up her back and into her hair, pulling her toward him and kissing her, lightly at first. She knew this was a bad idea, but she was swept up in a wave of desire she hadn’t even realized she felt. Abby knew she was attracted to Chris, but the longing she felt as their bodies pressed together surprised her. He kissed her more deeply, becoming very unlike the aloof, easygoing Chris she was used to.
As he continued pressing her hips into him with his hand on her bottom, Abby squirmed, self-conscious about her building desire.
“Chris,” she said, her voice a whimper. “Oh, God, you have to stop.”
She wanted to stop moving her hips against him, but Abby had lost control, and she knew she was heading for a point of no return. Chris held her head firmly and pressed his mouth against hers, harder, and she moaned helplessly.
“Chris, no. I’m about to…”
He pulled her hair back, releasing his lips from hers, and when Abby felt his warm mouth moving toward her neck, she knew she was about to be pushed over the edge.
“No, not like this,” she said, breathless. “Let’s go in one of the bed rooms.”
“Right here, Abby. Just let go and come for me,” he said in a low voice, kissing his way down to her chest.
“No. This should be for both of us. Come on.” She pushed back against his shoulders, her body still pulsing with desire.
Chris stayed in the chair when she got up, looking at her with longing. She walked a few steps, waiting for him to follow, but he didn’t.
“What’s the matter?” she asked. He sighed, raking a hand through his hair.
“Abby, I’m unbelievably turned on right now, but I don’t think we should.”
The desire she had felt seemed to melt into a puddle, replaced by shock.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“It’s just not a good idea.”
“Why, because I’m a stripper? Are you afraid you’re going to catch something from me?”
The only thought in her mind at that moment was gratitude for the fact that she had decided not to strip, because nakedness would not have gone well with her indignation.
“No, Abby, that’s not it at all. I bet I’ve slept with more people than you have,” Chris said, getting up and walking to her.
“Then what?” she asked, unconvinced.
“Aren’t we supposed to be just friends?”
“Yeah. Look, this was obviously a bad idea, let’s just go.” She turned and went backstage to retrieve the bag she had left on the floor.
“Let’s go to my place and talk about this,” Chris said, reaching for her. “We can come back for your car later.”
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” she said, avoiding his eyes.
“Are you mad at me?” he asked, surprised. She took a breath as she gathered her thoughts, worried her voice would break if she spoke.
“I just don’t get you, Chris,” she said. “It’s like you want to make me want you, just so you can reject me.”
“It’s not that I don’t want you. You can see that I do.”
“Well, that’s counter to today’s experience,” she muttered. “I need to lock the doors, so let’s go.”
She propped the door open as Chris walked out, shaking his head.
“We need to talk about this,” he said.
“I have to take care of Sara and Audrey today.” She locked the door quickly, anxious to escape before she broke into tears.
“Abby!” he called after her. She held a hand up as she fled to her car, needing to get away.
“But you never eat ice cream,” Sara said, looking at Abby in disbelief.
“Well, I am today. And when we finish our ice cream we’ll shop some more.”
Abby was still brooding inside over Chris’ rejection the day before. Wanting a man was a very big deal for her; it hadn’t happened in a long time. Though his hands had moved over her body in all the right ways, there had been something more about the hunger she had felt for him. It was like it had been building since that first lunch together, and growing more intense. It had felt so personal to her, so intimate.
Chris had become special to her. He was smart, warm and a good listener. Her admiration for him grew every time she saw him working at the hospital. People came to the emergency room during their worst moments: upset, broken and hurting. He was reassuring and capable, healing people one at a time.
And what did she do for people? She got men off for money as a