Katie Ashley - The Pairing

“Hey, how do you feel this morning?” he asked.

“Like I’ve been run over by a truck.”

“Want me to fix you a good hangover cure?”

She peeked at him through her fingers. “You actually know a hangover cure?”

He smiled. “You think someone like me has never been drunk?” When she bobbed her head, he laughed. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but there have been many, many times I’ve woken up just as you are now.”

“That’s hard to imagine.” She gazed down at the scrubs and T-shirt she was in. Although she doubted it, she couldn’t help but ask. “Did we…”

“No, we didn’t.”

She arched her brows in surprise. “If we didn’t sleep together, then why did you…I mean, why are you in bed with me?”

“Because you begged me to stay.”

She gasped in horror. Wasn’t it enough that she had thrown herself so wantonly at him, but now she’d begged him to stay with her? “I did?”

He nodded. “You said you didn’t want to be alone.”

Vaguely she remembered pleading with him to lie close to her. What a nightmare. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” When she started to protest, he held up a hand. “I have to admit it was nice being in bed with someone again—feeling their warmth, the softness of their body as they lay beside you.” He swallowed hard. “I’ve missed that more than I knew.”

Overcome with the emotions threatening to overtake her, Megan didn’t know what to say. All she knew is she needed to get out of there. “I need to get home…or to Emma’s. I can’t let my parents think I stayed out all night with a man I just met.”

“I understand. I wouldn’t dream of compromising your reputation.”

She stared at him for a moment. Sometimes the way he spoke made it seem like he was from a different world or time period. “I, uh, I need to use the bathroom.”

“Go ahead.”

Tumbling out of the covers, she then streaked across the room. Once she closed the door behind her, she exhaled the breath she’d been holding. She made it to the toilet just in time to throw up again. She wondered after doing the same thing the night before how there was anything left in her stomach to empty. Once she finished, she leaned over the sink, pooling water in her hand before bringing it to her mouth. After gargling to rid herself of the nasty taste, she eventually dug under the counter for some mouthwash, and then brushed her teeth.

Without a hairbrush or comb, she did her best to tame her out-of-control hair. Once she surmised that she looked presentable enough to face the firing squad, aka Aidan and Emma, she left the bathroom. Pesh had thrown on some clothes and stood in the middle of the room. He raised his brows expectantly at her.

“I’m ready to go now.”

“Of course.”

When she started for the bedroom door, she abruptly stopped. “Wait, my dress?”

“I’ll send it out to be dry cleaned.”

“Oh,” she murmured. “Thank you.”

In silence, they made their way through the house. Megan tried not to be so obvious as she took in the high ceilings of the living room, the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked a large, spacious yard. Pesh had an amazing house—one that was far too big for just him. It certainly was made for a family—the one he sadly didn’t have.

As he started to open the door leading out to the garage for her, Pesh stopped and turned around. Staring intently at her, he said, “I’d like to see you again.”

Megan couldn’t help the shocked gasp that escaped her lips. She’d made a repeated fool out of herself the night before, and he still wanted to see her? “You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

She gave a slight jerk of her head. “I don’t think that is a good idea.”

“But why?” he countered sincerely.

With a contemptuous snort, she replied, “Isn’t it obvious?”

“If you’re alluding to the fact you accidentally got drunk last night and then became ill, that has little relevance to me. Accidents happen, and I’m man enough to realize that.” He closed the gap between them. “I liked being with you yesterday.”

Remembering what Emma had said, Megan couldn’t help asking, “You want to date me, don’t you?”

“Yes of course. What else would I want to do?”

When she replied, “Have sex,” a flush entered his cheeks.

“That is not what I meant.”

“And that’s a pity.”

His brows furrowed. “Whatever do you mean?”

“You and I…we want different things. You want to date and get married again, right?”

“Yes, that is something I desire very much.”

She shook her head. “But I don’t want to be in a serious relationship right now with you or anyone for that matter. I’m certainly not ready to get married anytime soon. I just wanted to have some fun with someone.”

Pesh frowned. “I don’t think I understand.”

“What I want from you is the same thing I wanted last night. Just sex,” she answered honestly.

“You don’t want to date me…you only want to have sex with me?”

If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Megan might’ve laughed at the horrified expression on Pesh’s face. He appeared absolutely floored that she could ever think of only using him as a sex toy. Finally, when she gathered herself together, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, but that’s the way I feel.”

She braced herself for some sort of wrath out of him or even a lecture. What he did was even more surprising. He gave her a sad smile. “And I’m sorry you feel that way because I would have really enjoyed getting to know you better.” Without another word, he opened the door. Always the gentleman, he waited for her to go through first.

Tucking her head to her chest, she bypassed him to walk to the car. Once again, he appeared to open the car door for her. “Thank you,” she murmured.

He nodded before walking around the front of the car. Without another word to her, Pesh cranked up, and then began backing down the driveway.

The ride to Aidan and Emma’s was only twenty minutes, but it seemed to take an eternity. The painful silence hung heavy around her. Pesh didn’t look at her. Instead, he kept his gaze firmly on the road ahead of them.

When he pulled into Aidan and Emma’s driveway, Megan felt her stomach clench. She wished there was some way to make things right between them. But she had a feeling she had gone too far and said too much. As he put the car in park, he turned to look at her. “Thank you for the ride,” she said.

“You’re welcome. It was my pleasure.”

“Most of all, I want to thank you for taking care of me last night. You truly went above and beyond. I can never thank you enough.”

“You don’t have to thank me. I’m glad I was able to help you.”

Nibbling on her bottom lip, she finally allowed herself to say what she was holding back on. “I wish things could be different,” she said softly.

When she dared herself to look at him, she found him staring intently at her. “I’m sorry, too. Take care of yourself. Okay?”

She bobbed her head. “The same to you.” With trembling hands, she fumbled for the door handle. When she was finally able to open the door, she stumbled out onto the pavement. As she made her way up the driveway, she could feel Pesh’s eyes on her. The car remained parked as she climbed the porch steps and rang the doorbell. She hoped that Noah was already up, and she wasn’t waking the household.

Aidan threw open the door. “Megan? What the hell?” he asked.

His question and concern caused her to burst into tears. “Why are you crying?” Aidan demanded.

“It’s a long story.”

He glanced from her out the door to Pesh’s car. His expression darkened. “Did Pesh hurt you?”

“No! Of course not.”

“If he’s made you cry, I don’t care whether he’s Noah’s godfather or not. I’ll punch his lights out!”

She grabbed his arm. “Stop it, Ankle! It’s not him, it’s me. It’s all my fault. Okay?”

He stared at her in surprise. “What happened?”

“Give me some coffee and a chance to calm down, and then I’ll tell you everything.”

Although his expression was skeptical, Aidan nodded, and then started to close the door. Megan stole one last glance of Pesh as his car started reversing down the driveway. She hoped for her sake and his it was the last time she would have to see him.

Megan nervously tapped her thumbs on the steering wheel of her car. Her clinical placement had come through, and she was now on her way to make her introductions to her preceptor, the nurse who would supervise her. Although she had initially been disappointed in not receiving Grady, she was still excited to be doing the last part of the journey to becoming a nurse. She was also grateful she hadn’t received the night shift that some of her fellow nursing students had. She would have rarely been able to see Mason if she had to sleep during the day and work at night.

She pulled into the parking lot of the Wellstar ER and eased into the first space she found. After turning off the car, she grabbed her folder of paperwork along with her purse and headed inside. She stopped at the front desk. “I’m not a patient. I’m a clinical student here to see Kristi Parkman.”

“Go on through,” the receptionist said, before she buzzed open the Authorized Personnel Only door. Breezing inside the heart of the ER, Megan couldn’t help feeling excited. She couldn’t wait until she got her feet wet by working with patients.

Glancing around, she wasn’t exactly sure how she was going to find the preceptor. She stopped at an area teaming with nurses. “Can I help you?” one of them asked.

“Yes, I’m here to see Kristi Parkman.”