I'll Take a Chance (7 page)

Note to self
, her favorite flowers are orange roses. “I brought us sandwiches for lunch. I hope you like turkey with pesto,” I say and dig out two sandwiches and two bags of potato chips.

“I do, thank you. After lunch are you on shift then at the hospital?”

“Yes, I’m on for forty-eight hours then I have this weekend off. We should do something this weekend,” I say and take a bite out of my sandwich.

“Sunday
, I have dinner at my parent’s house, you should come with me. My parents would love to meet you. You already know Asher and Willow. It’s always so much fun with all my brothers and sister. Willow already opened her big mouth and mentioned that I was seeing you. I don’t have any plans for Saturday. What were you thinking about?” she asks as she opens her chips and eats those first.

“Sunday sounds good
. I would love to meet the rest of your family. Saturday morning I’m playing ball with Spence then I’m free the rest of the day. How about a drive to Mt. Rainer? We can pick one of the trails and take a leisurely hike.”

“That sounds wonderful. I love that I get to put my hiking boots to good use.”
She wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I can’t help, but laugh at her.

Amelia in her sexy heels is one thing
, but her in jeans and hiking boots takes her to a whole new level of wanting to show her how much I want to prove to her that there are good men out there.

“You are on at the hospital for a whole forty-eight hours? That must be
hard,” she says as she eats the last chip and unwraps her sandwich.

“It’s not so bad anymore. I used to have to work crazy long hours and six
, sometimes seven, days a week. Now I work five days a week. I don’t always have the same days off, but it’s manageable. I work a forty-eight hour shift once a month, and I’m on call several nights a week. There are enough of us there and we rotate everything around.” I wrap up my trash and shove it back in the bag.

“You get breaks for meals,
and you get to sleep too, right?”

“Of course
I do, it’s never a set schedule and that can be hard, but we have a doctor’s lounge and sleeping quarters,” I assure her.

“I was going
to call my sister, Ava, in a little bit to see if her and I can meet for dinner tonight. What about tomorrow? Can I bring you lunch or dinner at the hospital?”

“Sure
, but I might not be able to tell you exactly when right now. It may be last minute. It depends on how busy it is. I need to get going though. You have a good time tonight with your sister. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know how my day looks.”

“Alright, sounds like a plan.”

I stand and wrap up the garbage from lunch. I walk around her desk to find a trash, she stands and grabs a chunk of hair and starts twirling it. I grab her hand and kiss her knuckles. I step close and run my nose along her cheek to her ear.

“I wish there was something I
could do to help you stop that,” I whisper in her ear.

“I’m sorry. I don’t even realize I do it
. I guess it’s just a habit now,” she says in a whisper.

“It’s alright, maybe in time I can help you forget.”
I hope it wasn’t me walking up to her that triggered that.

I trail kisses from her ear to her lips, and pull her close to my body. She still smells like vanilla and
she tastes heavenly. Just then a woman comes barging in.

“Amelia, these were left on my desk while I was at l
unch. Where do you want them?” the woman says.

We break apart the kiss and Amelia sighs with what I’m guessing is somewhere between anger and trying to hold in
her frustration and not bite her head off.

“I’ll call you later, OK? Don’t work too hard and don’t stay too late either. Have fun wi
th your sister,” I tell her. I squeeze her hand and give her the sexiest smile with a wink and walk out of the room. I can hear her talking to the temp as I push the down button on the elevator.

Amelia

After I got rid of the temp, and I mean I really got rid of her, I called the temp agency and told them we just weren’t getting along and I no longer needed their services. I search around my desk for my cell phone to call Ava. She is a busy attorney at a firm here in downtown Seattle. My baby sister definitely works too hard and like me, has no social life. I dig in my purse pulling everything out searching for my darn phone. I finally find it and I dial her number. She answers on the first ring, which can’t be a good sign.

“Hey Amelia, w
hat’s up?” she says.

“
I was feeling the need to spend time with my baby sister. Are you busy tonight? I thought maybe we could go to dinner and maybe catch a movie after.”

“I am swamped at work. I don’t think I can
,” she says sounding frustrated.

“I won’t take no for an answer. We have both been
putting in way too many hours, and I for one can use the night out with my little sister,” I tell her matter-of-factly.

“I seriou
sly don’t think I have the time,” she insists.

“
Alright I’ll make you a deal, no movie, how about if we meet at the Italian place by my apartment that we both love?” I try again.

“Alright you win
, you had me at Italian. I’ll meet you there at seven,” she says, giving in.

“Cool. I’ll see you then.”
I end the call and shove all the contents back into my purse.

I spent the next few hours making huge progress and my desk looks somewhat organized. I shut down my computer for the night and make a quick stop at home to change and freshen up
before dinner with Ava.

I’m the first to arrive
so I grab a table and order a glass of wine. Within a few minutes Ava joins me at the table. She leans in and kisses me on the cheek and takes her seat.

“You look tired. Are you feeling OK?
” I ask Ava.

“I’m alright. I should be asking you how you are. I dropped by Asher’s and he drilled me on how you were. He looked like he was ready to kill someone. I asked Willow what was going on and she told me to ask you myself. It must be something pretty big. Did you want to tell me what’s going on?”

I take a deep breath and spill my guts. Why not? Three people know already, and I’m sure it won’t be long until Aiden and Adrian know too. Of course the look in Ava’s eyes is similar to Asher’s, and it’s no shock she threatened him within an inch of his life if she ever sees him in person.

Dinner goes by much too quick and the two of us do have work in the morning. I’m glad I got some one
-on-one time with her though. We say our goodbyes, and I walk back to my apartment. The fresh air and the cool breeze on my face is the perfect ending to a rather perfect day.

As I walk in my door
my cell phone rings and glancing at the display, I smile when I see that it’s Kyle. And I thought my day couldn’t get any better.

“Hey
, honey. How was dinner with your sister?” he asks in that soothing voice.

“It was just what
we both needed. I told her about Roger too.”

“I’m glad. I think the more you talk about it with your family
, the better you can deal with what happened, and it will help you move on.”

“I agree.
I’m so glad I told you, and I can’t thank you enough for being so great about it.” I don’t think I have the right words to tell him just how grateful I really am.

“
Honey, I am honored you put your trust in me. I’m calling because it’s really slow here and we’re double staffed. I can step away for about an hour. I was wondering if I could swing by and spend a little time with you.”

“Absolutely, come on by,
” I tell him feeling a whole lot giddy.

“Great, I can leave her
e in a few minutes and I’ll be right over.”

I freshen up my makeup and hair and brush my teeth. No sooner than I do that the door is buzzing and I let Kyle up. As soon as he gets to my door
, I open it and throw myself at him with a hug. I know I only just saw him at lunch, but it seems a lot longer than that. He grabs my mouth in a fierce kiss that sends tingles down my entire body. I kick the door closed with my foot. He turns me around and presses me up against the door. He trails kisses down my jaw and then down my neck. I don’t know what comes over me, but my hands go under his scrub top and I yank it off over his head. He stops mid kiss and looks into my eyes.

“Hone
y, this isn’t what I came over here for. Are you sure?” He looks into my eyes with a mix of caution and lust.

“I’ve never been
more sure,” I tell him.

We stare at each other for a split second
then all hell breaks loose. We’re back at each other kissing and grabbing at clothes. I walk backwards to my bedroom kissing him the entire way. I don’t even think twice about it and rip my shirt off over my head. We kiss all the way to the bed and he gently lays me down.

“Honey
, I really don’t want to rush you. I need you to be ready not just physically, but emotionally too.”

“Kyle, shut up and kiss me,
” I tell him.

“Scoot up to the top of the b
ed. Put your head on the pillow,” he orders.

I comply
eagerly. He unbuttons my pants and peels them down my legs. I am left only in my bra and panties. He hovers slightly over me just taking all of me in with his eyes.

“God, you’
re so beautiful,” he purrs.

He launches himself softly on top of me
, kissing just under my ear. He raises his leg and his upper thigh hits my happy place and I moan with pleasure. He kisses down my neck to just between my breasts. He moves his hands behind my back, and with one effortless movement my bra is unhooked. He pauses again and looks into my eyes. He’s still not sure if I’m OK with this.

I give him a nod and he ever so carefully removes my bra and tosses it to the floor. I love the feel of his upper arms. He’s so strong and smooth. He starts kissing down my stomach and stops ju
st at the top of my panties. I’m so turned on that I’m panting with excitement.

“God you smell so good
,” he says to me.

He traces just under my panties with his finger
, I have never felt anything so intimate, so sensual. He slowly removes my panties and now I am bare before him. At that point Roger comes into my head and I start to feel self conscious. Kyle must sense the change and he is back in my face looking in my eyes.

“It’s alright Amelia, you are safe with me. I am not going to do anything you don’t want me to do. Do you understand me?”

I continue to look in his eyes just lost in the kindness and sincerity that I see. He must take this as a sign that I’m not ready.

“Honey, I need you to answer me.”

“I understand you,” I whisper and nod my head.

With a nod he
buries his face in my hair and kisses my neck then trails downward. He diverts just under my belly button and kisses over my hip bone. It sends wild shivers over my already hot skin. He runs his hands down my thighs and bends them at my knees on top of the mattress. He ever so slowly places his mouth on my happy place. Instantly I jump and he stops. He rubs my inner thighs and looks me in my eyes.

“Relax
, honey. Just relax your mind and your muscles and close your eyes,” he orders.

I do as he says and try my hardest not to tense up. He’s back at my happy place and it doesn’t take long to start getting really happy. He rubs his fingers in just the right place which makes
my legs move involuntarily. I’ve never had that happen or this feeling before and I’m a little embarrassed my legs are moving on their own.

Kyle must not think it’s weird because he starts to moan like he is enjoying himself.
I don’t know what is coming over me because I have never felt anything this strong. The next thing I know I’m screaming his name and coming so much harder than I have ever made my own self come. He continues licking and touching until I think I can’t take it anymore.

O
h my God, Kyle just made me come. I start laughing, because I’m so excited that I’m not broken or weird or deformed and a man can make me come, but Kyle is still going at it and I stop laughing and start panting as I come a second time. This one wasn’t as strong as the first, but holy crap. He looks in my eyes and tells me he will be right back. He kisses the inside of my thigh and gets off my bed.

He steps in the bathroom and I can hear the sink
turn on then off then he comes and positions himself over me like he’s doing a push up. He must have washed his face because it’s still a little wet. He leans down and ever so softly kisses me.

“I have to get back to the hospital. I hate to leave you. This isn’t the way I would have
ever planned on doing this. I’m glad it happened though. Amelia, you are so beautiful, and I could live the rest of my life doing that every day and I would die a happy man.”

Oh.

My.

God.

Where has he been all my life?

“Are you OK?” h
e asks me and lies on the side of me. His chest is warm, and he smells like outdoor woods. He reaches over and grabs a blanket at the end of the bed and covers me with it. If he gets any sweeter I may never let him leave.

“I’m more than OK.” I kiss him and try to express my feelings through something as simple as a kiss.

“I really need to get back. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know about lunch. OK?”

He gets off the bed
, I stand and wrap the blanket around me and follow him back out into the family room. He picks up his scrub top and pulls it back on. He grabs the blanket where I have it knotted in my hand and pulls me close with a thud into his chest and kisses me. He runs his finger down my cheek then kisses me one more time.

“I have to go
, honey. I’ll call you in the morning. Get some sleep.”

I open the door and watch him walk down the hallway.
When he turns the corner it’s then that I realize, I’m standing in the hallway wrapped in only a blanket. Shutting the door I lean against it, I bring my fingers to my lips with a huge smile on my face and relief in my heart. I am a whole person. I’m not defective or deformed. Roger is an ass. I can’t believe I let what he said rip me apart like it did for so long. I’m mad at myself now for not pressing charges against him. He better hope
I
never see him again.
I
may be the one to rip his head off.

Kyle

Leaving Amelia’s
apartment, I hope I just didn’t make a huge mistake. I’m not sure if she was really ready for that. The look in her eyes said she was, but emotional scars can run deep. I knew I had to show her right from the start though that she wasn’t damaged. I needed to show her the beautiful woman that she is. I park my car at the hospital and check in with the few patients that we have tonight. I can probably get a few hours of sleep in before I’m needed. I close myself in the on-call room and think about how much my life seems to be changing in such a short time. Meeting Amelia is the best thing that has happened to me in over two years. I think about her and tonight. She’s just so beautiful and kind. It makes me angry another man could do what he did to her. I think about my sister, and I still have the feeling that she’s out there. I know it in my heart she’s not dead. I can still feel her here, all around me. I must fall asleep because the next thing I know a nurse is knocking on the door. One of the patients is ready to deliver.

There were two births last night and this morning it looks like there will be a few more. I take out my cell and dial Amelia. She should be just about ready to head into the office. I want to catch her before she starts her day.
She answers on the second ring and it’s the sweetest music to my ears.

“
Good morning, honey. Did you sleep well last night?” I ask her.

“Good morning
. Yes, I did, thank you. How did the rest of your night go? Were there any new babies brought into this world last night?”

“There were two babies born last night. There was a boy and a girl. It looks like there will be a few more
births before the day is over too,” I tell her, and I love how interested she is in my work.

“I just love it. What an amazing job you have. I just love Abbey to death
, she’s so sweet, and I could just eat her up. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be there at so many births. I think my cheeks would fall off from the amount of smiling.”

“It is a wonderful job. I do love my work. I wanted to catch you before you left for the office. I wanted to see if you could come to the hospital for lunch. The cafeteria food is rather good. I have a few moms I need to keep a close eye on. I don’t think I can leave.”
I hope she can take some time to come here, I need my Amelia fix.

“Sure. I can come by around noon. Will that work for you?”