I still have your shoes. Garnet groaned with a swift roll of her eyes at the text that flashed on her watch. Not changing her phone's passcode was a mistake but she knew the biggest mistake was hooking up with her ex-fiance when she went back to Houston for Thanksgiving. After having that turkey and dressing, the tryptophan and wine lowered her defenses. She no longer wanted sweet potato pie but instead wanted some dick; he was available.

"I need to block his ass, again." She muttered to herself before entering room 4005.

The room that was the farthest from the nurse's station was the busiest one on the floor; not because of the patient's prognosis but because of who they were. They weren't celebrities but he was from a big family. A family that would probably need to have their reunion at a park and not in the backyard at uncle and nem's house. Garnet wished she had an uncle and 'nem, a cousin whose government name no one in the family called them, or a Granny that knew cuss words and hymns with the same expertise. But she didn't.

Her family was small. Smaller than small. Just her and her feline child.

"Skiing is more my style." She remarked, taking a glance at the TV as a snowboarder soared above the half-pipe. She sidled next to the bed, "But it does look cool."

"Cool but dangerous as hell," the deep, melodic voice called Garnet's attention to the body it emitted from on the other side of the hospital bed.

Her eyes drunk in the gloss of his onyx coils that she was sure smelled of coconut and mint. The lush, sculpted beard etched around his jawline ignited a gravitational pull to her hand that she fought by gripping the rail of the hospital bed. Although the room was shrouded in darkness from the absence of the sun she knew his rich, dark brown skin was smooth to the touch and she wanted to run her hand over so much of it.

The boisterous beeping of the IV machine reined in her wandering thoughts to the matter at hand. As she tended to the machine and checked the vitals of her patient she said, "Well, this snowboarder here is going to make a full recovery...in a few months. The surgery was successful. You two don't have to stay here all night." She glanced at the young woman sleeping deeply with her phone rising and falling on her chest. "It's kind of my job to keep an eye on him."

"I'm his older brother." The man, Nevada Whitmore, didn't lift his eyes from the email on his laptop. "It's my job as well."

"I understand," Garnet replied, continuing her check of the patient's heart rate, oxygenation, and blood pressure.

Her understanding was metaphorical. She was the only Johnson that she was aware of. She hated that her surname was common, building up her hopes that the stranger with a similar last name could be a long-lost relative—someone who knew the father that she'd never known. All she knew about him was his name, Qasim Johnson, she read it on her birth certificate after her mom died.

Nonetheless, she knew if she had siblings like Nevada, she would supervise their care diligently.

"That corner has its own light," She gestured to the area above the man's head and his eyes followed in that direction. "I'm not one to tell adults what to do but if you keep reading in this dark room you're going to need thicker glasses."

He chuckled. The rumble deep in his expansive chest buried beneath the thick cable knit sweater chased away the chill of the frigid hospital air.

"Thank you for caring about my eyesight." He said, keeping his attention on her while clicking the light on.

The artificial brightness rained over his corner, chasing away the darkness that shrouded the room reminding her of just how handsome he was. Which was why it was time for her to head to her next room before he had her contemplating breaking one of her rules.

"You're welcome." She matched his smile, rubbing the foamy sanitizer between her hands knowing her pores were going to be cracked at the end of her shift. "If you need anything just press the button or swing by the station."

He readjusted the frameless glasses on his face after rubbing his eyes, "I'll be sure to look for you if I need something."

"Oh.." She shook her head. "My shift will be over in an hour and some change but there's a great staff of nurses here and they can help you with anything you need or want."

She saw some of the eagerness drain from his eyes before he said, "Good to know."

Garnet felt like Loretta Devine in Waiting to Exhale as she left the room and she loved it— putting a little more umph in the sway of her hips. Of course, he was hypnotized by her ass. It was more than two hands could hold but from the size of his hands, she knew he could handle all of her luscious curves.