If breakfast foods in the afternoon and day drinking is a girl thing, then I’m glad I’m a girl. I’ll see you around noon.
I grinned and jumped up from my couch. It was clear that I was too excited about seeing this girl and that was a problem for me. But, it was a problem I would have to sort out this afternoon, once the high wore off.
After she gave her response, I continued to second guess my choice. Should I have asked her to dinner instead? If we had dinner, there was a greater chance she’d end up in my bed. Forbidden, yes, but the forbidden pleasures were double the fun. Was there any conceivable way a brunch could end in passion? It seemed unlikely.
One roll in the hay wouldn’t be a problem, right? A one-night stand could always be chalked up to having too much to drink, or just getting caught up in the moment. It was easy to walk away from a one-night stand. It was a mistake. Or, it was a lot of fun, but best if we didn’t do it again. Then, things could return to normal and I’d move on to my next infatuation.
The issue was when it went beyond the one night. That’s when feelings could develop. I wasn’t too worried about getting attached, but I had a feeling Olivia would. She was a sweet girl and I didn’t want to break her heart. I would have to when the time came, but I didn’t want to if I could avoid it.
And, I didn’t want to get a taste if it meant I had to go back for more. The prospect of naughty afternoons in a hidden corner of the hospital sounded appealing, but would only make things messy. No, I had to behave myself this one time.
Chapter 14
Damon
I picked Olivia up in my Range Rover, no need for a driver this time. I nearly stopped along the way to her apartment to get her some fresh flowers, but that seemed a little too over the top for a friendly lunch outing. When I picked her up, she was wearing a cute, summery dress. Nothing too extreme this time. She looked like herself, which was just fine. I liked her just as much this way as I did in skin-tight clothing or even in her scrubs.
When she got in the car, she took one look at me and frowned.
“Something wrong?” I asked warily, afraid that I had already offended her somehow.
“No,” she giggled. “I’ve just never seen you in anything that wasn’t scrubs or a tux.”
“Oh,” I replied, looking down at my jeans and quarter-zip combination. It was designer, but certainly not my normal weekday look. “Do I look bad?”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t think you could look bad. Where are we going?”
I started driving, leaving the campus. “It’s not too far from here. I’ll have you back to your studies at a decent time.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it,” she replied, looking surprisingly relaxed. “I don’t have all that much to do this weekend.”
“Have you finished your essay for my class?” I joked.
“Actually, I just started it this morning. Do I still have to turn it in?”
“I think it’s only fair.” I winked. I didn’t want to tell her that I wouldn’t hold it against her if she chose not to turn it in. “You don’t really have to spend that much time on it.”
“No, I think you’re right,” she said. “If I’m going to win the internship contest, I want there to be solid proof for your choice.”
I smiled. Sometimes, I swore she was smarter than me. If the medical field didn’t work out for her, she would make a great lawyer.
When we got to the restaurant, I placed my hand on the small of her back and walked with her to our seat. She didn’t recoil at my touch— a good sign. I felt lighter just being around her, and warm when we touched. I was pathetic, but I was enjoying myself.
After we ordered, we basked in the warm sunlight, drinking our beverages. She opted for the bottomless mimosas, while I agreed to get into the spirit of brunch and ordered a Bloody Mary. I teased her mercilessly for being such a stereotypical girl when she took a picture of the dishes once they came out.
“What were you like in college?” she asked, trying to challenge me. “I bet you were the stereotypical fraternity boy.”
“I wasn’t in a fraternity,” I said. “I was in a student club.”
“What’s the difference?” she teased.
“Money,” I replied coolly. “We wore suits and drank fifty year old scotch. The people you’re referring to wear polo shirts and drink mystery concoctions out of a plastic cup.”
She rolled her eyes. “You think you’re so superior. I bet you wouldn’t last a day as a normal person.”
“You forget that we come from the same place,” I retorted. “I should be making the same jokes about you.”
“We weren’t rich,” she said.
“Then how did we end up on the same block?” I asked.
She twiddled her thumbs for a second. “It’s probably from my dad’s life insurance and the settlement we got from the train company.”
“Oh,” I said, suddenly regretting teasing her about that topic. “I didn’t know.”
“Of course you didn’t,” she said apologetically. “It happened such a long time ago.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thanks,” she said quickly. “You didn’t know me back then. My dad was the one who inspired me to go into medicine. Who knows where we would have been if he’d survive the crash. Maybe we would have been next door neighbors.”
I smiled at the thought. “I’m kind of glad we’re not, though,” I replied.
“Me too,” she said earnestly. “I was kind of an awkward kid, and if you knew me back then, you wouldn’t want anything to do with me today.”
“I don’t know about that,” I replied. “People can change.”
“Have you?” she asked.
I thought for a second. “Nah, not really.”
We were halfway through lunch when my phone started ringing. I pulled it from my pocked and looked at the front screen.
“
It’s my dad.”
“Answer it,” Olivia replied. “It’s fine with me. I know my mom would want me to answer, or she’ll start assuming I’m dead.”
I gave her an apologetic look and answered the call, wondering what my dad had to say. It wasn’t often that he called me. I figured it had to be somewhat important.
“Hi, Dad,” I said.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Oh, just having lunch,” I said.
“With a colleague? You shouldn’t answer the phone when you’re with a colleague.”
“No, with a friend,” I said, giving Olivia a wink. “What’s up?”
“I’ll make it brief since you’re busy. I’ve met a fabulous woman and we want to get our families together to meet sometime soon.”
“Yeah?” I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “Are things getting serious? Is she The One?”
“I’m very fond of her,” he said. “It would mean a lot to me if you met her.”
“When and where?” I asked, trying to speed up the conversation.
“Soon, I think. I will call you sometime this week with details. I’ll leave word with your nurse.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll talk to you later.”
I hung up the phone with a long sigh and tucked it back into my pocket. Noticing Olivia’s frown, I decided to fill her in on the family secret.
“My dad wants me to meet his new girlfriend,” I groaned.
“What’s so bad about that?” she asked.
“Honestly, nothing— if it were the first or second time doing this. My dad falls in love too easily and too quickly. That’s why he’s been married five times.”
She laughed. “Really? I thought you said your parents didn’t split up until you were older.”
“You’re right. He’s managed to date, marry, and divorce women that quickly. I like to keep records. The shortest period of dating before the marriage was six weeks. That was with Monica. She had humongous tits, but she was a bitch.”