BeForeplay (3 page)

“I’m out. I want it done but I’ll wait
because I want to swim the rest of the weekend.”

“I can come back and do it Sunday for you, if
you want.”

“Thanks, Jack, I might just take you up on
that offer.” A triumphant smile takes over his face.

I leave the girls there and get back to the
party. Not even ten minutes later Tash comes out looking like
someone ran over her dog. “What’s wrong? Did it hurt that bad?”

“No. I couldn’t have it done because he said
I didn’t have enough depth.”

“Well, did you ask him if he wanted you to
wax poetic?”

That got her laughing. “You’re such a dork
but I love you anyways.”

I hug her, we get a drink and head out
back.

The group comes out from being pierced to
join us and I have to know. “Jack, when did you start piercing
people?”

He leans back and props his legs up on the
end of a chaise settling in. Must be a long story. “When I was in
college I did it to make extra money.” I know he sees the
bewilderment on my face because he continues with a sly grin. “My
mom was in control of my trust fund until I graduated med school.
What can I say, I needed extra beer money.” He has us all laughing.
“Sid, am I coming back Sunday to pierce you?”

“Yeah. I suppose I can stay out of the pool
until it’s healed.” I roll my eyes and let out a huff when I say,
“And you can finally tell people you got in my pants.”

He winks at me and smiles. “I wouldn’t tell a
soul, we could keep it our little secret. You could put a man out
of his misery though. Do you have any idea what dating has been
like? My mother keeps fixing me up on blind dates.” His entire body
shivers and I have to laugh because I do know.

“You think you’ve had it bad imagine what
it’s been like for us girls.” I look around at the other three
sitting with us and say, “Okay, so let’s swap our worst horror
story of blind dates. Tash, you go first.”

“Umm, okay. Well, it was a few years ago
right before I graduated. My mom set it up, which should have been
the first indication to run. He called and was nice, had a sexy
voice too, so I thought why not. We were going to have dinner and
then see a movie. We met at a coffee house and he wasn’t bad
looking but I could tell he’d been drinking already, clue number
two. Anyways, we were walking to dinner and the bastard took me to
McDonald’s. Now I’m no genius but if you ask me out and have money
for booze then you have money to take me to a decent sit-down meal.
I ate because I was hungry and then promptly left, by myself.”

Brandy says, “That’s not too bad. Listen to
this. About a year ago my roommate wanted to double date so I
agreed. Her boyfriend was hot so I thought maybe his friend would
be too. Oh my god, he was fucking gorgeous. So here we were at a
nice restaurant enjoying ourselves and all of the sudden I hear
someone hollering ‘you’ve got to be fucking kidding me’. I looked
up and there was a waitress screaming at my date about how he could
be seen in public with such a slut and in her restaurant. It was
his ex. Then she picked up his glass of water and threw it on me. I
was just about to punch the bitch when he started crying and
apologizing to HER! Come to find out they had been broke up for a
year but she kept stringing him along. He didn’t even know she
worked there. Needless to say I left.”

Tasha tells her, “I still would have punched
her on my way out.”

“I still have you all beat.” Jack says. He
takes a drink of his beer and begins, “My mom set me up with one of
her friends daughters. She was new to town and thought it would be
nice. What could it hurt I enjoy meeting new people so I called her
and asked her out. She was hesitant but really nice on the phone so
I made dinner reservations. It was fall so I thought the movie in
the park would be fun too. I picked her up and man she was
beautiful,” he pauses, “except for her Adam’s apple. Oh, it was
shaved down and not that noticeable but I’m a doctor for crying out
loud! It was the first thing I noticed when I was looking at the
shape of her neck. Anyways, we got in the car and before I started
it I turned and told her, ‘I’m sorry but I don’t think it’s a good
idea for us to date.’ She burst out in tears and begged me not to
tell my mom and tried to get out of the car. I told her to hold on
and calm down. Once she was calm enough I said, ‘I have no problem
going out as friends and it’s no one else’s business so don’t
worry’. She looked at me like I was crazy. We wound up going to
dinner, had great conversation and enjoyed the movie in the park.
She’s still a good friend of mine.”

Everyone collectively awes over his
story.

I say, “See, Jack, you’re not as arrogant as
you want people to think.”

“Um, ok. Thanks. I’ll take that as a
compliment I suppose.” He looks hurt by what I said. Shit, now I
feel bad.

“I didn’t mean it like that. What I meant was
you’re a decent guy and you don’t let that side show very often.” I
pat his arm and ask if he wants another beer.

Chapter

5

The partying has wound down to just a few
people by Sunday early afternoon. I made brunch and everyone is
just relaxing in or by the pool. Jack shows up around three and the
last person leaves around four so it’s just he and I.

“Are you ready to get pierced or did you
change your mind?” He asks.

I jump up off the couch and tell him, “Nope.
Let me go to the bathroom and then I’ll be ready. You can set up in
my bedroom this time.”

I head to my bathroom and freshen up when I
come out he’s got everything ready. He even picked the jewelry.

Before I take off my panties he stops me and
asks, “Do you want to be pierced by Dr. Lawson or by Jack?”

“What’s the difference?”

He has a sheepish look on his face. “Well,
Dr. Lawson won’t ogle the goods but Jack will.”

“Oh. Ah, um.” I’m stuttering because he just
threw me off. “How about the doctor does this, I’d feel more
comfortable.”

“You got it.”

Now I’m embarrassed to pull my panties down
and I’m stalling. “Sid, take your underwear off and lie down, it’ll
only take a minute.”

“Okay.” I take my undies off and lie down.
He’s putting his gloves on and opening the packages. When he turns
around to pierce me he cusses and shuts his eyes for a second.
“Jack, are you okay?”

“Yup. Just give me a second.” He opens his
eyes and apologizes. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t very professional of
me.”

“It’s alright. Let’s get this done.”

It was over in about a minute from start to
finish. I go to put my panties back on and Jack says, “You
shouldn’t wear lace panties. The piercing can get caught on the
material and make it uncomfortable and bleed.”

I go to my dresser to find different panties
and some loose shorts to put on while he cleans everything up.

We go back to the living room and I ask,
“Would you like to watch a movie?”

“Not right now. I’d like to talk.” This makes
me nervous for some reason. We sit on the couch and I face him.

He smiles at me and says, “I know I’ve been
teasing you about going out with me at work but I really would like
to take you on a date. We get along. Our work schedules are
similar. Why not just try it? Nothing ventured, nothing
gained.”

“True, but what if it doesn’t go so well? We
still have to work with each other.”

“Yes, but we’re both adults and, contrary to
popular belief, I can be professional.”

That got a chuckle from me. “I don’t know,
Jack. That’s really the only thing holding me back. Can you promise
me a few things?”

“What are they?”

“First, I’d like to keep it to ourselves. I
don’t need to be gossiped about. Second, if it doesn’t go well I
want to stay professional about things. I don’t want to be written
up or transferred from the emergency department.”

He looks me in the eyes with such sincerity
when he says, “I can promise those. But let’s not sabotage anything
before we have our first date by thinking it won’t go well.”

I nod. “I can do that.”

He smiles, grabs my hand and gives it a
squeeze. “How about that movie now?”

“Sounds good to me.” I turn the television on
and we find a movie to watch. When I press the start button he
pulls me to him and I nestle into his chest. Damn, he smells
good.

Chapter

6

Jack and I have been dating for three months
now. We get along great in and out of work. No one has a clue
except Tasha. But that’s only because she lives next door and sees
us coming and going or his car staying all night. Plus, she is my
best friend, whom I’ve sworn to secrecy. She says she’ll keep her
mouth shut as long as I keep giving her details. I would give her
details anyway. I want to tell her everything, after all I am a
girl.

We were working one night when we got a call
about a level one pediatric trauma coming in. This is not good. The
department looks to be in chaos after the call but in reality we’re
synchronized getting everything in place and ready.

I can’t believe my eyes when they bring the
baby in. She’s three and is tiny from malnourishment. She’s black
and blue from her head to her feet, her eyes are almost swollen
shut. I can tell her humerus on the right arm is fractured. So is
her right tibia. I don’t hear much after that except the orders
being given. I have to shut my mind down and be in total nurse
mode. They lost her on the way here, but have been doing CPR for
only ten minutes when we take over. We try for another thirty even
using the defibrillator and still nothing. Jack finally pronounces
the time of death. The tears are streaming down my face on their
own accord and I know I’m not the only one.

We leave the room and I hear one of the
paramedic’s saying that the boyfriend of the mother should be here
soon because he has a broken nose and a contusion above the
eye.

I know what happened to her, but I have to
ask. “Is he the one that tortured and killed that baby?”

Brady looks at me with fire and sadness in
his eyes his body stiff. “Yeah, that fucker did it. So did the
mother. He’s lucky he didn’t wind up in my rig. I’d be bringing him
in DOA.”

I nod my head and walk away. I want to go
home now but need to finish up my paperwork so I can leave. I’m at
the nurses’ desk on auto-pilot when Jack comes up. He sits next to
me and asks, “Are you okay?”

“I will be. I’m getting ready to go home. How
are you?”

“It’s hitting me pretty hard right now. Can I
come to your house when I get off?” I’d rather be alone but I can
only imagine what it’s like for him having to pronounce her
death.

“Of course. I’ll leave the front door
unlocked, just come in when you get there.

“I’ll see you later. Please be careful on
your way home.” He stands up and leaves. I finish my work, go to
the locker room to get my purse and leave. When I walk out the
doors I know I’ll never be back. I’m not okay and I don’t know if I
ever will be.

When I get into my truck I let loose all of
the tears and anger. Once I’m calm enough to drive I head home.

When I get in the shower I cry and scream
while the hot water relaxes my muscles the best it can. After I’m
all dried off I braid my hair, get dressed and head for the
kitchen. It’s going to be a long night. I like to bake when I’m
upset. It relaxes me better than anything else I’ve tried.

By the time Jack arrives I have an Italian
crème cake cooling and am working on my second batch of snicker
doodle cookies. He comes up from behind, wraps his arms around me
and buries his face in my neck. I can feel him shaking. I wipe my
hands off and turn in his arms to hold him. He’s crying and in turn
that makes me cry. I let go of him, shut the oven off, put the
cookie dough in the fridge and take him to my bathroom. I start the
shower, undress myself and then undress him. If I focus my
attention on him and take care of him the less time my thoughts
have to run wild.

I grab a washcloth and lead him into the
shower. “I’m going to take care of you. Relax, let the tears flow
and just feel.” He nods, puts his head down with his arms on the
wall and lets the water run over him. I make sure his hair is wet
enough and have him lean back so I can wash it. I massage his scalp
for a few minutes and pat his shoulder so he knows to rinse. I get
the washcloth wet and soapy and touch his shoulder again. He turns
around and I begin to wash him. This isn’t sexual. This is me
taking care of a broken man that I care deeply about. When I reach
his feet the tears have subsided.

He startles me a little when he speaks, his
voice is deep and sad. “I had to tend to that sorry piece of
shit.”

“I’m sorry, Jack, that must have been very
difficult. But it doesn’t mean you condone anything he did.” I
stand and he rinses off while mumbling, ‘you have no idea.’

I shut the shower off and grab the towels. I
wrap one around myself and start to dry him off. He tries to stop
me but I tell him, “Let me do this for you.” He does and when I’m
done he hugs me tightly to him.

He kisses the top of my head, lays his cheek
on it and says, “Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.
I don’t know what I would have done if I had to go home to an empty
house.” He starts rubbing his hand up and down my back. “Are you
doing okay? I noticed you already had a cake made and were working
on some cookies. I remember you telling me you bake when you get
upset.”

“You’re welcome and I’ll be okay. Are you
hungry?”

“Not really but I need to eat something. Do
you have anything light? Or I could order something to be
delivered.”

“It’s too late to order delivery, besides I
have plenty to choose from. Come on let’s get dressed.” Last month
he brought over a few things and left them here so he didn’t have
to worry about going home and packing a bag if he was coming after
work.