A romance author that I really like recently wrote a new book. I downloaded it to my Kindle in preparation for a business trip I'm taking. Excited to have a new book to help pass the time in the airport and on the plane, I turned on my Kindle, chose the title and opened it up.
Much to my disappointment it's not a romance.
Well, there are "romantic elements" but it's definitely not a romance. It's about this woman's journey, other relationships and rediscovering herself.
Hey, that's great. Seriously. I like these stories and would have likely still picked this particular book up. But I would have liked for the description, title and author's reputation not to lead me to believe it's a romance.
It's like a "romantic" movie where either the hero or heroine dies.
Or the book where 3/4 of the book is spent on the story of one guy and girl, only for them to break up and for the girl to end up with another guy at the end (the second guy was better for her, by far, but I didn't have a chance to get to know him as well so didn't get that feeling of "ah" when the h and H finally got together). (Yes, this is a real book... again, no names! :))
Or like the build up to some "fantastic" CD or dessert or... anything... only to try it yourself and think "I've had better".
I hate that!
Nothing like a big let down.
So, one of my goals as a writer is to be sure to represent my work accurately and to not let anyone down!
What's something that an author can do that will make you feel let down? Is it in how she solves the mystery or the problem between the characters or in how they finally profess their love?
Will you give the author a second chance? A third?
I will definitely give this author another chance. She's great. And the story was great. I'm glad I read it, even if I was "tricked" into it! :)
Miscellaneous stuff from and about author Erin Nicholas
Monday, May 3, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Release Day!
So, I've been all over the net blogging and posting and talking about Just Right releasing today... but neglected my own blog! :)
I mentioned on Facebook that I think release day is even better than my birthday! Partly because I'm far past the age of getting brightly frosted cupcakes, new bikes and wearing a tiara at school! Now birthdays are dinner of my choice (which, don't get me wrong, is just fine!) and something nice from Steady and a homemade card from Ruckus and Finicky. But it also means one more year older and facing the reality my butt is NEVER going to look like it did when I was 20.
Release day on the other hand means my beautiful book cover and name splashed all over, people e-mailing me telling me how they can't wait to read it, people reading excerpts and telling me how great it sounds, etc. I feel appreciated and creative and... fantastic! So, yeah, I like release day better! Because you know what... I got dinner of my choice to celebrate today too! *G*
Here's the blurb and an excerpt from Just Right!
To be a good bad boy you have to find just the right girl…
ER nurse Jessica Bradford is a good girl. Okay, more like a reformed bad girl. She’s determined to be the woman her late father wanted her to be. And she knows she should be with someone like Dr. Ben Torres-- in charge, dedicated, selfless. The tall, dark and handsome part is just a bonus.
So Jessica agrees to keep Ben out of trouble after he’s suspended from the hospital for punching a belligerent, drunk patient in the emergency room. She’ll get the needed recommendation from the Chief of Staff for the promotion she wants and she’ll have a great reason to spend more time with Dr. Perfect. But suddenly she’s got a problem. Outside of work Ben’s not so dependable, or perfect after all…and he’s even more tempting than before.
Ben’s done being everybody’s hero. What’s being a trauma surgeon ever gotten him but horrible hours and a bunch of responsibilities that make his life complicated? His sudden time off from the hospital is not only overdue, it’s a blessing. Which he intends to enjoy fully.
Jessica can’t believe Ben is acting more like a kid in a candy store than a man who’s about to throw his career away. Even more, she can’t believe that she still wants him like ice cream wants hot fudge. She tries her best to keep him out of trouble—except “trouble” is all Ben’s interested in.
And suddenly Jessica’s having trouble remembering why that’s a bad thing…
Excerpt:
There were five words that Jessica hated to hear from her brother.
“Jess, I need a favor.”
Yep. Those were them.
She closed her eyes. “Come on, Sam. I had a long day.” She wanted to prop up in bed, watch Seinfeld reruns and eat a pint of Peanut Butter Passion.
“It’s important, Jess,” Sam said, his tone the one he used for coaxing shy women out onto the dance floor. “I tried to handle it, but I need your help.”
The tone always worked on curvy blondes.
Jessica was not a curvy blonde.
“I’m…busy.”
“Dry your hair and get dressed,” he said. “I told you—it’s important.”
Jessica paused with the comb halfway through her straight brown hair and stared at the phone receiver in the mirror. How had he known her hair was wet? That was weird.
“I said I’m busy.”
“No. You said I’m, then there was a long pause before you said busy.”
She scowled. “So?”
“So, that pause means you were trying to think of a good excuse because you can never quite bring yourself to lie about it. You’re at home. It had to be taking a shower, doing laundry or cleaning the apartment.”
Jessica bristled. “I do other things here than…wash things.”
“Yeah, but if you were really doing anything important you would have actually been busy and you would have just told me what you were busy doing instead of using the noncommittal, generic I’m busy.”
Jessica was thrown off for a moment by her brother using the word noncommittal.
Showing off her own impressive vocabulary, she replied again, “So?”
“I need your help. It should be enough that I say it’s important,” Sam said, moving on from the “busy” conversation, probably bored by now with the topic that wasn’t directly about him.
Of course, important could mean almost anything with Sam.
It could mean he was a few dollars short of getting in on a poker game. It could mean that he needed a place for a couple of buddies from out of town to crash for the weekend. It could mean that one of the girls he’d flirted with had taken him too seriously and he needed an emergency wife to get the girl off his back. Jessica sighed. She hated playing Sam’s wife. He always wanted her to be bitchy and she always ended up feeling bad for the girl.
“It was a really long day at work.”
And it was all because of Ben Torres.
Rumor had it he had been suspended by the Chief of Staff and the hospital attorneys were riled up trying to figure out how to troubleshoot the situation. There were charges pending as well. Manslaughter for Ted. Assault for Ben.
Not that any of it affected Jessica directly. She was an ER nurse. There were more surgeons, there would be more accidents and more patients. But she couldn’t get Ben out of her mind…or suppress her insane urge to make sure he was all right.
“I heard,” Sam said.
Of course he had. Sam was the head paramedic on the best ambulance crew in the city and he not only worked with the ER staff regularly, he was also friends with many of them, including Ben. Matt Taylor, the ER doctor on Ted Blake’s case, was a poker buddy of Sam’s.
“I’m tired and—”
“Shame on you, Jessica Leigh Bradford,” Sam broke in. “I’m your little brother. Your only brother.”
The only part was right. The little part not so much. Sam was younger than Jessica by five years, but she didn’t even come up to his chin.
“I’m not in the mood for this.” But she knew that she didn’t sound convincing. She’d always been a sucker for the little brother bit. Because he was right. He was her younger brother and she felt responsible, even now when he was twenty-five and definitely a big boy.
“Too bad.”
“What is it?” she asked, trying to soak a cotton ball with skin toner with one hand while holding the phone with the other.
“A babysitting job.”
She frowned, forgetting the cotton ball for a moment. “Did you say babysitting?”
“Well, first, do you have a sexy dress?”
Jessica forgot about the toner, cotton ball and everything else. “Excuse me?”
“You’re going to need to borrow one then,” Sam said. “And high heels. Do you have high heels?”
His tone suggested that he sincerely doubted it.
“Of course I do.” They were way in the back of the closet somewhere, but she was pretty sure she still had them.
“What about the dress?”
“I have a dress, Sam.”
“But is it sexy? It will have to be sexy. Maybe you should call Marcy.”
This called for a dress from her friend Marcy? Marcy didn’t dress in anything that didn’t reveal cleavage and lots of it. What in the hell was going on?
“Sam, maybe you’d better define babysitting,” Jessica said grimly.
Buy!
Read more!
I mentioned on Facebook that I think release day is even better than my birthday! Partly because I'm far past the age of getting brightly frosted cupcakes, new bikes and wearing a tiara at school! Now birthdays are dinner of my choice (which, don't get me wrong, is just fine!) and something nice from Steady and a homemade card from Ruckus and Finicky. But it also means one more year older and facing the reality my butt is NEVER going to look like it did when I was 20.
Release day on the other hand means my beautiful book cover and name splashed all over, people e-mailing me telling me how they can't wait to read it, people reading excerpts and telling me how great it sounds, etc. I feel appreciated and creative and... fantastic! So, yeah, I like release day better! Because you know what... I got dinner of my choice to celebrate today too! *G*
Here's the blurb and an excerpt from Just Right!
To be a good bad boy you have to find just the right girl…
ER nurse Jessica Bradford is a good girl. Okay, more like a reformed bad girl. She’s determined to be the woman her late father wanted her to be. And she knows she should be with someone like Dr. Ben Torres-- in charge, dedicated, selfless. The tall, dark and handsome part is just a bonus.
So Jessica agrees to keep Ben out of trouble after he’s suspended from the hospital for punching a belligerent, drunk patient in the emergency room. She’ll get the needed recommendation from the Chief of Staff for the promotion she wants and she’ll have a great reason to spend more time with Dr. Perfect. But suddenly she’s got a problem. Outside of work Ben’s not so dependable, or perfect after all…and he’s even more tempting than before.
Ben’s done being everybody’s hero. What’s being a trauma surgeon ever gotten him but horrible hours and a bunch of responsibilities that make his life complicated? His sudden time off from the hospital is not only overdue, it’s a blessing. Which he intends to enjoy fully.
Jessica can’t believe Ben is acting more like a kid in a candy store than a man who’s about to throw his career away. Even more, she can’t believe that she still wants him like ice cream wants hot fudge. She tries her best to keep him out of trouble—except “trouble” is all Ben’s interested in.
And suddenly Jessica’s having trouble remembering why that’s a bad thing…
Excerpt:
There were five words that Jessica hated to hear from her brother.
“Jess, I need a favor.”
Yep. Those were them.
She closed her eyes. “Come on, Sam. I had a long day.” She wanted to prop up in bed, watch Seinfeld reruns and eat a pint of Peanut Butter Passion.
“It’s important, Jess,” Sam said, his tone the one he used for coaxing shy women out onto the dance floor. “I tried to handle it, but I need your help.”
The tone always worked on curvy blondes.
Jessica was not a curvy blonde.
“I’m…busy.”
“Dry your hair and get dressed,” he said. “I told you—it’s important.”
Jessica paused with the comb halfway through her straight brown hair and stared at the phone receiver in the mirror. How had he known her hair was wet? That was weird.
“I said I’m busy.”
“No. You said I’m, then there was a long pause before you said busy.”
She scowled. “So?”
“So, that pause means you were trying to think of a good excuse because you can never quite bring yourself to lie about it. You’re at home. It had to be taking a shower, doing laundry or cleaning the apartment.”
Jessica bristled. “I do other things here than…wash things.”
“Yeah, but if you were really doing anything important you would have actually been busy and you would have just told me what you were busy doing instead of using the noncommittal, generic I’m busy.”
Jessica was thrown off for a moment by her brother using the word noncommittal.
Showing off her own impressive vocabulary, she replied again, “So?”
“I need your help. It should be enough that I say it’s important,” Sam said, moving on from the “busy” conversation, probably bored by now with the topic that wasn’t directly about him.
Of course, important could mean almost anything with Sam.
It could mean he was a few dollars short of getting in on a poker game. It could mean that he needed a place for a couple of buddies from out of town to crash for the weekend. It could mean that one of the girls he’d flirted with had taken him too seriously and he needed an emergency wife to get the girl off his back. Jessica sighed. She hated playing Sam’s wife. He always wanted her to be bitchy and she always ended up feeling bad for the girl.
“It was a really long day at work.”
And it was all because of Ben Torres.
Rumor had it he had been suspended by the Chief of Staff and the hospital attorneys were riled up trying to figure out how to troubleshoot the situation. There were charges pending as well. Manslaughter for Ted. Assault for Ben.
Not that any of it affected Jessica directly. She was an ER nurse. There were more surgeons, there would be more accidents and more patients. But she couldn’t get Ben out of her mind…or suppress her insane urge to make sure he was all right.
“I heard,” Sam said.
Of course he had. Sam was the head paramedic on the best ambulance crew in the city and he not only worked with the ER staff regularly, he was also friends with many of them, including Ben. Matt Taylor, the ER doctor on Ted Blake’s case, was a poker buddy of Sam’s.
“I’m tired and—”
“Shame on you, Jessica Leigh Bradford,” Sam broke in. “I’m your little brother. Your only brother.”
The only part was right. The little part not so much. Sam was younger than Jessica by five years, but she didn’t even come up to his chin.
“I’m not in the mood for this.” But she knew that she didn’t sound convincing. She’d always been a sucker for the little brother bit. Because he was right. He was her younger brother and she felt responsible, even now when he was twenty-five and definitely a big boy.
“Too bad.”
“What is it?” she asked, trying to soak a cotton ball with skin toner with one hand while holding the phone with the other.
“A babysitting job.”
She frowned, forgetting the cotton ball for a moment. “Did you say babysitting?”
“Well, first, do you have a sexy dress?”
Jessica forgot about the toner, cotton ball and everything else. “Excuse me?”
“You’re going to need to borrow one then,” Sam said. “And high heels. Do you have high heels?”
His tone suggested that he sincerely doubted it.
“Of course I do.” They were way in the back of the closet somewhere, but she was pretty sure she still had them.
“What about the dress?”
“I have a dress, Sam.”
“But is it sexy? It will have to be sexy. Maybe you should call Marcy.”
This called for a dress from her friend Marcy? Marcy didn’t dress in anything that didn’t reveal cleavage and lots of it. What in the hell was going on?
“Sam, maybe you’d better define babysitting,” Jessica said grimly.
Buy!
Read more!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Reader's At Home Conference
Thought maybe you'd all like to know about this event! I will be participating! It's a month away or so, but wanted to let you know so you could look forward to it like we are!
What do tons of authors, tons of prizes, tons of hotties and tons
of readers have in common? They’re attending the first ever
Readers at Home Conference! During the week
of April 26-30, authors and readers will converge on Lucy Monroe’s blog, to
celebrate their favorite genre – romance!
We are giving away Swag Bags to the first 50
readers who register for the conference. To register, all you have to
do is send an email to
Lucy Monroe with your name and mailing address (for the
Swag Bag) stating your intention to attend the RAH Conference. The
Swag Bags are for conference attendees only and we are trusting that
you truly intend to attend the conference and interact with the
authors and other readers on the blog. :) Lucy is shipping the Swag
Bags at her own expense, but many authors have
donated loot for you all, and each Swag Bag will have a free book
inside.
Yes, that's right - the conference is FREE. How cool is that?
Every day there will be multiple authors visiting and guest blogging,
with new posts going live every 3 hours between 6 AM and 6 PM. Lucy
will post a hottie who is definitely hunky enough to be a cover model
and there will be daily drawings for multiple prizes
(more than 50 over the week!!!), including dozens of signed books, a
B&N gift card, a t-shirt, 3 prize tote bags filled with books and
goodies (from Sue G at BTRB and Becke Davis), free online
subscriptions to Affaire de Couer magazine and 2 more Swag Bags given
away each day. What could be better?
Hope to see YOU there!
Readers at Home Conference Sponsors
~ Guest Blogging Authors ~
Elizabeth Amber
Jules Bennett
Jenna Bayley-Burke
Leigh D'Ansey
Jami Davenport
Kate Davies
HelenKay Dimon
Diana Duncan
Cynthia Eden
Kimberly Fisk
Barbara Freethy
Tricia Jones
Nicola Marsh
Kaylin McFarren
Susan Meier
Elisabeth Naughton
Erin Nicholas
Lorie O'Clare
Rick Reed
Maggie Robinson
Patti Shenberger
Gabi Stevens
Kay Stockham
Helen Scott Taylor
Karen Van der Zee
Mary Wine
Other Readers at Home Conference Sponsors
(donated prizes, items for the Swag Bags, etc.)
Affaire de Coeur
Borders True Romance Blog
Monica Burns
Christie Craig
Lori Foster
Donna Grant
Faye Hughes
Margaret Mallory
Becke Martin
Lucy Monroe
Alexis Morgan
Laurie Ryan
J.L. Wilson
So, while a bunch of us are at RT going crazy, you can be visiting
with some of your favorite and some brand new authors - wearing casual
clothes, ditching the makeup and your shoes. Oh, that? I envy! :)
of readers have in common? They’re attending the first ever
Readers at Home Conference! During the week
of April 26-30, authors and readers will converge on Lucy Monroe’s blog, to
celebrate their favorite genre – romance!
We are giving away Swag Bags to the first 50
readers who register for the conference. To register, all you have to
do is send an email to
Lucy Monroe with your name and mailing address (for the
Swag Bag) stating your intention to attend the RAH Conference. The
Swag Bags are for conference attendees only and we are trusting that
you truly intend to attend the conference and interact with the
authors and other readers on the blog. :) Lucy is shipping the Swag
Bags at her own expense, but many authors have
donated loot for you all, and each Swag Bag will have a free book
inside.
Yes, that's right - the conference is FREE. How cool is that?
Every day there will be multiple authors visiting and guest blogging,
with new posts going live every 3 hours between 6 AM and 6 PM. Lucy
will post a hottie who is definitely hunky enough to be a cover model
and there will be daily drawings for multiple prizes
(more than 50 over the week!!!), including dozens of signed books, a
B&N gift card, a t-shirt, 3 prize tote bags filled with books and
goodies (from Sue G at BTRB and Becke Davis), free online
subscriptions to Affaire de Couer magazine and 2 more Swag Bags given
away each day. What could be better?
Hope to see YOU there!
Readers at Home Conference Sponsors
~ Guest Blogging Authors ~
Elizabeth Amber
Jules Bennett
Jenna Bayley-Burke
Leigh D'Ansey
Jami Davenport
Kate Davies
HelenKay Dimon
Diana Duncan
Cynthia Eden
Kimberly Fisk
Barbara Freethy
Tricia Jones
Nicola Marsh
Kaylin McFarren
Susan Meier
Elisabeth Naughton
Erin Nicholas
Lorie O'Clare
Rick Reed
Maggie Robinson
Patti Shenberger
Gabi Stevens
Kay Stockham
Helen Scott Taylor
Karen Van der Zee
Mary Wine
Other Readers at Home Conference Sponsors
(donated prizes, items for the Swag Bags, etc.)
Affaire de Coeur
Borders True Romance Blog
Monica Burns
Christie Craig
Lori Foster
Donna Grant
Faye Hughes
Margaret Mallory
Becke Martin
Lucy Monroe
Alexis Morgan
Laurie Ryan
J.L. Wilson
So, while a bunch of us are at RT going crazy, you can be visiting
with some of your favorite and some brand new authors - wearing casual
clothes, ditching the makeup and your shoes. Oh, that? I envy! :)
Lucy Monroe
Friday, March 5, 2010
Some stuff you should know!
Okay, I blog. But I don't necessarily blog here. Because I feel like I can't keep up and I hate that! I blog at the Nine Naughty Novelists, of course, and over at Samhain when it's my turn. But I'm going to make a better effort and keeping stuff up here. I guess I want a place to talk more about my books and how they went from ideas to actual books!
So, let's talk about the next book coming up. I'm counting down to March 30th when Just Right will rele
ase. I love this book. It was the fastest, most fun write I'd had up to that point. Jessica and Ben were very real to me early on which made their story easy! And they had heat... which is always fun!
I started Just Right not knowing that it would lead to a series. Never done a series before. But I do love them as a reader. Then as I wrote and got to know the other characters I knew that was where this was going to end up.
Sam, Jessica's brother, and her sister, Sara, both show up in Just Right. And both need their own stories! Sam's story comes out in June. Just Like That is about him and Danika, the only woman to tame this playboy! And then Sara finally admits that she's in love with Sam's best friend, Mac, in Just My Type in September! So, 2010 is going to be fun and I'll be spending a lot of time with the Bradfords! Good thing I like them so much!
So, let's talk about the next book coming up. I'm counting down to March 30th when Just Right will rele
ase. I love this book. It was the fastest, most fun write I'd had up to that point. Jessica and Ben were very real to me early on which made their story easy! And they had heat... which is always fun!I started Just Right not knowing that it would lead to a series. Never done a series before. But I do love them as a reader. Then as I wrote and got to know the other characters I knew that was where this was going to end up.
Sam, Jessica's brother, and her sister, Sara, both show up in Just Right. And both need their own stories! Sam's story comes out in June. Just Like That is about him and Danika, the only woman to tame this playboy! And then Sara finally admits that she's in love with Sam's best friend, Mac, in Just My Type in September! So, 2010 is going to be fun and I'll be spending a lot of time with the Bradfords! Good thing I like them so much!
Here's some stuff you might like to know (or not...)
Jessica is the oldest. She is five years older than Sam and ten older than Sara.
Their mother left when Sara was two and their father was killed when Jessica was 20. Sara was only ten and so Jessica took over the guardianship of both her siblings, truly raising Sara. They are close, but Jessica is very protective of Sara, spoiling her rotten, and easily exasperated with Sam, who loves playing the irresponsible playboy role where no one really depends on him for anything.
Their dad, David Bradford, founded and ran a center for troubled teens up until he died and the three siblings took that over and continue to run it with his trust.
Ben grew up as the only child of a missionary physician. He spent many of his younger years in Africa with his dad and then went back after medical school. His dad was completely devoted to his work and died in a plane crash in Africa when Ben was a teenager. His mom died about a year before our story starts.
So, there's some baggage. But there's a lot of fun too! Check out the excerpt at my website for example: www.ErinNicholas.comWednesday, January 6, 2010
Food Scene (kind of) from Just Right
My upcoming release, Just Right, has more than one sexy, charming guy in it! Here's a scene with two of them, Ben (our hero) and Sam (his best friend and our heroine's brother). This week, for the Nine Naughty Novelists, this scene is supposed to involve food somehow. It does, kind of. Enjoy!
“You know that you don’t have a clitoris, right?”
Ben strolled into the kitchen where Sam was preparing grilled cheese sandwiches.
Sam turned away from the stove, an incredibly funny expression on his face. “Excuse me?”
Ben tossed him the bottle he’d found when looking for a towel in the bathroom. “Thought I should fill you in, just in case you were wondering why this stuff wasn’t working for you.”
Sam looked at the label that claimed the oil inside had a warming and arousing affect on the clitoris if applied prior to sexual activity. He grinned when he realized what it was. “Oh, it worked for me—indirectly.”
“Better than the leopard print panties?” Ben had also seen those in the lid-less shoebox in the cupboard under the sink.
Sam set the bottle on the counter and turned to flip the sandwich in the pan. “I do my best work when panties are not involved.”
Ben chuckled and grabbed a banana from the bunch on the counter. “So what is that collection?”
Sam shrugged. “Stuff people have left here.”
“People? As in, how many?” Ben bit off a huge hunk of banana.
Sam slid the golden sandwich onto the plate that already held two others. “However many are in there.”
“Three panties, a bra, a garter and the oil.”
“So, six,” Sam concluded.
“They were each from a different woman?” Ben asked.
“Probably. I don’t remember which is which anymore, though.”
“They didn’t ask for their underwear back the next time they were here?” Ben asked.
Sam shrugged again with a large grin as he added cheese to yet another piece of bread. “There’s no again around here. One night, that’s all they get.”
Ben shook his head and bit off another bite of banana. Wow. Sam certainly didn’t have any problems with getting too wrapped up in other people’s lives. If his friends were getting too drunk in some bar, he sent someone in to get them. If a woman came up for some fun and left anything behind, he just chucked it in the shoebox and didn’t worry about it anymore.
Sam didn’t get too attached to his patients either. He’d told Ben once that he’d chosen being a paramedic partly because he could work those overnight shifts that agreed with him best, and partly because he didn’t have to do anything more than keep them alive, however he could, until they hit the ER. Then the big decisions, the tough choices and the hard work were someone else’s responsibility. Like Ben’s.
“I need to be more like you,” Ben said shaking his head. Sam pushed a plate with two sandwiches toward him. “You have to show me how. Give me lessons or something.”
Sam even used paper plates. No washing, no worrying about breakage.
“The warming oil has directions on it, man. I am not showing you how to use it.” Sam took a huge bite of bread and cheese and yet still managed his unapologetic grin.
“I’m talking about the way you just get by without anyone expecting more of you,” Ben said, thinking out loud as he bit into a sandwich too.
Sam washed his food down with a big swig of milk. “That sounds like maybe I should be insulted.”
“No, you should appreciate it,” Ben said emphatically. “You can just do your thing your way and everyone just accepts it.”
Sam finished off his first sandwich, watching Ben contemplatively as he spoke. “So, basically I’m irresponsible and inconsiderate.”
Ben scowled at him. “I’m commending you. I want to be like you!”
Sam laughed. “I wasn’t offended. I was just clarifying what you were saying.”
“I’ll give you an example,” Ben said, on a roll now. “I can remember the names and birth dates of all but one of the women I’ve slept with. How about you?”
Sam looked amazed. “Hell, no. Are you kidding?”
“I’ve had one one-night stand. And I do remember her name. Otherwise, I’ve slept with three women, all of whom I had significant relationships with.”
“It’s not necessarily bad to have only slept with a few women, most of whom you really cared about,” Sam countered. “You’re what they call one of the good guys.”
“I’m guessing the woman who owned the warming oil thought you were pretty good,” Ben said dryly.
Sam grinned. “Well, sure. Yeah. For that. At the time. But I can also assure you that she didn’t call begging me to come home and meet her parents.”
“You’re a good guy,” Ben said. “You just don’t take things too seriously. You know when to say when. You don’t try to fix everything for everyone else. You know that you can’t always make everyone happy so you don’t worry about it.”
“And you’re not like that,” Sam said nodding. “Yeah, you’re right. I get that. It’s not that you don’t know when to say when… you don’t even know that there is a ‘when’. Especially with work. Right?”
Because his dad never said ‘when’.
The thought flashed through Ben’s head before he could stop it, or brace for it.
His father had been all about his work. Being a missionary was Michael Torres’ calling and he put his heart and soul into it. Everyone Michael had ever known respected him and were inspired by him. But none of those people had lived with him. None of them knew what it was like to always have the work, the calling, the mission be put first. Ben had been loved, but he had never been prioritized. Neither had his mother. They were expected to be self-sufficient enough, emotionally strong enough, smart enough, to not require Michael to take time or resources away from his work.
Michael had known that he would give one hundred percent to his work. He’d never intended to have a wife and family. But he’d accidentally fallen in love with Ben’s mother. Then they had accidentally gotten pregnant. Not that Ben ever believed Michael regretted being a husband and father. But he couldn’t focus on it. His work was what he lived for and what he taught his son to value. Work, service, sacrifice. Those were the ideals Ben had inherited from his father. And even though he knew how it felt to be an after-thought Ben had felt guilty, lazy and selfish any time he’d entertained ideas of focusing on something other than his work.
There had been no such thing as free-time, blowing off steam, or frivolity in Michael Torres’ life and he’d managed to take those out of his son’s imagination as well.
Even when he was watching a football game on TV at home, Ben had a medical journal open in his lap. If he was having a beer with the guys after an especially hard day in the ER, he was still replaying cases, and planning for the next day. Even with women he was always only partially there. They didn’t know it, of course, but he couldn’t remember one woman he’d ever given one-hundred percent of his attention to.
Until Jessica.
Until the one woman who constantly tried to get him to focus on other things.
It was just perfect. Perfectly frustrating as hell.
“Well, I want to learn how to say ‘when’,” Ben announced.
“It’s not that hard,” Sam said. “Hell, Ben, you just need to hook up with people who have the
expectations that you want to meet.”
Sam’s words hit Ben direct in the gut. His friend was right. The problem was partly Ben letting people expect too much, but maybe part of the issue was the people that were doing the expecting.
Well, quitting his job at the hospital was a step in the right direction in getting away from some of those people.
The only thing he wasn’t sure of was what to do with the people he didn’t want to get away from.
“You know that you don’t have a clitoris, right?”
Ben strolled into the kitchen where Sam was preparing grilled cheese sandwiches.
Sam turned away from the stove, an incredibly funny expression on his face. “Excuse me?”
Ben tossed him the bottle he’d found when looking for a towel in the bathroom. “Thought I should fill you in, just in case you were wondering why this stuff wasn’t working for you.”
Sam looked at the label that claimed the oil inside had a warming and arousing affect on the clitoris if applied prior to sexual activity. He grinned when he realized what it was. “Oh, it worked for me—indirectly.”
“Better than the leopard print panties?” Ben had also seen those in the lid-less shoebox in the cupboard under the sink.
Sam set the bottle on the counter and turned to flip the sandwich in the pan. “I do my best work when panties are not involved.”
Ben chuckled and grabbed a banana from the bunch on the counter. “So what is that collection?”
Sam shrugged. “Stuff people have left here.”
“People? As in, how many?” Ben bit off a huge hunk of banana.
Sam slid the golden sandwich onto the plate that already held two others. “However many are in there.”
“Three panties, a bra, a garter and the oil.”
“So, six,” Sam concluded.
“They were each from a different woman?” Ben asked.
“Probably. I don’t remember which is which anymore, though.”
“They didn’t ask for their underwear back the next time they were here?” Ben asked.
Sam shrugged again with a large grin as he added cheese to yet another piece of bread. “There’s no again around here. One night, that’s all they get.”
Ben shook his head and bit off another bite of banana. Wow. Sam certainly didn’t have any problems with getting too wrapped up in other people’s lives. If his friends were getting too drunk in some bar, he sent someone in to get them. If a woman came up for some fun and left anything behind, he just chucked it in the shoebox and didn’t worry about it anymore.
Sam didn’t get too attached to his patients either. He’d told Ben once that he’d chosen being a paramedic partly because he could work those overnight shifts that agreed with him best, and partly because he didn’t have to do anything more than keep them alive, however he could, until they hit the ER. Then the big decisions, the tough choices and the hard work were someone else’s responsibility. Like Ben’s.
“I need to be more like you,” Ben said shaking his head. Sam pushed a plate with two sandwiches toward him. “You have to show me how. Give me lessons or something.”
Sam even used paper plates. No washing, no worrying about breakage.
“The warming oil has directions on it, man. I am not showing you how to use it.” Sam took a huge bite of bread and cheese and yet still managed his unapologetic grin.
“I’m talking about the way you just get by without anyone expecting more of you,” Ben said, thinking out loud as he bit into a sandwich too.
Sam washed his food down with a big swig of milk. “That sounds like maybe I should be insulted.”
“No, you should appreciate it,” Ben said emphatically. “You can just do your thing your way and everyone just accepts it.”
Sam finished off his first sandwich, watching Ben contemplatively as he spoke. “So, basically I’m irresponsible and inconsiderate.”
Ben scowled at him. “I’m commending you. I want to be like you!”
Sam laughed. “I wasn’t offended. I was just clarifying what you were saying.”
“I’ll give you an example,” Ben said, on a roll now. “I can remember the names and birth dates of all but one of the women I’ve slept with. How about you?”
Sam looked amazed. “Hell, no. Are you kidding?”
“I’ve had one one-night stand. And I do remember her name. Otherwise, I’ve slept with three women, all of whom I had significant relationships with.”
“It’s not necessarily bad to have only slept with a few women, most of whom you really cared about,” Sam countered. “You’re what they call one of the good guys.”
“I’m guessing the woman who owned the warming oil thought you were pretty good,” Ben said dryly.
Sam grinned. “Well, sure. Yeah. For that. At the time. But I can also assure you that she didn’t call begging me to come home and meet her parents.”
“You’re a good guy,” Ben said. “You just don’t take things too seriously. You know when to say when. You don’t try to fix everything for everyone else. You know that you can’t always make everyone happy so you don’t worry about it.”
“And you’re not like that,” Sam said nodding. “Yeah, you’re right. I get that. It’s not that you don’t know when to say when… you don’t even know that there is a ‘when’. Especially with work. Right?”
Because his dad never said ‘when’.
The thought flashed through Ben’s head before he could stop it, or brace for it.
His father had been all about his work. Being a missionary was Michael Torres’ calling and he put his heart and soul into it. Everyone Michael had ever known respected him and were inspired by him. But none of those people had lived with him. None of them knew what it was like to always have the work, the calling, the mission be put first. Ben had been loved, but he had never been prioritized. Neither had his mother. They were expected to be self-sufficient enough, emotionally strong enough, smart enough, to not require Michael to take time or resources away from his work.
Michael had known that he would give one hundred percent to his work. He’d never intended to have a wife and family. But he’d accidentally fallen in love with Ben’s mother. Then they had accidentally gotten pregnant. Not that Ben ever believed Michael regretted being a husband and father. But he couldn’t focus on it. His work was what he lived for and what he taught his son to value. Work, service, sacrifice. Those were the ideals Ben had inherited from his father. And even though he knew how it felt to be an after-thought Ben had felt guilty, lazy and selfish any time he’d entertained ideas of focusing on something other than his work.
There had been no such thing as free-time, blowing off steam, or frivolity in Michael Torres’ life and he’d managed to take those out of his son’s imagination as well.
Even when he was watching a football game on TV at home, Ben had a medical journal open in his lap. If he was having a beer with the guys after an especially hard day in the ER, he was still replaying cases, and planning for the next day. Even with women he was always only partially there. They didn’t know it, of course, but he couldn’t remember one woman he’d ever given one-hundred percent of his attention to.
Until Jessica.
Until the one woman who constantly tried to get him to focus on other things.
It was just perfect. Perfectly frustrating as hell.
“Well, I want to learn how to say ‘when’,” Ben announced.
“It’s not that hard,” Sam said. “Hell, Ben, you just need to hook up with people who have the
expectations that you want to meet.”
Sam’s words hit Ben direct in the gut. His friend was right. The problem was partly Ben letting people expect too much, but maybe part of the issue was the people that were doing the expecting.
Well, quitting his job at the hospital was a step in the right direction in getting away from some of those people.
The only thing he wasn’t sure of was what to do with the people he didn’t want to get away from.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)