No Attachments (12 page)

Despite the fact that he had fallen asleep,
I stayed with Nathan as promised until they moved him to his room. Only once he was out did I allow myself to dwell on how scared I had been, thinking he was going to die. We'd known each less than four days and really knew nothing about each other, yet I was worrying about him like we had been lovers for a lifetime. It was insanity to feel anything other than lust for someone I hardly knew, but everything about him enticed me, tricking me into believing in what-ifs. We weren't supposed to have any feelings or strings attached, but here I was. I knew without a shadow of a doubt I was setting myself up. The wisest thing I could do would be to catch a cab and never look back. No harm, no foul. Foolishly, I did neither.

The drive back to my cottage passed quickly as I
attempted to sort through and categorize my feelings. By the time I returned home I realized my mixed-up emotions were an accumulation of stress and anxiety from his allergic reaction. Sure, I liked him, but he was still just an item on my list. I had to stick to our deal, and as long as he could keep his word, we could have our fun and then go our separate ways.

***

The chirping of a new text on my phone woke me the next morning.

I smiled when I read the text message from Tressa.

"Give me all the deets Ho."

"
Can't. It would take forever to type all the deets."

"
OMG you dirty Ho. Too many deets? I think I need to take a cold shower."

"
Don't be a perv."
I typed, laughing.

"
Takes one to know one. Now dish the juicy deets."

"
Can't I have to run an errand. I'll call you later after I get off work."

I was anxious to go, and hurried off to the bathroom to get ready.
I wanted to convince myself that my nervous energy was just because I had to hurry and pick him up and get back in time for work, but the truth is I wanted to see him again. The magnetic pull we seemed to have taunted me with its insistence. Thoughts of the kiss we had shared the night before flashed through my head as I showered. How good it felt to have his hands on me with his body flush against mine. The desire flowing through me was overwhelming as I allowed my fantasy to continue. My hands followed the path of the warm water cascading down the curves of my body. I felt myself swaying as I imagined Nathan's tongue on my skin. "Okay, I don't have time for this," I said aloud, snapping myself back to reality. I switched the water to the coldest setting to clear my head and finished my shower. The bathroom felt chilly as I wrapped the towel around me and hurried to my room to dress.

Ten minutes later, I was backing Nathan
's SUV out of my driveway, headed for the hospital. While I sat at a traffic light about five miles from the hospital, curiosity got the better of me, and I couldn't help snooping around his vehicle. The middle console held nothing but loose change and a container of orange Tic Tacs, which I found cute. The light changed before I could further my search. Only when I was parked in the visitor lot at the hospital was I able to continue snooping. I was a bit disappointed when the glove compartment yielded nothing but an insurance card, registration and a vehicle owner's manual. I don't know what I was hoping to find. Maybe a picture or something that would give me insight into his life.

I began to feel guilty about looking through his stuff, especially considering
I had set the rules for our relationship. Deciding to give it a rest, I climbed from the vehicle and headed toward the entrance of the hospital. Nathan's room was up on the third floor. When I reached his room, I paused outside his door when I heard him talking.

"
It was a dead end," I heard him say. I realized the silence that followed his comment meant he was on the phone. Feeling intrusive, I started to back away when his next comment stopped me in his tracks.

"
It could take several weeks. I'll backtrack to see if I can catch what I missed."

Several more moments
of silence followed before he harshly responded again. "You can certainly do that. I don't see them yielding any different results, but it's your money."

More silence.

"I think that's a wise decision. I'll call you in a few weeks when I have something solid to report," Nathan said.

Pushing
open his door, I was surprised to find him already dressed and sitting on the foot of his bed. His expression was sullen until he spotted me in the doorway. I felt bad that his boss was giving him a hard time.

"
Your boss being a douche?" I asked, indicating the phone in his hand.

Nathan eyed me warily for a moment before sighing heav
ily. "He's not pleased with the story I'm currently working on," he said, studying me intently.

"
Does that mean you're leaving?" I asked, acting like it didn't matter either way.

He smiled at me
, looking relieved. "Not on your life, sweetheart. He can suffer it out," he added with sudden steel in his voice.

"
Will he fire you?" I asked.

"
If he does, there are other jobs. I'm not worried," he said, sliding an arm around me and guiding me out of the room.

"
Don't you need to wait to be discharged?"

"
Already done. I could have gone home last night. I woke up around two feeling completely normal. Of course, the doctor kept me waiting until he made his rounds this morning."

"
Poor baby," I teased, pushing the down button for the elevator.

"
Damn straight," he growled, pulling me even closer once we stepped into the empty elevator. "I was left for hours with only thoughts of you to keep me entertained since the TV in my room was broken."

"
Is that a bad thing?" I asked as he turned me to face him.

"
Only in the aspect that the damn nurses felt they needed to check on me every hour. It doesn't bode well to be turned on while a nurse is hovering over you, asking how you feel."

"
I thought all guys had a thing for nurses," I joked, studying his lips that were inches away from mine.

"
They have nothing on you," he said, dropping his hot open lips on mine. I whimpered against them as all the desire I'd been holding at bay since the night before roared through me like a hungry lion. Lacing my fingers through his hair, I pulled his head closer to me, unable to get enough. Sensing my need, he lifted me up in his arms so my legs were firmly wrapped around his waist. I gasped as I felt his hardness pressed up against the part of me that was throbbing with need.

"
One of these days we're going to do this without any clothes," he whispered against my lips as the elevator dinged, announcing the arrival to our floor.

"
And maybe we can even involve a bed," I said, unlocking my legs from around his waist as the elevator doors slid open.

Nathan groaned at my words as if he was in pain.
"You're slowly killing me," he said, adjusting his pants.

I couldn
't help giggling as he strolled beside me looking uncomfortable. "Fair play can be a bitch," he warned, lacing his fingers through mine.

"
Ooh, I'm shaking in my boots," I mocked.

"
Is that a challenge?" he asked with his eyes glinting with interest.

"
Bring it on, big boy."

"
Oh, it's on," he said, dragging me in for a hard kiss before helping me into his vehicle.

I was smiling at his threat as he climbed behind the wheel. I enjoyed the obvious power I had over him and was relieved it wasn
't one-sided. "How about some lunch since I ripped you off at dinner last night?" he asked, backing out of the parking place.

"
Can't. I have to be at Fran's by eleven," I answered, glancing at the clock on the dash that showed the current time at a quarter past ten.

"
Damn, that gives us hardly enough time to get you there, let alone stopping to get you something to eat."

"
That's okay. I'm really not that hungry," I answered truthfully. My appetite was hit or miss lately, and it wasn't unusual for me to skip a meal or two.

"
What time do you get off?"

"
Six," I answered.

"
You can't work for seven hours without eating anything," he said, looking disgruntled before abruptly turning the vehicle into a fast food restaurant right before the highway. "You can eat in the car," he insisted.

"
You're kind of pushy, you know that, right?"

"
I just know when I'm right," he said, pulling into the drive-thru. "What would you like?" he asked as a nasally voice screeched over the intercom.

"
A burger and fries is fine," I said. "Coke to drink," I added.

"Two number fours with C
okes to drink," Nathan said through his open window.

"
We won't be serving lunch for another ten minutes, would you like to wait?" the voice squawked over the intercom.

Nathan looked at me questioningly.
"I guess that's fine. I'll give Fran a call and tell her I'll be a few minutes late.

"
We'll wait," Nathan said into the intercom.

"
Pull forward, please."

Stopping in front of the drive-thru window
, Nathan handed over a twenty to the cashier who looked harassed, although the day really had just started. "If you park in one of the spaces over there, we'll bring out your food when it's ready," she said, handing over our drinks and change.

"
Will Fran mind that you're late?"

"
No, she really only hired me to keep her company. I try to lighten her load by handling all the grunt work, but she's a tough old bird," I answered, taking a sip of my soda.

"
You sound like you enjoy it," he said.

"
I do. It's nice to be accountable to something that makes me feel normal," I admitted, momentarily forgetting who I was talking to. He had an easy laid-back manner that had me disclosing information best left unsaid.

"
What do you mean normal?" he asked, taking a sip of his own drink.

"
Oh, you know how life seems disjointed while you're in college. You're neither an adult out in the working world, or a teenager who can count on your parents to solve all your problems," I lied, covering up my slip of the tongue. "It's nice to be off the limbo fence now."

"
It must be hard to have lost both your parents. Do you have any other family?"

"
No, it's just me," I lied again.

"
That's rough," he said, eyeing me critically like he expected me to have a sudden meltdown.

I shrugged my shoulders.
"I try not to think about," I said pointedly so he would change the subject.

"
There's no one back home who misses you?" he persisted.

"
Why? Are you changing your mind about adding my head to your collection?" I joked, hoping he'd get the hint.

He looked as if he wanted to ask me another question
, but must have thought better of it. "Don't you mean 'boobies in my trunk'?" he asked just as an employee from the restaurant approached his open window.

I bit off a laugh as
the employee eyed us like we had two heads or something before thrusting our food at us and scurrying away. "I'm pretty sure we've traumatized her," I commented as I handed him a fry out of the bag. "You better hope she doesn't take down your license plate number."

"
Wouldn't be the first time," he joked, merging onto the highway.

"
I knew it all along. You're like that Ned Dundy guy."

"
Who?" he asked, taking the burger I had unwrapped for him.

"
The serial killer who lured girls into his car."

"
You mean Ted Bundy?" he asked, laughing.

"Whatever
. He was mentioned in one of my psychology classes along with some other freaky dudes."

"
I took a class in college once that concentrated on the study of serial killer behaviors. It was interesting," he replied.

"
You're not helping your case," I said dryly.

"
Trust me, sweetheart. You'll approve of the plans I have for your body." He shot a suggestive look at me.

"
You're such a flirt," I quipped, ignoring the effect his joking words had on me.

"
Just keeping it real," he said seriously, taking another drink of his Coke.

"
Is that right?"