Make Me a Believer

By the time Miranda left the hospital, it was morning and her body was in dire need of coffee, food and a shower, in no particular order. Her ride stopped behind her own car in front of the four-bedroom house she shared with her sisters. Six years ago, Dani had convinced them to pool money together and buy it. And it had been such a perfect idea. With the help of their parents, they'd renovated it. And even while Miranda had an apartment with Tucker, she always had a room to come back to when needed.

The house was silent and that meant her sisters were asleep even at almost twelve in the afternoon. After eating with half-closed eyes at the table, Miranda trudged up the stairs to her second-floor bedroom which was down the hall from Dani's room. There was a third bedroom on the floor, but Val had opted for the basement, converting it into a studio of sorts. She jumped into the shower in the bathroom connected to her room and sped through her wash routine, convinced she'd fall asleep if she spent more time in there than needed. Instead of putting on pajamas, she slipped into a t-shirt and a pair of panties. Her bed called her name as she flopped in it, charging her phone. She hadn't realized that it'd died shortly after calling for a ride and once it turned back on, it beeped and shook as missed messages, calls, and other notifications came through. "Damn," she muttered. She texted her sisters back in their group chat: I'm home and I'll be sleeping until the earth does another full rotation.

There was a message from the Chief of Surgery that she'd look at later. And there were a few in a group chat that she had with two of her colleagues and good friends, Callie and Maggie. A video blasted noisily from her phone and Miranda cracked up despite her exhaustion. She texted: We all know which one of us THAT is. LOL

A missed call from her dad had her messaging him that she loved him and then there was another call from a number that wasn't yet saved in her phone, but she knew it well. Ben Warren. He'd also left a voicemail that she was hesitant to listen to. For hours, she'd been worrying about how the rest of the night went with her sisters at the lounge. Maybe the message was him saying that he was sorry for not letting her hand in her dating card because he was choosing Dani. Maybe they'd danced all night and had fallen in love like in that one movie. Or maybe he was calling to tell her to stop hounding Marcel for details about his life. Miranda had a feeling that none of her made-up scenarios were the truth, but they scared her enough to dismiss the message and pretend like she'd never seen it. "Shoot," she said yawning before squishing herself into her covers, falling asleep easily.

Her phone buzzing woke her up and made her wish that she'd put it on silent. Miranda shot her hand out, slapping her covers for it. "Mmhello?" She asked, her voice deeper than normal. No one answered and she tossed it. It buzzed again and she picked it up faster. "Hello?!" When she didn't hear anyone, she stared at her phone, glad that she'd turned the brightness down. They weren't calls; they were texts. Shaking her head at her irritableness, she checked the time. "It's too early for this," she said as she swiped open the message from an Unknown number.

The first message said: Sorry for the early message. I know you're probably asleep, but I was just hoping that you made it home safely. The second: It's Ben, BTW.

Seeing his name, her heart began to beat faster and she sat up, ready to respond. But should her response be casual? Funny? Or she should ignore it altogether? The minutes passed as she settled on what to say. Yes. I am home. Thank you. After ten seconds, she added: This is Miranda, BTW.

Ben didn't reply right away and she panicked. Maybe that last bit was—Funny. Everything okay?

Everything's good.

You left so quickly, Cinderella.

Duty called. I took an oath and whatnot.

LOL. Miranda propped her pillows up and sat up, disregarding the pinching in her stomach. She liked texting Ben almost as she liked talking with him on their four-minute date and the time before. Yeah, Danielle told me. There it was… So, they had talked and what else? Danced, kissed, hooked up? That last one may have sounded far-fetched, but she knew her sister. The thoughts of Dani and Ben together infuriated her.

"I'm sure"was her next response.

What does that mean?

Nothing. I'm tired. Can we talk later?

Of course.

She didn't type another word, putting her phone on the nightstand. Miranda lay in bed for a few hours alternating between dozing off and staring at her ceiling until the pinching turned to real hunger pains. She got out of bed and headed downstairs. Dani was in the kitchen heating up a box of food. Miranda went to the fancy coffee machine and poured a cup, silently thanking whichever one of her sisters made the pot. She fixed herself a warm bagel with cream cheese and sat down next to Dani who had been watching her every move while she ate BBQ wings. "Well, I must be invisible," Dani said. "Hello, Miranda Bailey."

Miranda turned as if noticing her older sister for the first time. "Hello, Danielle Bailey," she said in an overly saccharine voice. Then, she focused on her food, knowing that her not saying anything else would drive Dani crazy.

"Uh, how was your night at the hospital?"

Shrugging, she responded, "Same ole. Same ole. Something happened, I fixed it, they'll get better with time."

"That's good." Biting into her bagel without asking about her night seemed to trigger Dani and when Miranda heard her clear her throat, she smirked behind her food. "So! Not that you asked or anything, but my night was fantastic."

"Oh?"

"Yes, ma'am! I matched with each of my dates."

"All of them?" Miranda asked, knowing that Dani was lying and baiting her. She knew for a fact that Ben hadn't matched with anyone, his card was in her room, in her pants pocket from last night—with her name on it. That made her smile as Dani nodded. "Oh okay. So it was a good event for you?"

The older Bailey sipped some of her coffee. "There were definitely some kissable frogs in the batch."

"Good for you," she said without a hint of sarcasm.

"Yeah, particularly a certain firefighter. We had an amazing four minutes. Talking and laughing..." Although there was a lump rising in her throat, Miranda kept her face straight. "Now… what was his name? Tim? Ken?"

Miranda pushed a finger through her messy curls. "Let's stop talking about him, okay?" Damn it, she was taking the bait.

Val sauntered into the kitchen and sat down, moving her chair next to Miranda, dropping her head on her shoulder. "Stop talking about whomst?" Val asked picking up a piece of uneaten bagel.

"Nobody," Miranda answered at the exact same time Dani was saying: "Ben."

The youngest looked from the middle one to the oldest. "We're talking about Ben?"

"No, she's talking about Ben," Miranda corrected. "And I just want her to shut up." She murmured that last part, but Val heard her and laughed. "I think we should just drop it."

Dani gestured with her mug. "Ahh, of course. When I said he should be off-limits, I was refuted, but now when Mandy says 'drop it,' we drop it, right?"

"Alright, you two." Val sounded just like their mom when they would get into spats when they were younger. Dani complaining about something Miranda did who was whining about something Val took. It would have been funny if the middle Bailey wasn't so pissed. "That's enough," she said getting a wing from Dani's box.

"Exactly. Because there's no point in us talking about him." Miranda couldn't stop the frustration from shadowing her face. She took a big swig of her coffee; it burned her mouth a little and she winced.

"Why not?" Dani asked with a smile. Their younger sister whipped her head from side to side probably trying to figure out when it was best to interject again.

She stared at her older sister. "Because he likes someone else."

"How do you know? Is it me? It's probably me," she said biting into a wing, waving it carelessly. Sauce dripped onto the table.

"Dani, stop," Val said jumping into the thick of their argument. "Miranda, relax." Her younger sister touched her arm. "You're doing too much now, Danielle." She glared at their older sister. "Mandy, don't sweat it."

Dani ate some more of her food. "Yeah, girl, don't sweat it. There'll be other men for you."

"What is your deal?!" Miranda shouted, putting down her cup. "It's not you. He doesn't like you, Danielle. He rejected you—to your face!"

"What did you just say?" Dani asked.

"I said that he doesn't want you, desperate. So back off!" Her voice was louder than she'd meant it to be. Both Val and Dani wore matching "What the hell?" looks. "Please," she added through gritted teeth. The room silenced as Miranda's heart pumped hard.

Scoffing, Dani stood up and walked out of the room, her slippers gliding across the floor beneath her feet. "Whatever."

With just the two of them in the kitchen, Val held out her hand. "Alright now, Mandy!"

Miranda slapped it before putting her cup to her lips again. They began polishing off the rest of the wings and bagel. "He called and texted me."

"He did?" Val said stopping her foray into the fridge.

Nodding, Miranda smiled. "But I kind of… blew him off."

"Miranda!"

"I know, I know. But he mentioned Dani and…" She sighed loudly, dropping her hand on the table. "I hate fighting with her."

"Welp, if you really like him, then… hunker down because they talked for a minute time last night."

Miranda put a hand to her stomach. "Really? Why would you tell me that? Whose side are you on?"

"Sorry. Sorry. But, if it's any consolation…" She didn't want consolation, she wanted Ben. The ease with which she thought that puzzled her. "I've seen you two together. He likes you. Danielle will get bored and move to the next person who catches her eye soon."

"What if she doesn't and I'm—" She heard footsteps and stopped talking. Dani came into view. Feigning a yawn, Miranda stood up and grabbed her coffee left.

In her room, she tried to take her mind off of her dilemma by doing some of the cleaning she wasn't often able to do. Her days and nights were usually so packed with research and patients—which she loved. But sometimes, instead of having a surgery at the end of the day, she'd like someone waiting with open arms and a chest to lay on. She sat down on her bed, not the least bit finished with her room—so much for a distraction. Ben's face was plastered into every corner of her brain. She couldn't shake him and wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to.

While she and Val were watching a movie in the living room after dinner, her phone buzzed. Is it "later" enough?

Miranda chuckled lowly and responded. No.

But you answered.

Maybe you're hallucinating.

Can I hallucinate a phone call?

"Ahem!" Val said jabbing her with a bony elbow.

"Ow!" Miranda said plucking Val's leg that was laying across her own.

"Who are you texting during our movie night?"

"Nobody." The younger Bailey snatched the phone from her sister's hands. "Hey!"

"An unsaved number?" Miranda lifted her shoulders as Val returned her device. "Is that Ben?"

"Shhh!" She said looking around. Dani was still in the house somewhere, working. And the last thing she wanted was to start another argument.

Val put up her hands. "Sorry! But is this him?"

Miranda nodded. "I told him we'd talk later and…"

"It's later," they said together, laughing.

"Well, he can't be that into Dani if he's texting you, Mandy."

She rolled her eyes. "Men can multitask. He'll be texting me and talking to someone else on the phone, emailing another and Facetiming his wife."

Val doubled over with laughter. "He doesn't seem like that kind of guy, Mandy."

"They're all that kind of guy."

"Text him back."

"I w-will… after the movie."

Val raised an eyebrow. "I'm gonna make sure of it."

Miranda unlocked her phone and stared at the blinking cursor. I'm watching a movie right now. How about I call you?

His reply came so quickly, as if he'd known what she was going to say. Can't wait.

The film continued, but her mind was on the fact that she'd agreed to call Ben. And why had she done that? She should have just let him call her. As the second movie wrapped up, Val was asleep and curled up on one side of the sofa. Miranda smiled and started to get off of the chair as stealthily as she could. "Mmm… don't forget to call the guy."

"Go to sleep," Miranda chuckled going to her bedroom. It was almost eleven-thirty. A whole day had flown by. She put her phone on her desk and thought about calling him. A piece of her wanted to, but the other half was freaked out. She screwed up her face and decided to take a shower, coming up with excuses while the water fell around her. If he didn't answer, she'd be perturbed, but at least the ball would be back in his court. However, if he returned her call, then she'd have to talk to him. Unless she didn't answer—unless she was asleep!

Miranda hurried from the bathroom and dried, lotioned and put a pair of an old, long t-shirt that had once belonged to her ex-husband. Aside from the heartache, she didn't have much from their marriage, but she did have this dark blue, comfortable ass tee that reached the middle of her thighs. In bed, she blew air from her mouth. "Call him and then if he doesn't answer, go to sleep. Three rings. That's it." The gameplan was set as she found his number, tapped the green phone icon next to it and listened to the ringing. "One… two…" She took a deep breath. "Thr—"

Ben's voice melted her instantly and that made her mad as shit. "You called."

"You noticed."

"I did." Miranda wanted to respond, but she didn't know what to say. This was all new to her. "So, how are you?"

"Good. You?"

"I'm okay. I was just waiting for a phone call."

Her shoulders sagged. She'd made a fool of herself. Of course he was waiting for someone else. "I'll let you go then."

There was laughter on his end. "Miranda, I was, um… I was waiting for you."

"Oh!"

"Yeah… I didn't think you would."

"Why not?" She asked crossing her legs and closing her eyes.

"Because I think you would have preferred if I would have called you."

Miranda grinned. "I wasn't going to call."

"I know."

"You think you know everything, don't you?" She wasn't sure, but she thought she heard him smiling.

"I think you have something of mine."

Her brows furrowed. "Something like what?"

"My dating card. I was going to hand it in, but you took it."

"Seriously?! But my name was the only one on it." She blushed, remembering.

"Oh, so you remember that?"

Damn it. "Yes."

"That's a good sign."

"A good sign for what?"

"That my wife knows I'm only interested in her."

The sound that left her body was loud and obnoxious. "Something is wrong with you, boy."

"Fix me, doc."

Miranda rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm changing the subject. Um, what, uh… what are you doing?"

"At the station."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Hold on a second please." A squeaky door opened and closed. A lock clicked and there was rustling. "Okay."

She turned over and smushed her face into the pillow. "So… when do you get off?"

"Uh, in a few hours. I'll probably sleep here and then go on home."

"Got it."

With neither of them talking for a while, she began to drift off to sleep. Ben's voice interrupted her sleep cycle: "Can I ask you something?"

"Mmhmm."

"Why'd you leave earlier without saying bye?"

Miranda's eyes popped open. "I had to get to the hospital quickly."

"Why didn't you ask me for a ride?" There was a tenseness in his question that had her wheels spinning. Her leg was jiggling. She knew Marcel would tell him about the ride, but she didn't think it would upset him. "You know that I would have given you a ride, right?"

She nodded. "I know, but he was right there. And…" Miranda paused, debating whether or not to say what was on her tongue.

"And?" He prodded.

"And I'm sure there were other people you wanted to stay and talk to."

He chuckled. "Nah. I was searching all over for you. But then I found your sisters and they said you'd left."

"Yep," she said trying her damnedest to sound as blasé as she could about where this call was going.

"I didn't even stay long after that," he told her. "Once you and Street dipped, I was gone."

"Really?"

"What does that mean?" He asked, repeating his phrase from earlier.

"I'm surprised you didn't stick around to have a good time with my sister."

"I don't know what that's supposed to mean, Miranda."

"I saw you two on your date. it seemed like you were having a good time."

"Were you spying on us?"

"N-no, of course not." She rolled onto her side.

"Right," he said.

She sucked her teeth. "Do not change the subject. Did or did you not enjoy my sister's company?"

"Damn, I thought my wife was a doctor, not a lawyer," he taunted, but it only infuriated her more. Why wouldn't he just answer the question? Miranda sighed, wanting to put distance between herself and Ben even through the phone. "Hold up. What's going on?"

"Answer the question, Benjamin!"

"What was it again?" She pulled the phone from her ear and stared, silently. "Fine. Yeah, Danielle and I had a good time. So did Terrace and I. And Philomena and Valerie and… uh, Keesha and Nadine." He paused, thinking of more women and her nose wrinkled. If he said one more name, she'd snap. "But good conversation doesn't mean I want them or that they want me."

Her shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit. "Maybe you're not as good of date as you think you are."

"I'm not even entertaining that dig." Miranda allowed a small smile to slip from her lips. "That being said, I should be the one who's mad."

"About what?"

"I turn my back for one second and you're talking to Eli." Ben said the name with such contempt and… was that jealousy?

She laughed. "He's a nice guy."

Ben scoffed. "Trust me. He's egotistical."

"Egotistical?"

"Yep. And his neck… it's way too long."

Miranda put a hand to her mouth to stifle her laugh. "You're mean and you get on my nerves."

"Good." A bell sounded in the background. "Shit, I have to go, but can I call you later?"

"Yes."

"It might be late, is that okay?"

She knew he couldn't see her, but she nodded anyway. "That's fine."

"Bye, Miranda."

"Bye, Ben." Miranda didn't think she'd be able to even close her eyes after their first phone conversation, but sleep washed over and soon she was snoring lightly.

Her very vivid dream evaporated as soon as her ringtone blared. She looked at the caller: Ben's unsaved number. "What?" She whined, answering it.

"Is this what you sound like at this time of morning?"

"No, this is what I sound like when someone wakes me up while I'm trying to sleep."

"Sorry."

"Mmmhm." A hard knock on her door made her drop the phone onto her pillow, it slipped off of the silk between her sheets. "Come in."

"Your phone is making a noise," Dani said pushing her bedroom door open. "And the volume must be on those trumpets the Bible talks about." She yawned.

Miranda sat up. "Sorry, I got it," she replied looking at her phone to see the time increasing on the call. Her eyes went to her sister. "Okay. Thank you."

"So, who is it waking us up at…" She lifted her wrist to her face. "Almost five-thirty in the morning."

Miranda shrugged. "Nobody."

"Nobody like…?"

"Like…" With 30+ years of experience, she imitated Dani perfectly. "Mind your business. Good night."

"Well, I know it's not a man."

"And why not?"

"Because you didn't even hand in a card after the event was over. Ben told me."

Miranda balled up her fist, getting heated. "Doesn't mean I didn't get any numbers."

Dani squinted. "Hmm. Do you remember how?"

"Do you remember how to keep your leg—Just get out."

The oldest untied her robe and tied it again. "I'm going. Good morning."

"It is a great morning," Miranda smiled. The door closed and she lay down. Remembering that Ben was on the line, she picked up the phone. "Hey."

"You're okay?"

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Nothing." She relaxed her hand. "Why did you ask me if I was okay?"

He chuckled. "You stopped talking and then I just heard muffling," Ben said.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm okay." Miranda shook away her encounter with Dani.

"I'm finally back at home."

"Good. Good. Was there a cat stuck in a tree or something?"

They laughed together and it was such sweet sound. "Nah, there was a three-car accident on Moss."

Miranda gasped. That was just on the other side of town. "Oh no! Now I feel bad."

"It's all good now. There were no casualties or life-threatening injuries," he said matter-of-factly.

"Thank God," she said touching her chest.

After a second, he responded: "You're welcome, sweetheart." Hearing the term of endearment sent her heart fluttering.

Gosh, she was smitten. "You know what?" She giggled. "I'm done with you." After several moments of silence, she said: "I'm glad you're okay."

"Me, too." He cleared his throat. "So, I was wondering if I could ask you out? Preferably longer than four minutes, of course."

She smiled and then it disappeared. "Are you sure you're asking the right person?"

"This is the number I called."

"But maybe you meant to call another Bailey sister. Maybe Danielle."

There was shuffling on his end and her heart pounded waiting for him to speak again. Hurry. "Why do you keep mentioning her?"

"You know why," she said softly.

There was a noise in the background that sounded like moaning, but she couldn't be sure. "Clearly, i don't because it was amusing the first time. The second time, it didn't sit right with me and now I feel some kind of way." The bite in his voice made her eyes widen.

"I think my sister likes you."

"Are you sure?" Ben asked. "Hmm… Two Baileys."

"Really?!"

He laughed and apologized. "No, I'm just messing with you."

"Please stop," she moaned, tired. "She's already under my skin and I'm…"

Understanding, he said he was sorry again. "Why is she under your skin?"

"Because she wants you."

"No, she doesn't," he told her adamantly.

"I think I know my sister better than you."

"And I'm telling you that she told me that you liked me."

Miranda couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was officially the human form of "being perplexed". There were some questions that she badly wanted to know the answer to, but did she really want to know what Danielle had said to Ben on their date? Hell yeah, she did. "What exactly did she say?"

"Dani didn't tell you?"

"If she had, I wouldn't be asking you, now would I?"

He laughed again. "Well, she said that you are a brilliant woman. That you're clever and funny and beautiful. But I already knew those things."

Had Dani said that? If she had, Miranda owed her—big time—a hug, maybe, but definitely a kick. "What else did she say?"

"She said, I'd be, and I quote, 'a crazy ass nigga' not to get your number." That was her older sister alright. Miranda laughed. "She must not have known that you already had mine."

"I can keep some things private."

"But she talked about you the entire time. Val did, too. That's why we had a great date, talking about you, and she did it unprovoked."

"Wow" was all she could say.

"Just like you talked to Street about me."

She started to object and stopped. He was right. "Is that okay?" She inquired, praying that he wouldn't blow up like she would have.

"Yes." The answer was simple and she exhaled. "So… do you want to get together, Miranda? Because I was thinking we could meet at in a bit—" Part of her was still half-asleep and didn't know if this was real or not. The other was confused. When he'd said he wanted to ask her out, she assumed that it would be something proper, thinking that he was the kind of guy who wouldn't try and take advantage of her. Who'd ever been asked out at whatever o'clock in the morning without it being for drugs or sex? And she wasn't really ready for either. How did it never occur to her that he only wanted sex? Of course! Granted, she didn't have the most or best experience in relationships, but this should have been top of mind. "Miranda? You still there?"

She sat up, fully awake now. "I don't know what kind of woman you think I am, but I am not interested in only hooking up. I did not go to the event to find a f… friend with benefits. I was looking…" Her voice trailed off. He didn't need to know all of that. "So, if that's why you sought me out, texted me, called me…" Amongst other things, she thought. "Then you have the wrong damn idea and the wrong damn woman!" Her face was on fire.

They were each so quiet, she could practically hear time passing. She was a great judge of character and nothing about the man gave her pause. He'd been quite the gentleman, able to make her laugh and sweet. Maybe she'd gone too far. Just as she was about to apologize for her rant, Ben said: "If I wanted sex, I could have hooked up with any other woman there."

"Wow."

"Not like that, but you know what I mean." She did know. There were probably a handful of guys she could have brought back home if she was into that sort of thing. And sometimes Miranda wished she was like that. Sex was something she missed. The emotions, the chaos. She'd had offers and had come close a couple of times, but the last time she'd had sex, it'd been with Tucker.

A few months ago, he'd come over to drop off the last of her books. In his car, they'd reconnected and she'd orgasmed hard and fast. And somehow, it had felt better than every other time they'd been together. Out of breath, she'd climbed off of him, telling him that it was a one-off even while her legs were still shaking and her body ached for another round. And that was it. That was as reckless as she'd ever been when it came to sex. "I do know what you mean."

"And I'm sorry if you got the impression that I only wanted to hook up with you. I didn't ask you out so that we could have sex. I mean, if that happens, it happens, but I'm not expecting anything. I'm not that kind of guy."

"I appreciate you saying that."

He chuckled. "Was the idea of sex the trigger for your explosion?"

"Yes." Ben didn't respond. "I don't do that sort of thing."

"Like?"

"One-night stands, random hookups…"

He sniffed. "Well, I haven't done either of those in a long time, but that's not what I was looking for. Honest."

Miranda closed her eyes, comfortable. "Okay."

"Besides, your sisters told me you weren't into that and that if I was, I should stay away."

She groaned. "God, they're so damn worsesome." She had to corral her feelings or she'd mess this up before they even got started. "I'm sorry I went off."

"It's okay."

"You're sure?"

"Well, I like you enough for it to be okay."

Miranda's heart was racing. Why did he keep saying these things? And what was wrong with her that she was falling for them? "Can we start over?"

"Please." They were silent and she could hear a little music coming from his end. "So, are you still up for getting together or are you gonna jump down my throat?"

"I thought we were starting over," she said softly.

"You're right. My bad."

"And yes," she answered quickly. "Lunch?"

"Well, I was thinking that you could meet me at Boren Park."

"When."

"Now."

She took the phone away from her face for a second time to check the time. "Now?"

"Yeah, well, in like an hour. To watch the sunrise." Miranda didn't reply as her mind spun. "I mean, unless it's too early or too late or too…"

Watching the sunrise seemed a little more romantic than she'd thought their first date would be. She hoped they weren't rushing things, but also… she couldn't wait to see him again. His smile was burned into her brain and the way he'd held her body and hands made her spirit sizzle even hours later. Roll with it, she remembered Val saying. "Yes. Let's do it."