Something More (20 page)

Drew leans over to give
me a kiss and he discreetly rubs his hand down my ass. “I'll be right back,
love.” Then he's quickly out the door and I'm left tingling all over.

“Mom!” Charlie scream
whispers and I turn my attention back to her. “He's totally hot! And totally in
love with you.” She smacks me on the arm.

“Oww,” I yelp.

“You two act like
you're an old married couple already. And I saw the way his presence calmed you
down and you turned to mush.” Damn, this kid is perceptive, even after what
she's been through. “Just get hitched and be done with it,” she huffs.

“Well, actually, we're
moving in together.” Charlie's mouth drops open, but I can see a slight smile. “He’s
asked me, but every time I go to tell him yes, we get interrupted. But we
haven't spent more than one night apart since our first date. Of course, that
was just a couple days ago.” I laugh at how ridiculous this all sounds. Our
first date was three days ago! Under normal circumstances, this is
way
too fast. But I know I love him and this connection is unbreakable.

“Don't waste any time,
Mom.” She laughs, but that is exactly what I'm thinking. Why waste another
minute without him with me. We hate being apart and are more relaxed when the
other one is there. I'm sure he travels a lot so I will be home by myself quite
often anyway. And I want to spend every moment I can with him when he's home.
What's wrong with that? It's not like I have to be careful because I have young
children to look out for. My child is grown and out of the house. It's time for
me
again.

“I don't plan on it,” I
retort. “It's about time that I've found love, real love, and that I'm happy again.
Aren't you happy for me?” 

“I am. Truly, I am.
I've never seen you like this before and I love seeing you happy. I mean, it is
fast and everything, but nothing should hold you back if it's what you really
want.” I feel her sincerity and I'm glad she is okay with everything. “Plus,
now I will have a hot, rich step-dad.” She grins so wide when she thinks she's
being funny. Her eyes are getting droopy and maybe her head is a little loopy.
I think she needs some rest.

“Angel, close your eyes
and get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up.” I bend over to give her a
kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks, Mom. I love
you.” 

“I love you, too, sweet
girl.”

She closes her eyes and
drifts off. I stay in her room for a little while after she falls asleep, then
I make my way out into the corridor. Nurses and doctors are walking around or are
at their computers. I recognize the nurse that brought us in here, but I don't
remember her name. Walking up to her, I ask, “Excuse me. Can I talk to the
doctor treating my daughter? I'd like to know what kind of injuries she has and
what is going on.” 

“Absolutely. I'll find
out where he is and send him to you as soon as possible. He could be doing
rounds so it might be a while.”

“That's fine. Charlie
is sleeping right now. Can you point me to the nearest waiting room?” 

“Sure. Take a right
into that first doorway right there.” She points at the first room on the
right, just past the nurse's station, that has a door open and a light on.

“Thank you.”

When I walk in, Marcus
is sitting there munching on some vending machine junk food. “What are you
doing in here?” I ask him, while I go to the vending machines to look at what
they have.

“What does it look like
I'm doing, Bec?” I just shake my head. He's always a jerk.

“Well, it appears
you're still being an asshole. Good thing you grew up. What are you? Six now?”
Marcus can really get under my skin sometimes. I'm pretty sure he pushes my
buttons on purpose.

“What? Does being with
your new boyfriend make you too good for the rest of us?” Now I just roll my
eyes. He can't hear or see that since he's sitting down behind me in a corner,
but it still makes me feel good to do it. I can't help but be nasty to him when
he's like this. Where's that emotional guy from earlier?

Turning around to look
at him, I sigh. “Marcus.” He lifts his head up slightly to look at me, “I was
too good for you when we met, I was too good for you when we married, and I was
too good for you when I left your ass.” He just sits there looking at me,
expressionless, like I was talking to a brick wall.

When he doesn't respond
in any kind of way, I turn back around to the vending machine. I decide I just
want a soda since Drew will be back any minute with food. When I open my bag, I
see danish upon danish. I take them out and place them on a little table so I
can dig around in my bag for some change. I hear Marcus get up and, out of the
corner of my eye, I see him go throw his trash away. He disappears out of my
peripheral vision, and then I feel him behind me…too close for my liking. “Go
away, Marcus.”

He doesn't move, but he
leans in a little to whisper into my ear. “Does Mr. Fancy Pants make you moan
like I use to? I know you miss it.” Bile is rising in my throat and his
proximity is making my skin crawl. 

I whip around on him
and shove him backwards so he's an arm's length away. “Do you really think you
ever made me moan, Marcus? You are delusional, my friend. You did absolutely nothing
for me. You got yourself off just fine, but I faked it. Every. Single. Time.
And I don't miss one single thing about you.” That ought to sting. If he thinks
he's all that in bed, someone needs to knock him back down to reality. He
doesn't know how to make love or fuck. He's selfish in the bedroom, as well as
everywhere else.

Marcus takes a step
toward me and I back up, placing myself right up against the soda machine. “I
think you miss at least one thing,” he says and he grabs his crotch where he must
have a boner. I refuse to look down. I burst into a fit of laughter and I can
tell this makes him a little angry. When tears start rolling down my cheeks, he
backs up and stalks over to the door. “I see you're still a bitch.” Then he
walks out. 

I'm still laughing when
Drew shows up with lunch. “What's so funny?” he asks while he unpacks the bag
of food.

“Marcus,” I say and I
go back to searching for change. 

“Ah. Are you the reason
he's leaned up against the wall outside of Charlie's room, pouting and giving
dirty looks?” Drew asks with a smile. I've missed that gorgeous smile and those
beautiful blue eyes. He makes everything better.

“Guilty as charged,” I
reply. I'm quite pleased with my bad-assery and I can't stop grinning.

“Sounds like I missed
out on you turning me on again. I guess I will have the food delivered next
time,” he says with a wink. Still grinning, I nudge him and then go rearrange
some furniture in the waiting room so we can eat semi-decently. We pull out a
little side table and then place two chairs on either side. Drew brings over
the food that he's managed to find from who knows where. It sure smells good.

He has gotten me a
salad and himself a sandwich. As we sit and eat, I tell Drew about what
transpired between Marcus and me. He laughs until I get to the part where
Marcus called me a bitch. I see a hint of anger in his eyes. “Don't worry about
him. I can handle it, but I like that it bothers you,” I say, nudging his foot
with mine. He cracks a tiny smile, but I can tell he's still bothered.

“I don't want anyone to
disrespect you, Rebecca. I don't like it and I won't tolerate it.” He says it
with such intensity and sincerity that the little dormant fire that is always
present in my core just expanded a bit.

“I appreciate that and,
normally, I would love to watch my man defend my honor, but he's not in his
right mind. I expected it from him, especially after what I said. Just let it
slide, for Charlie's sake. It's not the time nor the place for any drama.”

I can see him
struggling with this request but, in the end, he agrees to let it go. This
time. “Only because of the situation and Charlie,” he adds.

Leaning over the little
table, I offer him a kiss and he meets me in the middle to receive it. “Thank
you, Drew. I can see it's hard for you to let it go. You can take it out on me
later.” It's my turn to wink at him. Just as we're about to really kiss, I can
see someone walk in. I turn to look at the intruder, and Drew follows my gaze.
Good ol’ Dr. Phillips again. The fire inside returns to its dormant state and
Drew and I go back to sitting upright.

“Ms. Michaels? Sorry to
intrude...”

“It's okay.”

“Andrea, the nurse,
said you had some questions about your daughter,” he says and moves to come
into the room further, pulling up a chair.

“Yes, I do. No one has
told me what is actually wrong with Charlie…er, Charlotte.” Drew puts down his
sandwich and shifts his chair around to be next to me. He takes my hand and
laces our fingers together. 

“Charlotte was
unconscious when she arrived late last night. We did a scan on her whole body
to check for internal bleeding and damage. There was no internal bleeding, but
there were several cracked ribs and some swelling on her brain from, we assume,
hitting her head on the windshield or steering wheel. She has lots of bumps and
bruises, her ribs and chest area taking the brunt of the damage. She has a mark
across her chest from the seatbelt and, as you saw, her head has some scratches
from the glass. All in all, she is a lucky girl and could've been much worse.”
Letting out a huge breath that I didn't know I was holding, I take in some much
needed oxygen. 

“So she's okay?” I ask,
wanting to hear him say she is going to be fine.

“Yes, ma'am. She's
going to be alright. We will keep her overnight for observation, but they are
preparing to move her out of the ICU sometime this afternoon.” The doctor taps
me on the knee and Drew squeezes my hand…a little too hard. “Do you have any
other questions for me, Ms. Michaels?”

“No. I think that'll do
for now. Thank you for coming in to talk to me.” Catching a glimpse of the
danishes I brought in, I say, “Oh, Dr. Phillips, do you think the staff would
like some pastries? I have a tray of them that I surely won't eat.” I point in
the direction of the table I set them on earlier.

Dr. Phillips rises from
his chair and moves it back to where he got it from. “Yes, I think they'd enjoy
a little snack. I'll put them in the nurse's station. They'll be gone in no
time. Enjoy the rest of your lunch,” he says as he walks out the door, snagging
a treat for himself on the way. Glancing over at Drew, I see that he is staring
at my knee.
Possessive much?

“You can loosen your
grip on my hand now,” I giggle out.

He does, but doesn't
let go. Instead, he takes it in both hands, massages it, and then finally looks
up at me. “I'm sorry, babe. I didn't realize I was squeezing your hand. I've
never reacted that way before. I don't know what came over me.”

“Maybe you've never had
something you wanted to protect before.” I shrug and take a sip of my drink.

“Perhaps. I do know
that I did not like another man touching you. Even as innocent as that was, I
didn't like it.” He laces our fingers together and looks at them a moment. He
turns our hands to where mine is on top and continues staring at them. After
what seems to be minutes, he looks back up at me. “I want you to be mine,
Rebecca.
Only
mine.
Always
mine.
Forever
mine.”

Oh, that word just does
something to me. It's like a direct line to my g-spot and I would love nothing
more than to be his right now, in all sense of the word. And for him to be
mine. But what is he saying? I thought that we had been through this already. I
hadn't even told him that I would live with him yet and he's talking about
forever? 

“Drew…” I try to
protest, but he hushes me with a finger.

“I'm not asking you
yet. I just want you to know how I feel and that it's coming.”

Shaking my head in
disbelief, I really don't know what to say so I just look down at our hands.
This was so unexpected. Maybe he needs to seek professional help to talk about
his feelings...and actions. It is so unlike any other man on the planet to act
this way, I just don't get it. While my head is being rational, my heart wants
nothing more than to be completely his.

“Rebecca?” Drew is
holding my chin up to look into my face. I must have zoned out for a minute. I
didn't even feel him let go of my hand. “Rebecca, I didn't mean to frighten
you. Once again, I probably should've waited to say anything, especially under
the circumstances.”

“I'm not scared, Drew.
I just don't understand you. I've never heard of another man doing anything
remotely like this in all of my life. Well, except for maybe those drunken,
shotgun weddings in Vegas,” I scoff. “You never really dated before me and now
you are wanting to skip right over all of that other stuff,” I say, trying to
find some kind of logic in his thinking. “We just met barely a week ago. Please,
Drew. Let me deal with one issue at a time. Charlie is my priority right now.
We can talk about this later.”

Drew kind of wilts a
little and lets go of my chin, looking a little defeated. I grab his hand and
bring it up to my lips, kissing the back of it like he always does to me. “It's
not a ‘no’, Drew. I still want to be with you and I don't want to be with
anyone else.” His face perks up slightly and he leans in for a kiss.