Conditional Offer (10 page)

"I'd better go." She stood grabbed a towel. "Is there a place I can change?" He pointed to the small  room and let his already supercharged imagination run wild as she changed, then reappeared. This was good. Good for him and for her. He needed this kind of a relationship – one not so frantically sexual. But he knew one thing, and the sight of her running her fingers through her hair as she walked back out the door merely clinched it – he was in love for real. And was scared as hell about it.

Chapter Fifteen

Seven Months Later

Craig's head pounded, his body ached and his eyes burned, but he held Sara's baby, looked into her eyes and saw his future. Jack sat at Sara's head, soothing her, brushing her hair back. The man looked haunted and considering what they'd all been through just now – a bloody mess at her office, the ambulance ride, and an emergency C-section – it was no surprise. Sara's mother put her arm around his waist, pulled the pink blanket aside and touched the tiny girl's amazing face.

His knees shook. A nurse took the baby and he stumbled out, found a chair and sat. Suzanne was there, and he had never been happier to see anyone in his entire life.

Don't tell her. Don't say it. It's too soon. She'll withdraw.

He recalled the stupid night they'd nearly finally connected, about two months before. She'd brought dinner and beer to his place.  He'd been unable to stop himself and had reverted back to his old ways, had her on her back and was about to dive down between her legs. Sara and her infernal pregnancy complications had torn him away from Suzanne that night and sent him racing to the ER because Jack had been out of town. Now, though, he was borderline grateful for that interruption.

 He could stay his course and not rush her. No matter how damn horny he might be. They'd gone out to see movies, more live music, and she was a regular in the pool, doing her laps alongside him. He'd seen more of her body than he thought possible. Without actually having done much more than get a near taste of her that one time. She held him at arm's length, physically, emotionally, and he let her because to be perfectly honest, he loved just being around her. Weird, something new for him, but he was going with it.

She put her hand on his knee. Her eyes were full of concern. "Let's go. I'll drive you home."

He nodded, stood, in a total daze gave Sara's mother a hug, shook Jack's hand, and waved to Blake and Rob. Finally, he let Suzanne pull him out of the hospital and stuff him into her car. He nearly fell asleep during the short drive to his condo building, opening his eyes only when she stopped in the garage. He hauled himself out, got in the elevator and tried to carry on a conversation. She slipped under his arm, and held onto him. "Pretty intense. And you were the hero." He leaned his head back, ignoring how she fit into his side. He couldn't focus. He needed a shower and coffee.  He needed to be in Suzanne's arms with no quarrel or fuss.

She woke him after an hour of being passed out naked on his bed. He spent nearly as long under scalding hot water before he started to feel human. He put on sweat pants and a t-shirt, wandered out and found her in the kitchen with a pot of coffee. He made a giant omelet and they ate but said little, and ended up on his couch, feet up on the coffee table in companionable silence. He sighed, tilted her chin up and looked at her. "Thank you." He said. "I'm going to medical school. I've applied already. I'm sure I'll get in somewhere. Should hear soon, actually."

"Wow. Okay. My late husband was a doctor."

"Oh, small world. I mean, you know…sorry, didn't mean to spring that on you."

"I'm not surprised. You would be good at it, I think. I went but never finished." He leaned back and stared at her then tightened his grip when she snuggled closer under his outstretched arm. "I don't have a pretty story Craig, I'll warn you now."

"Well, who does?"

She put her finger over his lips. "Shh…don't spoil it by talking," she said, cupping the back of his neck and pulled him close. The kiss was soft, and then urgent. He let his hands roam over her and she sighed, arching closer to his touch before she stopped, just as softly as she began. She got to her feet, pulling him up. "You need to rest, Craig." He rose and stumbled to his room, his last thought before hitting the pillow - that he had never gone this long without actually having sex since he was sixteen years old, but that he was good with it, as long as he knew he could see her again.

Two Weeks Later

"Well?" Suzanne asked as they drove over to visit Sara and the baby.

Craig glanced at her and then smiled. "Well what?" He said, concentrating on the road.

"Well, what do you think about the state of the Chinese-American relations?" She smacked his leg.

"I think we should eat more Chinese food, especially that egg drop soup. Yum."

"Ass." She muttered crossing her arms and pretending to pout.

He pulled into the driveway of Sara's small house and turned off the car. After taking a long breath, he turned to her, once again blown away by the perky loveliness of her face, the deep hue of her eyes. He grinned. "I also think we should go out tonight and celebrate."

"What for? Sales of egg drop soup up?"

"That. And these," he reached into the console then held up two letters, one with the University of Michigan emblem and the other Vanderbilt University. Both began with the lines:
Congratulations on being accepted to the medical school class of
…She gasped and grabbed them, then looked up.

"You should go to Vandy."

He startled. It wasn't exactly the response he'd hoped for from her.  "Oh?" he opened the door and climbed out so she wouldn't see the disappointment in his face.

"Vandy is an excellent school Craig."

"U of M isn't exactly an online college."

"No," she grabbed the cookies she'd made and they headed for the front door. "I'm sorry. I meant to say congrats. Well done." She stopped him, went up on tiptoe and kissed him. He tried very hard not to grab her and shove her into the car, drive her home and show her what she'd be missing if he left for Nashville in a few weeks.

He settled for putting his palm against her face. "Thanks."

The door opened, revealing newborn baby and first-time mother chaos. Craig took over, held infant Katie as Suzanne sat and watched. He loved the warmth of the baby against him, the bright look in her eyes.

After a while, Rob and Blake showed up with food, and Blake took over baby duty. Sara drifted off to sleep, and Rob carried her to bed. Craig crooked a finger to Suzanne and she sat next to him. It was weird. No, it was surreal being there with the woman he'd obsessed over, if not briefly loved, asleep in the next room and the baby that could possibly be his across the hall. He pulled Suzanne closer and watched as Blake and Rob argued in the kitchen. Blake, the young man who'd been with the woman snuggled into his side for a brief period of time. Craig had gotten snippets of that story from Sara but he still didn't know all of it. Yeah, an utterly bizarre moment, all things considered. Suzanne sighed, put her hand on his thigh and started to speak when the doorbell rang.

The circle of strange was complete when Jack walked in. Craig waved at the tall man, still dressed in his suit. His eyes darted around, obviously seeking Sara. But Blake was on a mission it seemed and, as the adults argued all around him about nannies versus daycares versus whatever, he started to drift. Suzanne poked his leg and he opened his eyes, grabbed her hand and threaded his fingers through hers.

"We have an announcement." He said, accepting the glass of wine from Rob. Suzanne raised an eyebrow at him but stayed silent. "I'm going to medical school. In Nashville."

Chapter Sixteen

"When?"
Craig dashed off the text to Suzanne as he ran from his bike to the lab. He'd been at Vanderbilt for eighteen months.  They'd been trying to arrange a visit for quite a while, and he was just this shy of giving up, but something in him wouldn't. Something told him she was worth the effort. Like the work he was doing to achieve his goal of becoming an ER doctor, becoming the man Suzanne Baxter loved and trusted was just as challenging but hopefully just as worth it.

"What about next weekend?"

 He rushed in and sat, noting his entire group was in place already. But he smiled at the phone screen another half second before typing out a single word:
"Perfect."

He conducted his lab, leading the group as usual, then dragged ass back to his bike, reminding himself he hadn't had a good swim in nearly a week. The long slog of med school was proving way harder than he'd thought. Plus, the building where he rented a studio apartment was full of a mix of medical and law students who partied at the drop of a hat. He'd availed himself more than once of their hospitality. Probably more often than he should have. He'd slipped back into some bad habits at first, feeling on top of his game and surrounded by driven, smart people who worked and partied as hard as he did. But as much temptation as there was of the female persuasion, he never strayed, even though he sometimes wondered if "straying" was the right word.

One girl in particular had caught his eye. She was young, smart and hot as hell so he allowed himself the odd flirt before drifting away from her. She was persistent and in two of his lab groups, so they were thrown together a lot. He shook off the various frustrations, made it to the pool, swam for only one of his usual two hours and sat on the side panting. His heart pounded at the thought of finally seeing Suzanne again. If she actually showed this time. He gritted his teeth at the thought of the many excuses she'd made for never visiting, then took a shower and headed home, the drudgery of hours of studying making his head ache. Had he done the right thing? He'd lost count of the times he'd doubted it, considered dropping out, going back to Ann Arbor and picking up the real estate thing with the benefit of being able to see Suzanne every day again.

Thankfully, his family kept boosting him, brothers and sisters-in-law visiting and bringing him homemade dishes and beer. He opened the fridge, found the latest Robinson-wife casserole and threw it in the microwave before pulling out his books and settling down for yet another long night of homework. Around midnight, while he was deep into his pathology book, his phone dinged with a text. He groaned, rolled his shoulders, and picked it up.

It was Suzanne.
"Hey Sexy"

He smiled, and typed back:
"Hardly. More like ass-dragging tired and near brain dead."

Suzanne:
"Yeah, year 2 is a bitch."

Craig
: "So are you really coming next weekend or just teasing me yet again?"

Suzanne
: "I'll be there by 4 on Friday. Be ready."

 
Craig
: "Yes ma'am. Hope you are prepared to stay in bed the entire weekend."

Suzanne
:  "I am."

 
Craig
: "Good because I need a fucking nap."

 
Suzanne
: "Very funny."

Craig
:  "No. I am serious."

Suzanne
:  "Fine, I'll plan some brewery visits so you can get your beauty sleep."

Craig
: "No. You won't. I plan to greet you in such a way that you require a nap by Saturday."

Suzanne
:  "Ah. Well, then, if you put it that way."

 
Craig
: "I am. Putting it that way."

Suzanne
:  "Well, I'm going to bed. Get my rest before Friday."

Craig
:  "Good plan."

There was a pause, and he noted that the little icon indicating "Suzanne is typing" had gone away. He put the phone down, stared at it a while. He was exhausted. He'd never in his entire life been this fucking tired. But his brain buzzed with energy at the thought of her and what he did indeed plan to do with her, finally. After all the months of pleasant friendship, then polite companionship that eased into something else but never quite consummated, he was ready. He seriously intended for her to be blown away by what he had to offer. He leaned back in his chair, absently put a hand on his hard cock and stroked as he contemplated the ceiling. The phone pinged again.

 
Suzanne
: "I really miss you Craig. I didn't think I would, or rather, I tried to convince myself I wouldn't. But I do. And I can't wait to finally be with you."

 
Craig
: "Yes, well, I'm told I am a bit like catnip…"

 
Suzanne
: "I'll be the judge of that. And I'm like the Eastern Germany judge – I grade on a curve."

Craig laughed and stood, stretched and shut the books for the night. He brushed his teeth, shucked off his clothes and got between the crumpled sheets. Then grabbed his phone and sent her a final text for the night.

Craig
: "I medaled in both oral and g-spot hunts already. I think I'll be ok."

He had his answer within seconds. 
"Ha. Well, I'll bring my score cards. Eat your Wheaties,
young man."

He let thoughts of her fuel his fantasies, and after he came so hard he nearly sat up from the force of it, he fell into immediate sleep.

* * *

Friday began inauspiciously. Craig's phone battery died so the alarm didn't go off and he had to make a mad dash for his nine a.m. microbiology class. He took a huge exam in pathology then slogged through a two-hour lab, enduring the less and less subtle attentions of the flirty girl. He glared at her at one point. "Alicia, seriously you need to back off, okay?" She blushed and he felt bad for being a dick. He put his hand on her olive-skinned arm, noting idly that she was probably one of the hotter women he'd ever seen. If things were different, he would have been between her thighs plenty by then. "My girlfriend," he let the odd word roll around on his tongue. "My girlfriend from Michigan is coming down today for the weekend. Okay? I'm sorry if I sent the wrong message to you but…."