S I X
M O N T H S
L A T E R

LILLY

It took me six months to get used to it. To get used to having my life back.

The first thing I did when he let me go got a new phone and made sure there were more locks on my door. I was behind on rent and the building owner was on the verge of giving me an eviction notice. Thank god for the savings that I had to get up to date with the bills. I couldn't believe I got my job back either.

They were mostly shocked that why I was twelve days early, but I still got to work again. I was scared at first because of the security guards that saw my face before Romano broke in but they were gone. My card that was used to get into that room was wiped off the system. It didn't take time to put two and two together. I knew he did it all. No one even asked me about the disappearance of Rossi or why I was gone the day when the patient escaped.
Everything was normal.

Sarah was shocked that I was back early but I told her and Josh that I broke up with Daniel due to some personal reasons. Josh was more than happy to hear about it and Sarah was the opposite. She was sad that I broke up with the most gorgeous guy on the planet. She even showed a picture she took that day. One was when I had my hand in his hair while he lay down with me and one was a close-up of his ass.

Sarah ate her lunch, we were finally on a break after a six-hour straight duty. Even if it was for 30 minutes, I was glad. She stabs her salad as she eats, today she was in a mood. Declan broke up with her on her time off. She was pissed that he broke up with her but even more pissed that it was on her precious weekday off.
She looks at me with her mouth full of lettuce "Don't look at me with that face."

"What face?"

"The I-feel-bad-for-my-best-friend-because-her-boyfriend-broke-up-with-her face."

"I'm not making any face."

She grabs her phone, clicks a photo, and shows it to me. I was making a face. "I'm sorry! I can't help it. I know how much you liked him."
She stabs her fork in the feta cheese and leaves it there "Hey! We broke up. I came to your place. I cried. We had ice cream and I used up all your tissue boxes. We will never speak of this again. End of story." I nod "Okay, okay, we will never speak of this." She grunts and nods. Then swipes something on her phone "And, besides, I already moved on." I gulp down my carrot juice and furrow my brows "Already?" She faces her phone screen towards me. Picture of Romano's ass again. She wiggles her brows "Declan's was nowhere near as cakey as his." I roll my eyes "Ms. Pervert." She smiles wider till her cheeks hide her eyes "A happy pervert."
I shake my head at her and look up. Josh was a couple of feet away, talking to another male nurse. Our gaze meets and he sends me a wink that makes me smile. I just give him a stupid wave that makes him chuckle and get back to his conversation. Sarah noticed "Dude, just ask him out!" I push my sandwich tray in front of her and pull her salad to myself and take a bite "You crazy, woman!" She takes a bite out of my sandwich "Why not? You like him, he makes googly eyes at you, go on a date, fuck him, and return to me with a goofy smile." I steal the sandwich from her hand and take a bite "You don't deserve this meatball love." She steals it back "Actually, I do. Hello, Ms. Dumped over here." I raise my brows "What happened to not wanting sympathy?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't use that card to finish this amazing meatball sandwich that you spend thirty minutes in line for."

I stab the salad this time and take a huge bite. It makes her chuckle at how puffed up my cheeks were that she calls me a squirrel. Then I regret it because Josh was sitting right beside me. I look at him with my eyes wide and shield my mouth with a hand, eating down the veggies like a rabbit. It makes Sarah laugh harder and Josh just smiles at me. I gulp it down, run my tongue over my teeth to make sure I got no broccoli stuck in them, and then smile "Hi." His eyes go to my mouth "You got a little..." he swipes his thumb across my bottom lip and it was the ranch dressing he clean off my lips. I huff and grab him a napkin only to watch him lick his thumb clean. I froze and I'm sure Sarah did too. He looks up and stares back and forth between us. I look at Sarah and she's the first one to say "I'm gonna go and finish my sandwich somewhere else." She stands up, winks, steals the salad and sandwich, and then walks out.

I swallow and look back at him. His arms wrapped a over the other on table and he leans his head on it and watches me with a smile.
"You okay?" I ask. He shrugs "Just a bit tired." I had the bad urge to garb his perfect sculpted bicep but I had to keep my hands to myself. He asks "Will you be getting off work early today?" I nod "Yes, in a couple of hours. Don't have that long shift today. You?" He shrugs again "Two hours. I've been here since yesterday. Can't wait to go home, shower, and then go to bed." I nod and panic because I can't keep the conversation up. I was weird around him and I couldn't help it. He rubs his bicep and groans gently.

"What's wrong?"

"I think I pulled something today. My arm has been killing me."

I took my chance. I put my hand on his bicep and gently massage it up to his shoulder and down back his elbow. He groans again with a smile this time and closes his eyes "You busy today?" My heart picks up its beating and I'm glad he doesn't have his stethoscope with him. I shrug casually "Nope. Was just gonna go home and sleep the rest of the day."

Lies, my original plan was to order a large pizza for myself and eat it till I explode.

He opens his eyes "Good. Maybe we can do something today." I smile "Like what?" He smiles and lifts his head, leaning a little too close "How about we order something? You can bring over some nightclothes and scrubs for tomorrow."

"You mean stay over?"

"I exactly mean that. We never got to have one that day because you were gone and then I couldn't ask you because you were dating that Daniel guy."

My throat goes dry when I remember the threat Romano gave him.

Josh shakes his head "But whatever. You guys are broken up, right?" I nod "Oh yeah. That chapter is closed for life." He takes hold of my arm and trails his fingers down to my wrists, linking his fingers with mine "I'm glad that you did." He kisses the back of my hand and I look around if anyone was staring. Thank god, no one was. I look at my lap and then at him "I would love to come." He smiles, showing me his perfect white teeth "Great. I'll wait for you. Meet you at my place at 8?" I smile "8 sounds perfect."
He leans and whispers in my ear "Can't wait." And kisses below my jaw.
The next moment, he was walking away with a smile on his face and I was going crazy.

I run back to work and I find Sarah talking to a patient. I wait for the patient to go and Sarah looks at me. She saw my red cheeks and wore her stethoscope in her ear and puts the flat part on my chest "Lilly, I think you're close to getting a heart attack." I squeal and take her hand, speaking into that flat part "Josh asked me out!" She hisses and pulls away "You're brutal!" She removes it and then looks at me "he did what?"

"He asked me out!"

"Asked you out as in dinner outside?"

"Nope! He invited me to his place. Told me to bring nightclothes and scrubs for tomorrow."

Her eyes go wide and she grabs my arms "Are you fucking kidding me?" I can't stop jumping and shaking my head "I'm so excited!" I felt like I couldn't even breathe anymore. She looks me in the eye "If you take your cloud pajamas, I swear to god, I will kill you."
I grunt "Way to kill the mood. And I wasn't gonna wear the cloud ones." She weirdly looks at me "You were thinking of the red ones with white hearts on them?"

"I was not."

"Then you were thinking of the pink ones with the little red roses."

I pause, open my mouth, close my mouth, then whisper "Are you psychic?" She rolls her eyes "Lilly, you need to wear a nightgown. The black one with the sexy lace panties." I scrunch my nose "You're kidding, right?"
She huffs, pulls the curtain to give us some privacy in the ER, and pushes me to sit on the gurney, "My little lamb, my babe, my gorgeous dumb baby-faced flower," I took offense to all of those names "you're going there for sexy time. Not teenage-pillow-fight time, okay? You gotta get your groove on. Exfoliant that crusty skin, put on some moisturizer," she made an air circle between her legs "shave down there, bathe yourself in perfume, make sure those thick thighs that you're blessed with are smooth and damn sexy. Wear that black gown with those lace panties we bought together. Go to his place in something nice and then change into the nightgown. Let down your hair, men are crazy about long hair, and then have sexy time. You got this, my dumb puppy."

I nod, "Okay but I need to ask you a question."

"What?"

"Was all this an insult or advice?"

She pauses, blinks a couple of times, and smiles "Multitasking."

The curtain is pulled back and I gasp. There was a male nurse who looked confused at Sarah and me, then he says "We need the space." I peek out the curtains to a crying woman without a toe. Sarah smiles "Sorry," and pulls me out.

Sexy time. We're gonna have a sexy time. I'm gonna have my first sexy time.

I'm gonna have my first sexy time? Oh, no. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to suck- should I just do it by thinking of the permanent penis anatomy I have in my brain?
Is it the same? It should be the same, right?

I'm almost running to Sarah for some advice but I stop when I realize that she thinks I already popped my cherry with Daniel. I can't even go to her for it or I'll- I will watch porn when I go home to learn, but that's not real.
Should I just let Josh teach me? But won't he mind the fact that he has to teach sex101 to a grown woman after a hard day of work?

I shake the thoughts in my head and smile. Josh is a nice person. I'm sure he'll help me. I'm sure he'll guide me through it. He's an excellent listener and the kindest person I know, he'll be patient. I don't need to worry. I don't.

♡

CARTER

Right hook.
Left hook.
Knee to the stomach.
Heel of your palm to the nose.
Headlock.
Elbow to the shoulder blade.

I wipe the blood off my nose as I bounced left and right to stay light on my feet. My white taped hands already dripping with blood. I'm sure I was bleeding from my face but the weakness is not something you should show to your opponent. You gotta make them believe they can't get you. You gotta make them believe that you don't feel pain while they try to gain back their breath.

I basked in the glory of the crowd spitting my name. Some happy because they were gonna win big money and some pissed at me because they were gonna lose money. They didn't think that I could do things without weapons in a locked cage surrounded by angry men with beer bellies and thick beards.
I huff and my eyes flicker down my nose to the puff of smoke coming out. It was old but the adrenaline running in my veins kept me warm since the fight started. I bark, "Are you going to stop now? Give up so soon?" The opponent is too weak to even stand straight. I can't win unless he's down and knocked out. I chuckle "They bid money on you and you're gonna let them lose it all on a loser like you?" He looks at me through lowered bloody brows and spits the blood on the floor because I know I got him where I wanted. Keep my feet planted on the ground and then he's screaming and running at me. I smile wider. Stupid move.

I was fast in taking a step on his knee and wrapping my legs around his neck, elbowing him on the top of his head. He howls with pain and by his eyes, I knew he was a goner. He falls on his back but I land on my feet with his head between my feet perfectly as I look down at him. The crowd cheered "KNOCK OUT!" And a woman in a golden bikini walks in the fighting cage with a smile, cash tucked in her bra. She smiles at me, walks closer, and presses her body on mine "You won the fight, Daniel." I smile and push my hand into her bra, taking the cash out. She loves it and winks "In the back room in 30?"
I lean to whisper near her lips "15."
I walk out but not before slapping her ass once.

I was in a great mood. Started illegal fighting three months ago. Didn't care about the money but I earned it and saved it for myself. You can never have too much cash. It was a great way to let off some steam and all that worked up anger that build inside my while I was on the hunt for Rossi.

People patted me on the back as I walk out from the fighting pit and right into the room in the back.
I enter and I find grumpy pants on my chair, near my stuff. I take off the tape and look in the mirror to see the damage. Busted my bottom lip, and a busted right brow and blood came out of my nose and mouth. Not bad.
Mr. Grumpypants finally speaks "I thought you were in Thailand with Sinn?" I shrug "Didn't feel like going." I took the towel and rubbed the blood off my chest that was not mine. "So you send me on a trip alone to deal with the mafia king in Thailand? All alone?!" I smile and grab the jeans that were beside him "I knew you could handle it." He slaps some photos on the banged-up table and huffs, slouching in the seat. I change from trainers to jeans and buckle up the belt, as I ask "What's that?" He answers, "It's bad and- will you fucking look at it at least!" I do glance at it and then walk to wash my face at the sink "Luca. Why show me that?"

"Luca is pissed at you."

I run my wet fingers through my hair and let him do all the talking, "Since that little stunt you pulled in your father's head to take Giovanni under his wing, shit is going down. Sinn doesn't have his drugs yet, Giovanni doesn't have the key ingredient, and he's running out of money to stay in business with threats coming in from all over the fucking country!" He stands up abruptly "How can you not once think about me?!" I watch through the mirror as water runs down the side of my head from my wet hair "You sent me to a crazy man that could've killed me all alone! You know how Sinn is. You fucking know he shoots before he talks. You know he's fucking sick in the head!" I sigh and turn around, drying the back of my head with the towel and say "If Sinn killed you, I would've made his life hell, Elijah." Then I pat on his cheek and go back to the chair and grab my shirt while he yells in the background "That is not fucking comforting. I still would be dead!" I push my head through the shirt and wince at my ribs. The bastard got me good with a kick there. It will bruise for a week but I'll be okay.

I snort "And I would get the chance to put flowers on your grave by taking revenge for my best friend." He slaps me behind the head and I bat his hand away "Fuck off!" And bent on the dresser with a hundered dollar bill rolled up and held it under my nose, making sure to clean that white line with satisfaction. It burns my nose but the stuff is good as fuck. In seconds all the lights are turning into little hearts. Then I light up a cigarette and wear my jacket, grabbing my helmet "If a girl in a golden bikini walks in, fuck her for me. She looks like she could use some good dick tonight." I pat his shoulder and as I'm halfway through the door, he says "Luca was asking around about her yesterday." I turn my head slightly "Who?"

"You know who, Carter."

I'm running out and he's screaming "Don't do anything stupid!" I get on my Harley and I'm roaring the engine to life, driving as fast as the bike could handle.

Fuck.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

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Love, Hope
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