Page 24

PATIENCE

“ A re you still alive or should I call the whambulance?” Livie said.

“What? Oh my God, what time is it? Did I miss class?” Patience’s eyes popped open at the sound of her roommate's voice.

“Easy, girl. It’s Monday. We don’t have to be anywhere. But I got home hours ago and you’re still sleeping.”

“Thank goodness.” Patience yawned and then sat up, letting the comforter drop into her lap.

“Holy shit balls, girl. Rough night?” Livie giggled.

Patience felt like her brain was still sleeping, but when Livie laughed, she looked down. Only her purple underwear? Where had her clothes gone? Wait. Last thing she remembered was she’d been waiting for Quinn on the couch. Had he undressed her?

“Umm, no. I don’t think so at least. Not sure I remember.”

It had to be Quinn. As she shook her head to clear it, she felt the pull of the elastic still around part of her hair. Pulling it out, she ruffled her hair with her hands. Half of it had come out, anyway.

“Were you drinking after work?”

“No. Just exhausted. Quinn brought me home and insisted on checking the house for intruders.” She rolled her eyes just thinking about it.

All she’d wanted to do was sit down for a minute, then eat something and go to bed.

Looks like she missed most of that plan.

“I think I fell asleep while he was doing it. Was the deadbolt on when you got home?”

“No, and your keys were on the island. Theo was worried something had happened to you. I ran upstairs, but you were out cold. Didn’t even hear us calling your name. I got worried since the day’s half over and you still weren’t awake.”

“Wow. I can’t believe I slept for so long. We got back here at about eight-thirty.”

“How do you feel now? Are you hungry? I saw lasagna, salad, and cheesecake in the fridge. I guess Tony sent you home with a goody bag?”

“Yeah.” Patience grinned. “My mouth was watering for it all shift, but we were so busy.”

“I wondered. I’m sorry I didn’t make it back yesterday.”

“No worries. Pam wasn’t upset. She didn’t expect it to get crowded either. But Sky went home early since Murphy was deploying today.”

“Gotcha. Good thing they’re closed on Mondays.”

“Right? Let me get washed up and I’ll meet you downstairs for lunch. Unless you ate already?”

“Nope, waited for you. I need to hear all the tea, too. Including the extra on how you ended up in bed in just your underwear. Nice set, by the way,” Livie teased. “Don’t take too long or I’ll eat yours, too. I’m starving.”

“You’d better not. I might have to kill you.”

Livie’s chuckles followed her out of the bedroom. Patience dropped her head in her hands. She’d slept too long. It was like having a hangover, but with no fun first. Ugh. And what was she going to do about Quinn? She couldn’t believe he put her to bed. Maybe Pam was right about him falling for her.

Then she noticed her phone flashing with a message. Wow, he’d even put her phone on charge. He was a conundrum. If she looked up mixed signals in the dictionary, there would probably be a photo of him. But this was a conversation for later-Patience.

Grabbing the phone, she opened the messages.

There were three, one from a number she didn’t recognize, probably the mechanic.

Another from Livie, and one from Quinn. She was going to read them when her stomach cramped and made a horrible noise.

Maybe she should eat then shower. It sounded like a plan until she got a whiff of herself.

Nope. Shower, then eat and answer the messages.

Her hunger made for the quickest shower on record—even faster than the cold water outdoor showers in the middle of nowhere. Not bothering to dry her hair, she toweled off, got dressed, and ran downstairs after grabbing her phone from the nightstand.

By the time Patience made it into the kitchen, Livie had the kitchen island set for lunch, the salad out, and iced tea poured.

“Oh, thank goodness. You had about five more minutes before I started eating.”

“Sorry. I don’t think I’ve ever showered that fast. Do you want me to heat the lasagna? I feel bad that you did everything else.”

“It’s already in the microwave. I prepped one of them. It’s like four pieces in each container. I figured we could share. Just push the button, it should start.”

Patience pushed the button and made her way to the island. “I’m starving, too. It’s been over twenty-four hours since I’ve eaten anything other than a piece of fruit I stole from the Ready Room kitchen.”

“Girl, are you trying to get sick? You’re going to be a doctor. Are mostly already one. You know better than that.”

“Yup, I do. It’s not like I planned to fall asleep before eating. I guess I needed that more.” Patience ate a forkful of salad and let the flavor of the balsamic vinegar dressing tingle on her tongue. “So, good.”

Livie nodded. “Mmm, hmmm.”

The two of them must have looked like they hadn’t eaten in weeks. They’d both finished their salad by the time the microwave beeped for the lasagna.

“I’ll get it.” Livie hopped off the stool and grabbed the plate and carried it to the island.

Patience cleared away the salad dishes and put out new plates. “Damn, my mouth is watering already.”

“Right? I keep begging Tony for his recipe, but he says he won’t share it until he’s dead.”

They both laughed. That sure sounded like Tony. When he came to work at the Ready Room, it had made a huge difference for the bar and for Pam.

Livie put a slice on each of their plates, and they dug in.

Patience didn’t know if it was just that good, or she was so hungry it tasted like the best thing ever.

Not that it mattered. Eating helped clear the last of the cobwebs in her brain.

Good thing too, since she was about to meet Grand Inquisitor Olivia, who would demand she spill all the tea.

“That was delicious, but I’m going to explode if I eat another bite,” Livie said as she leaned away from the island. “I think the cheesecake will have to wait for later.”

“I agree. No way could I eat another thing.”

“You know what that means, right?” Livie winked, then picked up her empty plate and brought it to the sink.

“Yeah, time for tea, and you don’t mean what’s in these glasses.”

Chuckling, Livie nodded at her. “That’s right. I’ll finish in here. You can bring our drinks and pick your spot on the couch.”

Patience groaned. Livie already knew most of it.

The rest was too personal to share. Most of it, anyway.

But she’d missed just hanging out with her roommate.

They’d both been so busy with school and work.

She thought they’d have more time together over break, but then Livie and Theo got together at Thanksgiving.

Livie had come back from that weekend a changed woman.

For the better. Carefree. Confident. She’d make an excellent doctor.

Who knew it would just take ditching her shitty family and connecting with Theo?

Well, Patience had kind of known, but Livie wouldn’t have had the guts to stand up to her family if Theo hadn’t had her back.

Patience took the end of the couch furthest from the kitchen and put their drinks on the coffee table.

Remembering how Quinn had made love to her, nope, not love, fucking, on the couch made her cheeks heat.

Dammit . Would she ever be able to sit there without thinking about how he gave her the best orgasms of her life? Definitely not.

“Okay, time to pay the piper, spill the beans, tea, whatever. You can’t avoid it any longer.”

Patience laughed. No, Livie wouldn’t have any of that. “Fine. But you know most of it.”

“Most being the operative word, Patty. C’mon, don’t make me hold you down and drag it out of you.” Livie wouldn’t, but it was fun hearing her threaten it.

“What do you want to start with? Me delivering Felicity’s baby or Quinn taking my virginity.”

Livie tapped a finger against her chin. “Hmmm. Tough choice. Silly. Virginity first, baby second. You can’t get the second without the first. Weren’t you paying attention in class at all?”

“Holy crap. You’re laying it on thick today. These two really have nothing to do with the other. But maybe I should ask what got into you this weekend.” Patience made an exaggerated wink.

“Nope, there will be time for that later. Enough stalling.”

“I’m not going into detail. It doesn’t matter how much you whine.” When Livie rolled her eyes, Patience grinned. “It was fucking fantastic, though.”

“I knew it. I bet he’s hung like a horse, right?”

“Oh my God. Listen to you. You wouldn’t have said that a few weeks ago.”

“Probably not. It’s still true, right?”

Heat flooded Patience’s cheeks. “Yeah, it is. Although probably not really a horse. It’s the biggest one I’d ever seen. It wasn’t all sunshine, though. I didn’t tell him I was a virgin before we did it. Let’s just say he was pretty pissed off.”

“Really? I don’t know why that surprises me. Don’t these cavemen types usually prefer to be the only one who’s ever in their woman’s pussy? At least, all the books say that.”

“You’d think. Although, I never said he’d be the only one ever…”

“C’mon. You’re in love with him. You have been since the moment you laid eyes on him. Why are you fighting this so hard? I’d expect it from Mr. Neanderthal, but not you.”

“I can’t be in love with him. My life is too busy for that.”

“Love doesn’t care about that. Think I planned on falling for Theo? Nope. But it still happened.”

“Whoa. Did you tell him?”

“No, not yet.” Livie twirled her hair around her finger. “But I almost did. I chickened out at the last minute. What if he doesn’t say it back?”

“Will you stop loving him if he doesn’t love you?” Patience sat forward so she could reach for Livie’s hand.

“No, of course not.”

“Then why would it matter? Besides, you can’t tell me Theo isn’t head over heels for you. Considering you both said you didn’t have time for a relationship, you sure spend a lot of time together.”

“We do, don’t we? So that means you can find the time too. If you want to.”

Patience nodded. To say she was a little jealous would be an understatement. But she was also thrilled. Livie deserved every iota of happiness she could find. When her phone buzzed in her pocket, she pulled it out and saw it was a text from Quinn.

“It’s Quinn.”

“Well, don’t let me stop you from reading it.”

Mr. Sunshine: I hope you’re doing okay. I figured you’d text about waking up in your underwear.

Of course. He probably thought she’d be angry. Surprised, yes. Angry, no. It showed he cared at least a little about her. Besides, he’d already seen her naked. She didn’t care about him seeing her underwear.

Patience: I’m sorry. I just got up about an hour ago. Thank you for that. I must have been exhausted.

Mr. Sunshine: You were out like a light. I couldn’t believe you didn’t wake up when I undressed you.

Patience: Figures. I missed all the fun.

Three dots appeared and then stopped, then appeared again. He probably was trying to decide how to answer her. Good.

Mr. Sunshine: I’ve never seen someone sleep like the dead. Henry, the mechanic, called me. He said he texted you but hasn’t heard from you. You should call him.

Patience: Oops. I’ll do that when we stop talking. Will I see you later?

Mr. Sunshine: No. I told you we’re not in a relationship. You should have your car back today or tomorrow. Plus, we’re deploying tonight. I’m not sure how long we’ll be gone.

Patience: Oh. Okay. Thank you for everything. All your help. I really appreciate it. Please take care of yourself. I’ll see you when you get back.

Mr. Sunshine: No need to thank me. Don’t be sad. I warned you about me.

Patience: I’m fine. Tell the team I’ll keep them in my prayers.

“What did he say? Your face went from excited to devastated,” Livie asked as she put her hand on Patience’s knee.

“He’s deploying tonight. Not sure when he’ll be back. They just got back last week. Don’t they have more downtime in between missions, usually?”

“I don’t think there’s a time frame. But you’ll see him when he gets back, right?”

“At the Ready Room, maybe. It’ll be fine. Looks like my car is ready. Let me call the mechanic and I’ll see if he can pick me up.”

“If not, I’ll see if Theo can take us.”

“Great and thank you.”

Patience checked for the text and then turned toward the window to call.

Tears she didn’t want to shed welled in her eyes.

Oh, she’d heard every word Quinn had said.

Heard them and understood, but deep in her heart, she’d hoped he’d reconsider.

Change his mind. Become the man she knew he really was.

Because Livie was right. She had fallen for him, hard, and knowing he didn’t feel the same shredded her.

He could be gone for a week or months. That would give her time to come up with a plan to work when he returned. Only time would tell if she’d succeed. If not, she’d still be a doctor and live a fulfilled life, even if it was without love.