Page 32 of Love Medley (Med Wreck Romance #1)

Chapter twenty-four

Jake

O n Tuesday morning, there’s a text from Lucy waiting for me, and my eyes light up. It’s the only thing that’s been preventing me from crawling out of my skin for the past day. Who knew time could creep by so slowly? I’m stoked for our date tonight.

Our first real date.

Lucy: My turn. And by the way, I didn’t look this up online, I thought of it myself. *tongue emoji* Books or movies?

Me: Damn, you’re never gonna let me live this down, are you?

Lucy: Nope.

Me: Do I have to decide? I like both, just at different times.

Lucy: Trick question. Me too. I wouldn’t be able to decide.

To fill up the time until our date, I occupy myself with paying bills, putting away my laundry, running errands, and cleaning up around my place.

It’s times like these that I’m glad the ER schedule allows for so many week days off—life stuff has to get done sometime.

Plus the humdrum monotony of such tasks allows my mind to drift back to Lucy.

Thirty minutes before I’m supposed to pick her up, I swing by a florist close to my place and grab a small bouquet of daisies.

Lucy mentioned she loved these in our texts, but even so, my palms grow sweaty.

What if she doesn’t like them after all?

I often misjudged Sam’s signals, and I don’t want to do that with Lucy.

Before I know it, I’m parking outside her apartment complex and stepping out of my car.

My mouth is dry and my hands clammy; I quickly wipe them on my pants.

For our date, I went with khaki slacks, loafers, and a button-down gray shirt.

I’ve been told the color brings out my eyes, but I don’t care what it does as long as Lucy likes it.

But right now, I’m second-guessing everything.

We’ve interacted so much in the past week that I should feel comfortable, but somehow, this feels like a completely different ballgame.

After I push on the buzzer, Lucy’s musical voice fills my ears. “Yes?”

“Hi, it’s Jake.” My voice sounds hoarse and cracks on my name. How embarrassing.

“Come on up.”

The buzzer goes off, and the building’s front door clicks open. I make my way into the complex and push the button for the elevator.

I remember this from last time: her building is more modern than mine, clean lines and way more concrete than I’m used to seeing.

Her apartment is on the fourth floor, and I suppress the urge to bound up all four flights of stairs to get to her sooner.

Instead, I wait impatiently, leg jiggling, for the elevator to arrive.

Every additional second is torture, and I debate if this is all a big mistake. Maybe I misread everything? Even though I’ve reread each text chain, although I studied each word she said in our phone conversation, I’m still plagued with self-doubt.

Maybe she was just being nice after my blurted confession, and this is the consolation prize .

Whatever it is, I can’t say I would have done anything different, so I may as well lean into it now, no matter how revved up my sympathetic fight-or-flight response is.

After what seems like centuries, I’m finally outside her apartment. As I ring her doorbell, my heart pumps hard in anticipation, even though I didn’t take the stairs.

Lucy opens the door, breathless, eyes shining. Her cheeks are flushed, and she’s wearing a beautiful swirly blue and pink dress that showcases her slender arms and legs. My inner critic is silenced from just being in her presence.

Somehow, Lucy feels like coming home.

God, she’s beautiful. If only I could take her in my arms and press my lips on hers.

Tamping down that desire, somewhat unsuccessfully, I instead give her a brief hug. But even that slight pressure of my body against hers makes my pulse jump.

“You look amazing,” I murmur into her ear, unable to stop the words. She smells of jasmine and honey, and I could breathe her in for the rest of the night, never tiring of it.

“Can you give me a turn?” I’m not sure where I got the confidence to say that out loud, but I don’t regret it. I lift her hand above her head so Lucy can twirl in a full circle, her dress floating gently around her body.

She’s breathtaking.

Lucy smiles shyly. “You look great too,” she says, her dark eyes traveling over me in a way that heats me up on the inside. As her lips part slightly, I can’t help but think of a million things I want to do to that perfect mouth.

“Come on in,” Lucy waves me inside. “Those for me?”

Returning to my senses, I remember that I’m clutching a bouquet in my hands. How do I lose my mind every time I see this woman?

“Yes,” I say, trying not to stumble into her apartment.

Lucy takes the daisies from me and lifts them to her nose. “I love them. Let me grab a vase and put them in some water.”

The last time I was here, I was so overwhelmed by being there alone with Lucy that I barely noticed my surroundings.

On this second perusal, I take a few minutes to examine the details of her apartment more closely.

While the building itself is modern and rather austere compared to my place, Lucy has somehow filled the space with earthy tones: grays, browns, and olive greens everywhere but with pops of pale pink, which add a touch of femininity.

It’s so her , like a warm cozy sweater but in decor form.

I try not to think about her bed, but since it’s a studio apartment, there’s no door blocking my view of her flowery bedspread.

God, if I could be so lucky to try it out with her.

After Lucy places the filled vase on the glass table, she lifts her eyes to me. “Are you ready to go?” she asks, her words interrupting my vision of us on that bed.

“Absolutely,” I say, a bit dazed.

I’ve made a reservation at one of the most popular sushi restaurants in the city.

Koi Palace is known best for its general sushi fare—the nigiri, sashimi and specialty rolls are high- quality and delicious.

The restaurant also serves some tasty pan-Asian fusion dishes.

I figure there's enough variety so Lucy can have her pick. If she wants one of everything, I’m happy to oblige.

The lobby is pretty spectacular, with dangling blown-glass decorations hanging from the ceiling in colorful blue and green swirls.

The moving lights on the ceiling create patterns of dappling water and fish swimming at the bottom of the ocean on the floor below.

Lucy in her beautiful pink and blue dress would fit right in—the most eye-catching specimen in the sea.

“Oh wow,” Lucy breathes, eyes widening. “I’ve always wanted to come here, but I never think to make reservations in time!”

The hostess smiles at us from an ebony stand. “Do you have a reservation?”

“Yes, it’s under Jake Whitlock.”

She takes us to a small table for two. “Enjoy,” she smiles.

Even though the restaurant is beautiful, my eyes are riveted on Lucy.

It feels like a million years since I’ve seen her last. My earlier panic has subsided to a quiet happiness…

of course edged in ridiculous physical attraction.

I just don’t want this evening to ever end.

And now my biggest concern is when I’ll get to see her next.

Because there has to be a next time.

“Have you ever been here before?” Lucy asks as we take our seats.

I shake my head. “Like you, I’ve always wanted to come here, but I haven’t had a good excuse to try it.”

Her eyes gleam in the darkness. “Well, now you do. ”

“Now, I do,” I echo like an idiot. She’s smiling at me, and I’m smiling at her, and fuck, all I want to do is kiss her. Instead, I take a gulp of water to distract myself.

“You told me it was a tie between books and movies. What’s your favorite of each?” Lucy says finally. I wonder if she feels as flustered as I do.

At least this is a straightforward question I can answer without too much additional brain power.

“I haven’t read a book in a while, but I like science fiction and fantasy—some of the old stuff like Dune .

But I really need to branch out. Movies?

I’m a Star Wars guy, but the Fast and Furious series?

Total classics. Everyone should watch them. ”

Lucy playfully rolls her eyes at me in response.

I laugh at her expression, even more tension easing from my shoulders as I relax into the conversation. “Hey, I’m a dude. What do you expect?”

“I guess I’m pretty stereotypical too. I love a good chick flick and probably read more romances than anything else.

But I do like SVU: Special Victims Unit and thriller books that are in the same vein.

I guess that’s pretty ironic, seeing as how my life played out in the past year.

” Lucy’s now looking away, trailing her finger down the condensation on her water glass.

Reaching forward, I gently extract her hand from the glass, and squeeze her fingers, hoping that my touch can bring her some comfort.

Lucy looks at me startled, but to my relief, it quickly eases into a genuine smile. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get so serious. ”

“No, it’s okay.” I hesitate a moment before barreling on to the question I really want to ask. “You don’t have to answer this, but has Weston contacted you at all?”

The unspoken end to my question is “after the kiss.”

The way the blush is spreading to Lucy’s cheeks, I know she’s thinking about it too.

“No, because of you. I hope that’s the end of him bugging me.” Lucy is looking down at her napkin.

I wish I hadn’t brought up Weston—he’s the last person I want Lucy thinking about during our first date. I just wanted her to feel safe. “If you ever need me, all you need to do is call. I’ll be there.” Even the mere thought of Lucy getting hurt makes it hard for me to breathe.

“Thank you, Jake. That means the world to me,” Lucy says softly.