Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Drake was a true gentleman. Despite all the ink and the bruises that first night I had met him, he was a good man to his core. I could tell. He wanted a relationship with me. He wanted something real. I knew it.
But why was I so afraid to let myself believe it?
Something real… The thought of that was kind of scary, too. What if I messed up? What if he messed up? What if we fell in love? That would leave me vulnerable to all sort of dashed dreams and broken expectations.
Worse yet, what if we fell out of love someday?
Hold your horses, girl, I heard Auntie saying in my head. You’re putting the cart before the horse.
Auntie loved a good horse metaphor.
I handed off my patients, having a quick chat with the covering nurse about doing extra checks on Mrs. Peabody, who was having a rough night. Mrs. Peabody was alone and having a difficult, pretty lengthy labor without anyone there to support her. She was in high spirits despite the pain and kept messaging with her husband, who was in the service, though she hadn’t said where he was stationed. Her family didn’t live nearby and apparently they weren’t close. But she wasn’t bitter or sad. She was looking forward to being a mother, and ‘doing a better job’ of it. I had responded with ‘nuff said’ and we had become fast friends.
As much as I hoped her baby came quickly, I really wanted to be there for her. The girls knew to come get me if her contractions got closer. My job was more than just nursing. It was also caring about your patients, beyond just their physical wellbeing. Drake would understand.
I hoped so, anyway.
I applied a thin coat of lipgloss and checked my breath. I stared into the mirror, willing myself to be cool and not act like a big dork.
I closed my eyes and reminded myself that it didn’t matter. Drake would probably still like me even if I was a big dork. And I would still like me, too. That was what really mattered.
And so would I, I heard Auntie say. Now get out there and enjoy yourself!
I took Auntie’s advice and went outside without anymore second guessing myself.
The next half hour was perfect. Drake went out of his way to make me laugh and tried to feed me choice bites of his lasagna, which he barely touched. He didn’t eat much during out late night ‘dinners’. When I asked him why, he told me he was too nervous, sending me into a fit of giggles.
The man made me laugh like no other.
It was hard to be nervous when you were laughing.
“What do you want me to bring for dinner tomorrow?”
“Actually… I have a couple of days off.”
His eyes got big and bright.
“I like the sound of that. Can I take you out for a proper date?”
“What do you call this?” I teased him, but my cheeks were bright red.
“This is nothing. Just wait,” he said, looking very serious and very determined. “Let me treat you to a proper date. For starters.”
“I’d like that,” I said shyly.
When Drake kissed me goodnight as usual, but this time was different. His kisses were always special. But there was a promise in that kiss that was hard to ignore.
A promise of things to come…
I floated through the rest of my shift. And when I got home around dawn, I showered and slid between the sheets with a smile on my face.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Drake
I stared at my phone. I had sent Sunshine a couple of texts asking when and where to pick her up for our date. She had always texted back me in a reasonable time before.
But today? Nothing.
I was worried. Worried something bad had happened to her. Worried she had changed her mind. Worried she didn’t like me anymore.
The feeling of her sweet self in my arms from the night before had done a number on me. I’d finally taken a chance and held her as tight as I wanted to. Kissed her as deep as I needed to. I had let loose the reigns on my desire for her, just a little, but now I worried that I had scared her off.
I was beyond aroused. I was beyond falling for her. I was beyond obsessed. I was a planet, and Sunshine was my… well, my sun.
And now she went MIA? Actually missing? This was a worst case scenario. Defcon five. I was in full on panic mode.
Where the fuck was she, damnit?
I was about to get Vice and Cain on it but I decided to act like I wasn’t a crazed lunatic and called her instead. That was reasonable. That was the normal human thing to do.
“Hello?”
“Dana, it’s Drake. Are you okay?”
“Drake… oh… I’m… I’m not actually. I am so sorry. It’s been a crazy day.”