Pieces (Riverdale #1) (16 page)

“You
do realize, I’m not a woman, and your antics won’t work on me? But nonetheless
I’m flattered for your attempts.” The doctor looked over his chart. “When was
the last time you were here? Five years ago is that correct? No, wait. Four
years ago.”

     
Jake shrugged his shoulders. “Hell if I
know.” He sighed heavily. “My girlfriend is forcing me to come.” He laughed as
he said the words and then shook his head when the doctor eyed him. “I’ve been
having some anxiety.”

     
“You’ve never been diagnosed with
anxiety.” He said as he slid his hands into his pockets and leaned against the
counter, giving Jake his undivided attention.

     
“Well not technically, but that’s what it
is, either that or I’m having panic attacks, and I think I have mono again. So
if you just give me some meds, I’ll get out of your hair.” He shuddered and
looked at the doctors mostly bald head. “Sorry, bad choice of words.”

     
“Describe your symptoms for me.” He looked
at him sternly.

     
Jake sighed heavily, why did he suddenly
feel like the walls were closing in on him? “So I get these attacks where it
feels like there literally is a ton of bricks weighing on my chest. I feel like
I can’t breathe. There are times when I think I’m going to die if I don’t catch
my breath. I wake up in the middle of the night drenched. I mean I’ll wake up
and I’m lying in a pool of sweat, the sheets get ruined and everything. And now
I’m noticing sharp shooting pains in my abdomen.” He scratched his head in
thought. “I think that’s it.”

     
Dr. Brooks nodded and jotted some things
down in his chart, not looking at Jake as he spoke. “Do you ever have a fever
when you’re experiencing these episodes?”

     
“No, not that I know of.”

     
“Have you lost any weight recently?”

     
“No.”

     
“What about fatigue?”

     
“Yes. It comes and goes, but there are
days I feel like I’m going to fall on my face from exhaustion and I haven’t
done a thing all day.” Jake said honestly.

     
“Okay, I need you to take off your shirt
and lift your arms.” He placed the chart on the counter behind him and stood in
front of Jake.

     
Jake laughed. “Doc, I didn’t know you
swung that way.” He quipped as he pulled his t-shirt over his head with one
hand.

     
“Still the character, I see.” The doc said
as he pressed his fingers to each side of Jake’s neck. He moved them around and
applied pressure to certain areas. “Lift your arms.” Jake shrugged and lifted
his arms and Dr. Brooks did the same thing underneath by his armpits.

     
“Lucky for you I showered and used
deodorant.” The doctor didn’t say anything he just made some more notes in
Jakes chart. “Can I drop my arms?”

     
“Yes.” He pushed the call button on the
intercom that rested on the wall. “Leah, I’m going to need to take some blood,
can you assist?”

     
“Right away Dr. Brooks.” Black Cherry’s
voice filled the speakers.

     
Jake cringed. “Needles?”

     
Dr. Brooks turned to him and stared at him
disbelievingly. “You’re covered in tattoos and you’re squeamish about me
drawing a little blood?”

     
“Not really, just trying to play the
part.” Jake laughed. “Have mercy on me, doc.”

     
Leah entered the exam room, and Jake
noticed the faintest shade of pink on her cheeks. He chuckled, knowing very
well that his brother colored up those cheeks. She slipped on a pair of rubber
gloves, as did Dr. Brooks.

     
The doctor marked each vial while Leah,
prepped Jake’s arm, finding the perfect vein.

“How’s
Luke doing out there?”

     
Leah averted her eyes towards Jake. “How
would I know?”

     
Jake laughed and then realized she was
about to draw his blood. “I guess I should shut my mouth now.”

     
“Probably.”
 
And then she smiled at him. She filled a
bunch of vials with his blood, before pressing gauze to where she had poked
him. She applied a bit of pressure before stretching a Band-Aid across his
skin. “I’ll get these to the lab right away. Anything else?”

     
“Put a rush on it.” Dr. Brooks said as he
wrote on a prescription pad. “Jake I’m sending you for a couple of tests. First
we’re going to get an x-ray of your lungs, and a few other tests. Your lymph
nodes are swollen, which usually means infection. But you wouldn’t be having
all these side effects from just an infection. It’s important you get these
tests done right away.”

     
He turned and faced Jake for the first
time, looking into his eyes. “I want the results in my hands in one week. That
means you need to make these tests your number one priority tomorrow and the
next day. If you call radiology and they give you a problem, call my office and
we will handle it.”

     
“Whoa, Doc. What’s with all the urgency?
What could this be?” Suddenly Jake didn’t feel like his jovial self and looking
at Dr. Brooks, was making him entertain the idea that maybe he wasn’t well
after all.

     
“No need to alarm yourself, we’re going to
run tests to rule everything out. Once I have your blood work I’ll have a
better idea of what this could be.”

     
“Well what exactly are you ruling out? By
the stack of prescriptions you’re handing me it seems serious.” He swallowed as
he took the prescriptions.

     
“I’m a general practitioner, Jake. I’m
concerned over your lymph nodes, I want to make sure I don’t miss anything, and
if I can’t figure out what is going on with you by the results of the tests
then I will refer you to a doctor who can.”

     
Another reason he hated doctors, they beat
around the bush on everything never committing to a damn thing unless they had
solid proof, in fear of a malpractice suit. Jake had had enough.

     
“Yeah alright.” He waved the prescriptions
like a flag and pulled his shirt back on.

     
“Make an appointment for next week, and we
will go over the results.” Dr. Brooks said as Jake walked out of the room.

     
Luke was sitting in the waiting room
staring up at the television when Jake walked out of the exam room. He walked
over to Leah’s desk.

     
“I need an appointment for a week from
today.”

Luke
came up behind him, as Leah opened up the schedule spreadsheet on her computer.

     
“How’d it go?”

     
“Shitty, he’s sending me for a shitload of
tests and I have to come back to this hell hole in a week.”

     
“Same time next week good for you?” Leah
asked.

     
“Yeah, we all good? Can I go?” Jake asked
his leg twitching, he desperately needed a cigarette.

     
“We’re good. See you next week.” She said
and then smiled at Luke. “It was good to see you again.”

     
“Same goes.” Luke winked at her, and then
realized Jake was halfway out the door. He hurried to catch up to him. When he
stepped outside he spotted Jake, leaning against his truck smoking a cigarette.

     
“Jake, what happened?” He said as he
leaned against the truck beside his brother.

     
“Dr. Paranoia is sending me for a bunch of
tests, to rule shit out. What that shit is he didn’t say.” He closed his eyes
and took a long pull on his cigarette.

     
“Well did he say if we should worry or
not?”

     
“No, he seemed more like he was covering
his ass than anything else.” Jake flicked his cigarette. “He’s just saving his
own hide, raking in the insurance dollars.” He looked at his brother. “How many
times did she call?” Knowing, very well that Cara had stopped calling him only
to harass Luke.

     
“Two calls and three texts.” He sighed.
“Do you want to call her or should I?” Luke asked.

     
He crushed his cigarette with the tip of
his shoe. “No I will.” He said and reached for his phone. He stopped himself
hitting the call button and looked up at Luke. “Let’s just keep all these tests
between us, okay? No reason to get Cara nervous over this shit.”

     
“Are you sure?” He asked slowly, assessing
Jake.

     
“Positive, and when I say let’s keep it
between us that means not telling mom and dad either.” He said directly.

     
“Jake if something’s wrong mom and dad
need to know.” Luke said as he dragged his fingers through his hair, frustrated
beyond measure.

     
“Nothing’s wrong.” He hollered and then
took a deep breath. They remained silent for a few moments. Jake looked down at
his phone, staring at Cara’s name and her beautiful face that stared back at
him. He swallowed the lump that was lodged in his throat. The unknown scared
the shit out of him. Ironic wasn’t it? He had everything he wanted, things were
going right in his life and now impending doom lurked. He looked at his
brother, he was perfectly still, and his worried eyes stared at the parked
cars. “Do I have your word?”

     
Luke didn’t take his eyes from the parked
cars, and when he answered it was as if he was automated. “You have my word.”

     
That was good as gold, to Jake. He pressed
send and waited for Cara’s voice to change his mood.

     
Jake wasn’t one to be a pessimist, it just
wasn’t who he was. He was more the glass is half full, kind of guy. So after
his shit show of a doctor’s appointment he called Cara, and her voice instantly
calmed him. He had told her things went well with the doctor and they were just
running some tests that would probably conclude that he had anxiety. It didn’t
matter to him, that he had no idea what all those tests were for and what they
would conclude, because he wasn’t about to worry himself or his loved ones
until he knew exactly what was going on. He did follow through and set up his
appointments to have the tests done, but once he did that, he pushed to the
back of his head.

     
Out of sight, out of mind, he went about
the rest of his day as planned. He had met Pete at the Riverdale Ink, and was
now sporting some new ink after five hours. He would need a few things touched
up and shaded, but for the most part it was finished which was great because he
didn’t have to hide it from Cara. He stopped off at the drug store and picked
up some A & D ointment before heading to her apartment. It was late, but he
had texted her to make sure she was still awake and she had insisted he come
over. He knocked on her door, and leaned against the door jamb waiting for her
to open it.

     
When she pulled the door open, all his
troubles seemed to fade away. She greeted him with a big smile, and he could
tell by the excitement shining on her face, that she was about to jump in. The
thought made him laugh and he held up a hand to stop her.

     
“Easy baby, I’m in some pain.” He pushed
himself off the doorjamb and pressed his hands to her hips, leaned down and
gently offered his mouth to her. She arched her head back and took his lips
between hers. It was a meant to be a gentle, hello kiss, but transpired into a
heated can’t wait to rip your clothes off kiss. Her tongue slid inside his mouth
and tasted him. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, tugging
him into her apartment. He kicked the door close with the heel of his shoe,
before he cupped her face and continued to kiss her thoroughly.

     
Not sure who pulled away first, he looked
into her eyes and smiled at her. “Hey.” He murmured.

     
“Hi.” She whispered back. Her tongue ran
across her lower lip, savoring the taste of him.

Then
her brows furrowed and she looked at him concerned. “Why are you in pain? Did
something happen at the doctor’s office?”

     
He shook his head and slipped his leather
jacket down his arms, draping it over the back of her couch. “Nope.”

     
He stared at her, taking her all in. She
was wearing black yoga pants that folded over her hips, clinging to every single
curve. She had a sports bra on and her hair was tied up in a ponytail. What he
loved best was that she didn’t have a stitch of makeup on letting her true
beauty immerse. She was stunning, and the most intriguing part of Cara, was
that she was stunning both on the outside and the inside. Her concern for him,
her love for him, shined in her hazel eyes.
 
He could get lost in her eyes for an eternity. He snapped out of his
trance when she grabbed his hand. She had been talking and he hadn’t heard a
single word, he was too engulfed in her to hear.

     
“I’m sorry, what?”

     
“Why are you in pain?” She said a little
impatiently and whole lot nervously.

     
He laced their fingers together and
brought their hands to his lips, placing featherlike kisses along her knuckles.
“I love you Cara.”

     
“I love you too, but you’re scaring me
right now.” She croaked.

     
“Don’t be scared.” He touched a strand of
hair that had escaped her ponytail, wrapping it around his finger before
tucking it behind her ear. “I don’t want you to ever doubt how much I love you,
never, no matter what.”

     
She swallowed and stared at him, confused.
He didn’t know why, but suddenly his words had meaning. He wanted her to know
until the end of the time, how he loved her. Maybe it was the stupid doctor’s
visit messing with his head, but he followed his gut and said the words anyway.
Half full, the glass is half full; he reminded himself and pushed the dread out
of his voice.

     
“When we were in Manhattan you asked me
why I never tattooed the left side of my chest.” He cleared his throat, pushing
through the emotion that hung in his voice. “Do you remember what I told you?”

     
She nodded, and glanced at his chest
quickly before looking back into his eyes. “I remember.”

     
He didn’t say anything, instead he nodded
to her urging her to repeat his words back to him.

     
“You said it was sacred territory and when
I asked you why, you said it’s the closest place to your heart.”

     
Jake smiled at her, and dropped her hand
that he was holding. His eyes didn’t leave hers and when she went to speak he
shook his head, silencing her. He lifted his arms over his head, and looked
down at the white t-shirt that was loose around his chest. He watched as her
eyes glistened staring at the t-shirt and then back to his. He nodded briefly
and she stepped closer. Her fingertips grazed the hem of his t-shirt. She
searched his eyes trying to figure him out, but all he imagined she could see
is how much he loved her at that moment. He hoped she’d see it, and would
remember it, remember how he looked at her that very moment. He closed his eyes
briefly, pushing that dread away again. He opened his eyes as she began to lift
his shirt up his abdomen, all the way to his chest. The left side of his chest
was covered with gauze and taped carefully to his skin. She tugged the shirt
over his head, and he still kept his arms raised over his head as the shirt was
thrown to the floor.

     
“Go ahead.” He whispered.

     
She stood on her tip toes and pressed her
lips to his, ever so gently. When she pulled away her fingers delicately worked
the tape from his skin and the gauze. He sucked in a breath as she slowly
peeled away the gauze. Her fingers trembled as she stared at his chest,
revealing the tattoo that covered the entire left side of his chest.

     
Cara couldn’t read Jake from the minute
she opened the door to let him in her apartment. For a moment she thought he
was breaking up with her, but when she looked into his eyes she saw a man who
was so in love the woman he was staring at her. It was crazy, because she never
had experienced love like that. And now he was asking her to repeat his words
and un-wrap him as if he was a present on Christmas morning. She peeled the
gauze away from his skin, her fingers trembling. Before she allowed herself to
stare at what was beneath the gauze she gazed back into his eyes. His smile was
wide, and so she looked. She stared at the tattoo in utter shock and awe. She
heard her gasp escape, and felt the tears cloud her eyes. She blinked them
away, but they slid down her cheeks.

     
His skin was raw and puffy from the needle
and it glistened from the ointment that was applied when it had been finished.
The entire left side of his chest had the picture he drew of her tattooed to
it. It was as if she was staring into a mirror, her reflection shining back at
her. He had tattooed her, her body, her eyes, how she stared at him after they
had made love for the first time, looking back at her was the vision of her
through his eyes and over his heart.

     
She brought her hand to her mouth and
sobbed. She cried at the sentiment, for the love he had for her, for the man he
was.
 
Jake wrapped his arms around her,
and brought her against the right side of his body, she felt his lips brush the
top of her head.

     
“I didn’t mean to upset you, I’ll get it
removed.”

     
She pushed away from him and looked at him
as if he’d lost his mind.

     
“I’m not upset.” She cried and tried to
scrounge up the right words. “I am so completely in awe of you. You drew me as
you saw me that night, and completely took my breath away then. And now you
took that same picture and had it put on your body indefinitely. It’s as if you
tattooed me to your heart.”

     
His smile would’ve lit up a football
field. “That’s exactly what I was going for.” He reached out and wiped the
tears on her cheeks. “You own my heart, and you always will.”

     
“I’ll cherish it, forever.” She whispered
and smiled through her tears. She looked at his chest, still amazed. “Can I
touch it?”

     
He nodded and watched as she traced her
fingers delicately over the image, before pressing her lips over his chest. She
glanced at him through her lashes and began to spread her kisses all over his
chest. She heard him groan and looked up at him concerned. “Am I hurting you?”

     
“No.” His voice was thick as he splayed
his palms on her hips. “I want you Cara. I want you so goddamn much.”

     
Eyes on his, she slid her hands over his
and together they tugged at her pants. “I’m yours.” She said and then pulled
her pants down the rest of the way. She stepped out of them once they pooled
around her ankles and stood before him. She took his hands in hers and pulled
him towards the couch.

     
He kicked his shoes off and worked the
button of his jeans, before sliding the zipper down. There was eagerness there
for the both of them, but relishing in their love for another took precedence.
She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him to sit down on the couch.

     
Kneeling between his legs, she began to
work the jeans down his thighs. He arched his hips, making the task easier for
her. When she freed him of his pants she moved to sit on his lap. Her fingers
traced his jaw, and she smiled before her lips found his. She took her time
kissing him, exploring every crevice of his mouth. She loved the way his mouth
responded to her, so inviting, and open. Her hands clutched his shoulders as
they kissed. She could feel his erection under her, begging for her. She rocked
against his slowly, tantalizingly, until a growl of approval escaped from his
throat.

     
Jake pulled away, holding her face in his
hands he looked into her eyes. They were green tonight, but hinted specs of all
different shades of gold and brown. “Your eyes, Christ your eyes undo me.” He
growled before his lips embarked on a trailblazing path down her neck, he
sucked on her shoulder before his teeth scraped the sensitive skin.

     
His fingers slipped underneath the spandex
that stretched across her full breasts. He cupped her mounds of flesh in his
palms, letting his thumbs work her nipples until they were thick and firmly
erect. He had wanted to be gentle, it was his intention, but he lost himself in
all that was Cara. Her soft curves, the way her body so willingly molded to
his. She unleashed a desire in him that no one else ever had. He needed her
naked, and needed it now. He pulled the sports bra over her head and balanced
her breasts in his hands, choosing which one to devour first. His mouth clamped
around her nipple inflicting a slow erotic torture.

     
He felt her hands slide into his boxer
briefs and wrap around his hardened length. Christ she felt amazing. His hands
closed around him and his mouth stilled over her puckered nipples, anticipating
her next move. When she ran her fingers over the tip of his penis, softly he
thought he’d explode. He forced himself to open his eyes and look into hers.
She was chewing on her lip, and his mouth begged to suck on her lip and soothe
it and that’s exactly what he did as she brought his briefs down his thighs,
rocking her heat against him. He slid the scrap of material that covered her,
and his finger slipped between her wet folds. He was pretty sure his eyes
rolled behind his head as finger divulged in her heat. He slipped his finger
out of her and held it up to her mouth. Eyes blazing, she slid her tongue up
and down the length of his finger before closing her mouth around it and
sucking on it. She extracted his finger from her mouth with a popping noise.

     
“Fuck, that’s hot.” He murmured as his
lips slid down her neck, his teeth nipping along the way.

     
His hips reared up from the couch,
pressing his engorged erection to entrance. He didn’t push into her, but just
ran his cock along her entry. Her breath came out in little bursts as she
braced her hands against his shoulders. She lifted her hips and without further
ado slammed down onto his dick. He couldn’t move, he reveled in the amazing way
the walls of her pussy clenched around him. He gripped her hips and rotated his
hips before he lifted her off him and then dragged her wet heat around him
again. He felt her lips against his collarbone before his teeth raked against
the pulse in his neck. He hadn’t realized how sensitive his neck was, or maybe
it was just her. She could tie him up in knots and he’d swear he was in heaven.

     
She ground her body onto him, taking him
fully into her and the only noise that was heard was flesh slapping against
flesh and their breathless pants. He watched as her head cocked to the side and
she worked her body up and down him. If this was heaven, he’d sign the papers
tomorrow, he thought.

     
“Oh God,” She moaned and dropped her head
to his shoulder as she glided her clit against him. He could feel her begin to
lose control, and so he arched himself and pumped into two solid thrusts before
she began to writhe around.