-Chris' POV-

I didn't want to wake up because I dreamt of her last night. We were in Laura's room; alone. It was a bit messy, clothes all over the floor but I didn't care. I couldn't take my eyes off her. She had just walked out of the shower and was surprised to find me standing next to her bed. I could tell she was struggling to be strong and confident with just a towel covering her naked body. And it was a small towel I might add. It barely concealed her nipples and private area. Her damp twisted hair fall over most her chest to the center of her stomach.

"How did you get in?"

"Does that matter?" I shuffled through the obstacles on the floor to get closer to her.

She wanted to bolt back to the bathroom. I could tell but she didn't. Her pride wouldn't allow it.

Laura shook her head. "Get out of my room, you stalker."

"Why do we keep denying ourselves?"

She smelt so sweet like vanilla and roses. The combination sounded kind of disgusting but she made me want to taste it.

"I hate you."

Those were the words I longed to hear because in our secret language they meant something else.

"What else?" I encouraged taking my final step.

I could feel her breaths brushing against me; nervously but also flustered with desire.

"There is nothing else."

She had a habit of lying to herself. I was going to show her exactly what I meant.

I suppose she guessed my deepest intention and made a run for it. I caught her before she could hide in the bathroom. My arms coiled around her like vines. She tried wiggling out of my hold but the more she struggled the more her towel loosened.

My right hand wrapped around her soft neck and my lips trailed to her earlobe.

"You're so beautiful."

"And you're an asshole." Her sword-like tongue insulted me.

Nothing she said could distract me from what we really had.

"I miss you."

She eventually went still in my arms. Now I had her attention.

"I love you." That was what every woman wanted to hear.

"No," she cried. "You can't."

"Let me show you how much." I whispered seductively in her ear while I gently gripped her towel.

I hardly tugged before it fell on the floor beside our feet. My hands wanted to rummage over the curves of her bare body. Yet I waited for her to say something, do something.

Laura turned to face me. It took everything to focus on her face and not her nakedness.

Fuck it. I couldn't take it anymore. She was moving in an extremely slow pace. I wanted her now. I needed her now.

That was the exact moment the sound of our neighbor's lawnmower woke me up. If I had owned a BB gun or even a paintball gun that neighbor would have been knocked out.

I had to get up anyway and face reality. Laura actually did hate me and I probably wouldn't sneak into her house because I was positive she would call the cops on me.

Eehhhh. I couldn't think about her right now. I was supposed to help granddad with work around the house. He was getting old and couldn't do many of the things he used to. He needed my help more than ever. I threw the covers back and I got a tiny chill. I bet grandma was having one of her random heat flashes again and turned up the air.

I debated whether I should put a sweater on before walking downstairs but the thought died once my stomach started to growl. As I was descending the stairs I heard voices and high pitched giggles. For a second I thought it was Laura with my sister. A part of me wished it was her. I walked into the kitchen and found Edith, my sister, with a blonde. Nope, definitely not Laura.

Demi turned in her seat and gave me the once over. The distasteful look on her face when she did made me wonder what I ever did to her. She was literally disgusted with my presence.

"What happened to you?" Demi raised her brow peculiarly. "Sleep under a bus or something?"

I knew my hair was a little messy but I didn't look that bad in the mornings. Yup, she just hated me. I decided to play along anyway.

"Next to a trash can actually." I grabbed a bowl and started pouring some cereal.

Grandma always had it stocked for me because I was the only one in the house that ate cereal. I secretly believed I was her favorite grandchild. She would never admit it but I sensed it.

"Where you belong," I heard the soft whisper come from Demi's lips.

I turned, with a smirk on my face. Since when did she have so much spunk? "Did you say something?"

Demi flipped her shinny blonde hair back and devoted her attention to my sister. The way she did it with such attitude only added to my theory. Where did this hatred even come from? I hardly ever spoke to the girl.

I thought Demi was a shy, reserved girl like my sister. I might be wrong.

"I can't believe you're engaged," Demi gushed pulling my sister's wedding ring towards the light.

Here we go. Girls become obsessive drug addicts when it comes to weddings. Don't get me wrong. I was happy for my sister.

John was a nice guy. I made sure of it before he even thought of dating her. Edith was my only sister and I, like every brother, thought she deserved the best. Edith was a kind, gentle, and caring soul. She put everyone above herself; she was just that kind of person. That was why I had to look after her our whole lives. I never wanted to see anyone take advantage of her kindness.

"It seems like everyone's getting married," Demi didn't seem too happy to declare.

She was right in a way. It did feel to me like everyone I knew was suddenly getting married.

"I can't even find a man," she laughed handing back the ring.

That I couldn't understand. Demi was pretty attractive; cute face, blonde, not one ounce of fat on her body. Maybe it was her attitude. Bad or snobbish attitude was a huge turn off, well at least for me.

Edith did her best to comfort her friend with some sugar coating.

"Are you kidding me? Demi you can have any guy you want but the good ones take some time."

I didn't want to burst her bubble. Good guys didn't exist. There was good behavior, nice manners, and even the occasional wonderful gestures but deep down inside all guys were messed up. Good guys were only defined by good acts.

"John has a cute friend I can introduce you to. He's a youth pastor."

Those were the worst. Church people were the biggest hypocrites.

"Sure." Demi accepted since she was on the verge of desperation.

"I was wondering if you and some of the other girls wanted to help me go wedding dress shopping today." Edith shifted the subject back to her wedding planning.

"Well yeah. Of course."

Edith practically bounced out of her seat. I hadn't seen her so excited in my life. Growing up she never had many friends. She was far too quiet and closed in but I was glad she was getting out of her shell.

"Do you think Jamie and Laura will come? I always have a blast with the two of them."

Demi scrambled through her thoughts. "I know Jamie's probably free today but I think Laura has to work...so I don't know."

Edith headed for the stairs. "I'll get my phone and call her just to be sure."

The kitchen got quiet but not for long. I could sense Demi's eyes burning in my direction.

"Like what you see? I warn you I'm not cheap." I tried lightening the mood but she didn't seem to enjoy my joke.

"You're not my type." She crossed her scrawny little arms over her small chest.

"You sure? Because you were staring awfully hard at me a few seconds ago. You had me fooled."

She pursed her lips for a moment to redirect her angle. "I meant to give off the vibe of 'Go fall down the stairs you jerk'. Sorry for the miscommunication. I'll work on it."

Her eyes darkened to steel daggers ready to kill me. Damn she worked on that fast.

"Did I do something to offend you?"

I couldn't exactly remember doing anything.

"Not me, my best friend."

So this was about Laura. I should have known. It slipped my mind. How could I forget they were best friends? I could only guess she knew everything.

Demi looked fired up, getting out of her chair to confront me.

"You're so stupid Chris." She threw her hands in the air releasing her frustration at me. "So, so, so freaking stupid. I was rooting for you. Well not at first but once she started liking you, I was rooting for YOU."

She did know. My mind went into override. Laura was talking about me to her best friend; her best friend that at one point wanted me to be with Laura.

"What was it like for her?"

Demi shook her head not understanding the question. "What?"

"I did some horrible shit to her in the beginning. But she still liked me?"

I assumed but she never claimed to have feelings for me, not romantically.

"She was fighting it but I'm her best friend. It's hard for her to hide things from me."

Why did that affect me? What did it change? It did give me a little hope. I was going to fix this because I was betting she still had feelings built up inside of her for me.

"What should I do?"

I was also hoping Demi would still be on my side, rooting for me. Would she help me get back in Laura's good graces?

"What is she to you?"

How do I even put Laura into words? "She's more than I ever thought she could be."

Demi assessed me like I was a criminal confessing my alibi.

"Are you telling me this in the hopes that I would tell Laura; therefore, coming from me she would believe me? Can I believe you?"

She was reading way too much into this. Why do girls over think? Yet, it did sound like a good motive.

"Don't tell her anything. I'll fix this on my own."

I was willing to work for her trust.

Edith walked back into the room, oblivious to our conversation, since her nose was in her phone.

"So Laura and Jamie are on the way. They were already hanging out when I called."

"That's great." Demi acted like nothing was amiss.

I scratched my head. "I'm going to take a shower." I really just needed to think and plot my next move.

'Ding Dong'

The doorbell went off. I was praying it was Laura. "I got it."

Before I reached the door I decided to take my shirt off. Technically I was going to undress for a shower anyway. I combed my hair back a bit yet still maintained that woken up sex hair. I wanted to drive her hormones mad with lust. I wanted to see a spark in her eye to know she was actually still attracted to me. My mission was to make her forget she even had a boyfriend.

I swung the door open, flexing but also grinning with mischief.

Laura and Jamie stopped talking to fulling look at me. Their eyes were worshiping my pecs and glorifying my biceps. The last few months back home in California I had been hitting the gym harder. I got bigger and started eating like a beast. I was practically twice the size I was before.

No matter how hard she tried there was no way to erase that reaction from my memory. Laura was undoubtedly still attracted to me.

Jamie had her mouth open pointing at my abs.

"Am I dreaming?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "No."

She stretched out her hands horizontally, wider than the doorframe. "You're so big...and pretty."

I dug my hands inside my pockets, bashfully. I didn't want to look too conceded.

"Do you sleep like that...with no shirt?"

I shrugged. "Sometimes."

Laura snapped out of her hot trance. Maybe she was fantasying about me or reliving an old memory of us. She had to push Jamie through the door to get inside. I noticed how she specifically dodged any physical contact with me.

"Can I be your blanket," Jamie murmured.

Laura was avoiding me entirely now. I believed this was a good sign.

"Good morning Laura," I kept my voice as smooth as silk.

Laura's haunting pissed eyes were throwing me a death glare.

"It's good now," Jamie answered for her.

Laura shoved Jamie, almost knocking her over. "Shut up Jamie." She turned to me. "And you put a shirt on. No one wants to see that."

"I do." Jamie commented bravely knowing the wrath of her friend was sure to follow.

"I don't." Laura carefully walked around me to get to the kitchen where my sister and Demi were.

"Liar." Jamie took the words right out of my mouth.

My eyes wondered after Laura's departure. She was wearing some tight black jeans that accentuated her plump ass. Her hips were swaying longer, more pivotal like she knew I was watching and that it would provoke me.

"I'd rather see my boyfriend shirtless." She finally replied reaching the entrance of the kitchen.

"He's nice to look at too." Jamie got lost in thought while she ventured on into the other room too.

Damn. My shower lasted longer than usual. I guess I lost track of time since the warm water felt like heaven against my skin. I was hoping the heat would distract me or even numb the sensations of my mind.

What did her boyfriend look like anyway?

I was zipping up my jeans when there was a knock on the door. I figured it had to be my granddad coming to ask for some help.

"Come in."

I was searching for a shirt when her voice disrupted my concentration.

"We need to talk."

She stood by the door, not daring to enter into my lair. Perhaps she could read through me. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and her arms were crossed. She was still wearing her leather punk jacket. Was it meant to intimidate me?

"Aww but things are so much better when we're not." I remember saying those exact words to her before.

Laura rolled her beautiful, rebellious eyes at me.

"I just came by to make things clear."

"Clear? Clear about what?" I played dumb.

"I don't care what happened while you were gone. I don't want to hear excuses or even talk about what we've done in the past. It's over. It's so over. I have a boyfriend now."

"Is this your way of playing hard to get?"

I slowly started to cross the room. I wanted to be closer to her. The space was unnerving.

"I'm serious Chris. You obviously didn't want-"

"How do you know what I want?" My heart was pounding like no other.

I wanted to feel and touch her heart to know if it matched mine.

"I can't play this game anymore." Her hand reached for the doorknob but I got to her before she could pull it open.

I whispered her name so that she would look up at me. I was desperate to have her look at me. My eyes were the windows to my truth.

"Laura!" My sister yelled for her.

"Coming," Laura was pleased with her plan of escape but I didn't want to let her go. "Chris I need to go."

"No you don't."

She pushed me off her. "We're done here."

That was it though. I wasn't done. Not by a long shot.

-Laura's POV-

Wedding dress shopping with the girls was more exhausting than I could have imagined. In the end it was worth it. Edith was having such a good time searching through the different styles of wedding dresses that I didn't even care. But I was paying for it now while I was at work. I didn't have time to take a nap before my night shift and night shift sucked when you're exhausted. I mean I didn't mind it because there weren't that many people coming in. I had never been much of a people's person.

Coffee was currently my way of salvation. I needed a double shot since my eyes were hardly open. I was sure I looked like death.

I poured myself a freshly brewed batch before heading to my desk; where Leslie was typing away at her computer.

Leslie, Demi's older sister, who also worked with me at the hospital got stuck doing night shift the same night I was. I loved having her around especially since it didn't happen often.

I handed her the coffee I wiped up. "You still awake?"

Leslie smiled back up at me, but I could tell it was forced. She wasn't much of a night owl either.

"I'm half asleep. Can't you tell?"

"Actually," I wiggled my nose. "I can. Your eye is starting to twitch."

Leslie's hand quickly flew up to her face. "Really? No way."

I started to laugh and she hit me. For a skinny little thing, she hit me pretty hard.

"This is not the time for jokes. I can barely function at this hour." She dropped her head in her hands. "I hate this shift."

And I thought I had it bad. Leslie was having a rougher night than I was.

It made me feel sorry for her.

"Oh don't lie. You know you like this shift and this level of the hospital."

Her head bolted up to give me a dirty look. "Oh yeah I love it." She spoke sarcastically. "Especially when old perverted farts try to grab my butt."

Some of the older patients were known to get a little overboard because of their loneliness.

"What do I look like, a cheap prostitute?"

"No," I tried cheering her up. "You're a well-educated, classy prostitute."

Leslie hardly cracked a smile. If I didn't know any better I'd suspect her of being a zombie. She finally took hold of the cup of coffee I offered her only to spill it on herself. I bit back a laugh knowing any sound from me would most likely lead to my death.

"Aww crap on a stick." She fumed in frustration.

I raised my brow. "That is the worst saying I've ever heard."

"Yeah I know but I'm trying to stop cussing."

That was probably a good idea since we worked in a hospital. Any profanity heard by a patient might not end so well for us.

"I'll be back. I need to check on a few things." I headed towards the elevator.

I checked my phone for the time. It was exactly two in the morning. I swear the time was dragging on purpose. It was trying to taunt me. I had approximately three more hours before my shift ended. Three honestly felt like 6 in this line of work.

Awe the fifth floor. There was never too much action on this floor during the night. Except wait, was that Edith?

There was a girl that looked exactly like Edith sitting in one of the waiting rooms. The closer I got, I realized it was Edith.

What was she doing here? I called out her name and she looked up at me in devastation.

"What happened?"

Her whole family was in the waiting room. I instinctively picked out Chris. He was standing in the back corner by himself.

"Something happened to my grandfather..." Edith was shaking while she was telling me this. "They won't tell us anything. They said they're doing some tests."

"Shhh," I rubbed her arms in comfort. "I'll see what I can find out." She nodded as fresh tears rolled down her face. "I'll be right back."

I catch myself wanting to steal a glance at Chris. I fought the urge because there was nothing I could offer him yet. I couldn't sooth his worry because I didn't know anything about his grandfather.

I reached the front desk and asked for Edith's grandfather's files. "We took his tests a few minutes ago. They should be back soon."

I nodded to the nurse giving me the information. She was a kind, trustworthy nurse so I held no concern for his care.

"What about Dr. Stevens?" According to the files he had a problem with his heart.

"Dr. Stevens has just got out of a late surgery. He has been informed."

"Okay."

There was nothing left to do but