All I Want for Christmas is You

Chapter One

I've been in a funk recently and my muse as since floated away. I figured I'd try just free writing to see what I came up with to trigger my spark, my muse. This is what I came up with ... It'll be a short novella.

Introducing Hot Doc and Bartenderella ...

All I Want for Christmas is You

Phoenix, Arizona

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Edward snarled as he watched his plane backed away from its gate, panting heavily from his run. He'd sprinted from his arrival gate on the other side of the airport to try to catch his connecting flight to Chicago. His first flight had been delayed due to some mechanical error, but he'd put in a buffer to account for delays. He was certain he had enough time to get to his next flight by the time they took off.

Alas, no such luck. He just missed it.

By one fucking minute.

Damn it! God DAMN it!

"Dr. Cullen, we can help you schedule another flight, but the next one flying out of here is late tomorrow morning. There's a storm," said the meek flight attendant with a crooked nametag that identified her as Jessica. "It's a bad one, passing through the middle part of the country, specifically Illinois ... Chicago."

"If that's the case, my sister's wedding will probably be postponed, cancelled, or whatever," Edward grumped. "I need a drink. Or four."

"There's a bar near gate twenty-seven," Jessica said. "Open twenty-four hours."

"Thanks," Edward said, turning on his heel and walking toward gate twenty-seven. He saw the lights for the bar, and he slid onto one of the stools. It was virtually abandoned since it was just past midnight. There was one other patron, nursing a bottle of beer while he watched a soccer game on one of the televisions.

"Be with you in a second," came a sweet voice from behind the bar.

Edward blinked toward the voice, seeing a petite brunette with a great ass near the back of the bar. She was tying off some garbage bags, stuffing them into a large bin. He appreciated her form as she finished up her chore. When she turned around, he felt his dick harden against the zipper of his jeans. On top of having a great ass, she was gorgeous, as well.

Long, curly chestnut-colored hair with matching eyes. Soft pink lips, with a pouty lower lip. Curves in all the right places, with long legs.

She was, in a single word, exquisite.

"I'm Bella and I'll be taking care of you tonight," she said, putting a coaster in front of him. She smiled at him, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "You look like you did the Sky Harbor Sprint."

"Excuse me?" he laughed, arching a brow over his glasses.

"Sprinting the length of the airport to try and catch a connecting flight, but missing it by mere seconds," Bella answered. "Happens more often than you think."

"Yeah," Edward nodded. "It's taking off, right now."

"Assholes," Bella scoffed. "What can I get you? First drink is on the house."

"Bourbon, two fingers, neat," Edward replied. "Thank you, Bella. I'm Edward, by the way."

Bella picked up a glass, pouring him two fingers of Kentucky's Finest. She also did the same for herself. "To surviving the Sky Harbor Sprint, Edward," she smirked, holding up her glass.

"Surviving the sprint while being up for almost two days," Edward replied, clinking his glass with hers. He slammed his drink, motioning for another. His glass was refilled with another two fingers of bourbon.

"Why have you been up for two days?" Bella asked, sipping her drink.

"I'm an emergency room physician and I was the only attending at Virginia Mason Medical Center for the past two days," Edward answered. "The flu attacked the medical staff with a vengeance. I was only able to leave since I have this family thing that I need to be at for the holidays. I don't want to go, but I have no choice." He wrinkled his nose, swirling his bourbon.

"Try to contain your enthusiasm, Hot Doc," Bella quipped wryly, her lips curling up.

"I would, if I was more coherent," Edward snorted, scrubbing his hands through his messy bronze hair. "I'd been subsisting on coffee, energy drinks, and adrenaline. I barely made it to SeaTac in time for this flight to Phoenix and then, I miss my connection. The earliest flight to Chicago is tomorrow due to some snowstorm, or whatever. At least, that's what Jessica, the gate agent, said."

"Think of it this way, you can get a hotel and get some sleep," Bella suggested, wiping down the bar.

"That does sound promising, but ..." he began, wrinkling his nose. "I'm weird and I hate hotels."

"Are you one of those germophobes?" Bella teased.

"No," Edward laughed. "I'm a doctor and I've been covered with every possible human excretion imaginable. I just like my bed and my pillows and my blackout curtains."

"Okay, that makes sense," Bella nodded. "I'm the same way. I don't sleep as well when I'm not at home. Another?"

"I should say no," Edward sighed. "I'm already feeling the buzz."

"When was the last time you ate?" Bella asked, pouring him another drink.

"I grabbed a donut this morning from the doctor's lounge," Edward grimaced, looking at his watch. "About eighteen hours ago."

"Bells, I'm here. I'm so sorry," said small woman with blonde hair, running into the bar. "I couldn't get the baby down and my husband was being a worthless sack of shit, but what else is new."

"You should dump his ass, Lauren," Bella said, tutting quietly at the new addition to the bar. "You're better than Tyler. He's a loser."

"I know, I know," Lauren huffed. "I'm saving up money for a lawyer."

"Good for you, Lauren," Bella sang, sliding on her jacket. Turning back to him, she gave him a flirty smile. "Edward, you need to eat, and I know this amazing twenty-four-hour diner. Come on."

"Ummm," Edward sputtered, reaching for his wallet, and tossing some cash onto the bar. He slammed the third drink she'd poured for him. It made his mind even more foggy. "What?"

"Look, you're dead on your feet. You're drunk and starving. We've shared drinks and we're friends. Let your new friend take care of you, Hot Doc," Bella said, reaching for her bag and keys from a cubby underneath the bar.

"Does she do this often? Bring home strays?" Edward asked Lauren.

"Nope," Lauren chirped, handing him his change. "But, Bella marches to her own drummer. We love her for it."