Test Drive (18 page)

“Now that Johnny is one fine man.” Kristin’s eyes lit up. “A new
friend
of yours, you say? Just how friendly are you two?”

Lara refused to answer questions about Johnny, other than to say she knew him from Ray’s. Her sister finally took the hint and stopped asking about him. She woke the girls and took the sleepy cuties home. Lara helped by carrying Kay—who seemed to weigh a ton, despite looking as light as a feather—to the car.

She hurried back into her apartment, suddenly more tired than she could stand. She sank into bed and didn’t wake until seven the next morning. Her dreams had been filled with Johnny’s smiling face, and no wonder.

“I really blew him. Right here in my apartment.” She stood in her ratty robe in her living room, staring down at her magical couch.

She couldn’t say why she’d gone down on Johnny last night. Like him, she agreed that no sex was best. It did complicate matters. But hearing him deny her, somehow sensing he meant it, not as some ploy to manipulate her but because he felt the truth of wanting to get to know her, had softened her. She’d already been a marshmallow after watching him with the girls.

Most guys thought “nice” was the kiss of death, but Lara wanted that dichotomy of nice in real life and a little mean in bed.

She clutched her robe tightly, remembering how thick and long he’d been, how much she’d swallowed when he’d come down her throat. She normally wasn’t big on blowing a guy, and not one she wasn’t even seeing steadily. But something about Johnny made her want to put her mark on him, to make it impossible for him to forget her. She might be a pretty brunette that worked at Ray’s, the one girl he hadn’t yet been able to get with. But she’d make sure once they
did
hit the sheets, naked all the way, she’d be more than memorable.

She had to admit it had been fun taking charge of such a stud. Lara normally let her dates handle the romantic aspect of things. Sure, she pulled the brakes when the intimacy rolled too fast or too far. But she let her dates lead the way.

Last night had been a complete shift from the norm. Lara didn’t do casual flings. He hadn’t used a condom, and she insisted on safe sex from her partners. She wanted to believe he’d been safe, but she couldn’t be sure. Her pathology classes came to mind. Blowing him when others might have done the same thing with less than clean mouths—meh, something she didn’t want to think about.

Sexual stupidity be thy name, girl.

Once again, done in by a pretty face. And a pretty personality, terrific sense of humor, gorgeous body, huge cock that—She fanned herself. She’d been close to getting off herself while doing him, but she’d been so focused on his pleasure she hadn’t been able to wait. But thinking about him revved her engines all over again.

What had she expected from him afterward? Not a challenge, that was for sure. A thank-you, maybe. A sly wink and an “It’s been fun. See you at Ray’s.” But another date?

She’d already been easy. Twice. He wanted a third time? Perhaps once they did the full deed, he’d lose interest. A perverse part of her wanted to push him, to see how far he’d string her along for affection. Another part didn’t care about his intentions, because for once she wanted just to have fun and not care so much about the repercussions. Besides, they were friends. She’d known him for years. Was he really such a casual two-night stand?

Her cell phone made a loud, obnoxious quacking sound, and she realized if she didn’t get a move on, she’d be late for class. Her second clinical at the hospital, so no time for dilly-dallying.

Yet instead of the rush of pleasure she normally felt when getting a chance to act like a real nurse, helping patients, she lamented her time away from Johnny.

Damn it.
She missed him already. Priorities had shifted, and she didn’t like it. As expected, being with Johnny tempted her to put him at the forefront of her thoughts.

She showered, hoping to rinse off memories as easily as she soaped off her grime, but had little luck in forgetting his sexual release. By the time she’d dressed in her bright blue scrubs and arrived at the hospital, she still felt overheated.

Time to regroup and focus. Center yourself. Think work, not Johnny. And no more sex on the brain!
Lara took a few deep breaths in the car, concentrated on the here and now, and crashed into someone on her way to the elevator.

“I’m so sorry.” And late if she didn’t hurry. She helped the cute guy to his feet then jumped into the elevator before it left, the doors closing on his own apologies.

She made it to changeover and learned she’d be accompanying Nurse Angi Clement for the day. Cha-ching. Though last week she’d done her shift with Nurse Vu, a succinct perfectionist who kept chitchat to a minimum, she’d heard from a classmate that Nurse Clement—who preferred just “Angi”—was amazing. She answered all types of questions, encouraged a more personal approach in her mentoring, and shared her own perceptions of what to look out for with patients on the floor.

“You look happy today,” Angi said, a bright smile on her face. The woman appeared to be in her late to mid-fifties and possessed an air of competence and confidence Lara envied.

Lara smiled back. “I am. I’m back on the floor and wearing my favorite scrubs. This is what I’ve been looking forward to since I first started the program.” Though she’d had a less hands-on time in clinicals and with labs during her prior term, she would get to be much more involved at this stage.

“Outstanding. Then let’s get to it.”

Lara spent the next few hours doing real work. She performed a full-body assessment on a new admission. Under Angi’s guidance, she also checked a frequent flier’s—a repeat patient’s—blood sugar levels. Since Tom suffered from diabetic ketoacidosis and didn’t like sticking to his dietary regimen, Lara was instructed to give him a shot of insulin. She had him state his name and date of birth, then verified it with his wristband and the care mobile unit. After Angi’s approving nod, Lara carefully injected the needle into Tom’s upper thigh, and trooper that he was, he didn’t even flinch.

“Really, Tom.
Four-ten?
You need to get those levels down,” Angi counseled while Lara finished inputting what she’d just done into a small digital reader, a care mobile device, then scanned Tom’s wristband. Angi checked off on her work while Tom gave a few feeble excuses for lingering over cake and cookies instead of his strict protein and veggie diet.

“Have a heart, Angi.” He turned to Lara and winked. “You’re new. And cute.”

“Your wife’s just outside,” Angi said drily.

“I know. Don’t worry, she’d say the same thing.” Tom patted his heart. “Between Angi and all the pretty nurses she brings with her to help, my blood sugar is probably going through the roof. A piece of cake isn’t causing my problems. It’s all the lovely women around the place.”

“Nice try.” Angi snorted.

Lara blushed and laughed. “You’re good.”

“That’s what Anna tells me.” Tom sighed. “But sadly for you gals, I’m taken.”

“All the good ones are,” Lara agreed. “So when they overdose on cupcakes at their granddaughter’s birthday party, it saddens those of us who haven’t yet found Mr. Right.” She looked Tom in the eye. “My uncle’s Type 2, and my aunt is always on him to eat right. Does your wife know what you did?”

“Well, sure.”

“Really?” Angi cut in. “I bet she knew about that first piece of cake. What about the others?”

“Ha. Nailed it.” Lara read his guilt all too easily. “Next time tell whoever made them to use a sugar substitute. I know agave and some of the non-sugar sweeteners out there are low on the glycemic index. Try those. My aunt makes a killer lemon cake using Truvia. It can be done.”

“Fine, fine.” Tom scowled, but his eyes were playful. “Stop nagging. Like I don’t hear it from Anna enough.”

“Did someone say my name?” Anna entered, a pretty woman with sparkling brown eyes and short black curls sprinkled with white. “What lies are you telling now, Tom?”

“And that’s our cue to go.” Angi chuckled. “Lara will be back to check on him in an hour. Anna, make sure he behaves.”

“Will do.”

Angi and Lara left, and Lara felt like a real nurse. She’d checked Tom’s vitals, his blood sugar, and given him his medication. All while feeling supremely confident, enough to joke with her patient. With
Angi’s
patient. She glanced at her advisor and saw Angi’s grin.

“You’re a natural. Great job, though Tom’s an easy patient. I love seeing him and his wife, but I hate why we see them. What can I say? He’s got a rampant sweet tooth.”

“So does my uncle. Tom reminded me of him.”

“You used just the right amount of humor and instruction,” Angi said as they walked down the hall. “Bedside manner is as important as medical knowledge. I know you’ve heard that time and time again, but it’s true.”

Nurse Kim Guyen passed by them with a harried student after her.

Angi glanced at Nurse Guyen, then looked back at Lara with a grim expression. “There’s more to a hospital experience than dotting every
i
. Not that you don’t still have to do that. One mistake with a patient can be his last.”

Lara nodded. It had been drilled into her over and over again that patient identification remained priority number one.
Always know the patient before administering anything, even advice.

“But after getting everything right on paper, you need to show compassion. No one ever wants to be here.” Angi sighed as she led Lara to the nurse’s station. “But while they’re here, we want them to be as comfortable as they can be.” She waved to patients passing by. “Now let’s show you how to update the patient’s charts in the system. I’m going to grab a coffee. Want anything?”

“No thanks.” Lara was eager to work, to show Angi her capabilities.

“Fine. Be right back. Get the paperwork in order and be ready to input data when I get back. But wait for me before you do anything.”

“I will.” Her preceptor had to okay the data before Lara submitted patient information, and Lara could only do it while under her direct supervision.

As Lara looked over the information, seated among bustling hospital staff, patients, and their family and friends wanting them well, she felt as if she truly belonged. Ray’s might be fun and pay the bills, but this fulfilled her on another level entirely. She wondered what Johnny would think if he could see her, then forced him to the back of her mind,
where he belonged
.

Unfortunately, it took a lot more concentration than she liked to tuck him away. But damn it, she’d do it, because her future career depended on keeping sharp.

When Angi finally returned, Lara smiled up at her, looking forward to the next few hours of their shift. “So, boss, what’s next?”

Chapter 11

Friday night at Ray’s, Lara once again poured her ass off. Beers, a few mixed drinks, and taking orders for the back kitchen kept her busy from seven through ten.

“What’s going on with all the traffic?” she yelled over her shoulder to Rena and Sue as they bustled behind the bar. Between the loud acid rock, laughter, and shouting from a bunch of no-neck bikers, it was tough to be heard.

Rena moved next to her and handed a guy a bottle over the bar. “Some rally downtown, I think. A good one, not a gang thing. Bikers for autism awareness? Something like that.” She grinned. “Men in leather. Yum.”

Lara laughed. “Long as they remember jeans under the chaps.”

“You’re such a stick in the mud.” Rena’s grin turned evil. “It’s a wonder Johnny wants
another
date.”

Lara’s cheeks felt hot. Stupid Johnny and his big mouth. Not that she didn’t mind him mentioning it, but he’d been adamant he wouldn’t. So much for keeping their new, weird “relationship” strictly between them. “He told you?”

“Ha. No, I read your phone. You had a few texts.”

“Way to invade my privacy. Nice.” She wasn’t sure she liked her sense of relief that Johnny had remained quiet about them.

“Hey. I thought it might be important, and you know you can’t hear a thing in the bar. When I saw your phone light up, I thought your mom might need you or something.” She handed Lara her cell. “Here you go.”

“Liar.” Lara tucked the thing into her back pocket and sighed. “So what did it say?”

“That Johnny hopes to see you later. And that since you get off at one tonight, you can either go home with him for a late dinner, or you guys can get together tomorrow. For date number three.” Rena practically danced in place. “
Three?
What happened to one and two? When did you go out? What did you do?” Rena’s eyes widened. “Did you do
him
?”

“Would you shut up.” Lara’s face was on fire. “I’ll tell you about it all later. Hey, how did he know I get off at one?”

“You told him. Actually, your phone told him. I texted for you.”

Lara groaned. “Don’t let anyone else know about this, okay?”

“Fine. But you owe me details. You know my social life exists through you.” Across from them at the bar, a big man belched. “Yeah, so not happening here.”

Lara chuckled and continued to serve. It was like people were coming out of the woodwork. Ray had to be bursting at the seams. Not that the place didn’t bring in customers, but a lot of them had tabs they’d keep open for days on end. Regulars kept the bar steady, but new clientele paid by the order.

By the far front of the bar, she saw Earl and Big J handling a few rowdy patrons. The motorcycle do-gooders, a group of rough-looking guys gathered for a decent cause, didn’t seem involved. Yet. It was only a matter of time before some drunk banged into one of them and started a brawl.

She watched as a few of their regulars gave the group the evil eye. “Hey, Sue.”

Sue sidled next to her and gave her a hip bump. “Yeah?”

“Five bucks says either Drew, Jim, or Red starts some stuff with the new guys.”

“Oh, you’re on. I’m thinking it’ll be Henry.” Sue had a point, because Henry found himself a fight every time he showed up to Ray’s. “I hate to take your money. Sure you want to bet on Drew, Jim, and Red?”