Shiraz Read online

  “I really don’t know. After what I overheard Brandon telling Jam--”

  “What did he say?” Antonio asked as he leaned into my face.

  Checking the clock on my phone to make sure I had enough time, “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. So yesterday I woke up when I heard Brandon in the kitchen with James on speaker. I was listening to their conversation because James had asked how are things going with us, and Brandon went on a spiel of how great things are going, and that he’s going to propose to me on Monday.”

  Antonio screamed and galloped for joy while smacking my arm. I tried to get him to calm down as we are still at work. He stops and looks at me with a straight face, “What’s the problem now?”

  “I . . . I don’t know if I want to get married. I don’t think I’m ready.”

  “Minday, I think the two of you are great together, very compatible, you two care for each other, all that shit, but you’re the problem in this relationship. You’ve always been stubborn; you push yourself to work hard to please everyone at the hospital, not realizing what you have at home. You never just lay back and have a good time. That’s not healthy.”

  I was realizing I didn’t have a lot of ammo for this argument. “You’re right. I’ve just been with him so long it doesn’t feel the same anymore. I feel old and married, and I haven’t even pushed out a kid yet.”

  “Look, get your mind off of things and come out with me tomorrow. You need one last good weekend before you make your decision on whether or not you’re going to marry the guy,” he was squeezing me again. Apparently he took my facial expression as a definite yes, and as much as a night out would do me right, I still had Brandon and his last line on my mind.

  Antonio released his grip as his pager went off. He unclipped it from his waist and said “Got to run, sweetie, I expect you to text me first thing tomorrow on what time I should come get you!” He answered his phone with a “Hi Doctor” in an unexpected business-like tone, effectively shoving his inner animal back in its cage for the sake of the phone call.

  I took another sip of my drink, now cooled off enough to actually enjoy. “Did I miss anything, Erin?”

  The unit clerk behind the desk barely looked up from the trivia game on her phone. “Lady in room seventeen pulled out her IV again.”

  I nodded, ready for what might be a crime scene waiting for me in Mrs. Scherzinger’s room. She had dementia clouding her mind, which fogged all memories she may have still been clinging onto. Still sipping my drink I edged into her solo room and set my cup on the table reserved for family members, which she sadly did not have. I doubted Mrs. Scherzinger would be leaving this hospital anytime soon, so I tried to make her as comfortable as possible, even if she never remembered who I was.

  “What happened, Mrs. Scherzinger?”

  A nurse’s aide whose name I can never remember was wiping blood from the patient’s arm, already about eighty percent clean. I sent the aide away to continue the job myself. I had developed a hell of a strong stomach ever since nursing school, and I am proud to say I no longer have to worry about the sight of blood making me queasy and then making a larger mess after throwing up on it. The only thing I still have yet to get used to is watching delightful people lose themselves without hope that they’d ever get back to their normal state.

  “I couldn’t find the remote,” said Mrs. Scherzinger. “I think it fell under the sofa, can you help me?”

  “I would be happy to, as soon as I make sure you aren’t still bleeding.” I spoke to her in a normal, adult tone. I fucking hate people who speak down to the elderly patients and talked to them like children.

  “My hip hurts and I have trouble bending, so I didn’t look myself,” she answered with a hint of sadness.

  “Don’t you worry about that.” I threw the alcohol wipes I used on her arm into the hazmat bin, and got down on one knee, playing along with wherever she was in her head. “I don’t think I see it, are you sure it went under the sofa?”

  “Maybe I left it in the kitchen . . . I can look later. Thank you, dear.” This old woman had only been awake for an hour and already sounded like she had gone a week without so much as a catnap. “I’ll just tell my husband to grab it, he’s good for that.”

  I chuckled. “How long have you been married?”

  “Sixty-three years next month. Time flies when you’re in love!”

  I looked at both of her wrinkled hands which sat pretty without rings. Did her husband pass already? Was she ever even married?

  “He sounds like a keeper, Mrs. Scherzinger.” I said looking at the soft wrinkly skin that surrounded her bright blue eyes. Her hair puffed high above her head, like a cotton ball, which she faithfully combed every night and morning.

  “Oh, he’s a pain in my ass. Always leaving dirty plates in the empty sink, leaving it for me to clean. Now that I think about it, that’s probably how the remote fell. I bet you he dropped it out of his hand while he was nodding off in front of the T.V.”

  Now I really laughed. “How are you feeling right now? Pain anywhere?”

  She fell silent for a moment. “No . . . I’ll be okay. I think I need to lie down again, it’s been a long day.”

  “Okay . . . you get some more rest, and you know just to push that button up by your head if you need anything. I’m always nearby.”

  Reaching for the clipboard hanging from the hook attached to the feeding pump, by the time I glanced back at her she had already fell back asleep. I recorded her vitals one last time while I was in the room, ready to settle into routine for the next few hours. I didn’t want to just fuck Brandon now . . . I wanted to feel his arms around me right after.

  11:01 PM. One minute overdue in this place.

  The parking garage was full of fresh faces pouring out of cars headed in the opposite direction ready to start their night of work. With the remote, I unlocked my Camry and ducked inside, sliding the key into the ignition. My red car had no problems since I bought it last year, and the fact that the hospital was only ten minutes from our apartment meant I wasn’t straining anything.

  I hooked my phone up to the stereo and hit the shuffle button on my playlist, completely oblivious to whatever song began to play through the car speakers. The blur of traffic lights, stop signs, and cars whizzing by me felt like a daydream. Those ten minutes flew by and before I knew it I was pulling into our parking lot. Our building was relatively quiet thanks to a lack of college students or drug dealers. The occasional dog would bark at a random foot stomp, but the loudest source of noise was our swinger next-door neighbors, Don and Anne. They are incredibly nice couple who always make time to check in and feeds our kitties when neither of us is around for a day. Brandon and I have turned down more than one invitation to their alleged parties which is a thinly-veiled reference to their orgy of the month.

  The parking lot was ten steps from the front door of the building in which our landlord decorated with trees and shrubbery to make it seem more lively. Twelve apartments across three floors, and none of them were small by any stretch. Each apartment has high ceilings that made the rent pricey.

  I fumbled through my pockets as I searched for my keys, unlocking both doors that secured the entrance which often delayed pizza deliveries. My non-slip shoes made my steps echo as I tip-toed up the stairs and through the hallway, announcing to the rest of the second floor that I was home. Our apartment, 202, was the first on the right. Don and Anne were away for a couple of days at one of their vacation homes, and boy was I jealous. Finding the key to our apartment I shoved it in the top lock, turning to the left which granted me access to my sanctuary. The wooden floors made cleaning and maintaining the place easy, and helped with the décor of the kitchen as everything matched the color brown. The only sound coming was the refrigerator, which quietly hummed as it rattled against the counter. I half-expected one of the cats to greet me, but they must have just eaten and seen no other use for me. I threw down my keys next to an empty pizza box on the counter, a sign that Bra
ndon had managed to feed himself, so I threw my purse down on the same spot. I kicked my shoes off and tugged at my scrubs as I walked toward our bathroom as I was in desperate need of a shower. I passed through our laundry room as I stripped off my scrubs, dropping them by the washer hoping I remember to throw a load in first thing in the morning. I glanced in the direction of our bedroom which did not show a single ray of light. It was pitch black.

  I shut the bathroom door behind me just before starting the water in the tub, waiting for the temperature to get somewhere between hot and scalding. One towel was left on the rack for me to use, another pile of laundry I didn’t get to do thanks to being called in today. I stared at myself in the mirror for a minute while the water adjusted, glaring at the craters forming underneath my eyes from a lack of proper sleep. Nursing is a stable career, but I had a feeling I would be searching feverishly for grey hair sooner than later. Good thing my legs would always be in shape no matter how much my head felt like mush at the end of the day. Admiring my legs, I had calves like an Olympian.

  I undid my bra and slid off my panties dropping them on the floor. The shower head began to spit water as I turned the faucet. I slid back the animal print shower curtain and stepped in, hovering directly underneath the shower head letting the steaming water assault my body as it washed away the grime of the hospital. I hadn’t even reached for the body wash and I was already hoping Brandon was still awake for me.

  Above my head I reached for the loaf dangling from the white shower rack, soaking it in water mixed with lavender-scented body wash. I began at my neck and moved down to my tits, scrubbing them hard enough to make my nipples rise with hardness. I thought about Brandon sleeping in the bed just a couple feet away and what I was going to do to him as soon as I got out of this shower made the thought all the more enticing. Twelve hours of administering injections, recording observations, and changing folly bags worked up my sexual appetite into a frenzy. Peeking at the photo he sent me a few times throughout my shift only made things worse. I massaged my stomach and moved down below my waist, my clit already engorged, begging to be touched. I could have stood here and let my fingers work their magic in combination with my shower, but I wanted Brandon on and inside of me.

  I shut the water off, not wanting to waste any more time. I greedily reached for the towel, patting my body dry then half-ass wrapping the towel around me. Just before I opened the door, I changed my mind and dropped the towel to the floor. I wanted to sneak into bed naked and surprise him.

  I left the bathroom light on and crossed the hall to our bedroom. Our two black cats, Nettie and Ollie, were curled up on their own bed in the corner where we kept our books and music. They didn’t even let out a peek as I got on one knee and crawled into bed, lying on my side as I grazed Brandon’s uncovered back with my hand. I was already wet and yearning for his cock. He was wearing his usual sleeping choice of satin black boxers accompanied with a grid pattern that gave his balls enough room to breathe but still kept his whole package presentable.

  I pressed my naked chest to his back, feeling my way around his stomach, searching the inside of his underwear for my prize. I could not stop my thighs from writhing in agony, begging to be split open and ravaged. Wishing he would fuck me until I woke up the entire building, I inhaled sharply when I wrapped my thumb and two fingers around his soft head. I began to caress it, finally deciding this would be my way of waking him up.

  Brandon snorted and shifted away from me, obviously in much of a deeper sleep than I thought. I continued dancing around the head of his cock, tracing a circle around the helmet and enticing it as it began standing up. My other hand was squeezing my left tit anxious to explore the rest of my body. I licked the back of his neck, and just when I thought he was waking up, he mumbled something about the litter box and shifted even farther away from me.

  I rolled over on my back, frustrated and saddened. I knew this was going to happen. I should’ve just stayed in the shower and let the water bill double its value. I slowly sat back up, my pussy still heated, but it began to calm down thanks to the buzz kill of a comatose lover. Blindly searching through my drawers I found a clean pair of pajama pants and a plain black t-shirt to match, just enough for me to parade around the rest of the apartment. I sure as hell wouldn’t be sleeping anytime soon after that hopeless encounter.

  Giving Brandon one last look as he snore ever so softly, I headed back to the laundry room and threw in the piles of clothes that needed to be washed. As I started the cycle, I wrestled with a few different emotions at once. Was it wrong of me to want more from Brandon? We both worked long and hard, but our time together was limited, and when we had time, nothing ever got done. Our relationship reached the point where we practically had to make an appointment for sex. Of course, I had my vibrator as it was always ready to go, but it just isn’t the same. I wanted to fuck and make love to him all at once. . . not get off from the backup hunk of plastic.

  I sauntered back into the kitchen looking for the bottle of wine I still had from a few nights ago. While I reached into our cupboard for a glass, I heard a muffled vibration coming from my purse. I poured a generous portion of my red Cabernet as Ollie came out to finally greet me, rubbing his tail against my left leg. I bent down just as I finished with the bottle and nuzzled his head, making sing-songy noises to his face that I really don’t feel like sharing. Once Ollie was satisfied he retreated to his bowl of food, possibly forgetting my existence in the process.

  I took a sip of wine, swirled it, and reached for my purse as I swallowed. It was Antonio once again asking me about the Broken Griffin show. I stared at this message, wondering if I should check to see if Brandon was able to go. I glanced at the calendar tacked on the freezer, and decided it didn’t matter.

  “Sure thing!” I replied in text. “Pick me up at nine,” I added.

  Chapter 2

  Melinda

  The next day Brandon wasn’t even a factor. He had finished work for the day and reminded me that his roommate from college was taking him and a few other guys to a hockey game. He told me we had already spoken about it but of course, I managed to forget at some point during the barrage of call-ins and regular work days. We quickly ate breakfast together while discussing what we wanted to add to the queue on Netflix – Daredevil was likely our next pick whenever we would finally find a night to sit around and enjoy it.

  As he left in a hurry I managed to kiss him goodbye before he drifted out for the day. Washing the dishes I thought of Antonio and what he had in store for me tonight. I had no fucking clue if I was going to like the sound of the band, but the combination of music, a bar, and Antonio’s stories would make this a perfect night.

  Finally reaching 8:47 P.M., Antonio should be here any minute. I had dressed to kill – black lace corset with red stitching, a strapless bra underneath to show off my shoulders and neckline, and a black miniskirt to keep things simple and dark. The pumps I dug out from the back of the closet added about four inches putting me at roughly five-nine for the night.

  I studied my reflection in the mirror, happy with my face. Remembering my skills from High School I drew on dark makeup in adjacent to my red lips that matched the pattern on my corset, enough to tell any potential wandering eyes to pay attention to my face. I kept my chocolate brown hair at shoulder-length as opposed to pinned up like I usually have it. I straightened and sprayed it in place, and my choice of wardrobe made my green eyes stand out like olives in a garden salad. I sometimes had my self-conscious moments about my stomach, but I looked damn good tonight.

  I touched up on my eyeliner once more just before hearing a rhythmic knocking at the door, with sign that Antonio was making a dramatic entrance per usual. I checked the cat bowls to make sure they were both full and fresh, and lastly turning off any lights just before walking to the door.

  I nearly laughed out loud, but stopped just short at cupping my mouth. Antonio looked like an extra from an Anne Rice fan film. His leather pants hugged his crotch so
hard, I hoped for his sake he didn’t get aroused at any point tonight. To top it off, he wore stylish boots and a dressy button down shirt with three quarter sleeves, so I’m sure there is no way he was not going to get hit on this club.

  “Don’t crack your little laugh at me like that, vampire!” he said in a comically bad Romanian accent. “Vampire? What?”

  “You came out of the dark, not me. But I can see why, you’re a walking emo now.”

  I opened my mouth wide trying to make it clear I knew he was joking yet still in awe he said I dressed emo. We laughed as I locked my door behind me. “You all set?”

  Grabbing my red clutch from my hand, “Of course I am, and I just want to say I am so happy you are finally getting out for a night, you deserve it. I even made space in the passenger seat for you because you mean that much to me,” he winked.

  I ranked pretty high on Antonio’s list if he took his own purse out of his passenger seat just to make room for me.

  The Avalon was a twenty-minute drive from my apartment. During the drive Antonio and I traded horror stories from work over the last few weeks, including a disastrous occasion with a catheter that resulted in Antonio needing an emergency rinse-off and clean scrubs.

  “I told that bitch I don’t do golden showers unless you pay me top dollar. It’s a hospital, not a German porn set, you know?” Antonio said as I laughed.

  I was laughing so hard, but that’s exactly what I needed to take my mind off of what happened with Brandon the other day. Since Antonio loved to keep my mind off of things, this worked out well and I am glad that the topic never came up throughout the car ride. I didn’t feel like getting grilled about relationship woes on a Friday night . . . I needed to enjoy some live music. It had been far too long since I had seen a live band, let alone gone out, so I was way too excited for what Antonio had in store for me.