Page 110 of Rock Out Together
Shortlyafter our flirty exchange,Chastity went off shift and was replaced by a tall, muscular male nurse who wasn’t my type at all. I was surprised by how disappointed I felt when Chastity hadn’t come by my room to say goodnight.
Instead, it was the doctor who put in another appearance, and after a few more neurological observation tests, he’d decided to keep me in overnight. Initially, I was annoyed about this but when he’d informed me that I couldn’t fly home to New York straight away in case it caused another episode so soon after the last, I’d reluctantly accepted his judgement.
The thought of seeing Chastity again the following morning made his decision much more palatable, because I figured, despite my incapacitated state, there had been somewhat of a spark between us. So, I resigned myself that onemore night in another strange bed wouldn’t matter that much, so long as I was discharged the next day.
As the nausea and dizziness wore off the weariness crept back in, and it was only 10:10 p.m. the last I’d checked on the time before I’d promptly fallen asleep.
After a phone call to Davy the following morning, Pete my security detail showed up to take me back to the hotel. It hadn’t been necessary for him to be at the hospital with me the night before as I’d been treated in a private room. Like most hospitals in the UK, people are usually cared for in hospital wards, where there are four to six beds to a bay so that everyone can be sociable and talk to each other.
When Dr. Gristle showed up to do one final check before discharge, there was a pretty, petite, brunette nurse with him. She was obviously a fan because she kept flashing me coy smiles and batting her eyelids the way girls did when they wanted to attract my attention. The problem was, I’d seen that come-on too many times for her effort to be effective.
“Chastity not around?” I asked while I tried to keep the disappointment from my tone.
“Must be her day off,” the doc replied without looking up from the chart he was reviewing with furrowed brows.
“On holiday,” the brunette corrected. She smoothed her hair down in such a way that intimated she was interested in me, when I glanced in her direction.
“That’s a shame, I’d have liked to have said my goodbyes,” I muttered, shifting my eyes from her back to the doctor.
“Sorry, I can’t help you with that,” the doctor muttered in a tone like he couldn’t have cared less. “So, everything here is in order,” he said after checking the chart and passing it back to the nurse.
“So, we’re all set?” I asked, taking my small backpack containing my fresh change of clothes from Pete and heading toward the bathroom. I’d already showered but had put the clothes back on I’d arrived in while I had waited. As I swapped them over, I glanced at myself in the mirror and was pleased to see the much fitter, less fatigued version of myself I had been a few weeks before.
“Do you need a wheelchair?” the nurse asked, looking concerned.
I held out my hands and closed my eyes like the doc had done to check my balance, then I glanced toward her, proving my point that I had no issues with dizziness anymore.
“I think you’re good to go,” the nurse, who I hadn’t bothered to check out her name, responded.
“Yeah, I’ll take my chances,” I responded, grabbing the jacket Pete held out for me, and slung it over my shoulder. “Would you tell the doc I’ll be in touch. I’d like to donate to the department. Ask him to think about any equipment you need here, and I’ll make it happen.”
“That’s very generous of you,” the nurse admitted.
“Not a problem, I’d be glad to help. Everyone involved in my care has been great.” I turned to Pete and gesturedtoward the door. “Come on, let’s get out of here in case there is some other poor guy out there waiting for attention.”
The room I’d been in was right next to the elevator, and fortunately someone had arrived just as we left the room. Stepping inside, I glanced at Pete and shook my head in disbelief. “Fuck me, that wasn’t pleasant.”
“It wasn’t pleasant watching you go down like that. Luckily it was the second last number in the set, and the fans were understanding. You had us all worried.”
“All apart from Klarissa. I fired her.”
“I know,” he muttered, chuckling. “She came back to the hotel, her temper raging, gave everyone a tongue-lashing. She threw threatening words around like suing people, breaches of contract… not to mention the colorful names she was calling you.”
“Good,” I replied flatly.
“Doc says you’ve got to take it easy, and you need to stay here in Scotland for a week. You can’t fly home yet… just to make sure your ears, balance and the dizziness have all settled down.”
“A week huh? What the fuck am I going to do for a week in a downtown hotel in Glasgow?” I asked as we left the hospital entrance doors.
“I might have a few suggestions,” a familiar, playful Scottish voice chimed in. Turning sharply, I saw Chastity standing less than four feet away, dressed in a black, thigh-high, fitted dress, her long tan legs toned to perfection in her sexy kitten heels. Her long hair down fell over her shouldersand down to her waist, like a shiny, silken cloak. “Sorry, eavesdropping is also one of my many talents.”
“I heard you were on holiday,” I told her, smiling.
“Aye, I am on holiday. And isn’t it a coincidence that I’ve bumped into you in the street?” she questioned playfully. She toyed innocently with the strap of her purse that hung over her shoulder. “And a wee bird told me you cannae fly home for a week,” she replied in her singsong, Scottish brogue, grinning.
“Sounds like a lot of coincidences… or stars aligning,” I suggested, smiling.
“Aye and rock stars at that. Makes me wonder what you’re going to do with all those loose ends, eh?” she queried, grinning just as wickedly as she had by my bedside in the hospital.
