”

“See my arm?”

I looked at the firm muscles in his bicep and had to stop myself from licking my lips. He was built of nothing but solid muscle. I remembered exactly how hard and rigid every inch of him was.

“It looks fine to me. You shouldn’t waste the hospital’s time like this. There are real patients here.” I exhaled. “Brett, what are you doing here?” I wanted to sound pissed and angry. Annoyed that he had popped up while I was at work, but my heart was fluttering and my pulse was racing.

“Giving you facts. You work best with facts and science.” My eyes locked on his. Those dark pools of mystery that had already led me somewhere I didn’t think I should go again.

“I-I need more time.” I started to stand, but he reached forward and gripped my wrist.

“I’ll give you as much time as you need, but you’re going to marry me.”

His words made my heart beat faster. I staggered backwards.

“You can’t say things like that. You don’t know that.”

His arm circled my waist, snaking under my white coat. I sighed when I felt his fingers dig into my flesh.

“You know how it feels when we’re together.”

My knees almost buckled. Of course I knew. It was all I could think about.

I nodded involuntarily.

“I would take you right here and now, doc,” he whispered in my ear. The shivers ran down my spine and curled around to my pussy. I felt my pussy clench with want. “How easy would it be to lock the door and fuck you here?”

I swallowed hard. My mouth watering for him. “Brett,” I whispered. “It’s not about sex.”

“I know it’s not.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “It’s about what we’re meant to be to each other.”

“You’re going to leave me.”

He exhaled. “Yes. But I’ll come back. I will come back to you, doc.”

I closed my eyes. He didn’t know I had been left before. He didn’t know someone else had promised me forever and left me completely alone. Maybe it was the time I was the one who confessed.

“Sit.” I pointed to the bed.

He furrowed his brow. “I don’t really need an exam.”

“I want to tell you something.”

“All right. I guess that’s fair.” He withdrew his hand from my waist, turning for the bed. It shifted under his heavy weight.

I looked at my feet. I wasn’t sure how to get this out. “There was someone before you.”

I saw his fists tighten on his lap. “Ok. You never said you were a nun.”

I laughed. “No, I never said that.” I finally lifted my eyes. “You tried to explain to me where you’re coming from and I think you need to know where I’m coming from.”

He sat and listened.

“I haven’t been with a man for two years.” It felt strange to say it. “I swear, I don’t want to talk about him, or acknowledge him, but he made promises to me too. And he broke those promises, Brett.”

He tried to speak, but I raised my hand.

“I don’t miss him. I don’t want him back. But I can’t pretend he didn’t hurt me. I can’t pretend his betrayal didn’t do damage.”

“I’m not that guy, doc.”

“I know you’re not.” I touched his hand, feeling the warmth of his skin. “But what you’re asking is for me to take a leap of faith that scares me to death. As much as I want to believe you, it’s hard. It’s hard to trust you’re going to come back.”

He took my hands in his and rose from the bed, pulling me to my feet.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to show you I’m coming back.” His eyes blazed. “I want you to have my baby, doc.”

I gasped. “What?”

“I don’t care about a stupid diagnosis. I don’t care what your doctor told you. You’re going to have my baby.”

I felt my stomach do a somersault. I was speechless.

He kissed me on my cheek. “I’ll give you some more time, but don’t take too much. I want to work on that baby before I leave.”

He opened the door to walk out of the room, and winked.

The door closed, my knees wobbled and I reached for the bed so I didn’t fall. I didn’t know if I’d ever catch my breath again. Did he really say that? A baby? A marriage? I shook my head.

My name was announced on the intercom. “Dr. Forrest, paging Dr. Forrest.”

“Shit,” I muttered. I had to get my act together. I needed to get my head back in the game.