Page 4 of Dr. Fellow

“Good for him,” Parker sneers, finally taking a long swig of his cold beer. “Bastard gets everything he wants, doesn’t he? Including my fiancée. They should just go ride off into the damn sunset together.”

“That’s out of pocket,” Beau argues, his voice tense in a way I’ve never heard before. “Cass has no intention of doing that, which you would know if you would just fucking talk to her, rather than avoiding the conversation and working your dick off.”

“We all work our dicks off,” Parker corrects.

“Listen, you have every right to be angry. Hell, I’d be angry too. But holding onto that anger, especially without knowing every side of the story, is only doing more harm than good. There’s more to it, I’m sure.”

“Oh, you’re sure?” Parker scoffs. His tongue momentarily darts across his lower lip as he narrows his eyes in challenge. “Because all I’m sure of, is that a little over a year ago my best friend of almost a decade single-handedly ruined both my surgical career and my relationship in a week. And then, when I finally pulled my shit together, my fiancée had the audacity to see him again and keep it from me. That’s what I’m sure of.”

I don’t give a damn about petty work rumors and drama, so I doubt I know the full extent of the situation. But when Parker was in his chief year, there was some sort of incident with the research he and Wes were doing. It ultimately cost him his fellowship, which is how he ended up here as a general surgery attending after residency.As for his comment about his relationship, I don’t have a clue what he’s talking about.

“Cass wouldn’t—”

“You know Wes was her first?” Parker interrupts, shooting icy blue daggers at Beau. “First kiss. First fuck. First love.” He practically spits the last word, tilting his head back to focus on the night sky. “God, I’m so tired of constantly competing with him. What’s the fucking point?”

He exhales like he’s been holding on to those words for far too long.

Beau glances at me uncertainly, like he’s not exactly sure how to respond to his best friend.

I have no skin in the game here, but I’ve learned a thing or two recently about relationships. If I can help someone avoid the same mistakes that I made, maybe my shitstorm of a life will be worth it.

“The point is that she loves you,” I start, the words coming out more tersely than I intend. “So she loved someone first? Who cares? She loves you now.”

Parker’s eyes are soft and glassy as they meet mine. I’m not sure why he’s listening to me instead of Beau, but I take it as a sign to continue.

“The point is that you have something people spend their entire lives searching for—a true partner. A partner who understands your life and your job in a way that not many people do. A partner who sees you in a way that nobody else does.”

That’s something I remember vividly from the engagement party—the way Cassidy looked at him. Parker isn’t exactly the most likable guy in the world, and she was staring at him with rose-colored lenses on, like he was someone completely different than the person we’ve all gotten to know.

I don’t think he realizes how unconditionally she loves him. And if he doesn’t figure it out soon, he’s going to end up just like me—alone.

“Listen, I know I’m not the guy to be doling out relationship advice,” I offer with a humorless laugh. “But I do know this—the only person you’re competing with right now is yourself. And you’re never going to win until you get off your pompous ass, and start prioritizing your relationship.”

Beau grins at me like a proud brother, but I ignore him and take a sip of my beer.

“Just trust me on this one.”

Chapter 2

Morgan

Inever thought that I would be interested in living in the burbs, but I’m starting to see the appeal. It’s quiet, there’s plenty of room for activities, and most importantly, there’s running water. I would honestly force my best friend to let me stay another night if I didn’t have to see her fiancé, Dr. Demonspawn around the house. Even a single night under Parker Winters’s roof while I wait for the plumber to fix the pipes in my Virginia Highlands rental makes me nervous that I’m going to get kidnapped by his underlings and sent to his hellish lair.

“What do you think of Cliterate Cumsluts?” I ask, plopping down onto the brand-new sectional in Cassidy’s massive living room.

I recently created a group text for my friends, and I’ve been waffling on the name of it for days. Cass keeps vetoing all of my suggestions because she hasn’t spoken to her fiancé in a week and can’t appreciate my brand of humor at the moment. But she knows that she can’t reject my ideas forever—I’m impossible to resist.

“Do you have nothing better in your arsenal of alliteration?” Cassidy asks, rolling her hazel eyes as she tangles her bare feet with mine. “That’s disgusting.”

Her long blonde hair is pulled into a messy bun at the top of her head, a few wispy strands escaping to frame her face. She’s wearing an oversized sorority T-shirt and boxers, and I try not to think about who owns the underwear because I’m currently lounging around in a matching outfit myself.

I got the call about the water situation this afternoon while I was at work, and since the plumber couldn’t come until tomorrow, Cass offered to let me stay over tonight. I agreed, figuring that I could kill two birds with one stone—spending time with my bestie, and taking a nice hot shower.

“Claire liked the name,” I respond defensively. “She said it’s perfect because that’s what she’s turned into recently.”

Cassidy’s nose wrinkles, and she kicks my shin. “Gross, Morg. Some things are better left unsaid.”

Giggling, I start to flick through the movie options on Netflix. Her future sister-in-law never actually said those words, I just wanted to see how she would respond—sometimes you’ve got to amuse yourself.

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