“I forgot to give you back your panties that you left in my room. Maybe next time?” he says sheepishly.
I freeze, as if his words just tasered me. He’s a nightmare of a person sometimes! My cheeks are on fire, and I briefly close my eyes, dying of embarrassment. I look around. Two nurses nearby heard him. I can tell from their giggles and whispers.
He sees the look on my face and walks out swiftly.
Yeah, you’d better run, punk!I swear he gets off tormenting me. I turn to Edward. “I’m so sorry about that. I never said it was a date.”
He watches Twitch leave. “Are you two together?”
“No. He just likes to torment me.” In every sense of the word. My pager sounds again. “Let’s get going.”
I dash back to the ER in a daze. The nerve Twitch has to show up and talk like that.
The day passes, and I’m struggling, eager to get home and give Twitch a piece of my mind. After my shift, I say my goodbyes to the team, but I’m awkward around Edward after I was embarrassed like that. I hope he doesn’t think I’m lying and went around telling people it was a date. I cringe...shame!
Once I’m home, I’m pumped, ready to say what I’m really thinking, but I find Twitch at the bar—drunk.
I clench my jaw, but I smile at the ol’ ladies and sweet butts watching TV. It must be a girly show because there are no men in there. There are MC men in the bar, playing pool and darts.
Twitch downs another shot. When his eyes meet mine, his lips curve up. “How was your date?” he yells out loudly over the top of everyone.
Everyone quiets. My hands tighten on my bag, like I imagine they would around his neck. I give him a psychotic smile. “It was no date.” My voice is strained. “What part of that can’t your small brain comprehend?”
Axle spits beer all over the pool table. Viper laughs out loud. Reaper walks over to me. Oh for God’s sake!
“It was not a date,” I repeat to Reaper, emphasizing each word.
“Do I need to do a background check on him?” Reaper asks firmly.
“Already did it!” Twitch calls out.
I roll my eyes. Of course he did. These men, I swear.
“I’m starving,” I say to Reaper. I leave him to go to the kitchen, where I go straight to the pantry in search of that damn chocolate.
I move the flour, search around the cans, move the large bag of rice.Score!I grab two unopened bars. Even better. I open one, walk back to the bar, and just when Twitch makes eye contact, I take the biggest bite and moan loudly. “This is delicious.”
He’s glaring, and I swear he’s foaming at the mouth. It makes my smile even wider.
“Where’d you get that from?” Cash asks from behind the bar.
I open my mouth to tell everyone about Twitch’s little secret stash, but at the last moment decide against it. “It’s mine. Sorry I can’t share!”
Then I walk toward the stairs. I look over to see Twitch still staring while Mercedez strokes his arm. Then he lets her sit on his lap. The jealousy that scorches my chest is intense, stealing my breath. The taunt cuts deep. Is this payback for having lunch with Edward?
I grit my teeth but say, “Don’t forget to take your tablets, Twitch. You should be aware alcohol can reduce the medication’s effectiveness.” Excessive alcohol can also trigger seizures. Even though he’s made me angry, I still care about him.
I leave before I get a reply, storming up the stairs to my room. I grab my clothes and go for a shower. How natural it was for him to go back to the way things were before with Mercedez. I know he’s been drinking, but it’s easy to say no or to get her off him. My stomach knots, anger and hurt blooming in equal measures.
SIX
NEW YEAR’S
Milly
The days drag on,each one blending into the next as I find myself stuck in a cycle of ignoring Twitch and throwing myself into work. It’s easier that way—keeping busy, keeping my mind occupied. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t stop thinking about him. Seeing Mercedez all over him that night hurt more than I care to admit. It was like a knife twisting in my chest, even though I have no right to feel that way. He’s not mine, and I keep reminding myself of that.
Still, I’ve noticed she hasn’t been sleeping in his bed. That small detail shouldn’t matter, but it does. It gives me a sliver of hope I don’t want to have. I have feelings for him—real, undeniable feelings—and I wish I could just turn them off. I wish I could shove them deep, deep,deeepdown where they can’t hurt me anymore. But I can’t. No matter how hard I try, they keep bubbling to the surface, refusing to be ignored.
