Devil’s in the Details (21 page)

I bit my bottom lip as I read and tears began to fill my eyes.

"Alex,

I might not have doctor money or a mouth full of shiny white teeth, nor could I ever bring myself to call you babe, but I know what I want and I don't want you to move on. Unless it's with me. I'm ready to fight for you and give you everything you want from me.

So, will you have dinner with me? And maybe a movie after?

I mean it this time.

Also, my favorite color is, sadly, Navy blue.

Victoria."

I burst out in tearful laughter, crumpling up the note against my chest as I buried my face into the soft orange fur of the tiger. I looked over at Deb, "Cover me? I need to make a phone call."

Deb grinned, unwrapping the tulips to drop them into a beaker full of water. "Sure, go call your incredible man."

I shook my head, "This didn't come from any man." I ran back down to the call room, "It came from an incredible woman."

I barely made it into the on call room before I hit Victoria's contact. I swallowed a few times trying to shake out the tears so I wouldn't burst into them when she answered. I squeezed my eyes shut when I heard her voice.

"I tried to get you a real tiger, but the zoo looked at me like I was crazy. I hope the stuffed one is suitable." Her voice was tentative and nervous, something I rarely heard come out of her. It told me she was serious about her note and she was serious about giving us a shot. “Will you have dinner with me?”

I grinned, feeling the rush of tears cover my cheeks, "You can't afford me." I fought the words out around choked happy sobs.

Victoria sighed, "It's a good thing I’m making you dinner then. At my house." I heard her let out a breath. "Tomorrow? I'll send you my address."

I shook my head, "I'm free tonight." I didn't want to waste another minute like we both had over the last few months.

I could almost feel her grin through the phone, "I'll see you at my house at nine, Alex. I hope you like lasagna."

I chuckled, wiping away the rest of the tears, "I love it." I whispered a quick goodbye and slid down the door to sit on the floor. Laughing and shaking my head as my phone beeped and I saw Victoria's address fill my screen.

This was too good to be true, and I really hoped it wasn't, because it was almost perfect.

Chapter 7

It was either nerves or fear that kept me awake the entire drive to Victoria's house. I was constantly checking the GPS map a thousand times to make sure that I was going to a house in Annapolis. I was struggling to wrap my head around the fact that I was really, and truly, going to her house. When I thought about that minor fact, the nerves would overwhelm me. The nerves would force me to stay focused on the road and the map for the simple fear of crashing, and never making it to her house.

Oddly enough, being focused and nervous kept my eyes open. I was beyond exhausted having worked two doubles over the last two and half days. My body wanted me to find a warm bed and curl up in it for days. My heart wanted me to keep pushing, keep moving until I was standing in front of Victoria, standing in her house and finally have what it, and I both wanted for the last year.

It took me a little longer than I predicted, traffic was sticky and I wasn’t used to driving on this side of town. The surrounding neighborhood was filled with quaint houses with addresses on mail boxes and not painted on dirty windows. My heart won out in keeping me calm and I quickly found myself in a small neighborhood filled with amazing old houses that I knew my nurse paycheck could never afford me. I slowed the old mini down to a crawl, craning my neck to read the lit up addresses on fancy mailboxes and up on fancy porches. Double checking the text from Victoria a thousand more times, feeling my stomach twist in anticipation as the numbers counted closer to my destination.

It all still felt like a dream from the moment I hung up until now. All of her actions had left me floating through the last few hours of the shift with a silly grin on my face. Deb was constantly asking me nosy questions about who my secret admirer was while I gazed at the tulips in between marking down patient doses. I would ignore her interrogation, smile and move on to the next set of rounds. Continuing to float around dreamily with the unique sensation in my stomach that came with a particular brand of excitement only love could offer up.

I was in love. It was certain now.

I was utterly and unabashedly in love with the mysterious blonde that had literally swept me off my feet in a handful of written words. Words that swept me up into a fierce tornado that I knew would consume me and be one hell of a ride.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I finally pulled up in front of a large craftsmen house that had the front porch light on, beaming down on the black and white address numbers affixed above the door. Biting my bottom lip, I paused. This was it, this was Victoria's house.

I hesitated for a minute, my nervous hyperactive mind creeping up on me with all sorts of doubtful thoughts and words. I shook my head to shake them away as I pulled the beat up mini into the driveway to park next to her shiny silver BMW. Turning off the old car, I sat for a moment, having to press my hand over my stomach as the butterflies began to turn into anxious eagles. Flapping their wings to encourage me to go further.

I shook my head again, blinking the exhaustion free from my eyes as I reached for my giant bag of extra clothes and other random necessities I needed on double shifts. I grinned when I saw the yellow tulips sitting in the beaker on the floor. For the hundredth time, I thought, this was it. The one stupid phrase circling in my head with every new piece Victoria offered to me. Pieces I had wanted for a year. This was what I was hoping for, and wanting, from the moment I saw her picture on the internet so long ago.

The beautiful stranger who had saved me and changed that terrible night into a series of beautiful memories.

When I shoved the heavy car door open, the night air was crisp and helped to wake up my body and senses. The air also held the lightest aroma of varying flowers blooming as spring was shifting into summer. It all increased the floating feeling I carried as I hoisted the bag onto my shoulder and started walking towards the front door.

Glancing around the yard in the darkness of night, I could still easily see how meticulous Victoria was outside of her uniform. Her lawn was pristine and not one thing appeared to be out of place. I chuckled softly to myself walking over the perfectly aligned cobblestones leading me up to a large grey wooden door, wondering if there was a crazy, or unplanned bone in the woman's body.

I looked up at the large door with a small stained glass window up at the top. Taking in another deep breath, I lifted my hand to knock on the door when it suddenly opened in a slow, yet quick manner. Victoria stood before me, pushing the door to the side as the light from the house encircled her in an elegant yellow glow. She broke into a huge grin as she looked right in my eyes, "Alex."

I bit my bottom lip to try and keep the grin on my face from growing any bigger. "Victoria."

Then came the ever present awkward silence, which had basically become our song over the last year. Falling between us to give me the perfect opportunity to look Victoria over like I had done a million times in secret, but now felt I could do blatantly. She wore a thin, loose and faded pink sweater that draped around her shoulders. Showing more of her skin than I had ever seen before. Her blonde hair was up in a messy ponytail and the baggy jeans drew my eyes down to see the woman was standing comfortably barefoot. This was clearly relaxed Victoria and it immediately put me at ease. I squeezed my bag strap tighter, "Is it laundry day?" I cleared my throat lightly to cover up the wavering voice caused by rising nerves.

Victoria gave me a look, "Excuse me?"

I laughed, pointing at the sweater, "For the almost year I’ve known you, I've only ever seen you in uniforms, business suits, the never ending supply of Navy shirts, or Navy colored hoodies you own. I have never, ever, seen you in a sweater. Let alone a pink one." I shrugged, feeling embarrassed that this was my opening line of this new foray into a relationship with her. "But, it looks great on you. You look really beautiful." My courage and normal bravado I carried in life, was quickly being replaced by this fumbling, mumbling flirting.

Victoria smiled softly, looking down at the stone porch. "I wore this for you, Alex. You mentioned a long time ago when we were shopping that you thought pink would look good on me." She cleared her throat, waving me inside. "Anyway, welcome to my home, please come in?"

God, she did remember everything. I smiled at the new level of awkwardness Victoria and I were reaching, "Thank you." I stepped into the foyer of her house, suddenly feeling like I had to put on all of my best manners and stand in one spot as she closed the door, shuffling to lean against it nervously.

"Did you find the house okay?" Victoria was a step behind me, closing the door.

I nodded, trying so very hard not to look around even as the smells of fresh baked lasagna in the oven had its hooks in my nose, "I did, but I must confess that I had some help from the GPS." I shifted my bag, "You have a nice house, Victoria." I internally rolled my eyes at how terribly forced this conversation was going. Victoria was my friend, my best friend and the woman I was in love with. Why was it so hard to talk to her when I told her just about everything? Even that one time I had the terrible stomach flu and was trapped in my bathroom for a day, calling upon her to bring me medicine and some sports drinks to fend off dehydration.

Victoria pushed off the door, moving quickly towards me "I'm sorry, I'm forgetting all of my manners. Can I take your bag and coat?" She smiled shyly as she looked over me, "Are you sure you want to have dinner tonight? You look exhausted, Alex. I can save dinner for tomorrow? It'll be just as good." Victoria nervously rambling was the cutest thing I had seen in a long time.

I slipped the bag off my shoulder, handing it over to her, shaking my head, "No way in hell would I pass this moment up, Victoria. You finally ask me to dinner and did it in the most incredibly romantic way." I met her eyes, feeling my heart melt at the sight of them. "I can sleep later, but right now all I want is to sit with you. Be with you."

I dropped my head to look at the ragged edges of my scrubs, "I waited a really long time for this moment. A really long time for you, Victoria." I whispered it, so fearful to say it any louder and scare the poor woman away.

I heard Victoria breathe out audibly as she took my heavy bag and coat. Leaving me in scrub pants and the old long sleeve shirt I often wore under the scrub shirt. I turned to look in the direction of the kitchen and the smells emanating from it to distract myself from wanting to grab her, kiss her, or just hug her until the world ended. "It smells amazing! I hope there is a glass of wine or two to go with it. Today was one crazy day." It was more than crazy. It was a roller coaster of emotions with a side trip on a tilt a whirl.

I went to take a step out of the foyer to loosen up the tension that was beginning to swarm around us again, when I felt Victoria's hand clasp gently around my elbow. Stilling my movements and pulling me back at the same time. I turned to her with a confused look on my face, "What is it…."

The rest of the words never made it out. Victoria's hand on my arm was followed by her other reaching up to my cheek and then sliding to the back of my head as she pulled me into her body.

When her lips met mine, it was as if the entire world stopped, exploded and then was rebuilt upon the first touch of those soft lips followed by the intense sensation it sent through my entire body.

It took me a second to respond and realize that she was kissing me. That this was the moment I had been waiting for, dreaming about, for months. I pushed back against her mouth, placing my hands on the edges of her jaw to hold her as I pressed our bodies closer. I felt her stumble one step back, causing her to release my arm to move both hers to wrap around my side. Steadying the both of us.

I kept my eyes shut as we kissed like our lives depended on it. Feverish, passionate, loving and consuming. Add in another thousand words to describe this kiss, it didn't matter, it was perfect and before I knew it, I felt her tongue on my bottom lip, silently asking me for more. I answered her silent request, moaning and smiling against her mouth as the kiss grew in intensity. Never in my life had I experienced a first kiss like this. Not even my very first kiss under the swing set in third grade with Bobby Stevens. Kissing Victoria felt like what I imagined it felt like when atoms split.