The Roommate (Roommates, #1)

“Have you decided yet?” Dr. Stinson asked, standing beside me.

I looked down at the options again and frowned. Turkey meat loaf or lasagna. If I was going to rock Paige’s world tonight, I wanted to eat light. I didn’t want a stomach full of heavy food to impact my performance.

“I might just hit the salad bar,” I said, turning to see if the offerings looked wilted.

Dr. Stinson chuckled. “I wasn’t asking if you’d decided on dinner. I meant your specialty. You have a clear talent for setting the opposite sex at ease. You’d make a great women’s care practitioner.”

Grabbing a tray from the stack, I followed him to the salad bar. “I’ve been thinking more about, uh . . .”

The first thing that jumped into my mind was cardiology. That was what I’d said when Paige had asked. But that was Dr. Stinson’s specialty, and I knew if I said that, he’d start talking my ear off. And I really wanted a break from intense career discussions right now.

“Plastic surgery,” I finally blurted.

“Hmm. A tit man, eh?” He chuckled as he heaped his plate with spinach.

I wasn’t sure how to take his reaction, but it didn’t really matter. It was my decision to make.

Actually, maybe plastic surgery wasn’t such a bad idea. With the aging baby-boomer population and Hollywood’s obsession with appearance, plastic surgery was a growing field. The money would be damn good. I could build up a nest egg for Mom, then change focus to something like pediatric craniofacial surgery. That would give me a chance to travel abroad-get involved in one of those international charity missions that helped kids born with cleft palates and other facial deformities, providing minor reconstructive surgeries they wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

Then again, the prospect of grinding through years of breast augmentations and mommy makeovers sounded like watching paint dry. If it wasn’t something I was passionate about, something that interested me, I knew I’d burn out and my work would suffer. And just about any kind of medicine could be put to good use helping the needy. I could pick something else.

When Dr. Stinson cleared his throat, I realized I’d been blocking the tomatoes for almost thirty seconds. Dammit . . . this was exactly my problem. There were too many options, and I had too many factors to consider. I wanted a specialty that wouldn’t bore the shit out of me, made enough money to support Mom as well as myself, gave me an excuse to travel, and let me help the needy. Was there a way to have it all? Or would I have to sacrifice some of my priorities?

I piled spring mix onto my plate as my mind wandered to the stack of paperwork I needed to complete before I could leave tonight. I hadn’t allowed myself to think about tonight because I couldn’t exactly walk around the hospital with a raging hard-on all day. I focused on the work in front of me, never once allowing my mind to wander to the pleasure awaiting me at home. Aside from that one phone call to check on Paige and let her know about the delivery, I’d pushed it all from my mind out of necessity.

But now, with only a couple of hours to go, I was practically itching to get my hands on her. If she’d changed her mind, I might fucking burst. Death by blue balls. If it wasn’t already a medical condition, it was about to become one.

• • •

After leaving the hospital, I decided to make a quick stop at the store. Though I wanted to get home as quickly as possible, there were a few necessities I needed. I picked up a box of condoms and a set of sheets for my new bed.

The cashier at Target probably thought I was insane. At the very least, she thought I was getting laid tonight, and she was right. Part of me wanted to really throw her over the edge by adding a can of whipped cream and a package of zip ties to my basket, but I didn’t want to give the old lady a heart attack. I was off duty and didn’t need another medical emergency on my hands.

It was dark outside by the time I pulled up in front of Paige’s place. A small lamp glowed through the living room window.

I wondered if she’d spent the day as anxious as I’d been. As much as I tried to tell myself it was no big deal, tonight was different from a random hookup. This was Paige, a woman I’d grown up with and secretly lusted after for more than a decade. I hoped that whatever happened wouldn’t jeopardize our friendship or her relationship with my sister. But as long as we remembered the “one time only” rule, no one would get hurt, and Allie definitely didn’t need to know about this.

Even though I was cursed when it came to sex, and I’d been through hell with countless other women, I wasn’t worried about that with Paige. She was mature and responsible, and I believed her when she said there was no way in hell she’d fall in love with me.

Letting myself inside, I found Paige in the dining room. She closed her laptop when she spotted me.

“Hi,” she offered, her voice quiet.

I couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking. Was she looking forward to this? Was she just nervous? Or was she about to call off the whole thing? Act cool, for fuck’s sake . . .

“Everything okay?” I asked, slipping off my shoes.

Her gaze drifted up and down the front of me, and I realized this was the first time she was seeing me in my scrubs. The soft-washed navy pants were tied low on my waist, and her eyes took their fill.

“Fine,” she said, still subdued. She drew her knees up to her chest, looking me over again, but I couldn’t read the expression in her eyes.

“I’m going to go take a shower. We’ll talk when I get out.” And by talk, I meant fuck. A man could hope, at least.

After setting my shopping bags down on the counter, I headed for the bathroom. I needed to get the sterile smell of the hospital off my body before I could function.

Standing under the spray of water, I let the steam and heat surround me, working the tension from my muscles. I should have been tired after pulling a ten-hour shift at the hospital, most of it spent on my feet. Instead, I was keyed up, like a caged animal ready to pounce. I’d wanted Paige for way too long, and the thought of finally having her made me almost dizzy with anticipation. Though, medically speaking, the dizziness could have been from the lack of blood flow to my brain, since it was currently all pumping into my groin, engorging my cock.

After toweling off, I made up the bed with the new sheets. I supposed it could look better with a fluffy comforter and matching pillows and all those things I was terrible at shopping for, but at least it would be comfortable. I wouldn’t be crammed onto that narrow futon with my feet hanging off the end any longer. I didn’t even want to think about how awful trying to fuck someone for the first time on the damn thing would have been. And not just anyone either, but Paige. I wanted to make tonight the best she’d ever had.

Dressed only in a pair of jeans, I left my room to claim her.