el

They would slip away then, if they could, into a closet or an empty room on a different floor. He would pull her close, an arm around her stomach, and ease his weight against her back. Then he’d rock his hips into hers like they were having sex. She’d press back and try not to make any noise, even though she was pretty sure he liked it when she did. 

They never took their clothes off or anything. They never even kissed, but she still felt guilty about the way he’d groan and his hips would stutter and he’d drop his forehead to her shoulder and just breathe there for a while after. Not guilty enough to not let him do it, though. 

It always felt good. One time he had lifted her up and pressed her against the door so that the handle pushed against her just right, and she’d come hard even though she was terrified the entire time that the door was going to swing open and they’d drop to the floor with a bang. 

Mel takes a shaky breath and stretches her legs out, making it obvious she is awake. When his hand doesn’t move, her stomach does a swooping thing. The bed creaks as she turns to face him, the sound startling both of them. 

“M’sorry,” she sniffles, her face burning. The room is so dark that she can only make out Langdon’s silhouette, broad-shouldered, perched on the side of the bed. “What time is it?” 

“Midnight. We’ve got an MVC that’s 10-minutes out. Just came in to grab ya.” 

“Right. Thank you.” She’s half sitting up now, but cannot move from the bed, as Langdon is blocking her completely.

“Did you get some rest?” 

“A little.” 

“That’s good.” 

The conversation dies very quickly. He’s so close to her that she can feel his breath on her face as he exhales. Mel blinks rapidly in the dark, waiting for him to move, trying not to let her heart soar when he doesn’t.

“Tell me–” his voice cuts through the white noise in the room. “Tell me to go, Mel.” 

All she can manage is a brisk shake of her head, and she cannot even feel guilty about moving in to kiss him, because he is closing the space between them simultaneously. They’ve always been on the same page, since that first day. 

In the dark, it is difficult to perfectly align their mouths at first, but Langdon is quickly adjusting her and deepening the kiss, breath hitching when she opens for him easily. Immediately, Mel is pliable beneath him, panting into his mouth and spreading her legs so he can clamber in between them on the bed. The heat of his tongue sends a shudder down her body, head to toe. 

“I like you so fuckin’ much,” he mumbles against her. “It makes me feel crazy.” 

She wants to ask him what they are going to do now. She wants to scamper out of his arms and back into the ED, to safety. She wants to beg him to take her clothes off and fuck her right here in the on-call room. 

Instead, Mel gives him a final messy kiss and pushes him off. There is one question that matters right now – the rest will have to wait.