Page 20 of Doctor's Surprise Twins

Tray follows me down the hall and into a large closet full of rows and rows of metal shelving, every inch full. When we walk in, I grab the clipboard to see where the count has been left off, then walk through until I find where we need to start.

Tray follows me. “I guess you heard about yesterday, huh?”

“Some. What happened?”

He shakes his head and shrugs. “I have no idea. Everything was fine, and then suddenly, it wasn’t. I was the only one around, and there was this little girl that couldn’t breathe. I panicked.” His eyes are wide and glazed over like he’s reliving the memory.

It sounds like the door to the storage closet opens and closes, but I don’t hear anything else. “Hello?” I call out.

Tray shrugs. “Anyway, that Dr. Cole guy is a total asshole. It was my first day.”

“I just find that so strange. I did the same thing the day before, and I was ready to quit, but he told me it happens to everyone and that I shouldn’t let it stop me because he knows I have what it takes to be a good nurse.” I meet Tray’s dark eyes.“Maybe you just caught him in a bad mood or something. Either way, I wouldn’t take it personally.”

He frowns at me. “It seems like you like the guy.”

I shrug. “I don’t have any reason not to. He’s been kind to me.”

“Oh hey,” Tray says. “A bunch of us are getting together tonight to have a few drinks. You want to go?”

“I don’t know. Where are you going?” I ask, skimming down the list on the clipboard.

“That new club on the south side,” he answers.

“Oh, you know what? I read this wrong. We should be over here,” I say, turning to walk to the other side of the shelf. I turning the corner and stop dead because we’re not alone. The sound of the door opening and closing was because Dr. Cole walked in.

Tray is so surprised that he walks into me, forcing me forward a step. I look up at Dr. Cole and feel how still Tray has become behind me. Dr. Cole doesn’t pull his eyes from mine as a second turns into an eternity. My heart pounds in my chest and I get goosebumps, every hair standing on end. Dr. Cole’s eyes are darker than usual, more intense, and I’m unable to move a muscle or say a word.

Out of nowhere, he snaps out of the daze. He turns his attention to the shelf, grabs a box of something, then turns and walks out of the storage closet without a word.

The door closes, and the air in the room immediately loses its charge.

“I don’t know how you can like that guy,” Tray says, walking around me.

I force myself to get to work, but I can’t shake the feeling of unease. The way Dr. Cole looked at me had me makes me wonder if things would’ve been different if it was only the two ofus in this closet. Would he have said something? Would I? What did I want to be different?

If I let my imagination run away, my thoughts always return to the way my body responds to him. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I’ve never had a problem keeping the opposite sex off my mind or keeping myself on task. Since I met him, I haven’t been able to focus on anything but thoughts of him. Will I see him today? Will we talk? Will he get close enough that I can feel his heat sink into me? Does he feel this too, or am I delusional?

“Come on. Let’s get to work before Dr. Dick comes back in here,” Tray says, taking the clipboard from my hand.

***

“Hey, how’d it go today?” Grace asks when I walk into our apartment.

I shrug out of my jacket. “Great. No problems today.”

“Did you see Dr. Cole?”

“Briefly, but we didn’t speak,” I tell her. I don’t mention how I ran into him several times throughout the day, and how each time, he just stared. Of course, I stared right back. “You look cute. Where are you going?” I look her up and down as she stands and smooths down her dress.

“A bunch of us are going to that new club on the south side. You want to go?”

“Tray said something about that today. Who else is going?”

“Not sure,” she says, stepping up to the mirror on the wall to put in some earrings. “Why don’t you go get changed and come with? You’re always so focused on work and school. You never have fun anymore.” She spins to face me, grabbing my hands and holding them. “Come on. We can dance and have a few drinks. It’ll be fun.”

I roll my eyes. “Alright, but I’m not staying out all night. I’m so tired after the week I’ve had.”

She giggles and jumps up and down in excitement. “Go get dressed. Hurry!” She swats me on the butt.

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