Page 2 of Worth the Wait

He makes me feel.

Suddenly, I’m Bellamy again. Not only Nurse Sutherland.

It’s exhilarating and overwhelming at the same time.

Thankfully, I don’t seem to be the only one sensing it.

I’ve felt his eyes on me a few times. The pull is mutual and, while I’m a bit scared to explore it, I’m even more so not to.

His companions stand and disappoint hits. Not wanting to watch him leave, I focus on my menu. I really need to figure out what I’m going to eat anyway.

Despite my appetite fading.

“May I join you?” Looking up, seeing it’s him, a separate kind of hunger sweeps through me.

“I’d like that.” I’m not going to play games, pretending I wasn’t watching him and vice versa. My time is valuable, as I’m sure his is, and I’d rather not waste it.

“I’m Peter,” he introduces himself, extending his hand toward me.

“Bellamy,” I reciprocate, taking it. I feel a jolt when our palms touch and wonder if he does, too. The shocked expression on his face as he stares at them lets me know he did. “I thought you left.”

“I told them to go without me. I needed to stay here.”

“To meet me?”

“Yes. I knew if I didn’t, I’d…”

“Regret it.” He seems relieved that I know and feel the same.

“I don’t normally do this.” Peter chuckles. “I don’t at all actually.”

“Eat dinner?” I tease, loving the crooked smile I get in return.

“Approach a woman.”

“Let me guess. It’s usually the other way.”

Peter blushes. “I won’t lie and claim it doesn’t happen.” Not hard to see why. “However, I have never acted on any of them.” He shrugs. “It’s not my way.”

“Good.” Another plus in his factor. Not that he needs more positive attributes. Peter is handsome, tall, and clearly in good shape. He also has kind eyes, which is the most important, in my opinion. Doing what I do, I tend to see people at one of, if not the, lowest points. Meaning, I’ve seen what a human can do to another. Looks can be deceiving, height can be an advantage, and muscles can be a weapon.

The eyes, though? They can’t hide who you are at your core.

At Peter’s, I see a nice man.

A man I’d really like to get to know.

Even if all we do is talk.

Which is exactly what we do for the next hour. He ate with his friends, yet still finds room to polish off another meal. Whether it’s because he didn’t want me to eat alone or he needs the fuel, I appreciate it regardless.

I’m guessing him to be around my age of twenty-eight, albeit a few years older.

“What do you do for a living?” Peter asks after we’ve finished our food. In between bites, we stuck to easy topics, silently agreeing to keep the heavier stuff until after.

After has come. “I’m a traveling nurse.”

“Do you enjoy it?” I like that his first question is more about me than my job. It means he values how I think and feel.

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