The rest of the evening passed by too quickly as Brynne and James alternated between dancing and chatting in James’ private booth. A few acquaintances came by to pay their respects to both James and his notable paramedic companion. The Unusual community was still abuzz with the story of Brynne’s talents, and many wanted to meet her.
As the hour became later, and he noticed his date was tiring, despite her enjoyment of the evening’s festivities and attentions, James suggested they leave. “Brynne, I have had a wonderful time, but it is late, and perhaps you would like to leave?” She glanced at her phone to check the time, and James saw a look of surprise at the late hour.
“I’m having such a grand time, James, that I didn’t even realize it was so late. Is it really four AM?” Brynne asked.
“Yes, it is.”
“No wonder I am feeling so weary all of a sudden. I think you are right,” she said. “Maybe we should be going. I know you would like to be inside before sunrise, and I need to get some rest. I’m back on shift this evening at six.”
James slid out of the booth and offered his hand to help her out. She slid towards him and pressed up against him in a hug.
“I had a wonderful time this evening, James,” She said. “Thank you.”
He slid an arm around her waist as they walked toward the stairs back down to the lower level. “The pleasure is mine, Brynne. You are a delightful companion. I have not enjoyed the company of a woman so much for a very long time,” James said. “I had almost forgotten what a joy such companionship can be, so thank you.”
She reached around him with her free arm as they walked and pulled him closer. James probed her mind and found a pleased glow of satisfaction, enjoyment, and anticipation. The two said their farewells to Bianca as they left and then walked down the quiet, early-morning streets to where James had parked his silver Lexus. As they approached, James saw the tall, blonde-haired man he had seen watching them in Sabatani’s leaning up against the vehicle. The scowl on his face was visible to them both as they walked up. Brynne’s mood changed from pleased to furious in the blink of an eye.
“Mike,” Brynne said. “What are you doing here?”
“You know this man, Brynne?” James asked. “He was watching us at the restaurant earlier. I saw him, and when he realized that, he left before I could find out who he was.”
“This is my supervisor, Mike Farver,” Brynne said. She turned her gaze back to the man. “I’ll ask you again, Mike. What are you doing here? Are you following me?”
“I had to make sure you were safe, Brynne,” Mike said. James saw the man’s fists clench and unclench. “It’s not safe to be alone with this — person.”
“Mike, I know you don’t approve of me seeing James, but you can’t go following me around like this,” Brynne said. “It’s creepy.”
“I assure you, Michael, she was never in any danger this evening,” James said trying to defuse the situation.
“How can I take your word for it, vampire,” Mike said, emphasizing the final word and stepping towards James. “Did you think you could have a date and a midnight snack at the same time?”
“Mike!” Brynne shouted, stepping between the two men. “That is enough. James has been nothing but a gentleman this evening, not that it’s any of your business. I’m not your girlfriend, your daughter or anyone else you need to protect. Now, James is going to take me home, and you are going to leave and get some sleep. We’ll continue this conversation at work when I see you tonight. Now go!”
“This is not over, vampire,” Mike said through gritted teeth. He backed away until he was in between the next row of parked cars and then turned and hurried across the parking lot to his black Ford SUV. James watched, his nerves still on edge, as the other paramedic’s vehicle roared to life, and he gunned the engine, peeling out of the parking lot and down the street.
Brynne watched him leave, too, and as soon as the SUV passed out of sight between two buildings, she sighed and turned back to him, burying her face in his chest.
“I’m so sorry, James,” She said as she hugged him. “I should have expected something like that. Mike and I had words about this the last time I was at work. I thought he would leave it alone after I made my wishes to see you clear. I guess I was wrong.”
James put his arms around Brynne as they stood there in the parking lot for a moment of silence in the early morning quiet. He placed his hands on either side of her head and lifted it to look up at him.
“You are not responsible for his behavior, Brynne,” James said. “I do not blame you.”
“He’s a good paramedic, one of the best,” Brynne said. “I just think he is worried about me.”
“I can tell you he cares very deeply for you. He has romantic thoughts about you, too. I saw that much in his mind as we had our confrontation,” James noted. “I am glad he did not provoke an attack. I would not want to hurt someone who is close to you.”
“He’s my partner and supervisor at work. That’s all,” Brynne assured him. Her hand rose to the cross pendant dangling at her throat. “I didn’t know that he had more feelings than that, but it makes some more sense now that I think about it. He gave me this necklace when I first took this job caring for Unusuals. At the time I thought it was merely a gesture of common-sense protection. I think that he meant it to be more.” She reached behind her neck and detached the clasp of the necklace, removing it and dropping it into her clutch purse.
“Why did you remove it?” James asked. “I do not care that he gave it to you. It is attractive on you.”
“I know that I don’t need it,” She said. “At least not with you.” Brynne leaned into him again, her head tilted, looking up into his eyes.
James cupped her face gently in his hands and kissed her, savoring the feeling of her lips on his. The scent of her perfume, the adrenaline rush of the confrontation with Mike, and his desire for her all mixed to make the kiss electric to him.
As the kiss ended Brynne whispered, “Well, that was nice.” She laughed as she looked up at him again. “And see, I’m still alive. You didn’t attack me.”
“It’s not because I didn’t want to, Brynne,” James said smiling. “Attack you in one way, at least. You are hard to resist.”
“Well, you’ll just have to wait until the next time,” Brynne said, winking at him. “Who knows, maybe I’ll be the one doing the attacking.” She walked over to the car, and he opened the passenger door for her as she climbed in. He noticed a flush of color that extended from her face down to where her cleavage appeared from the top of her dress. The heat of her increased blood flow was evident to his vampire senses.
He walked to his side and joined her in the car, starting it up and driving out of the city, back to her apartment building in the suburbs. They were quiet in the car, but she placed her hand on his thigh as he drove, and he took one hand from the wheel to hold her hand. It felt good, right, to drive with her next to him as they headed into the early morning darkness.
———
James spent the next few days both thinking about the next time he could see Brynne and pondering an appropriate response to the confrontation with Mike Farver, Brynne’s paramedic partner. If he had been a vampire or other aggressive Unusual, the response would have been immediate and final. That was their way. With humans, however, that could lead to problems with the authorities at a time when things were better between the parallel communities than they had ever been. He talked with Celeste, and her opinion was to wait and see if Mike showed up again for a future confrontation.
The problem, it turned out, resolved itself. To be honest, Brynne addressed it herself, in her typical head-on fashion. She approached her superiors, asking for a review of Mike’s behavior due to harassing comments and the situation in the parking lot. Mike was reprimanded and moved to the academy to teach students there, so he was off the streets for the time being. She had handled it herself without making him a part of it at all.
James reminded himself that Brynne wa
s a very capable woman. That was something that drew him to her, which was strange considering his age and how old-fashioned he was in other ways. There was just something about her that had him thinking about her off and on all day, every day, wondering when they could see each other again. He knew she was on night shift for the time being and she wouldn’t appreciate him just showing up on an ambulance call or at Station U while she was working. Also, seeing her in the daylight hours was problematic. He could drive by in his car - the windows were specially tinted to block the harmful spectrum of sunlight - but they couldn’t go out anywhere that didn’t have an underground garage.
No, he had to wait until she was off at night again, or, even better, when she had several days off. He decided he would call her at the end of her next shift and see when she would like them to see each other again. She had told him that she would be in touch as soon as she could break away, but when he hadn’t heard from her in the intervening days, he thought he should call her. He looked at his watch and looked out through the tinted windows of his penthouse apartment at the rising sun. He keyed the remote that lowered the blackout shutters. He would let her get home from work and then call her. He picked up the remote and put on CNN to watch the national and international news while he waited. He was still watching the news when Celeste entered.
“I’m leaving for the day. I’ve got everything finished, and besides, you have a guest on the way up,” She said.
“A guest?” James asked.
“You’ll see,” She said, with a mischievous grin as she turned toward the elevator. “Have a good day, I’ll see you tonight.” James watched her go down the hallway to the penthouse entrance and the elevators. A few seconds later he heard the elevator bell ring and then, “Hello, Brynne. Don’t keep him up all day.”
James turned and watched Brynne enter from the hallway. She was wearing tight-fitting blue jeans, a fitted white T-shirt, and a leather jacket. She took off the jacket and draped it over a chair as she approached. He sensed desire and something else, maybe curiosity at the edges of her mind. Brynne leaned over the back of the couch where he was sitting and pressed her soft lips against his.
“I’ve been looking forward to this,” She whispered in his ear after the kiss. “But I have one question.”
He turned and gently pulled her over the back of the sofa into his lap. “I’ll answer if I can,” He said. The curiosity burned in her eyes as she looked into his. Her mouth quirked in a smile.
“I saw Rudy in the garage on my way up,” She began. “Do you want to tell me why he told me to thank you for his Jeep?”
The End?
What Happens Next?
Read more about James, Brynne, and the Station U paramedics including the story of newbie paramedic Dean Flynn as he is exposed to the world of the Unusuals in Elk City.
Buy Extreme Medical Services, Book 1, by Jamie Davis at most online e-book retailers!
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Jamie Davis
About the Author
Jamie Davis, RN, NRP, B.A., A.S., host of the Nursing Show (NursingShow.com) is a nationally recognized medical educator who began educating new emergency responders as a training officer for his local EMS program. As a media producer, he has been recognized for the MedicCast Podcast (MedicCast.com/blog), a weekly program for emergency medical providers like EMTs and paramedics, and the Nursing Show, a similar program for nurses and nursing students. His programs and resources have been downloaded over 4 million times by listeners and viewers.
Jamie speaks nationally on health care, technology, and education and is an advocate for integrating podcasting and media creation in schools at all levels. He has spoken at the Podcast and New Media Expo, been a featured faculty member of the Podcast Secrets course, and has been invited to speak and MC at medical conferences and expos around the world. In addition to his traveling speaker opportunities, Jamie is also an adjunct instructor in the health careers department at Cecil College where he teaches a variety of courses to future nurses and paramedics.
Jamie is also the managing director of the ProMed Network (ProMedNetwork.com), a collection of the best and brightest independent medical podcasters and new media creators currently available online. The network now comprises over 30 independently produced programs for medical and health care professionals at all levels. These trusted resources for high quality medical education and information reach over 500,000 downloads to medical professionals every month.
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