Page 35 of Be With Me
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Tired to the bone, Debbie put her feet on the coffee table in the staff lounge. She should head home and get some sleep but… home was so empty. Lonely. Maybe she’d stop and get something to eat on the way but… eating alone was depressing in a restaurant, at least for her.
“You okay after everything tonight?” Mark threw himself into the chair opposite the couch and knocked her feet with his as he got comfortable.
“Yeah, I’ll be okay. Just, I’m fighting some…” she trailed off, not sure how she wanted to finish the sentence.
“Lonliness?” Mark offered.
Debbie shrugged. She knew going into being with Luny that there would be a lot of separations. But had she completely understood? That was the million-dollar question.
The door behind Debbie opened, interrupting their conversation. Thank God. There was no way she was going to let this continue with someone else present.
“Haynes. Debbie.” Dr. Collins dropped onto the couch a bit close for Debbie’s liking but there wasn’t anywhere for her to go.
“Dr. Collins,” they chimed at the same time. Debbie tried to put some space between them. She might be lonely, but she had standards not to mention why would she want a skivvy doctor when she had Luny? Granted the doctor was in front of her and Luny wasn’t but… no.
“Up for getting coffee?” Dr. Collins slyly glanced at Debbie; she almost felt his gaze travel over her skin.
Debbie snapped her head around to Mark, pleading with him silently. Mark nodded slightly. She thanked all that was holy. He seemed to understand her request.
“Debbie’s going to help me find a birthday present for my mother as soon as we sign out. I promised breakfast if she found the perfect gift. Mom’s turning sixty next week and I have absolutely no idea what to get her. Threw myself on Debbie’s mercy.”
Dr. Collins slid a finger down Debbie’s arm. “I’d like to throw myself on her mercy. Let her tie me up and have her way with me.”
Shivering, Debbie stood up. “Doctor, I’m married.”
“So? I don’t see him anywhere around.” He turned his head side-to-side. “Nope, don’t see anyone here. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. A doctor just propositioned her, in front of a colleague. Did he miss the sexual harassment portion of orientation? Debbie looked at Mark and going by the expression on his face, he was as shocked as she was.
“Dr. Collins, let me put this as clearly as I can. Whether my husband is here or deployed, there is no way in hell that I would do anything with you.”
“You don’t have to be nasty,” he shot back. “Just offering a helping hand to a lonely wife.”
Debbie blew out a breath, trying to control herself.
“Last chance, Dr. Collins. If you speak to me ever again, outside the performance of patient care, I will file charges against you.” She was having a hard time not shaking. Yes, she was lonely but never had the thought of cheating on Luny.
“Like they’d believe you. You’re only a nurse,” Collins scoffed.
“Oh they’ll believe her especially when she presents them with the audio recording, I just made.” Mark held up his phone.
Collins whipped his head around and growled at Mark. “How fucking dare you. You’re a doctor with training wheels. Stay out of my business before I find something to report on you.”
“Try it.” Mark stood and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
Collins stood and sneered at both of them. “Never fucking mind. Try and do something nice and have to deal with this shit?”
Debbie moved closer to Mark and watched Collins storm out of the lounge. “What the hell just happened?”
“We witnessed the beginning of the fall of Dr. Collins. I’m totally emailing this sound file to both our addresses, maybe to Tracy too. She said that she thought something was off with him.”
“Thank you for having my back.” Debbie ran her hands up and down her arms, whether she was trying to warm herself or shake off Dr. Collin’s vibes, she wasn’t sure.
“Now, onto important things, where are we going shopping?”
She frowned at Mark. “What are you talking about?”
“I really need something for my mom. I was going to just get her a gift certificate but now that you promised to help me out.” Mark grinned, showing all his teeth, making Debbie laugh.
“Okay, you nut. Let’s go find the perfect gift for your mom.” Debbie shook her head but inside was glad she wasn’t going to be alone for the next few hours. Luny’s R&R needed to come faster.
