Entwined With You

ANNA

“Ugh. Coffee, please! I don’t think I’m going to make it, Anna. My head is pounding.”

Poor Ray. She looks like a zombie. We are in the hospital’s cafeteria, grabbing lunch. I had told Ray everything that happened earlier this morning.

“Why did we need to come in today of all days?” she whines, pouting.

I just smile at my poor friend.

“Stay strong, Ray. Just think about Jordan and your date tonight. Where is he taking you?”

Her whole face lights up and she starts to giggle.

Aww, she found her prince.

“He said it’s a surprise. What about you? Did you answer Xander yet?” she asks, popping her eyebrows at me.

I sigh. “Well, I don’t know, Ray.”

Ray frowns at me.

“Anna you will never know if you don’t take a chance. Go have a good time with Xander. If he is the guy for you, you will know.”

She has a point.

“When did you get so wise?” I smile at her.

Near the end of our shift, I think again about what Ray said.

Xander is a sweet guy. Let’s take a leap of faith.

I pull my phone from my pants pocket. Luckily, Ray had saved his number on it this morning just in case I decided to go. She thinks of everything.

I press send and grab my stuff from my locker, meet up with Ray, and head out. Luckily it wasn’t that busy today, but still, I’d only had two hours of sleep.

When we exit, Jordan is waiting for Ray with a bouquet of red roses. He is dressed casually and he looks very sexy. He has an ear-to-ear smile on his face when he sees Ray.

“Eek!” Ray almost runs to him, leaping into his arms—and there they go, getting all smoochy with each other.

“Be good!” I shout at Ray, as I walk to my car.

When I get home, I check my phone and see I have a text from Xander.

I grin at his response and check the time. 6:25. Okay, so I have time to get ready. I reply to his text with a smile on my face.

I take a long shower, do my hair and makeup, then dress. I take a pair of jeans out of my closet along with a plain white lace blouse, pull out my brown ankle-high boots, and grab my brown leather jacket. It’s casual but also classy.

By the time I’m done, it’s almost eight o’clock. I take one last look in the mirror before I make my way downstairs.

There is a knock on the door as I get there and my stomach starts to flip. He’s fifteen minutes early.

Well, at least he’s not late.

I open the door. Xander is standing there with a flirtatious smile on his face and a huge bouquet in his hands. He looks hot in jeans and a black T-shirt. His black leather jacket is swung over his left shoulder.

“For you, m’lady.” He hands me the flowers.

“Why thank you, sweet, kind sir.” I take the flowers, invite him in, go to the kitchen, and place the flowers in a vase.

“Cozy place you got here,” he says as he looks at the pictures on the wall. “Didn’t know you were a doctor.”

He sounds impressed.

I just give him a bright smile and hook my arm in his.

“Shall we go?” I ask.

He smiles and replies, “We shall.”

He leads me to the door and opens it for me.

Who says chivalry is dead?

We head to his black Aston Martin. He opens the door, holds out his hand, and helps me in, closes the door, and goes over to his side.

I’m falling for this man and I’m falling hard.

We drive away under the night sky. He takes me away from the city. I see trees flying by as we go. We make small talk and he makes some silly jokes.

We drive up to a hilltop on a small dirt road that can only fit one car.

Man, I sure as hell hope he is not some kind of serial killer. They’ll never find my body here.

It is a beautiful clear sky. The spot where we stop has a mesmerizing view of the city.

He grabs a blanket from the car, spreads it on the green grass, takes my hand, and leads me to sit down. He takes out a few small boxes of food.

Ooh. Chinese is my favorite.

“Hope you like Chinese.” He smiles and hands me a container.

“I love Chinese,” I answer with a little too much excitement in my voice, and he starts to laugh.

After dinner, he stands up.

“Wait here.” He goes back to the car, popping the trunk open and pulling out a guitar.

Heavens, no, please tell me he can’t play guitar.

He comes back and sits down next to me.

“Can you play?” he asks, plucking some strings.

“Nope. I can’t even play the triangle.” I flash him a smile and he lets out a soft laugh.

“Can you play?” I ask, a little sheepish.

“A little bit. My mother always played me to sleep.”

He starts to move his fingers on the strings, playing “No Sleep.” To my surprise he also starts to sing, looking straight into my eyes.

I feel my heart melting.

I’m knee-deep in trouble here. This man has it all.

When he is done, I applaud and he smiles at me, placing his guitar next to him.

“Wow, you can play well and you can sing.”

He leans in, brushing a strand of my hair behind my ear, and replies, “There is a lot you don’t know about me, sweetness.” He gives me a gorgeous smile and places a soft kiss on my forehead.

***

When I get home, Ray isn’t back yet.

I think she will be staying the night, then.

What an awesome time. He is a great guy and super-hot. Who knew he would be so sweet? I pegged him for a bad boy.

Changing into my PJs, I head to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for bed when I hear the front door.

“Ray!” I yell from the bathroom.

She comes upstairs and leans against the doorframe, her eyes all wild and excited.

“Spill it,” she says. She smiles at me and we start to giggle like schoolgirls.

We go sit in the living room. I tell her everything, and she tells me about her awesome date with Jordan.

“Oh, Anna, I think he’s the one. He’s so sweet and gentle, yet there’s a hint of danger.”

Aww. I knew it.

I give her a huge bear hug. I know how she feels. I am falling for my guy too.

Shit. Did I just say “my guy”?

***

My phone buzzes on my nightstand. It is a text from Xander. Immediately, I feel a smile creeping over my face.

He is so sweet.

I stand up.

Coffee is next, then a nice shower, and then off to work again. Almost Friday, and then my off weekend.

My phone buzzes one more time.

I smile at my screen.

You are one sweet, sweet man. You have no idea what you are doing to me, Xander.