Chasing Destiny (7 page)

He wasn’t ready for the kiss to end. He chased her mouth, but she was out of reach. She got up and stood across the room from him, slowly unbuttoning her blouse. Her red lace bra was barely visible and he wondered if the panties she was wearing underneath her skirt matched it. “Don’t tease me”, he pleaded.

She raised her hands and unfastened the bun on the back of her head. Her long, golden locks unraveled and he felt an overwhelming urge to run his fingers through it.

“What’s wrong, Jake? I thought you liked to play games.” She bit the tip of her index finger and then slowly lowered it, tracing an imaginary line down her neck and finally stopping between her firm breasts.

“I only like to play games that I’m confident I can win”, he groaned.

“Well, I guess the next logical question is—” she removed her blouse and toyed with the clasp of her red lace bra “—how confident do you feel right now?”

He hooked his index finger and motioned for her to come closer. “Come here and let me show you, baby…”

Jacob opened his eyes and let out a faint groan; hospital beds were torturous. His eyes glided across the room.
“Damn it… She was just a dream”
, he mumbled softly. He quickly turned his head when the door suddenly swung open.

A seasoned nurse entered the room and scurried to the window, twisting the rod to open the blinds. She took a few steps toward him and began checking his vitals and recording the results in his chart while she spoke. “Good morning, Jacob. I’m going to be your nurse for the next twelve hours. My name is Maxine. You’ve managed to ding yourself up pretty good.”

“Yes ma’am, it appears that way.” He tried to push his hands against the mattress in an attempt to maneuver his body up further on the bed, but he was too weak.

“Watch it, young man. I don’t want you fidgeting around. You sustained some pretty serious injuries during the accident. Your left shoulder was dislocated, you have three broken ribs, and you
suffered a concussion. As bad as it
sounds, you were very lucky. It could have turned out much worse. There must have been an angel watching over you.”

Jacob immediately remembered seeing Cassie’s face before he’d lost consciousness after the accident. “You have no idea, Maxine. Um… where are my clothes?”

“They’re over there in the corner in that plastic bag, but I wouldn’t worry too much about getting dressed just yet. Dr.
Jenkins wants to keep you one more
night for observation.”

“I’m here in Chicago for a very important business meeting. Is there any way you could hand me my wallet? I have the gentleman’s business card inside. Do you think maybe you could give him a call and let him know that I’m here?” Maxine walked to the corner of the room, opened up the bag and retrieved the wallet from the inside pocket of his business jacket. She moved toward him and placed it in his uninjured hand. Jacob opened it, dislodged the card from the wallet and handed it to the pleasant, elderly nurse.

“I’ll give him a call right now.” Maxine headed for the door. ”Now you get some rest. I’ll be back in just a bit to check on you. If you need me before then, just push that big red button on the inside rail of your bed.”

Jacob did the best he could, adjusting himself on the lumpy hospital
mattress one last time. The pain
medication the doctor prescribed dulled most of the hurt; although they also made him exceedingly drowsy. He tried fighting it to no avail; within minutes exhaustion defeated him and he fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

Cassie stood in front of him wearing
a black pencil skirt that hugged her perfect
curves like a second skin and a red lace bra. She shook her head from side to side and waved her index finger in unison. “Not so fast, Jacob. This is my game—which means we play by my rules.”

“Rules were made to be broken”, he assured her.

Cassie flashed a seductive smile and then reached for the chair that was wedged in the corner. She placed it at the foot of his bed and took a seat. She
crossed her legs and reached down
toward her ankles. Her fingers gently caressed her legs as they slowly worked their way up her thighs. “Rule number one: no talking.” Her hands journeyed up her ribs and grazed her perfectly round breasts. She tugged on the lace and revealed a glimpse of her pink nipples. “Rule number two: you can look, but you can’t touch”, she mumbled breathlessly.

Jacob swallowed hard. “I don’t like this game.”

“Shh…” Cassie reached for his chart lying on the table beside her and opened it. She quickly glanced over the information and then met his sleepy gaze. “It appears as though your doctor ordered therapy… the physical kind…”

Jacob smiled. Maybe this game
wasn’t so bad after all. “Well, you’re the professional… what do you recommend?”

“Why don’t we start by you pointing out where it hurts the most?”

He licked his suddenly dry lips and then cupped his hot, bulging erection. “Right here… this is where I’m hurting the most right now…”

Jacob opened his eyes and gazed across the room in utter astonishment, skeptical as to whether he could trust his sight. Cassie was sitting in the visitor’s chair with her legs crossed, his chart opened on her lap. She was wearing a black pencil skirt and her ivory blouse was completely buttoned—
no visible sign of her red lace bra in sight
. Her hair was different; still long and golden blonde, although now she wore it straight. He’d had another erotic dream about her. Part of him wanted to try to fall asleep again to experience what was going to happen next, but he ultimately decided against it.

“So it really was you that I saw before I blacked-out.”

Jacob startled her. She quickly closed his chart and laid it on the small table beside her. She uncrossed her legs, rose from the chair, and took a few steps toward him; finally ending up by his
bedside. “How are you feeling this
morning?” she asked.

“
A little sore, but hey… I can’t
complain. I’m still breathing.”

Cassie crossed her arms beneath her breasts and smiled. “I hope you know of a good repair shop. Your car took a pretty bad beating as well.”

“It’s not mine… It’s a rental”, he explained.

“Oh boy—”

“It’s ok. I purchased the extra insurance.”

Cassie looked down at the ground and smirked. His optimism was almost predictable. “So, what brings you to Chicago?” she asked curiously.

“I came here on business for a couple of days—how about you?”

Cassie hesitated for a moment. She tucked a stray strand of her behind her ears and cleared her throat. “I live here now. I started my own physical therapy practice with a colleague from Denver. I was on my way to the hospital to see several of my patients when you had your accident yesterday… I helped pull you
from your car
.”

Jacob’s eyes widened. He remembered seeing her hovering over him before he lost consciousness, but he was unaware that she’d extricated him from the mangled vehicle. “I guess I was probably the last person you expected to see once you got there, huh?”

“Yeah… um… I guess you could say that.” Cassie smiled and as if on cue,
Maxine entered the room and began
tinkering with Jacob’s I.V. bag.

“Alright honey, I gave that gentleman whose card you gave me earlier a call. He said he’d be by to see you in just a bit.” She then handed him two more pain pills and proceeded to document her actions in his chart.

“Well, I should go. I have a therapy session on the sixth floor in ten minutes. I’m glad you’re alright.” Cassie grabbed her paperwork and walked toward the door.

“Hey Cass… Thanks… for everything.”

Cassie smiled and nervously tucked her hair behind one of her ears. “I’ll stop by later on my way out and check-up on you.”

* * *

Cassie spent the rest of the afternoon working with her patients. She had always been very good at preventing outside stimuli from affecting her work,
but today, she found herself flashing back
to her earlier visit with Jacob. Time
seemed to pass rather slowly and
although she did not want to admit it to herself, she was looking forward to seeing him again later that day.

She was unquestionably crushed five years earlier when he’d broken off their relationship and acknowledged that the events that transpired deeply affected who she was today. She kept the men she had dated since at arm’s length, finding it difficult to let any man get too close and her current relationship was no different. Cassie took pride in her ability to put her
personal feelings aside while attending to Jacob after his accident. She was, after
all, a healthcare professional. She reaffirmed that stopping by this morning
to make sure he was alright was the
respectable and ethical thing to do, how
ever the logical side of her brain
questioned if making a second appearance on her way out later that evening was still such a good idea. She had done her best to bury the memory of Jacob long ago; in fact, the thought of him rarely seeped into her mind—
that is until yesterday.

She acknowledged that witnessing him lying helplessly on the pavement
after his accident, and again that
morning
in his hospital room had made an impact on her. It generated an overall unrest within her, affecting her focus and making her everyday assignments exponentially more complex. This was nonsense, she thought. She was currently involved with a wonderful and compassionate man that absolutely adored her and she deeply cared for him as well. Jacob’s unexpected arrival back into her life had been unforeseen to say the least. Soon he would be released from the hospital; he’d head back to New York City and she would be free to carry on with her life. She convinced herself that her anticipated visit later that evening would provide closure;
nothing more, nothing less
.

Cassie finally finished-up with her last patient of the day roughly around five-thirty. She thoroughly recorded her dictations and stacked the completed charts neatly on her desk. She glanced at her watch and let out a deep sigh. Butterflies fluttered vigorously within her gut and she instinctively placed her hands on her stomach, attempting to settle them. After gathering her belongings, she hung up her lab coat, and maneuvered down to the fourth floor where Jacob’s room was located. As Cassie approached the door her hands began to tremble. She forcefully shook them and began adjusting her skirt and blouse; making sure everything was perfectly in place. She raised her hand and softly knocked three times before cautiously opening the door.

* * *

Jacob spent the afternoon drifting in and out of consciousness, an unmistakable side effect from the powerful pain medication he’d been given earlier that morning. However, no matter what state of mind he was in, he thought of Cassie. He thought about the vivid, erotic dreams he’d been having, as well as the short visit they’d shared earlier in the day. After ending their relationship five years earlier, he had painfully accepted that he would probably never see her again. Before his accident, he had been intensely focused on his upcoming business meeting and now after her brief visit earlier that morning, the last thing he wanted to think about was his presentation.

Landon Woods arrived promptly at five-thirty. He looked to be in his early to mid forties with thick, salt and pepper-
colored hair. He was well dressed in his
gray Armani Suit and just as Mr
.
Anderson had previously revealed
,
Landon was a lucrative entrepreneur
with
an abundance of charisma. Jacob thought about how refreshing it was going to be to partner with a fellow, ambitious businessman, particularly one that wasn’t an arrogant bastard like he had encountered so many times in the past. Jacob did his best to present him with some of his ideas for one of the largest shopping malls in the country; recalling as much as he could by memory. Without warning, they heard three delicate knocks and the door slowly opened. Cassie
peeked from behind it; smiling at first and
then all of a sudden, her vibrant
expression faded, appearing as though
she’d seen a ghost.