Page 20 of Fever: Love In Scrubs

I could feel Raq’s eyes on me as I prepared for the autopsy we were about to do.

She’d been eyeing me curiously all day long, but I hadn’t said anything about it. Now would probably be a good time to address the issue because I needed her to be focused.

“What is it, Raquel?”

She grinned. “You tell me. What’s got you in such a good mood? You been walking around here practically skipping for weeks.”

I gave her a side eye. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, you don’t?” She crossed her arms and smirked at me. “Would this glow have anything to do with the new beauty on the peds floor?”

It had everything to do with Wynter. When she accepted the job two weeks ago, I was anticipating seeing her around her.

She started three days ago and somehow, my mood had drastically improved in my day to day.

Maybe it was the excitement of walking the halls and seeing her do her thing.

She looked happy to be here and I loved that for her.

I paused in my prep and looked over at her. “Who told you that?”

“My sister is a nurse up there. She’s seen you and that thick ass Patient Relations lady making eyes at each other. Said you walk through there with a red face every time you see her. Look at you. You’re blushing as I’m talking about her.”

I couldn’t help myself.

Thick and the mention of Wynter took me back to me having her ass up on that sink in my bathroom. The way her tight walls gripped me was giving me a flashback.

“Oh my God!” Raq exclaimed. “Can you not think about your freak session in front of me!”

I playfully bumped her. “Get outta here, man.”

She laughed. “For real, though. You look happy, Jaxson.”

“Thanks, Raq.”

“Soooo… tell me about her!”

“You gotta mind your business, love.”

She huffed. “Don’t worry. I’ll just go make friends with her myself.”

I shook my head. “Make yourself useful and come on here, woman. I’m trying to go to lunch on time.”

“Awww! You have a lunch date with your boo?”

“Raquel.”

She laughed as she got her things together. For the next two hours, we worked to complete the autopsy at the top of today’s agenda. When we were done, I got cleaned up and changed to head upstairs to the cafeteria. When I walked in, I saw Wynter sitting at a table in the corner.

She didn’t see me, so I watched her for a moment. She had her phone propped up and was laughing with someone on the other end. I made haste in grabbing my food and making my way over to her. When she saw me, her smile brightened. I placed my tray down and leaned in to kiss her cheek.

“Hey, love.”

“Hey, you.”

“Bitch, let me see!” Came from the phone.

I turned to see an equally beautiful brown-skinned woman on the screen. She was showing all thirty-two of her teeth as she grinned.

Wynter rolled her eyes. “Jaxson, this is my cousin, Tikayla. Tink, this is my… Dr. Jaxson Pierre.”

“Well, hello Dr. Pierre. It’s nice to finally see the face behind the reason for my cousin’s glow.”

I chuckled. “It’s nice to meet you, Tinka. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I swear none of it is true.”

“They were all good things.”

“Oh! Well you know, what can I say!”

This time, I laughed. She was every bit of the character Wynter told me she would be.

“Cousin, I’m gonna let you enjoy your lunch date, but I’ll be there this weekend. I hope to meet you in person, Dr. Pierre.”

“For sure. Have a good one.”

“You too. Love you, Wynter!”

“I love you too.”

She disconnected the call as I took the seat next to her.

“You having a good day, love? You enjoying your first week?”

I knew she’d spent the time before her start date researching and gathering information on resources all around the city. Sometimes, we’d sit on a call, and I’d help her with the knowledge I had. I loved that she wanted to be prepared and would do what I could to lighten her load.

She smiled. “I am. I secured resources for a homeless mother and child today. The little girl came in with appendicitis. They’ve been homeless for six months. Mom recently lost her job, and they are about to get put out of the hotel room they rent.”

“Damn, that’s tough. It seems like sometimes the bad hits people back to back.”

“Her story was sad as hell. It took everything in me not to break down in tears in my office when she left.”

“That’s how I know you’re perfect for this job. You have a big heart, Wynter. Jamari can attest to that.”

She smiled. “How’s my friend?”

“She’s doing okay. I let her stay home from school Monday. She just wasn’t feeling it.”

“You can give her my number. She can always call me if she wants to talk.”

“I’m sure it would lift her spirits. She asked about you. Wanted to know when we could have a do-over day since her bald-headed ass mama ruined it.”

Wynter rolled her eyes. “How is that situation?”

“We have court coming up. I’m not looking forward to it, but it needs to be done.”

“She was about to get her ass handed to her in that parking lot. I don’t like confrontation, but I stopped being a bitch that got bullied a long time ago. This is why I keep to myself. Females are crazy. Calling me a fat bitch. Now I can throw it back that her baby daddy likes my fat ass.”

I almost choked on my rice when she said that. The Wynter I knew was always cool, calm, and collected. Hearing her talk like this was funny as hell.

“Chill, gangsta boo.”

“Am I wrong?”

I smirked as I leaned into her. “Nah. You ain’t wrong. I like that fat ass… these thick thighs, and that good pussy too. I told you, only a dog wants a bone. I think I’ve proven I’m built to handle you. Now, if you need another demonstration, you let me know.”

She bit her lip as she stared at me. “Dr. Pierre, how unprofessional of you.”

I grinned. “You let me get real unprofessional in that bathroom. I just knew you were gonna be a screamer, love.”

She giggled. “You almost got me. I would have scared poor Jamari.”

I licked my lips. “You get that loud? I might have to put that to the test.”

She blushed, playfully slapping my arm. “Stop. You want people whispering about us in here.”

“Fuck them people. All I see is you, baby.”

She bashfully looked down at her plate. I meant that. In a room full of people all around us, all I could hear and see was her.

“Anybody home!” I called, walking into my parents’ house.

“Back here!” my father yelled.

I made my way to where I knew he was at, in the den which doubled as his man cave. Much to my surprise, Johnathan was there.

“What’s up y’all?” I asked.

“Ain’t shit,” Johnathan replied, dapping me.

Pops shook my hand. “Go on and grab you a beer, son. You look like hell.”

I chuckled. “It’s been a long day, Pop. Where are Ma and Jamari?”

“Them, your sister, and niece went out for ice cream after dinner. They should be back soon. Your mom made you a plate. It’s in the microwave.”

“Bet.”

I headed into the kitchen to heat up my food. My lunch was long gone, and my stomach was eating my back. Opening the microwave, I saw my mother left me a plate of rice and gravy, cabbage with sausage, baked macaroni, fried chicken, and cornbread. I quickly closed the door and to heat it up.

Once it was done, I headed back into the den. Grabbing a beer from the mini fridge, I went to take a seat in a recliner. Immediately, I kicked off my shoes and put the leg rest up. Popping the cap on the beer, I took a long swig and closed my eyes.

“Damn, I needed that,” I mumbled.

“You sound like me,” Johnathan said. “I been working my ass off. I need a vacation, man. We should plan a family trip soon. That is, if we can pull the good doctor away from St. Ambrose.”

“Don’t act like I work all the time, man. A vacation would be nice.”

“And you can bring Wynter.” He grinned as he made the suggestion. “Mari was telling us how cute she thinks you two are. Said y’all are lovey dovey and shit.”

“Your niece stays in my business. She likes her too.”

“Oh we know she does,” Pops said, chuckling. “If she’s good with you and Mari, she’ll be good with us. You should invite her over for Sunday dinner this weekend.”

“Her cousin is coming into town this weekend for a visit.”

“Invite the cousin too.”

“Damn, Daddy. Y’all really want to be in my business that bad?”

He laughed. “Son, we’re just happy it’s a new woman and not Amandela. I wasn’t gonna say anything, but she called your mama complaining about how you’re treating her and how you’re trying to turn Mari against her.”

I shook my head. “What did Ma say?”

“She hung up on her ass after cursing her out about what she did to make you act any type of way toward her.”

I smirked. My mama didn’t play about me or Asia. Nobody could come to her about her kids and expect her not to turn up on them. When it came to her grandkids, all bets were off. If Amandela knew like I knew, she would tread lightly.

I sat in the den eating and chopping it up with Pops and Johnathan for about fifteen minutes before we heard the front door open. A few seconds later, the ladies of the family strolled in with the ice cream. Mom gave Pops his and Asia handed Johnathan a bag.

“Hey, Uncle Jax!” Kacie said, running and jumping in my lap.

“Hey, munchkin.” I smothered her face with kisses, causing her to erupt in a fit of giggles. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

“Hey, Daddy,” Mari said, coming over to kiss my cheek.

“Hey, baby girl.”

Asia playfully mushed my head. “Hey, punk.”

“I’ve never been a punk,” I said, giving her a gentle shove. “Put some respect on my name.”

She rolled her eyes as she sat on Johnathan’s lap. He placed a kiss on her neck, causing her to giggle. I loved the way he loved on her and Kacie. My sister found her a good one. The man was more than my brother in-law. He was my brother.

“Soooo…” Asia sang. “When are we officially meeting Wynter? Ya’ know, since she’s met Mari and all. She should meet the rest of the family.”

“Your father has insisted I invite her and her cousin for Sunday dinner. She’s coming to town for a visit.”

My mother’s ears perked up. “That’s a great idea!”

“Here you go, woman.”

“I just want to meet the woman making you smile like this!”

I shook my head. “I’ll ask her.”

“You said her cousin is coming in for a visit?” Asia asked.

“Yeah.”

“Are they going out? Maybe I could ‘bump’ into them.”

Johnathan laughed. “You wanna make a friend that bad, baby?”

“I mean, we were in the same grade in school. We never talked because she was a bit of a loner. I wanna make up for that. Jaxson, you should call her?—”

“Dang, Asia!” I exclaimed.

“Don’t dang Asia me!” She climbed off Johnathan’s lap and headed out of the room. “Come on!” she yelled over her shoulder.

I sighed as I lifted Kacie off my lap and followed her. She was on the patio sitting at the table. With a grin, she patted the seat next to her. I shook my head as I pulled out my phone and sat down. Scrolling to Wynter’s contact, I requested a FaceTime call.

Asia giggled. “You saved her as Snowflake? That’s adorable.

“Shut up.”

The phone rang three times before Wynter answered with a smile on her face.

“Hey, you.”

“Hey, love. What are you doing?”

“Getting this guest room ready for Tinka’s visit. You?”

“I came to pick up Mari from my parents?—”

“Hurry up!” Asia hissed in my ear.

“Stop rushing me, woman.”

Asia mushed my head out of view and stuck her face in the camera.

“Hey, Wynter! I’m Asia, Jaxson’s sister.”

“Oh! It’s nice to meet you.”

“We were actually in the same grade when you lived here.”

“We were?”

“Yes. I think we had a few classes together. We just… we didn’t run in the same circles.”

Wynter smirked. “I don’t exactly have a circle. It’s okay. You can say it.”

“Listen. I feel bad that I never spoke to you.”

“At least you weren’t the bully.”

“My mama would have tagged my ass. I’d love to get to know you now. I mean, you’re dating my brother and the way you have this man smiling, I don’t see him letting you go. I promise, I’m good people. Plus, I’ve always wanted a sister.”

Wynter giggled. “His ex wasn’t like a sister to you?”

Asia kissed her teeth. “Fuck that bitch. She was no sister of mine. I’d never fight my sister but that one? Tag team that ass.”

Wynter stifled a laugh. “After meeting her. I understand.”

“So, Jaxson said your cousin is coming into town. Maybe I could take you both out? Show you a night on the town and get to know you.”

“That’s sweet of you, Asia. I’m open to it. My cousin is a social butterfly and lives for the night life, so I’m sure she’ll have no objections.”

My sister beamed with excitement. “Great! I haven’t had a night out in so damn long.”

“You better go act like you have some sense,” I said. “Don’t go getting too drunk.”

“I hold my liquor very well, thank you. And if I get drunk, my man will come get me just like I’m sure you’d go get Wynter. I’m gonna send you my contact card, sis. Lock me in.”

“I got you.”

Asia kissed my cheek. “I’m about to head out, brother. I love you and I’m gonna take care of your lady this weekend! Bye, girl!”

“Goodnight!”

She skipped her happy ass back in the house, leaving Wynter and I to ourselves.

“So, that’s my sister.”

She giggled. “She seems nice.”

“She a’ight. One she decides you’re a friend, ain’t no turning back. You’re gonna be stuck with her.”

“That might not be so bad. I like her energy. It’s crazy that we were in school together.”

“Small world.” I stared at her for a moment. “I miss you.”

She smiled. “I miss you too.”

“Question.”

“Answer.”

“You interested in having dinner with us on Sunday?”

“With your family? All of you?”

I laughed. “Yes, all of us. Tinka can come too.”

“I’m a little nervous about that. Meeting Jamari was one thing. Meeting your parents… what if they don’t like me?”

“They will love you because you make me happy. I promise, it’ll be a good time. You get to hear all the embarrassing stories from my childhood. If moms is really feeling froggy, she’s gonna pull the photo album out to back it up. Everything will be fine.”

She hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Okay. I’ll come.”

“Great. I hate to let you go but I need to get home and shower. I’m exhausted.”

“As soon as I finish this room, I’m headed to shower myself. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sleep well, love.”

“You too.”

We disconnected the call and I stood to head back inside with a smile on my face. Things were falling right into place.