After her little performance, Millie requests to use the pool which is now ready with enough warm water to cover her belly and give her some much-needed comfort. I help her to settle in, tying her hair in a bun so her locks don't bother her by sticking to her wet face before washing my hands for the millionth time tonight.
"Lily, darling, why don't you take a short break? Eat something, perhaps?" Sarah suggests, "I'll look after her, and I promise to call you should anything change."
I don't want to leave Millie's side, not if I can help it, but my best friend interjects before I can even form a reply in my head. "Go, you'll feel better after. We're not going anywhere. Maybe you could bring us a cup of tea on your way back?" she enquires tentatively.
Even though I don't want to go, I do feel that some fresh air and food will help me face the night we have ahead. I nod quickly, leaving a kiss on top of my best friend's head, before opening the door. Jesse jumps up, and, before I can even realise what he is doing, he slips past me stating he needs the loo.
"Lily, I don't want to see my sister birthing a baby," he shrills as soon as we are out of the room, and I slap my hand on his mouth to shush him as he's basically shouting. "Ouch," he cries against my palm.
"When it's time, I'll keep you out, I promise, but I think she needs your support now. And so does Nick... he is an unhealthy shade of green, bless him."
"And I will support her," he nods in agreement, "until you guys need her vajayjay on display."
I snort again at the new nickname, and, before I can stop myself, I turn to him, "clear something up for me, will you?" he doesn't reply but stares at me so I continue, "when you're in the heat of the moment, lust taking over you, ready to bury yourself inside one of those conquests you take home, with whom I have to make small talks in the morning by the way, do you tell them how much you love their dripping altar of love? Vajayjay? Or do you use flower?" I raise my brows at him, mocking him. If I had to bet, I would say flower, and I have a feeling I would be right.
He snickers, "Ah ah, very funny," but then he unexpectedly lowers his head to my ear, his hot breath causing the thin, almost invisible hair on my neck to stand, before he suggestively breathes out, "I can always give you a demonstration, love."
Little goosebumps form where his lips are still brushing against my skin, shooting sparks through my body.
What the hell.
Jesse is my best friend, with Amelia, of course. We share a house, and we are each other wingman/woman! Why on Earth would I be shivering at his silly suggestion? Get a grip, Lilith. Yes, he called me love, but he always does.
He's never called anybody else love, ever, the little voice inside my head reminds me. I flick the devil on my shoulder and watch her splat on the floor with a weird satisfaction. It's true he hasn't, but it's just an endearing term he uses because I am his best friend, after all; he will find someone else to call that, and I will happily share it, I decide resolutely. He leaves a kiss on my temple waking me from my daydream, and I tilt my head up to stare into his sparkling eyes as he lazily drops his arm over my shoulder, pulling me closer.
"Make me a cuppa, will ya?"
I nod and walk with him to the other side of the building; the labour ward is strangely quiet, almost eery. As usual, it is chilly, and I snuggle more into Jay's side, enjoying the heat he radiates. I stop in my tracks when we reach the office; I need to update the sister in charge and grab a bar of chocolate before heading to the staff kitchen to make the tea.
"I just need to do something quick in here," I bob my head to the office door, "the loo is through those doors, on the right. Meet back here when you're done?"
Jesse nods and disappears to where I was pointing while I enter the room and plop down on the only empty chair, which, thank goodness, is near my bag. It's a full office today; usually, we are short staffed, and we are always on our feet, running to make sure disasters don't happen, even though our numbers are not safe for the women and babies we usually have on our floors. But not today; Amelia is the only one in labour, and there are only three women in both antenatal and postnatal, who are peacefully sleeping at the moment. Nevertheless, no one ever dares saying the Q words; that's a cursed word so we keep it to ourselves. I reach down and I rummage through my bag until I can feel the sharp edges of the foil covering my chocolate bar. I lift it out, and I place it on the desk in front of me untying my tangled hair first; as I gather my strands to lock them in a ponytail again, Alice, the midwife in charge, asks how Amelia is doing.
"Very well, actually," I inform her, my voice muffled as I am holding my hair tie between my teeth, "she is six now, hopefully baby will make their arrival before the day shift comes on."
Tiffany, a new girl that has just graduated and joined our team, pats me on my forearm, her glistening grey eyes only a few inches away, "who is mister McDreamy that was with you?"
I fur my brows, thinking about what on Earth she's asking me before I remember the 6ft2 lad I was with. "Oh, you mean Jay?" I ask and she nods yes excitedly, "He's my roomie and best friend since we were kids. He's Millie's brother, and he is her second birthing partner, against his will, of course," I chuckle at the thought of his pale face every time Amelia has a contraction.
"He's hot," she says, bluntly.
I tilt my head to the side to take in more of her features, "you think?"
Her eyes widen in shock at my question, and she mouths yeah.
"He's proper hot, babe."
"He is a ten out of ten."
"Oh, bollocks Lil. Get your head out of your ass."
The others chime in, and I am taken aback a little by their reaction; my lips part when I try to say something, but no sound can be heard. Yes, I can see that Jay is good looking, but I haven't thought about him that way before... he is my best friend for crying out loud. We used to take baths together! I have witnessed him growing into the man he is now, but he is still Jay to me, just Jay. When did he become Jay, the handsome guy girls drool on? I mean, I should have been more receptive because he does bring home a whole lot of them, so that's on me, I guess.
"Lily, you have no idea what I would...no, no Alice. You are old enough to be his mother. Sorry, dear, it's the menopause you know." Yep, that is something I did not want to hear, not even in my wildest nightmare; thank you, Ali. Well, but that's what happens when you are forced to spend a whole night with a group of women; naughty thoughts are bound to sneak in. There is a knock on the door, and I turn to find Jesse's charming smile.
"Hello," he waves politely, and all eyes are now on him, but it seems he doesn't mind, "how you doing?" he asks with his perfect imitation of Matt LeBlanc, and apparently this gets him the same amount of action it got Joey, and I am kind of shocked. Suddenly, a buzzing fills the office, and all the grown women I work with are acting like bumbling idiots.
"Let me put my bag back, and we'll go."
Before I can drop it on the floor, however, Jay leans down to my ear and whispers, "you know, you're sexy in these blue scrubs," hooking one of his fingers under the seam near my clavicle. The breath gets caught in my throat, and I have to cough to cover my tracks, but I know that I am blushing violently from the neck up and someone might have noticed. Thank goodness I am sitting on the last chair, and there is nobody on that side that could have eavesdropped. What the hell is wrong with this wanker? What is he thinking? I glare at him, not too happy -well, not too upset either- and I walk out of the office.
"The kitchen is this way," I state, pointing to the end of the hallway.
The kitchen is tiny, and it can barely fit two people. It is tucked away at the end of the corridor, on the right, through another door so we don't bother patients when making tea and toast after birth. I slide in first, with Jesse just after me; I fill the kettle and switch it on, before grabbing the mugs from the cupboard and setting them on two trays. As I work my way around, dropping the tea bags in the cups and grabbing a handful of sugar sachets from the drawer, Jesse is leaning against the wall, his feet crossed in front of him with his arms mirroring the same position. I pour the fresh boiled water in the mugs, and I let the tea bags infuse for a few minutes while I wait, leaning on my palms and my arms spread apart. Suddenly, I feel a presence behind me, the heat warming me up; Jesse rests his hands on my hips, his front flush against my back.
"I didn't know scrubs were such a pleasure to look at, otherwise I would have asked you to bring a pair home, you know. You could have worn them around the house, just for me..." I gulp but my mouth and throat are drier than the Sahara Desert, and I have to lick my lips to try and keep them moist, "...you know how much I love your lace bras and seeing them peeking out as you shuffle around is a sight for sore eyes."
What the fuck is happening here. I twirl myself around, and hundreds question flood in my head when I see the smirk on his handsome -yet stupid- face.
"Jay, what the hell are you doing, mate?" I blurt out in one breath.
"A little test," his grin widens.
I place my two little hands on his chest, and I push him away with all the strength I can gather, "a test?" I shout, louder than I intended; I didn't want all my colleagues to know what has been going on, after all.
"Well, yeah," he shrugs, "you said you didn't find me attractive." I slap him right across his chest with the back of my hand. "Ouch," he complains pressing his own hand on the spot mine has just left. That serves him right.
"You are my best friend, Jesse," I make sure to emphasise the best friend part, "I am not supposed to find you attractive."
He rolls his eyes, the little gesture making him extremely sexy, but we are not telling him that. "I know, but it's nice to know that I can make you blush...and aroused," he wiggles his eyebrows at me, knowingly.
"You prick," I shove him again, "and that's all you ever gonna get; you caught me on an off day because you know that your charm doesn't work on me. Now, be a dear and grab that tray so we can go back to your sister. You know, the one who is pushing a baby out of her vagina," I say, sure that the image is going to bother him. Next time, he'll think twice before testing me.
He covers his ears with his hands, trying to block out my words but the damage has been done. "Lil, why? Why would you do that? Now all I can think of is my sister's... coochie!"
"Next time think before you act like a twat. Go, before I change my mind and choose violence."
The empty mugs have now been abandoned on the windowsill, and Ed Sheeran's -a passion Millie and I share- soft voice blares out of the speakers, quietening our spirits. Nick is holding the gas and air tube, so Amelia's hands are free to rock herself back and forth in the water and Jesse is sitting on a low stool with wheels swivelling around, making my stomach turn with each movement before abandoning it to slump back on the armchair, unable to stop fidgeting. Sarah is on the couch, taking care of the documentation while I kneel in front of my best friend, listening to my godchild at regular intervals. As I stand to reach her belly in the water again, Mills clutches the thin fabric of my top, forcing me to kneel to her level again.
"I need to poop, Lil," she hisses, her eyes blown out so much so that only a small brown ring can be seen.
I turn to Sarah with knowing smile on my face.
It's baby time.
*********
Hello everyone!
A little surprise update for my birthday. Hope you enjoy it!
What is happening between Lily and Jay? Drop your ideas in the comments.
Love, Izzy.