Page 13 of Stat: Love In Scrubs
We made it to the shark tunnel, and all the kids rushed to press their hands against the glass. I stood back, watching tomake sure no one wandered too far from the group. The air seemed to shift, and his cologne drifted toward me. I didn’t need to look over to know he stood right beside me.
“I guess we just gone continue to pretend like we don’t know each other, huh?” he asked.
I smirked, then tilted my head up to see him staring down at me.
“Do we?” I shot back, then returned my attention to the kids.
He chuckled, and I felt the heat from his mouth close to my ear.
“I know what you sound like coming apart, and I still have the taste of you embedded on my tongue. I would say we more than know each other.”
I sucked in a breath as the memory of that night played a dangerous game with my bud between my thighs. I took a couple of steps away from him and rolled my eyes in a fit to regain my composure.
“Well, I hope the taste is embedded in your memory, too, because you can bet I’m never going there again.”
I crossed my arms against my chest and walked away, leaving him right where he was. I needed space, and if I had to use the kids to get it, I would. I could hear his cocky chuckle behind me. I wanted to groan aloud, but I knew he would hear me, and I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.
It seemed like every room we went into, he wasn’t too far away, steadily offering up his suggestions and thoughts. I knew I was only irritated because I didn’t have the time to entertain the way he made me feel when he was near. Or at least, I wasn’t making the time to entertain it. Not when the academy’s future was still uncertain, not when these kids needed me focused.
We finally made it into my favorite room, the jellyfish habitat. They kept it dark to enhance the glow-in-the-dark effect. Even as an adult, it was the one moment I always smiled andfelt most like a kid. My shoulders relaxed as I walked around the cylindrical glass tanks that filled the room. I ran the tips of my fingers across the cool glass.
“It’s amazing,” a little voice beside me said in wonder.
I smiled and glanced down to see Esa staring up at me. I wrapped my free arm around her shoulders, then pulled her against my side.
“Absolutely amazing.”
I glanced over my shoulder because I could feel his eyes on my back. Although I expected him to approach, since he had practically been following me the entire time we had been here, he smiled, then turned to watch out for the remainder of the kids in our group. I didn’t know why that action caused a sinking feeling in my stomach, but it did.
I returned my attention to Esa as she named every jellyfish in the tank, the perfect distraction for my confused ass mind. It wasn’t long before Esa left me to stand with the other kids as they chased some of the jellyfish from one end of the tank to the other. I smiled. Their happiness was contagious. I glanced once more at Doc, and he was watching the kids as well. I released a breath and walked across the room to stand beside him.
“It’s lonely pretending like you have a problem with me, huh?” he asked.
I turned to look at him so quickly that I could have gotten whiplash. His arms were crossed tightly against his chest as he kept his eyes on the kids. He had a slight smirk on his face. I started to walk away before he reached out to stop me, lightly holding onto my wrist. His thumb brushed across my pulse point, and I wondered if he could feel how fast my heart was racing. I glanced down at the connection of our skin, needing him to release my wrist before steam came from it.
I looked up at him with a lift of my brow, so he quickly released his hold on me and held his hands up in mock surrender.
“I’m not trying to overstep your boundaries. I just didn’t want you to leave, at least not before we actually had a chance to talk. I’m not sure what I did wrong. Maybe I could have held back on my comment earlier, but I’m going to keep it real with you. I have a tendency to be arrogant as fuck. Shit, not like I can’t back it up, but you get what I’m saying.”
I released a breath and turned to face him. He adjusted his baseball cap, the brief pause revealing something more vulnerable beneath his swagger.
“Arrogant is an understatement, but you aren’t the only one who fucked up. I’ve just been a little thrown off since I saw you back at the school. That night in the club was supposed to be a one-time thing. You weren’t supposed to be one of my favorite kids’ fathers. That night was supposed to be harmless?—”
“But I am,” he interrupted, then reached out to hold my hand. “So why does that matter, Liz? Shit, I just want to get to know you a little better. No expectations. I know you feel the vibe just as much as I do,” he continued.
I glanced away briefly before meeting his intent stare. I studied his face, looking for signs that this was just another line. But something in his expression seemed... genuine.
“Maybe, but this is just to have a good time, no pressure,” I told him with a tight smile.
“You can drop all that tough shit now. You’ve already agreed. Now it’s my job to show you a good time.”
I couldn’t contain my smile this time. The man was good with his words.
“We’ll see,” I responded, simply.
We stayed in the jellyfish exhibit for another ten minutes before deciding to meet up with the group for lunch. We gotthe kids settled at the seating in the food court area. We bought pizza for each kid and the volunteers. Instead of Doc sitting next to me like I expected him to, he sat with his daughter.
I groaned to myself because he was only making me like him even more. I told myself over and over that I could use a day to get free food and a possible good time. A day when I wasn’t concerned about what happened next for my business.
