Page 9 of The History Between Us

I plop down on the opposite end of the couch as my mom and listen to them converse, but I’m barely paying attention. I’m too focused on the way Williamownsthat chair he’s sitting in. He’s such a tall, broad man that he makes nearly everyone and everything in his presence feel small. Legs kicked wide as he relaxes in the recliner, elbow propped on the arm of the chair while his chin rests in his palm, he’s focused on my mother and what she’s saying as I can’t rip my gaze away from him.

My blood heats as memories from that night flash, once again, through my mind. Then the thought of what it would be like to have it happen again. Would he ever let us go there again now that he’s back in town? Does he regret it? I have so many questions, and I don’t see myself easily getting theanswers to any of them any time soon…but that just makes me want to try even more.

After all, I’ve never been one to step down from a challenge.

5

William Andino

The rich, sweet aroma of hazelnut fills my senses as I head out to the porch with a steaming cup of coffee in hand. It’s just after sunrise, the morning sun hugging the horizon and splashing the early sky in beautiful pastels. It’s going to be a nice, warm day, I can already tell. Taking a seat in one of the two rocking chairs, I bring the mug up to my lips, letting the hot beverage fill my mouth and awaken my senses. It’s a quiet Saturday morning, and while I normally don’t work on the weekends, I am today.

Powder Ridge Arena is hosting a twice-monthly free clinic starting today until the end of November, and my clinic has donated our services to make it work. This is a great event for low-income families, or families that don’t have insurance. The clinic I worked for in Seattle did something similar, but annually, and it always had a great turnout. The cost of basic medical care in this country is outrageous, and I wholeheartedly think that families shouldn’t have to go without simply because they don’t make enough. I’m honored to get to be a part ofsomething like this.

Checking the time on my phone, I note that I have about a half an hour before I have to leave. Plenty of time to enjoy this cup of coffee and soak in the early morning sun, pushing my loud, obnoxious thoughts aboutwhowill be there to the back of my mind in the meantime. The doors open at eight-thirty, but since this is the first time we’re doing this, I want to make sure to arrive with plenty of time to set up and get organized. There’s nothing worse than being scatterbrained while trying to work, especially if we’re as busy as I think we’ll be until two-thirty. Doug Braylon, the other physician at my practice, will also be there taking patients, so between the both of us, I’m hoping we can get to a decent chunk of families in that time frame.

Doug is a younger doctor; my father hired him a few years back after he graduated from medical school. He’s incredibly smart and knowledgeable, and so far, I like the guy. Prior to hiring Doug, my father ran the practice all by himself, with the help of one nurse and a receptionist. I’m glad he expanded because it’s a lot for one doctor to handle, especially one at my father’s age.

After I finish my cup of coffee, I head back inside. The drive takes no time at all, and before I know it, I’m inside the arena setting up. Meg, the nurse at the clinic, shows up about twenty minutes to opening. She’ll be helping with checking patients in and assisting Doug and I during the day.

“Morning, Dr. Andino,” she murmurs with a warm smile.

“Good morning, Meg,” I respond. “How are you?”

“Oh, I’m good. Excited to see how the turnout is today. Think we’ll see a lot of patients?”

Nodding, I say, “I think so.”

Spotting the coffee station, I excuse myself and cross theroom. I check my watch, making sure I still have time before loading a couple of doughnuts onto a paper plate and pouring a hot cup of coffee.

Someone steps up to the table beside me, but I don’t have a chance to look at who it is before they speak. “Well, would you look who it is.”

My shoulders hike up to my ears, and I clench my jaw so tight it pops as I turn in the direction where the rough, gravelly voice came from, my gaze connecting with a familiar pair of emerald eyes. A cocksure grin tips his full lips, and he’s wearing his signature backwards hat that I almost never see him without.

“Colt, good morning.” I ignore the way my pulse races.

His smile brightens. “Surprised to see me?”

“No, your dad mentioned you had signed up.”

Max had informed me a few days ago that Colt was volunteering here. Thinks it’ll be good for his spirits to do something meaningful while he’s unable to compete. I’d have to agree, but that doesn’t make it any less jarring coming face to face with him.

Colt steps closer, crowding me, his fresh citrus and leather scent surrounding me as he lowers his voice and says, “I look forward to working with you, then,Doc.”

My jaw flexes as I lift my gaze to meet his, not at all surprised to find him smirking. Colt has strikingly handsome features. He’s an attractive man, and he knows it. It’s clear in the way he carries himself, and in the blatant way he flirts.

Without my permission, a memory of us together on the dance floor flashes through my mind. And even earlier, when we first spotted each other. The brazen way he sauntered over to me, seemingly not at all worried about who I was to him.Even two years later, I’m unable to pinpoint why I welcomed the flirting, why I accepted his invite to dance when it was more than obvious what he wanted out of it, and why—above all—I took him upstairs to the loft above the bar. The entire evening was inappropriate on so many levels, and I’ve never been able to figure out how or why I let it happen.

“Look how hard you are, and all for me.”His deep, throaty voice echoes in my ears from that night. The unabashed way he spoke to me.

A crashing noise behind me pulls me back to the present, forcing the memory to take a back burner. One thing is for certain… Right now, in this arena, moments before the clinic opens, is not the time to figure it out. Glancing down at my watch and then back up to Colt, I say, “I better get going. They’ll be opening the doors any minute.”

Colt smirks but says nothing as I hurry away from the breakfast table and busy myself over at my station while I wait for the patients to start fluctuating in.

As expected, as soon as the doors open, we all stay steadily busy for the majority of the day. There are brief moments when I have a little downtime to run to the restroom or grab some water, but for the most part, I’m with patients nearly the entire time the clinic is open. Between Doug and me, we were able to see a great number of patients, and I didn’t have any time to focus on how being so close to Colt all morning made me feel.

There was more than one occasion today when our eyes locked from across the room, though, and it felt as if he could read my mind by the look alone. It’s absurd, truly. I’m a man in my mid-forties, and I’m getting tongue tied and nervous around a man half my age over a drunken hookup that happened years ago. When I originally made the decision to move back here,I knew the time would come when we’d run into each other. It was inevitable, but I told myself I’d ignore it. The best plan of action would be to brush it off and avoid being near him as much as possible. Nothing good will come from addressing the elephant in the room.

If the looks and the flirting have told me anything, it’s that Colt is not going to allow this to be swept under the rug. Meaning, we’re going to have to talk about it, and I’m dreading that. Over the years, I’ve gotten good at being alone. After Annie and I got a divorce, I didn’t go on a hunt to reclaim my singlehood. I didn’t hook up just for the sake of doing it. Sure, it happened, but it was very few and far between. What happened that night in Seattle was a one-off. I was in a very weird headspace after finding out my mother was sick, and I desperately needed to blow off some steam and get out of my mind for the night. And while I certainly did just that, it shouldn’t have happened with who it did. It’s still wrong on so many levels. I’ve known Colt his whole life. We may not have been close, and I may have moved away when he was a teenager, but I was still there when Max and Trish brought him home from the hospital after he was born. I’m practically a pseudo-uncle to him, and Max would murder me without even thinking twice if he knew. The technicality that Colt is an adult means nothing here.

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