Page 3 of Devoted

Chapter 1

Jess

Present Day

“Oh, my feet,” I groan, flexing the arches once I take a seat at the nurse’s station for the first time in almost eight hours. I can’t remember the last time I ate something or took a drink, a detail I quickly remedy by reaching for my water bottle, sucking it dry.

“Hey, nice catch on the meningitis case,” Dr. Hill acknowledges as he rushes by, turning around in his movements before adding, “I always know I can count on you to pay attention to every detail.”

“That’s what they pay me the big bucks for.” I flash him a wink as he sprints off in the direction he was headed.

“My God! It’s been a while since we’ve had a shift like that, hasn’t it?” My best friend Piper plops down in the chair next to me, letting out a sigh of relief as she extracts a granola bar from the drawer in the counter. Much like a well-seasoned mom or teacher, nurses always have snacks stashed everywhere because you never know when you’ll get the chance to scarf down a bite of food.

“I can’t remember the last time I had to work almost eighteen hours. It’s nights like these that remind me why I’m still single. How the hell am I supposed to meet someone when I never leave this place?”

“Well, with that cold going around, a lot of the staff has been out. And of course, that makes for more patients in the ER. Then add on the accident that was brought in a few hours ago, and well…. It’s been a circus of a night.” Piper stretches her neck from side to side before she glances down at her watch to check the time. “If you want to get out of here, I’d do it now. Process that last discharge and run for the hills,” she jokes before reaching for a chart left on the counter.

“I will. I just need to sit for a minute.”

Piper reaches over and grabs my hand. “You know you’re gonna meet someone, right Jess? You’re a catch. You’re smart as a whip, beautiful, and have a wicked sense of humor. You just haven’t found the right guy yet.” She flashes me a sympathetic smile on a tilt of her head, and then turns back to the computer, filling in the information from the chart.

I huff sarcastically. “At this point, it would have to be someone in this hospital. But that opens up a can of worms since you know how I feel about dating people I see at work.” I think back to a guy I dated in nursing school, one of my classmates that I desperately found attractive and vice versa. Trent was intelligent and hot, and the two of us together was explosive. But then it all went to shit when I caught him using me to make his ex-girlfriend jealous. He took me to a bar where he knew she would be and paraded me around. I didn’t realize what he was doing until I noticed his eyes were veering everywhere around the room except at me. And then he slathered my mouth with his the second the long-legged blonde focused in on us, a complete contrast to my five-foot-one stature and jet black hair.

I should have known better, but I was so drunk on him and the sex that I convinced myself there was more there. Then he ended up reconciling with his ex and put a ring on her finger within months. Since then, any man I’ve developed feelings for seems to find the next best thing after me and marry her. I’m not kidding. It’s like my vagina is the magical gateway to being engaged—just not for me. There have been four men now that I’ve dated who end up meeting the love of their life after they’ve taken a trip through my vagina.

I call it my ‘vaginal curse’ to my friends, but just ‘the curse’ to others.

And now that it’s been a little over two years since I graduated from nursing school in Portland and moved down here to Emerson Falls, I haven’t had much of a dating life in between those failed relationships. My friends would argue that I keep things casual to avoid the curse from making another matrimonial match. But honestly, I haven’t had a ton of time to dedicate to the cause anyway.

However, now I’m the third wheel in almost all of my friendships since my girlfriends are either married or are all finding the men they’re going to marry and I’m still single at twenty-nine, scared to let a guy in because I might just be training him for his future wife.

“I hope so. I feel so out of the loop, out of the dating game in general,” I reply as Piper hands me a granola bar of my own. I tear at the wrapper and then start to inhale the thing.

“Well, you have to put yourself out there if you’re going to even have the chance to meet someone.”

“Easy for you to say, Piper. Cash practically stalked you until you gave in to him. Your man came to you. It’s much easier that way.” Piper moved to Emerson Falls last year and started working in the ER with me shortly after. She crossed paths with playboy deputy Cash Williams and they fell in love after he pursued her relentlessly. Unfortunately, Piper really was here hiding under a false name, and when she was discovered, it threatened her life. She ended up returning home to New York to heal, but then moved back to be with Cash. They got engaged and are getting married in a few months.

“Yes, but it’s not like we didn’t go through obstacles to get there,” she challenges.

“I know. I’m not saying it was easy for you guys, or that love in general is easy. But with my track record, I’m nervous to find someone I really like because in the back of my head, I’m wondering if I’ll actually get to keep him.”

Piper reaches for my hand. “We’re gonna find you the right guy. All of those guys who you claim are victims of the curse were just not the right men for you. That’s why things didn’t work out—it wasn’t because of your vagina,” she says, rolling her eyes at my farfetched beliefs.

“At this point, I’m not so sure. Maybe I should just become a lesbian.” I stare off into space, contemplating whether or not I could live the rest of my life without dick. I mean, I know there are toys for substitutes, but I don’t think anything could replace the actual thing.

“Well, any woman would be lucky to have you,” Piper assures me just as one of the EMT’s comes up to us at our desk.

“Hey, ladies. Did I just overhear Jess contemplating becoming a lesbian?” Ethan stands before us, his stocky frame resting against the counter. If the guy was a few inches taller and didn’t talk to me like I was his sister, I might actually be interested. Sadly, Ethan and I learned very quickly there weren’t romantic feelings there when I threatened his life.

“Yup. But it took me all of one minute to realize I like penis too much.”

Ethan’s eyes pop open wider. “Wow. Okay then, glad to know something about you that I didn’t before.” He shakes his head, probably trying to remove an image his brain conjured up from my declaration. “What’s with the life-style change threat? Something happen?”

“I’m just realizing that I may be single forever since I spend so much damn time in this hospital or go after the wrong guy. You don’t happen to know anyone who’s available and doesn’t mind dating a woman who’s unavailable during half of the week, do you?” I pop forward in my chair, the desperation so evident in my voice even Piper’s alarmed at my outburst.

“Uh, no. Sorry. Most of the guys I work with are married or have serious girlfriends. There might be some guys at the fire station though,” he adds enthusiastically.

“Why don’t you two just date?” Piper waves her finger back and forth between us as Ethan and I stare each other down before bursting out in laughter.

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