Page 17 of You Loved Me Once
“You’re more than that, Wes.” The words fall out effortlessly and I wish I could pull them back.
He jerks back slightly, runs his fingers through his light brown hair, and smiles. “How about that?”
Damn it.
“What?”
Westin gets to his feet with the folder in his hands and then taps me with it. “Growth.”
I’m not even sure what I meant. Of all the days for me to decide to change something between us, why today? For two years I’ve been totally content with keeping things simple, then Julie says some stupid shit and I’m adjusting my thinking?
“Whatever,” I blow off his comment as I push off of the table. “I was going to come looking for you anyway.”
He chuckles. “I figured.”
“Oh, did you?” I ask as we head out into the hallway.
“Well, that is kind of your thing. You often want to find me before a big surgery or something else where you need to work off some stress, don’t you?” Westin jokes.
I’m not sure why that bothers me at all. He’s right. But I realize it makes me sound like a crazy sex fiend. Which isn’t the case . . . for the most part. We’re friends, and I trust him in a way that I haven’t allowed myself to trust anyone else.
“Yes, but that isn’t why I was looking for you,” I try not to look affronted.
“Really?”
“Yes, really. I’d like to think our time together at work is about more than me finding you for sex, Wes.”
Westin jerks his head back slightly. “Okay, you’re right, sometimes you come talk to me about a patient.”
The small knot in my stomach constricts. He did something for me and I want to repay him. “Well, this time I was going to come find you to talk about us having dinner tonight.”
“Tonight?” he asks.
“Unless you’re taking back the offer . . .”
Westin shakes his head, leans against the wall, and smiles. “Nope.”
“I was hoping that maybe we could have dinner tonight. You know, celebratory or whatnot?”
I suddenly feel very shy, unsure of exactly what I should be saying or doing. I know I’m not usually the one to initiate anything even remotely relationship-like, and I know I have to make a choice. Maybe we won’t ever be madly in love with each other, vowing our lives to one another. However, I’m realizing we can be more than we are right now.
We can have dinner plans, movies, and friendship. I know that Westin gets my life. He understands the stresses of being a doctor. I don’t need wild, heart-stopping, soul-shattering love. I need steady. I need a rock that will anchor me when I feel like I’m floating away. Westin could be that. Maybe Westin is the guy who is supposed to hold me up when I’m falling down.
I’ve never had that before.
Westin looks at me with his head tilted to one side and he touches my cheek with his thumb. “Are you asking me on a date?”
I shrug, smile a little, and look at my feet. “I guess I am,” I look back up. “What would you say to that?”
Westin’s brow raises, his hand drops, and he leans in to give me a tender kiss. “I guess I would have to say yes.”
“Good.”
He smiles and wraps his arm around me. “Good.”
The two of us stand here, exhibiting a public display of affection at the hospital for the very first time. At work, we’ve always maintained a very professional relationship. I take a step back now, feeling a bit of unease about touching him in the open. I’m pretty sure every member of the hospital is aware of our relationship, but it doesn’t mean I’m ready for it to be gossip fodder.
“Hi, Dr. Grant,” a nurse waves with the tips of her fingers as she passes by the open door where we’re standing and I roll my eyes. “You look very handsome today,” she adds.
