WMIS 03 Play With Me (4 page)

Sweet?
Maybe.

Yet,
not a word from him since then.  Of course, he’s a busy professional football
player, and it’s football season, and maybe he’s just not interested in me
after the way I laid the bitch-act on.

I
couldn’t blame him if that were the case. Not to mention, I did make it clear
that I would never, ever be intimate with him.

I’m
an idiot.

And
now he wants to come to my job and meet my patients. It’s probably just a ploy
to get some publicity. He’ll undoubtedly bring some press with him, have his
photo taken with sick kids, and it’ll make him look great on Channel 7 News.

Arrogant
ass.

* *
*

“He’s
here. Security just called up.” Jill grins and does a little dance. She and I
have worked together since day one. She’s a pretty petite blonde with dark
brown eyes and a voluptuous figure. She’s also happily married and has three
kids, but not averse to flirting with hot football players.

Who
can blame her?

“Okay,
I’m going to walk out to the elevators and meet him. Remember, act surprised.”

She
winks at me and I walk over to the elevator lobby. I gave my kids’ parents a
heads up about today’s guest so they could come and take photos and meet the
athlete themselves, but I decided to make it a surprise for the kids.

Finally,
the elevators open and I can just stare. He’s brought four of his teammates,
all dressed in blue jeans and their team jerseys, pushing carts full of gifts,
baskets wrapped in bows and cellophane, full of their team gear; hats, jerseys,
pajamas, flags… you name it. They have stuffed animals and games, too.

I
look up into Will’s bright, happy blue eyes and I can’t stop the grin that
splits my face in two.

He’s
spoiling my kids!

“Hey,
you’re the prettiest nurse I’ve ever seen.” He offers me that cocky grin and
follows the other guys out of the elevator. They are all so tall and broad,
making me feel tiny next to them.

I
look down at my simple blue scrubs and laugh. “Right because scrubs and
ponytails are all the rage these days.”

He
leans down to kiss my cheek and whispers in my ear, “Hottest nurse I’ve ever
seen.”

Well,
then.

I
clear my throat and Will introduces me to his teammates; Jerrel Sanders, Thomas
Jones, Kip Sutherland and Trevon Wilson.

They
are all incredibly polite and look a little nervous, hands in their pockets,
shuffling on their big feet, looking about the hospital corridor.

“Thank
you so much, all of you, for coming. I haven’t told the kids you were coming; I
wanted it to be a surprise. But the parents know, so they could bring their cameras
and stuff.” The guys all nod and I look around the lobby. “No press?”

Will’s
face sobers. “No, no press. This isn’t a photo-op, Meg. We’re here because we
want to be.”

“How
did you talk your PR lady into that?” I ask, surprise ringing through my voice.

“She
works for us, not the other way around,” he responds simply and grabs a rolling
cart full of goodies for my kids. “Lead the way.”

I
lead the guys into the corridor, a wide smile on my face, and wink at Jill who
is standing at the nurse’s station, her arms folded around her middle.

“Let’s
start with Nicholas. He’s played football until this past winter when he got
hurt on the field and it was discovered that he as osteosarcoma.” The guys all
frown with concern. “Bone cancer,” I murmur and knock on Nick’s door.

“Yeah,”
I hear him call.

I
crack the door open and shield his view from the guys behind me. “Do you have a
sec?”

His
eyes light up and he grins at me. He’s got such a crush, it’s cute. “I always
have time for the hottest nurse here.”

I
open the door wide and step aside so the guys can move into his room, and Will
leans down to me on his way by and whispers in my ear, “See? Hottest nurse.”

Nick
pales, his jaw drops, and then he starts to laugh. “Oh, my God!”

“Hey,
man.” Will approaches him first and offers his hand to shake. “It’s a pleasure
to meet another player.”

“I’m
not playing anymore,” Nick murmurs.

“Once
a player, always a player, dude.” Will grins and sits next to his bed. “What
position did you play?”

“Quarterback,”
Nick responds shyly, not able to look Will in the eye. Nick’s hair is gone, and
his once strong body looks weak in the large hospital bed.

“Were
you good?” Will asks.

“Fuck
yeah, it was only my junior year and I had offers from USC and Florida State,”
he says proudly.

“Damn,
I’m sorry, man.”

I
step out of the room and let the guys chat it up with Nicholas, give him gifts
and just make his day.

Hell,
make his whole life.

About
an hour later, the players file out, smiling and joking with each other and
with Nick. Will offers me a sweet, sad smile. “We need to talk later,” he
mutters.

I
frown and cock my head to the side. Talk? About what? I don’t have time to
question him.

“Okay,
guys, if you’re comfortable splitting up for a while, there are a lot of kids
anxious to meet you. I have extra nursing staff on hand today to lead you
around and introduce you to kids and their parents.”

“Sounds
great,” Sanders responds and offers Jill a cocky grin. “Lead on, sweetheart.”

They
each grab baskets full of gifts and follow my staff to various parts of the
department, and I laugh as I hear whoops and cries of excitement coming out of
the rooms.

“This
is awesome, Will. These kids will remember this for the rest of their lives.
Thank you.”

“My
pleasure. I’m gonna stick with you, if you don’t mind. Where to next?”

* *
*

Okay,
the man is good with kids. He’s kind and a good listener. He has patiently
posed for dozens of photos, flirted with my girls, made the guys feel like he’s
their buddy, and just been generally awesome today. All five players eventually
made it to every room and talked with every patient. Now, we’re all gathered in
a common area that we have set up for families, where they can come and rest.
It’s recently been remodeled, and it proudly boasts about two-thousand square
feet of plush leather couches and recliners, an enormous big-screen television
mounted to one wall, tables and chairs near outlets for laptops and plenty of
space to spread out.

Now
the oldest patients who are able to leave their rooms are scattered around the
space, at the suggestion of Kip, so the kids can ask questions and have a
little more time with the team before they leave for the evening.

They’ve
already been here for a staggering five hours.

“Meg,
I need some help with an IV in room twenty,” Dr. Sanchez whispers to me so she
doesn’t interrupt the Q&A session.

“No
problem.” I follow her back to the room and help her, and then when I return to
the lounge, I stay out of sight so I can listen.

“So,
do you have a girlfriend, Will?” A pretty sixteen-year-old patient named Liza
asks with a shy smile.

“No,
I don’t, sweetheart.”

“Why
not?” someone asks.

“Well,
there is one woman I’m interested in, but I don’t think she likes me back.”

“Well
then she’s stupid,” Liza retorts, and everyone laughs.

“No,
she’s smart,” Trevon jokes, punching Will in the shoulder.

“Who
is it?” Nick asks him.

“Actually,
you know her,” Will begins and I bite my lip and feel my eyes widen.
Holy
shit!
“I’d love to get to know Meg better.”

“Well
then ask her out,” someone out of my line of vision advises him.

“I
don’t think she’s interested in me.”

“We
can help,” Liza offers. “We know her really well.”

“Um,
okay.” Will suddenly sounds nervous and I grin.

“She
loves music,” my patient, Bree tells him.

“And
chocolate,” offers Mike.

“And
she likes hugs,” my thirteen-year-old Jason chimes in.

“But
if you fuck with her, I’ll tear your heart out of your chest, cancer be
damned,” Nick states clearly, harshly.

“Nick!”
his mom exclaims. My feet are rooted to the floor. I should go take care of
this, but I can’t move. I want to hear Will’s response. Silence fills the room
and I picture the two guys, one almost a man and one a grown up, staring at
each other.

Finally,
Will says, “You know, Nick, I already had a lot of respect for you just from
our chat earlier today, but now I just think you’re badass. You’re a good man.
You don’t need to worry about Meg.”

I
walk into the room in time to see Nick nod soberly and look at the floor. The
other four players’ smirks have left their handsome faces, and are instead looking
at Nick with respect.

“Okay,
everyone,” my voice is bright, not giving a clue that I just heard the
conversation about Will and me. “I know you probably have a lot more questions
for our guests, but I think it’s time we let them off the hook. They’ve spent a
lot of their time with us today.”

There
are a few groans, but the room erupts into applause.

“Thank
you!” The kids call out, and all five players look a bit embarrassed, but boast
huge, proud smiles.

“You’re
very welcome,” Will responds when the applause dies down.

“Good
luck on Sunday,” Bree’s dad calls out. “I have money riding on it!”

“We’ll
see what we can do,” Sanders responds.

I
follow the players back to the elevators, Will and I lagging behind the others.
He takes my hand in his, but I pull away and look around.

“Not
at my job, Will.”

“Oh,
so I can hold your hand outside of work?” he asks with a cocky grin.

“I
didn’t say that.” Damn him.

“Walk
me to my car.” He murmurs down to me, so only I can hear.

“You
didn’t ride with the others?” I ask.

“No,
Trevon stopped at the training center on his way here to get the Hawks gear,
and we all met here.”

“Okay.”

When
we reach the parking garage, Will’s teammates each hug me tight.

“You
do not have an easy job, little lady,” Kip mutters, his face grim.

“Days
like today make my job fantastic, Kip. Seriously, thank you, all of you for
coming today. You just don’t know what you did for those kids.”

“Why
haven’t you asked us to come before?” Jerrel asks and Will coughs, choking on
his own spit.

“Actually,
I have. Several times. But I always got a no.”

“Fucking
Susan,” Trevon mutters darkly. “From now on, contact us directly. I’m assuming
you have Montgomery’s number?”

“Uh,
no.” I shake my head and press my lips together.

“Well,
hell, I’ll give you
my
number,” Kip grins. “And not just to visit you at
work.”

“Back
up, Sutherland,” Will warns. “I got this.”

“Good.”
Kip winks at me and the guys all go climb in their own vehicles to leave, wave
at us and are gone.

“So,”
Will murmurs and steps toward me. Despite the magnetic pull I feel, I take a
step back.

“I
should go back up.”

“I
want to see you, Meg.” Well, he’s blunt, isn’t he?

“I
don’t think that’s a good idea,” I murmur.

His
eyes narrow and he crosses his arms over his chest. “Why not?”

“This
is a busy time for you, Will, and my job is busy too. Hell, I haven’t heard
from you for the past two weeks, so I just assumed…”

“Number
one, don’t assume. Ever.” His voice is hard and immediately grabs my attention.
“Number two, yes, we’re busy, but we can find the time. And number three, I’m
interested.”

“How
did I end up naked the morning after the party?” I blurt out, ashamed that I
can’t remember. His eyes twinkle mischievously.

“You
woke up naked?” he asks, a half-grin spreading on his handsome face.

“Yeah,
but I remember you making me put the t-shirt on.”

“You
were still in the t-shirt when I left that morning. I told you, no hanky
panky.”

“I’m
surprised that you didn’t try anything.”

“Oh,
trust me, sugar, having your tight, naked ass cradled against my dick was damn
alluring.” He steps closer to me and tips my chin up with his fingers. “But I
wouldn’t take advantage of you when you don’t have your wits about you. When I
take you, you’ll know exactly what we’re doing, what you’re feeling, and I
won’t stop until your legs are shaking and the neighbors know my name.”