The Right Time for Love, page 1
The Right Time for Love
By Shawn Lane
Published by JMS Books LLC
Visit jms-books.com for more information.
Copyright 2023 Shawn Lane
ISBN 9781685504748
Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com
Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.
All rights reserved.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Published in the United States of America.
* * * *
The Right Time for Love
By Shawn Lane
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Trevor Stanton didn’t know how he had ended up in the hospital. The last thing he remembered he’d been sitting in the bleachers cheering on his little sister’s softball team. His sister was up to bat next and…nothing.
What he knew now was his head was screaming in pain.
“Can you tell us your name?” a man asked. A very bright light pierced Trevor’s eyes and he tried to cover them. “Just a moment.”
The man, whoever he was, spoke gently, though he was torturing Trevor. Trevor blinked and went to shut his eyes when the painful light winked out.
“Can you tell me your name?”
“Trevor Stanton.”
“Good. Very good.” A guy’s face came into view, directly over him. He smiled. He had a killer smile, all pearly white teeth and dimples. “Do you know what year it is, Trevor?”
He frowned. “It’s 2023. What’s going on? Where am I? Is this a hospital?”
“Yes. How many fingers am I holding up?”
“One. Do they really do that? I thought that was just in the movies or something.”
The man flashed him the same gorgeous smile. “Well, I just added that last part in for fun. You got hit in the head. Do you remember?”
“No.”
“Do you have blurry vision?”
“A little. Maybe. Are you the doctor?”
“No. I’m the nurse. My name is Skylar.”
He frowned. “Is that your first or last name?”
Skylar laughed, it sounded a little musical, like wind chimes.
“It’s my first name. Full name is Skylar Spring.”
His vision was still a little blurry but from what he could see of Skylar Spring he was one of those pretty, perky types with golden locks and blue eyes. Okay the golden locks were enhanced by bleach, he figured. He wore blue scrubs with some sort of pattern splattered across them and Trevor tried to focus enough to make out exactly what the pattern was but it just made his head hurt more so he gave up.
“How’s the head?” Skylar asked sympathetically.
“It hurts like a son of a bitch,” Trevor said.
“I’m sure. You were beaned by a ball.”
“My sister’s game.”
Skylar flashed his pretty smile. “Yes. Your family is about to beat down the door too, so I have to let them in soon. What do you do, Trevor?”
“I’m a detective. LA Sheriff.” He blinked. “Is that part of the questions you’re supposed to ask?”
“Er, no, I just wanted to ask because you’re cute.” Skylar sighed. “Cop, huh? I suppose you’re straight.”
“No.”
“Oh? Yeah?” Skylar smiled again and if Trevor’s head hadn’t been killing him he would probably have smiled too.
But his head was killing him and he’d just ended a two-year relationship about a month ago. As cute as Skylar was, Trevor wasn’t ready for anything serious. Or probably not even ready to date at all.
“Yeah, I’m gay.”
“I’ve never known a gay cop before.”
He did smile a little at that. “How many cops have you known, Skylar?”
“Well,” Skylar said, screwing up his face as though he was thinking about it. “None actually.”
“I figured.” He winced when he moved his head. “Listen, how soon can I get out of here?”
“The doctor should be in to see you and give you instructions in a minute. Do you want to see your family now?”
“Yeah, go ahead and let them in.”
Skylar smiled. “Listen, before I do, is there any chance you and I could maybe grab some dinner one night or coffee?”
Trevor held back a sigh. It was really too bad Skylar was so fucking cute. Just the type he’d go for, really. “Look, Skylar, I just got out of a messy relationship and I—”
“Hey, it’s totally cool. Just thought I’d ask.” Skylar’s smile didn’t dim one bit. He patted Trevor’s arm. “I’ll send in your family.”
Trevor struggled to sit up a little in the hospital bed. He could only imagine his family impatiently waiting to get in. He didn’t envy Skylar dealing with them.
His family consisted of his father, Lou, a retired homicide detective himself, his second wife, Rose, since Trevor’s mother had died when Trevor was still a teenager, and his ten year old half-sister, Bethany.
Bethany reached him first and she bounced on the edge of the bed as she embraced him. “Are you okay? Are you going to die?”
“Bethany, stop jostling the bed. Can’t you see he’s turning green?” his stepmother said, coming to stand on the other side of him.
She peered down at him through her thick glasses. “How bad does your head hurt?”
“Like I got hit in the head with a damn ball,” Trevor said.
“What does the doctor say?” This from his father, big and gruff, standing at the foot of the bed.
“I haven’t seen him. The nurse said he’d be here in a bit. I want to go home.”
“You’re coming home with us,” Rose said. “You can’t stay by yourself. What if you never wake up?”
“He’s never waking up?” Bethany’s bottom lip trembled.
“Of course I’m waking up.”
Rose patted his leg. “Yes, because you’ll stay with us.”
He forced a smile. “Great.”
Skylar came back into the room holding a clipboard. “The doctor’s coming now. I’m afraid you’ll all have to wait outside.”
Bethany leaned over and whispered into his ear, “He’s cute.”
He was, so Trevor nodded. “See you in a bit, kiddo.”
When they left, Skylar turned to him and smiled. “You have a nice family.”
“Thanks.”
“How’s the head?”
“Hurts.”
Skylar nodded. “The doctor’s written you a prescription, so I’ll give it to you before you leave. Vision better?”
“Yes. Strawberries.”
“Pardon?”
Trevor smiled. “Your scrubs. You have strawberries on them. I can see them.”
“Good.” At a sound behind him, Skylar turned. “Here’s the doctor now. Hope you feel better soon, Trevor. Bye.”
“Bye, Skylar.”
* * * *
It pretty much figured that the first guy to come along in a long time that Skylar was into wasn’t the least bit interested in him.
That had been the way his life had been going ever since he found out a few months ago that his boyfriend was married. To a woman. And had kids. Skylar felt like a gigantic idiot.
“Hey, Sky, why the long face?” Helena, a fellow nurse, asked him as she came around the corner of the nurse’s station where he stood filling out paperwork. “You didn’t lose a patient, did you?”
“No, no, nothing like that.” Skylar sighed. “Man trouble.”
Helena grimaced. “Is Dr. Manning bothering you again? I know he took you breaking up with him hard, but if he’s bothering you, you need to report him.”
“No, no, it’s not Charles.” When he’d first ended things with the married doctor, Charles had not taken it well and had pestered Skylar to continue. So much so, Skylar thought at the time Charles might try to have him fired or Skylar would have to quit. “It’s nothing, really. Just got rejected is all.”
“Awe, I’m sorry, honey. You want to get some coffee in the cafeteria at break? I’ve got some gossip to tell you.”
Skylar sighed inwardly, but forced a smile. “Sounds good.”
Just a little bit later, he found himself sitting with Helena in the cafeteria sipping barely drinkable coffee while she told him her gossip. He wasn’t really listening. Or hadn’t been for a couple of minutes because Charles Manning had just walked in and headed for the salad bar.
Charles was one of those classically tall, dark, and handsome types and Skylar had foolishly fallen hard. Short ly after they met they’d started a hot and heavy affair. Had sex in crazy places, and often. Burning, sizzling passion while it lasted.
And then he’d learned the truth. It had crushed him. He’d ended it immediately and Charles had been furious. He alternated between furious, remorseful, and desperate begging.
“You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you, Sky?” Helena asked, shaking her head reproachfully. She was a pretty Asian woman engaged to a doctor herself. Probably his best friend at the hospital.
“I’m sorry,” Skylar said. “I am a little distracted.”
She glanced over her shoulder and her eyes narrowed. “And no wonder. Do you want to leave?”
He shook his head. “No. I have to get used to seeing him around. We work at the same place. And trust me. I’m not going there again.”
“Okay.” She cut off a piece of the pear she’d bought with her coffee and offered it to him. “How are your folks doing in Florida?”
He popped the slice of pear into his mouth, chewed and swallowed it. “Good. They’re enjoying retirement. They love the heat, Mom says.”
She shuddered. “I can’t imagine dealing with the humidity there.”
“Same here, but they seem to like it. I promised to go see them at Christmas.” His gaze unwittingly followed Charles Manning as he took a tray with his salad and drink over to a table not that far from where he and Helena sat. He tore his gaze away. “How are the wedding plans going?”
“Pretty good. Rick and I are planning to look at venues weekend after next.” She glared in Charles’s direction. “You done there?”
“I’m definitely done.” He stood and turned away from his past.
Chapter 2
Skylar stepped up to the bar at Maxim’s to order a couple of drinks. It was Saturday night and Maxim’s, a gay club in Santa Monica, swarmed with tons of guys. It was here he’d met Jimmy Owens, the guy he was with that night. It was their fourth date.
He didn’t really think they’d go any further after tonight, though. Jimmy was all right. But he didn’t seem to be that into Skylar.
Well, not now, anyway. When they first hooked up, Jimmy was all over him. Skylar figured since he’d gotten what he wanted out of Skylar, Jimmy was ready to move on to the next piece of ass.
“Skylar?”
He turned to his left to see the cop who’d been at the hospital two months before with a head injury. He wore a red polo shirt, a leather jacket, and black jeans. His dark hair looked a little windblown and his jaw was covered with a sexy five o’clock shadow.
Skylar swallowed back a moan.
He smiled. “Detective Stanton. Fancy meeting you here.”
Trevor raised an eyebrow. “Detective? I thought we were on a first name basis.”
“That depends, I guess. Are you here on police business?”
“Nah. Purely recreational.” Trevor gave him the once-over. “You look great. In fact you’re the sexiest guy in Maxim’s tonight.”
Skylar felt himself blush. “You’re a sweet talker. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here before.”
“It’s been a while,” Trevor admitted. “Maybe at least a year.”
“Ah.” Skylar nodded and turned to the bartender who’d just approached him.
“Let me buy you a drink,” Trevor said.
Skylar’s stomach flipped a little. Figured. He was on a date and here comes the big handsome cop. Alas, life sucked sometimes.
“Um, actually, I’m here with someone.”
“Oh.” Trevor’s smile was strained. The air seemed thick with the disappointment radiating off both of them. Or maybe Skylar imagined that because he wanted Trevor to be as disappointed as he was. “Of course you are. I should have realized someone as hot as you wouldn’t be here alone.”
“I’m sorry.” And he was. Very much so. Yeah, Jimmy didn’t do much for him or anything, but well, he sighed. “I guess it’s just not meant to be, huh?”
“Appears that way.” Trevor touched his arm and he felt heat from the man practically scorch his bare skin. “Listen, I’m going to leave you to your date. It was really good seeing you, Skylar.”
He nodded. “Yeah, you too, Trevor.”
Skylar watched Trevor walk away. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d lost something somehow.
“Drinks or not, buddy?” the bartender asked.
“Yeah, sorry. Two beers.”
Skylar took the beers back to the table in the corner where he’d left Jimmy. The man sat sullenly half in the shadows texting on his phone. Jimmy drove a bus for a living and had brown hair and a goatee. He was cute enough, but he didn’t come close to Trevor.
And he really needed to stop thinking like that. Jimmy was who he was there with tonight.
He set a beer in front of Jimmy, who looked up. “I was starting to think you skipped out.”
“Bar was crowded.” Skylar smiled. “Who are you texting?”
Jimmy shrugged. “Just a friend.”
He bit his lip and watched the dancers on the dance floor gyrating to the music. “Wanna dance?”
“No.”
Right, Jimmy didn’t like to dance. That had been one of the things he’d been sure to tell Skylar when they had first met at Maxim’s. Jimmy ignored him and continued to text his friend. Skylar had a pretty good idea his friend was male.
It wasn’t like he was hung up on Jimmy. They’d had sex twice and it had been decent but nothing to scream about. He didn’t see him getting serious with Jimmy. But, hell, the guy didn’t even seem to be putting any effort into their date at all. He was sorry he’d even agreed to go out again.
But the worst part was he’d had to turn down Trevor. Two strikes and he just didn’t see him getting a third one. He took a swig from his bottle of beer and wondered when he could go home.
* * * *
One Month Later
“There’s a guy behind that curtain who got hit in the head,” Helena told Skylar as he walked toward the patient who had just arrived in an ambulance.
“How?” Skylar asked.
Helena read a report she had in her hands. “Says during a chase he lost his footing and whacked his head on a trash receptacle.”
He raised his eyebrow and shrugged. “Um, okay. Thanks.”
Skylar walked around the curtain and spotted Trevor sitting on the edge of the gurney. He had his head in his hands and his fingers covered his face. Skylar blinked in surprise. “Detective Stanton?”
Trevor peered through his fingers. “Hi, Skylar. I told them I didn’t need to go to the hospital. My captain insisted.”
“Wow. Okay. It’s been about a month since I saw you at Maxim’s, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
He studied Trevor. “You look all right. How do you feel?”
“Like I banged my head hard. But I know my name, the president, the year, and can even see you pretty well.”
Skylar smiled. “That’s a plus. What exactly happened?”
“We went to question a guy about a murder, he ran when we got to his apartment, we chased him, I slipped on something slimy and clobbered my head on a trash bin. One of those big ones.” Trevor winced. “I’m more embarrassed than anything else.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear you don’t think you’re seriously hurt. I’ll have to check your vitals and the doctor will come in to check you for a concussion. You want us to call your family?”
“Hell, no. I don’t need all that fuss. They nearly killed me with kindness and hovering last time. I’m fine. Really.”
“You seem pretty lucid.”
Trevor nodded, then winced. “Yeah, just have a headache. A bitch of one, but just a headache.”
“Let me check your eyes.” Skylar pulled out his light.
Trevor held his fingers up in a cross shape. “Back.”
“Are you going to be difficult?”
“Yes. I am telling you I’m fine, Skylar.”
Skylar sighed. “Okay, but come back in if you notice any changes in vision, any nausea—”
“I know, I remember from last time.”
“All right,” Skylar said. “But the doc’s still going to want to come and check you in a bit.”
“Okay.” Trevor nodded. He stared at Skylar intently. “Are you still seeing that guy?”
“Guy? Oh, you mean the one I was out with when I saw you at Maxim’s?” He shook his head, grimacing at the memory of Jimmy and that night. They’d ended up having a big fight when Skylar told him he wouldn’t have sex with a guy who spent the whole night texting another guy. “No. That was our fourth and last date. He was all right, but I knew there wouldn’t ever be anything serious between us.”
