Rita woke with a start. Her mouth dry, her head slightly fuzzy and an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She rolled to check the time on her bedside clock and gasped as she found her face inches away from the tousled dark hair of a man in her bed. Turning onto her back she slapped her hands to her face.
"Oh crap!" she muttered under her breath. She peered back out at the man through her fingers. "Fuuuck…" Her heart rate quickened as she recalled the events of the previous evening. Her colleague of the last two and a half years had basically asked her pretty directly to sleep with him and here she was. She groaned. How had a couple of, albeit large, glasses of wine resulted so easily in her becoming what he would no doubt see as his latest conquest? She was actually quite surprised that he was even still there. Judging by his peaceful steady breathing this wasn't affecting Iain's conscience at all though she thought ruefully. It was also fairly obvious that there was now an awkward morning conversation to face.
Rita sighed. She'd come to see Iain as a friend, admittedly one she had always found attractive, but if she'd ever thought about anything happening between them it had always played out in her head a bit more subtly than this current situation. She couldn't help but worry that last night could well have ruined everything. Images of their bodies pressed against each other flashed through her mind and her stomach flipped. Maybe it wasn't all bad. It had actually been a pretty mind-blowing evening and perhaps something she needed to properly move on from the last disastrous chapter in her life.
She found herself lifting the duvet to take a better look at the man beside her and had to bite her lip to stop herself from gasping. She mentally catalogued what was in front of her: Hello cute bum, muscular shoulders, wow that's some tattoo and… oh god were those her fingernail scratches down his back? She really had left all her inhibitions in the pub they'd left so hurriedly.
Rita snapped herself back to her senses and the realisation that her head was properly starting to throb.
Coffee. I need coffee she thought, extracting herself from the duvet and tiptoeing out of the room and across the landing. As she descended the stairs the scene before her presented further evidence of exactly what had happened, and where, had she needed it. The memory of it all was still pretty vivid and she clutched at the banister to steady herself as she recalled it.
Things had got heated pretty quickly just around the corner from the pub. Rita had breathlessly insisted they continued back at hers before things got out of hand in broad daylight. The walk of the few streets to her terraced house had been punctuated with frenzied kisses as they both struggled to keep their hands off each other. She remembered thinking how much further than usual it felt and how she'd fumbled to find her keys and get them in the lock thanks to the distraction of Iain's hands starting to explore under her top. Once inside he'd pushed her up against the hall wall as they both kicked off shoes and pulled at each others jackets. Iain had trailed kisses down her neck and along her collarbone whilst she slowly undid the buttons of his shirt. As he removed her top she'd somehow ended up with her arms pinned above her head, Iain twisting the fabric of the garment at her wrists and holding them there with one hand while the other ran over her lace bra and the taut skin of her stomach. She had groaned at being unable to touch the muscular torso she'd just revealed and took her frustration out on kissing him even more urgently.
Rita's skin tingled and her breath was quickening just at the memory as she stepped over trousers and various items of underwear at the bottom of her stairs. She rubbed her back, shaking her head that in their urgency when it came to it neither of them had thought or had the patience to find somewhere more comfortable than the foot of her stairs.
She froze as she heard a creak from her room above. Was he awake? It suddenly dawned on Rita that in her rush to leave the room she'd not even thought to put any clothes on and she looked around her frantically for something she could cover up with. She grabbed Iain's shirt from on top of their jackets by the front door and slipped her arms gratefully into the sleeves. The smell of his aftershave caught her off guard and she suddenly felt dizzy at the thought of his skin near hers again. Another noise from upstairs hurried her along to the kitchen fastening a few buttons as she went, grateful at the feel of the fabric skimming her thighs that at least she'd be reasonably presentable when they faced each other again. She spotted her phone on the floor and picked that up too.
In her kitchen Rita flicked the coffee machine and radio on then busied herself while she waited for the drinks to be ready. She filled a glass with water and took a couple of grateful swigs before plugging her phone in to charge and glancing down at the screen. She grimaced, a text from Louise asking where she'd disappeared to made her question how subtle they'd been in their departure last night. Possibly not very she concluded, but a story about not feeling well and a gentlemanly walk home would probably deflect attention until the next bit of ED drama came along.
She was just filling two cups with coffee when she heard a noise behind her and spun round. Iain was stood in her kitchen doorway wearing just his jeans. Her breath caught as she took in the muscles of his chest and stomach, his ruffled hair and cheeky grin.
"Ah" he said green eyes twinkling "that's why I couldn't find me shirt"
Rita smirked "I think I prefer you with it off actually" she said slowly. Was it her or did this not feel awkward at all?
"Oh really?" He said stepping towards her "Funny that. Because I was thinking the same thing about you" He was right in front of her now and took the two cups from her and placed them on the kitchen table. Closing the gap between them he encircled her waist with his hands and leant down to place a soft lingering kiss on her lips. Rita's heart was beating out of her chest again as she responded to the kiss, one hand running lightly over his chest the other on the back of his neck
"Mmm, Reet, last night was amazing" he mumbled against her lips. "I wouldn't mind a repeat performance" He lifted her up into the work surface and pushed her legs apart so he could stand between them. Brushing her hair away he kissed her neck lightly while his hands worked to undo the top couple of buttons on the shirt. He slid his hands inside and Rita moaned, every inch of her skin feeling completely alive.
"Oh god Iain this might have to wait until tonight, I'm due on shift in 45 minutes" she breathed
"Me too unfortunately" said Iain pulling away and glancing at his watch.
"How about we reconvene at the end of the shift then? We could meet at a pub a bit further away from the hospital to avoid any prying eyes?" He suggested. Rita smiled and nodded.
"Give us your number and I'll text you a plan later?" He said pulling out his phone.
He tapped in the number Rita gave to him.
"I'll ring yours so you got mine too" he said smiling at her. The phone started to vibrate on the surface behind him so he made to reach over to get it for her. Rita's face suddenly dropped.
"No!" She exclaimed and lunged for the phone but Iain already had it in his hand.
"Oh hello" he said a smile broadening on his face as he looked at the screen "You've already got me number?" He looked at her quizzically as Rita's face reddened rapidly "Stored under 'Hot Paramedic' no less! Care to explain?"
Iain looked bemused but was chuckling at her, Rita just felt mortified.
"Oh god how embarrassing. I'm sorry I...I might have accidentally got it off Dix after you first arrived in Holby." She said scrunching her face up in embarrassment.
"Go on" he said, enjoying making her squirm.
"Err, I think we were on a night out and she'd mentioned you didn't live too far away from here and I…"
"Yes?" He said laughing.
"I… I thought it might be a useful number to have"
"In case you ever needed a Hot Paramedic you mean?" He teased.
"Something like that" she said sheepishly "I think I thought I was going to act on it but it was all talk and no trousers" she laughed looking down at her own bare legs "In that I wasn't really in the right place for getting involved with anyone back then, I mean"
"And now?" Iain quizzed. Rita blushed and looked down at the floor.
"Well put it this way I feel better about hooking up with you in the pub last night knowing we've both been gearing up to this for over two years" he said laughing.
"Did you say both?" said Rita a smile forming on her lips.
"I did yep" he said smirking "and if it makes you feel better…" He tapped his phone to finish off creating the contact for her and winked as he held it up for her to see: "Hot Nurse"
"Match made in heaven" she giggled. "Come on, we'd best get ready for work"