XOXOXO
EPOV
"Dr. Cullen."
I lift my gaze, grinning at the sultry voice. She gave me the same greeting this morning when her alarm woke us at quarter after six. "Dr. Swan, what brings you to our floor?"
She smiles around the pen cap tapping at her perfect, pouty lip. "Called in for a consult with Dr. King."
I roll my eyes, looking back down at my chart. "Douche."
"What?" she asks, laughing and leaning forward on the counter.
It's a dare to stare at her delectable cleavage, which I unabashedly do.
Bella comes around the side of the nurse's station and jerks her head toward the kitchenette. I grab my chart and slide my pen back into my scrub pocket. When I find her tucked in the corner, she wraps her arms around my waist, pulling our bodies together. My dick springs to life with no shame.
"Hmmmm." She waggles her eyebrows, my growing erection poking at her stomach. "Hellooo, Doctah."
I move in for a swift kiss. We don't hide our romance, but we know it's not right to flaunt it either. Especially when we seem to have some type of homing beacon attached to us for all the perverts and rejects we've dated in our past to find us at the most inopportune moments.
You'd think we would've learned our lessons about dating in the workplace and not bothered with each other to begin with . . . but we're almost five months into our relationship and we're convinced it's best we stick together. Safety in numbers and all that.
"How's your morning going?" I ask, swaying us back and forth a little. Not so much a sway as an effort for me to get some friction on my growing wood.
"Pretty slow, surprisingly. I leapt out of my chair at the chance to come down here for a consult. How are you? And what was with the douche comment?" She giggles through her words.
"Fuckin' Royce brodied that patient from me. He was slated to be on my caseload and then when a post-op took a little longer than usual, King snatched it because he knew it would need a urology consult." I pinch her ass. "I'm telling you, he's got the hots for my woman."
"Well, if your woman's your woman, what are you worried about?" She smirks, squeezing my ass in return.
"Tired of fighting off the wolves. When are we gonna catch a break?"
Her head falls into my chest, her shoulders shaking while she muffles her laughter.
"I'm not kidding, Bella. The next time I find someone pulling an Anthony Weiner and texting you their dick, I'm gonna fucking lose it."
"Alice apologized a hundred times for that. It was supposed to go into the confidential patient-physician relay system for our records, and she mistakenly sent it to my phone. Everything is coded for privacy. She highlighted the wrong code. Easy mistake to make, but I promise it was a one-time thing."
I shake my head, seething at the monstrous image. "Yeah, well, Dirk Diggler better keep it in his pants."
"I'm his doctor, honey."
"Why can't he see Whitlock?"
"Because it's in my contract that I get all the porn stars." She smiles obnoxiously and twists my hips back and forth. "Get over it, Edward. I don't complain about all the tight tushies you get to ogle during evals and surgeries, do I?"
"I don't ogle. I do my job."
Her pointed stare softens my pigheadedness and my dick. "Exactly. You've been listening to Emmett's urban legends way too much. I'm sure he's just jealous anyway."
"Of Dirk Diggler or the tight tushies?"
She tips her head back, cackling. "Both, I'd imagine."
"You're probably right."
Bella's pager buzzes and I roll my eyes knowing it's Royce.
"I've gotta run." She pushes up on her tiptoes and lands a few pecks on my lips. "Oh, and Dr. Whitlock wanted me to make sure you and Emmett know about his birthday party next weekend." She hums suggestively. "Swanky stuff, Cullen. All-evening harbor cruise on the Boston Belle."
"Is he just randomly inviting doctors? I know I'm your date, but how'd Emmett make the cut?"
Bella clicks her tongue. "Please, Whitlock loves that idiot. I think Em impressed him at some point with his skills. Plus the whole Rosalie connection."
The light bulb goes off in my head. "That's right. I keep forgetting Dr. Hale is Whitlock's niece."
"Oh, sorry." Bella and I freeze in each other's arms at the intrusion behind me. "Dr. Cullen, Miss Donahue's family is asking to speak with you."
I glance over my shoulder. "Be right there, thanks Nettie."
Bella sighs dramatically. "Ahhh, yes. Miss Massachusetts herself, Jocelyn Donahue." She bats her eyelashes a mile a minute. "How'd her procedure go?"
"Pretty well from the looks of it. We'll see how she does when she starts walking around. Hopefully all her reflexes and strength will be up to par soon enough."
My girlfriend appears unimpressed. "Yes, but will she still be material fit for the crown?"
"Now who sounds jealous?"
She stiffens in my embrace. "I'm not jealous. I'm just glad I don't have to deal with her. I have patients fighting for their lives and she's been blowing your office hours up, worrying about a damn two-inch scar on her lower back. Her pageant parents are probably in there now pouring vitamin E oil on her raw scar."
I smack her ass and lean down for another quick kiss. "Let's go, Warrior, before you give my patient and her family a well-deserved lesson in perspective."
As soon as Bella and I make our way down the main wing, Dr. Douche pokes his greasy head out of a room. Royce looks excitedly at Bella, like he's been trudging his way through a desert and she's naked, standing in the middle of an oasis.
"Dr. Swan, excellent. I definitely have a case for you."
Leaning toward her ear, I clench my teeth, muttering, "He's not talking about the patient. King has a case, all right, and it's probably raging herpes. Best you glove up or just stay away from him altogether." Bella slugs me in the gut before walking away, but I choose to view it as more a love tap than anything else. "Love you, too!"
XOXOXO
"I've Got a Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas starts playing for the eighth time. I assume Emmett's getting amped up for the cruise tonight, but Jesus, if I have to hear his ultra-white version of will. i. am's "pa-pa-pa-party every day" one more time, I've got a feeling I'll be pitching Emmett over our balcony shortly.
The perp in question appears in my bedroom doorway, a towel barely clasped at his waist and water dripping down his chest. Women would probably pay good money for this visual, and here I sit without a camera. "What're you wearing tonight?" he asks.
"Bella said smart casual, whatever the hell that means."
"Well, what does it mean?"
"I'm going with khakis and a blue button down, and I'm rolling the sleeves because the temperature's in the eighties until close to nine tonight."
"Got it." He rubs his hand over his face, scratching his cheek. "You shaving? I think I should shave."
"Nope. Bella loves the scruff."
"I'll keep it then." He nods, knocking his fist against the door jamb and takes off.
"Hilarious," I deadpan, grabbing the iron and board from the closet. "Be ready to go in thirty minutes!"
"Yes, dear."
.
.
.
Emmett strolls into the living room while I finish off a canister of cashews. "Whaddya think? Good?"
"Yeah," I answer, shrugging and dusting my hands. "Works for me."
"Okay, but will I be able to seal the deal with Rosie, wearing this outfit?"
I shake my head, rolling my eyes toward the ceiling. "I have no idea what'll seal the deal with your love interest. She's been stringing you along for over six months, dude. Personally, I think she's full of shit." I head for the door, grabbing my keys off the counter.
"Wait—" he puts his hand on my chest "—you really think she's been stringing me along?"
Before speaking, I mull over my thoughts, realizing my last response was kind of harsh. "I mean, how many times are you so busy that you have to cancel a date?"
He catches up to me at the bottom of the steps when we reach the parking garage. "Okay, but you and Bella were always making and breaking dates, too."
"Yeah, in the beginning it wasn't easy, still isn't . . . we're both busy people. And I get it, so are you and Hale, but in six months you've had a few cups of coffee and that's it. She can't find one night to go out with you?"
He shrugs off my comment. "It was the publishing thing, but she's done now and ready to relax a bit."
I nod, satisfied, and decide to let it go. There's no moss growing under Emmett's feet, and if he wanted to, he could have a half a dozen different girls returning his call tonight. His approach with Dr. Hale is different, though. Makes me wonder if he's holding her in a higher regard, which would be a first for him. She seems nice enough to me; I just hope she's worth the wait for his sake.
"It better be a decent group of people on the guest list." Emmett cracks his neck before reaching for the seatbelt. "I wanna let loose. See if I can't get Rosie to let her hair down a bit, too."
"It's anybody's guess. A crowd of medical staff is usually a snooze fest." I ease onto Beacon, thankful I took the top off the jeep. It's a breezy day and the sun's out, but it's not so hot that we'll feel like we're baking if we get stuck in traffic on the ride to the docks. "With it being Whitlock's birthday and not some black tie benefit, maybe the mood'll be more of a party atmosphere."
"We need some excitement." He rubs his hands together like he's plotting. "Hopefully we'll luck out and witness more than just fireworks over the harbor."
XOXOXO
BPOV
Alice and Jasper have been talking my boyfriend's ear off since we arrived almost an hour ago. Emmett's been with them as well. Every once in a while, I have to look over to make sure it's actually Dr. Whitlock involved in the conversation, because I've never heard anyone laugh out loud so much.
Jasper's such a subdued personality in the office, it's comical to see him carefree and open, especially with Alice. They've gone public with their romance finally, and I love it. It was cute enough watching them give each other subtle looks and flirtations in the office over the last several months, but now that they're openly dating, they're too adorable. It's clear she's brought a sparkle back into his life that had been missing since he lost his wife a couple of years ago.
While they've all been engaged at the bow of the ship, Rosalie Hale's been overly friendly with me as well. I know I tease Emmett about him being a big oaf, but he's got a heart of gold and is really digging Rose. I didn't think she'd felt the same way until now. A few rum runner shooters in her, and she's already revealed that she's into role-playing and hopes the concept of BDSM won't scare Emmett off. Right after I physically lift my jaw from the deck, I raise my glass and guzzle the rest of my sangria.
Dr. Hale's more than ready to get her freak on with our resident hospitalist, Dr. McCarty. He's not going to know what hit him.
Emmett saunters over to join us, just as Rose hops up.
"I need to go use the little girls' room." She runs her fingers slowly up and down his chest. It's like they're in their own little bubble. I can't get over how different she's acting right now. It's equal parts hilarious and astonishing. After she comes out of her trance, she points to her empty glass. "Would you get me another?"
"You got it, sexy."
Emmett wastes no time flagging down a server and ordering another round for all of us.
Rosalie titters and slinks away, her long brown hair swishing back and forth with every step she takes on her high-heeled sandals.
Turning to me, Emmett nods like a dork, his dimples digging holes in his cheeks. "I am soooo getting lucky tonight."
I smirk, thinking about Rosalie's bedroom proclivities and pat him on the back. "Lucky doesn't even cover it, dude."
"Awww,"—he circles his arm around my shoulders, tugging me toward him—"I'm gonna miss you and our late-night chats, Bells."
"We'll be two flights down. You can come and chat with me anytime."
"I should be pissed that you're stealing my roomie, but it's time for him to leave the nest, I guess." Emmett pops up like a meerkat, waving a guy over who's butlering hors d'oeuvres. "Yo, are those the bacon-wrapped dates?" The waiter nods just as Emmett yanks him toward us. "You've gotta try these, Swan. It's like bacon candy, I shit you not."
I take one on his advice 'cause Emmett knows good food.
And he's right.
Holy hell. I take two more while Emmett grabs a half dozen and the waiter practically runs away like we just bullied him in the hallway for his milk money.
Another server appears in front of us while we ride out our bacon-induced orgasms. "Banana daiquiri?"
Emmett reaches up. "Yeah, that's for my girlfriend, thank you."
I raise my brow at his term of endearment.
"Will that be all?"
"I'm just waiting on a peach sangria," I add.
The server's smile seems forced as she steps back. "Yes, that'll be right out. Our bartender is personally seeing to your drink."
"Listen to that," Emmett says, impressed, nudging me with his hulky shoulder. "Personally seeing to your drink. Maybe it's one of your former patients."
"Hardy har har. And would you relax with all the shit you're filling Edward's ears with? You know it's not true."
He leans backward against the railing and tips his head to meet the scorching sunlight. "Oh, he knows I'm just fucking around with him. The dick pic, however, will have to be dinner party material for years to come."
Emmett contorts his face to an exact replica of Edward's reaction to the infamous text from last month, and we both dissolve into hysterics.
"Peach sangria?"
"Yes, that's mine." I look up to thank the server. She grins evilly and I'm suddenly drenched and freezing. Liquid drips from my hair and my eyes sting from an unexpected dousing.
"Whoa! What the—" Emmett shouts, leaping up and accidentally dumping Rosalie's daiquiri on my lap in the process.
Awesome.
The server starts screeching. "This is what you left me for? This Fitbit in Converse instead of couture?"
"Vicki? What the fuck are you thinking?" Emmett growls before I feel him put his hand on my back while I squint through the fruity, alcoholic waterfall. My hands move around the small table till I find a linen napkin. "Bells, are you all right?"
"Peachy," my muffled voice travels through the cloth. "Literally."
"What the hell's going on?" I hear the voice of my boyfriend from across the deck.
"You can't get enough of me and then a few months ago, you just vanish. The grapevine tells me it's because of a brunette doctor. Is this her?"
"He wishes!" I guffaw, wiping the napkin under my eyes, hoping to catch any melting mascara. "Nice pick, Dr. McCarty."
Edward crouches in front of me, his jaw tensing.
"Ed, I'm so sorry. Vicki, you've got some goddamn nerve, you're the one who ended things." Emmett and my attacker bicker back and forth while I blot and swipe away the lumps of icy banana-rum slush from my sundress.
Edward ignores their argument and runs a napkin up and down my arms. "You okay?"
I scrub my hands over my face and through my sticky hair. "I think I was entered into an ice bucket challenge without my knowledge." My chuckle is inevitable.
He pulls me up from the bench, turning us to step away from the ridiculous scene that mirrors an episode of Real Housewives. "I can't believe you're laughing."
I shake my head, trying to ignore the stares. "I'll be fine once I wash my face and change. What's really hilarious is that she called me a Fitbit. I don't think I've exercised since the required presidential physical fitness testing in high school. And even then I only got three seconds on the flexed-arm hang."
"Bella, what in the world?" Alice bellows as she approaches. "Did that heifer just chuck her drink at you?"
"Technically it was my drink and right before Emmett dumped Rosalie's daiquiri on me, too. Really, though, I'm fine. Thank goodness I brought that change of clothes." I snort. "Of course now, if I get tossed over the railing and into the harbor, I'll have to stay soggy."
"Well, you listen here"—she gathers my hair behind my shoulders like the mother hen she is—"Jasper saw it all happen and already ordered the Belle back to the dock to get that tart off the boat. He's madder than a pissed-on hornets' nest."
"At least we've only been sailing for about twenty minutes," Edward adds.
"Y'all two attract some loonies, I swear. Now that lone bartender's gonna be busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kickin' contest."
Alice's analogies always crack me up. Jasper approaches, looking like Yosemite Sam on a mission to kill Bugs Bunny. "The captain said we'll be down one server and they'll have to do double-duty, but he's calling the catering service to see if they can get a last-minute replacement before we sail again."
"I'm sure the party's still gonna be great," I say, trying to calm my boss. "But listen, I'm about to get myself out of these clothes so I can rejoin the party."
"Extra day off, on me, Bella," Jasper offers, raising his beer.
I nudge Edward with my elbow. "See? Run-ins with exes don't always end up bad, right?"
Edward rolls his eyes, annoyed that the universe keeps fucking with us. "You should go change, babe. You smell like a distillery."
I wink at him, trying to calm his nerves. "Thought you liked it when I'm all liquored up."
"Naked at your place, yes . . . drenched because of some psycho who used to mess around with Emmett? Not so much."
XOXOXO
EPOV
The scene with Vicki the viper spread like wildfire among the party guests. Everyone's being really sweet to Bella, but come on, why do we consistently have freakish encounters with nutjobs? And this girl wasn't even my fault! Vicki was a doozy, clearly still is. I'm surprised Emmett and I never came home to any boiled bunnies. The Boston Belle sails back to the dock and we end up staying for about a half hour because of some personnel changes, but after that, we take off again, looking forward to making the best of the remaining time on the water.
And even though she was the one attacked, Bella ends up being the one to calm me down. I certainly don't ask for it, but I also don't complain when she pulls off her drenched clothes and drops to her knees, massaging my all-too-eager dick. "Let me help you relax, Dr. Cullen," she whispers with a smirk before swallowing me down.
Less than ten minutes later, we step out of the restroom, grinning ear to ear and ready to rejoin the festivities. She goes off to hang out with some of her friends from the O.R. team, and I get into a Red Sox-and-all-they're-doing-right-and-wrong discussion with Garrett, the P.A. from Bella's urology department.
Garrett stretches, grabbing the beers off the server's tray and handing one to me. "So you and Bella are pretty serious, huh?"
I smile, glancing over at my girlfriend. "Yeah. We're having way too much fun to act like this is a casual fling. Our schedules are really tight, so I figure us living in the same space makes sense so we can spend as much time together as possible when we're not at the hospital."
"And when's moving day?"
I take a pull from the longneck. "End of the month."
"Bella said y'all will be staying at the same building you're already in?"
"Yeah. The location is perfect to get to work, and the landlord had a single available, so we jumped at it."
Garrett snatches a crab wonton from the passing server's tray. "That's cool. Bella keeps us entertained with the escapades y'all have dealt with. She was sure she'd lost you a few times along the way."
"What's up, Cullen?" James, my charge nurse calls out as he walks by. I raise my beer and nod.
"Yeah, we have a few stories under our belt." I shake my head. "We must've broken several dozen mirrors, walked underneath ladders and her ex's pet was definitely a black cat whose path we shouldn't have crossed. It's the only explanation for what's happened since we started seeing each other."
He reaches his hand out, clasping my shoulder. "Mother Mary, that feline was a bitch from hell! Thank goodness Bella got Jakey-poo to take her and go. That poor soul . . ." he trails off, clicking his tongue. "Boy couldn't catch a break."
I have to stifle my snicker. I still can't get over that first night I met Jake with his grand erectile dysfunction speech.
Garrett gasps, stepping close and murmuring, "What in the name of Lady Gaga is Jasper doing inviting Denali?"
I freeze, looking over at the nightmare who effectively ruined quiche for me for life. "D'you think Whitlock screwed her at some point, too?"
Garrett busts out laughing, despite his horrified look. "Please, Alice is tougher than a two-dollar steak. She'd have strung Whitlock up by his short and curlies if he ever stepped near that carnival ride." He shakes his head, chugging his beer. "Nahh, Jasper probably just felt sorry for Tanya, which, sadly, is how most of us ended up tangled in her web."
I shudder, turning away from her, trying to get rid of the image of her skanky undies on my breakfast all those months ago.
"Hello, Garrett."
"Samuel?"
I look past Garrett's shoulder at the guy he's addressing. He's enormous. Bigger than Emmett, looks like he just came off a Mr. Universe tour and he seems to be growling . . . in my direction.
"So this is it, then? He's why you're not returning my calls anymore?"
Garrett holds up his hands, stepping toward the mammoth. "Now, just a minute. Leave Edward out of this. You ran off with Maverick from the Navy after Fleet Week. You don't get to blame me if he's off to another port with a new dish."
Monster man waves his arm in my direction. "Yeah, but all I hear is 'Edward this' and 'Edward that' when you're drunk calling and texting me. And I've been watching you fawn all over each other for the last hour."
My gaze darts around the boat in confusion. Edward what? Kenny Loggins breaks into a chorus of "Danger Zone" in my head. This jilted lover scene between Garrett and Samuel has drama written all over it. Time to make a quick exit, especially since this guy's staring me down like I'm somehow involved. "Garrett, I'm just gonna"—I point my thumb over my shoulder—"we'll catch up later."
I turn to walk away but am instantly yanked back. "The hell you will!" the big guy shouts, lunging at me. When his brick-like fist connects with my cheek, I damn near spin around, collapsing onto the deck.
Screams and squeals surround me while my body contorts, trying to get my bearings over the next several seconds. Emmett barks orders close by, and I'm vaguely aware of more scuffling near my feet.
"Edward?" Bella's voice is next to my head while my eyes try to regain focus. "Jasper, what if he has a concussion?"
"Alice, grab me a pen light."
"Keep him steady."
I'm oddly content, realizing if there were ever a place to experience a medical emergency, having it in the midst of some of the smartest minds on the eastern seaboard is the place to do it.
"Hang on, hang on, I got this. Ed"—Emmett's bulky hand smacks my cheek—"you with me?"
I clear my throat. "Think so."
"Hit me with the cranial nerves mnemonic."
My mind feels like spaghetti squash, but I float to the top of the mush and do my best. "On old Olympus' towering top a Fin and German viewed some hops."
"And it stands for?"
"Olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, auditory, glossopharyngeal, vagus, spinal, hypoglossal." I groan, my head banging like a bass drum.
"Functions?"
Mildly annoyed but thankful I've retained some semblance of knowledge, I answer my friend again. "Some say marry money but my brother says big boobs matter more."
"That's my boy," Emmett says with a snort. "And they stand for?"
"Sensory, sensory, motor, motor, both, motor, both, sensory, both, both, motor, motor."
My eyesight no longer fuzzy, I find his goofy grin staring back at me. "I think you'll live, Rocky. You okay to move?" He offers his hand.
"Yeah, I'm good."
Standing, I reach my hand over to the railing just as Bella flings her petite body into mine. "Good God, are you all right?"
"Well, I'm upright, so there's that."
"Seriously, what did we do in a past life to warrant this tornado of lunacy?"
I wrap my arm around her waist as we shuffle toward a bench. "I really have no idea. I can't figure it all out tonight; my brain is still vibrating."
"Do I even wanna know how this happened?"
"I'm guessing Garrett's ex assumed I was his new lover. And it displeased him to say the least." A chuckle escapes, then another, and then we're both in hysterics as fireworks start over the harbor.
"So you're having a gay affair, and I was accused of being Emmett's new flavor of the month. It's not only our own exes finding us, but we're getting attacked by others' old flames, too. This is impressive even for us."
She leans in to kiss my cheek and I flinch. "Ouch. Other side instead, please."
Bella's warm breath tickles, while she dusts her lips across the right side of my face.
"It doesn't really hurt around this area." I point to my lips.
Her soft mouth finds mine and we kiss to the soundtrack of the crackles and booms from the fireworks above us. It's so cheesy, but we deserve this moment. I'm sure we'll find time tomorrow to rag on our Hollywood ending tonight.
XOXOXO
BPOV
I meander into the bathroom and slink my arms around Edward. He's shirtless and scrumptious, leaning over the sink, examining his busted face. My poor, gorgeous boyfriend has a raised purple lump high on his cheekbone, stretching toward the corner of his left eye. The Fight Club look is very sexy on him, not sure I should share this thought, though.
"What can I do?" I ask, butterfly kissing my way across his toned back from one shoulder blade to the other. "Want to go get some breakfast? Quiche, perhaps?" My gaze finds his in the mirror and he hangs his head while we both laugh.
"I love you," he says, turning in my arms and kissing me soundly.
"I love you, too. Thanks for hanging in there with me. I'm not sure we're safe anywhere."
He rubs his hands up and down my back, pulling me closer. "Are they still selling tickets for the space shuttle trip to the moon or was it Mars? Maybe we can just move there."
I sigh, tipping my head into his chest while he hums. "Let's just stick with moving into your building for now," I answer. "We'll get in touch with NASA after breakfast."
"Deal."
.
.
.
Edward and I jog down the two flights of stairs and head toward the lobby.
"Bella?"
I spin around, hearing Jake's unmistakably whiny voice, and catch a glimpse of Edward's widened eyes in the process.
"Uhhh, hey."
"Hi!" he says, walking toward us, holding Ursula the sea witch in his arms. "Just wanted to say thanks to Edward. I got a place here on the first floor."
I whimper and feel Edward pinch my side.
"That's . . . great," my boyfriend croaks. "Glad I could help."
An endless, awkward silence for the record books descends, and I can't stand it anymore. "Well, I guess we'll see you around," I manage, wondering why Edward and I seem to be karma's bitch.
"Oh, and Bells," Jake calls out, "I found new meds, too. Totally rock solid down there now." He whistles. "Stamina like you wouldn't believe."
I don't respond and just allow Edward to drag me out of the lobby and onto the city sidewalk. We stare at each other for a few seconds, smirks and silliness all over our faces.
"Betcha I can Google NASA's number faster than you," he dares, his crooked grin and sense of humor all I need in this wacky life.
I whip out my phone, "You're on, Cullen. Loser pays for our flights to Cape Canaveral."
XOXOXO
A/N: Special thanks to Team Cabana for all they do for me. To Hoodie for her awesome Southernisms, and to IReen Weiss for the fanfreakintastic bacon-wrapped dates recipe. Love you all.
I have my son's 10th birthday party coming up in less than two weeks, so we're in high gear to get our home completely unpacked and ready for the public eye. I promise, promise, promise the epilogue for Far Away Flame will be posting before the turn of the century. Thank you so much for your patience after the outrageously hectic and stressful summer I've had.
xo, Jen
