Page 7 of Not Another Yesterday
“Really good,” I say, grinning.
“Yeah. You look good,” he says sweetly, and pulls me in for another hug after closing the front door behind me. “You and Ran doing okay?”
I take off my coat, then kick off my shoes. “Yeah, we’re doing great,” I say, my voice rising an octave. The butterflies I feel whenever Iso much as think of Ronan are the same as the day I met him. I swear, every day that passes I fall more in love with him.
“And how about you?” I ask, smirking. “Ran has a theory that you’re secretly seeing someone up in Boston.”
Steve chuckles as I follow him down the hallway and into the living room. “Does he now?” He takes a seat on the sofa. “Ran and his theories.”
I sit down beside him. “Well, he’s usually spot-on with those theories of his.”
He nods. “So, where is my little brother?”
I decide right then and there that Ronan is right about Steve having met someone. “He won’t be done with class until three, so he should be here at four or so,” I say. “How’s Boston?”
“Really good. Fucking cold right now,” he says with a small frown. “But yeah, really good. I miss you guys, though.” He pulls me against him to squeeze me once more.
“We miss you, too. Ran has actually told me a bunch of times how much he misses you.”
Steve chortles. “No, he didn’t.”
“Yeah, he did. He keeps saying how weird it is that you’re so far away.”
“Huh.” He leans back. “I should try and visit more often.”
“I think Ran would like that,” I say, nudging his ribs. “So, other than school and your new girlfriend, what have you been up to?”
Steve shakes his head, laughing. “Well, I’ve officially declared my major as pre-med.”
My eyes widen. “You’re going to be a doctor?”
“That’s the plan. I mean, it’s a long road and super competitive, but it feels right.”
“Stevie, that’s amazing!”
“I took on a volunteer intern position at Boston Medical just to get my feet wet, see if I could handle it.”
“That’s so great. I never knew you were into medicine.”
He raises his eyebrows. “Honestly, neither did I.”
I laugh. “So what made you choose pre-med?”
His eyes soften. “Ran.”
I nod.
I don’t need to ask anything else because I understand Steve’s motivation for wanting to go into medicine. It was the moment he found his little brother unconscious on the living room floor, barely breathing. The moment Ronan’s heart stopped. The moment Steve had to perform CPR and pray he was doing it right. That helplessness carved a path he couldn’t ignore. His interest in medicine makes complete sense.
“So, have you thought of what you’d want to specialize in, or…?”
“Right now, it’s trauma surgery,” Steve says with a nod. “But it can change, I guess. I definitely don’t want to be a plastic surgeon,” he adds with a chuckle.
“Oh, no? You don’t want to do boob implants all day?” I say with a giggle.
Steve’s face turns thoughtful. “Well, now that you talk about touching breasts all day, maybe I was wrong.” He laughs, and I join in.
“Hey, Cat,” Frank says, walking in with a very pregnant-looking Penny, his hand resting protectively on her lower back.
