The Doctor Who Has No Closure (Soulless 10)

I looked away, a little ashamed. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”

“No, I want an answer—not an apology.”

“I don’t know,” I said as I rubbed the back of my neck. “I guess I don’t really have a good reason, honestly.”

“Clearly.”

I decided to stop being a sexist asshole and just get over it. “Yeah, let’s get a beer or something tomorrow.”

“You gonna bring that woman?”

“No. That was my old residency adviser.”

“Oh cool. That must have been nice to catch up.”

“Yeah, it was nice.”

Her eyes narrowed at what I said. “Oh my god…you fucking dog.”

“What? I didn’t say anything.”

She gave me a playful shove before she stood up. “I know that look. It hasn’t changed since you were a teenager.” She moved to the coatrack and grabbed her jacket. “But, you know what? You only live once, right? You know what my motto is?” She pulled on her jacket and hooked her purse over her shoulder. “Eat the cake, fuck the guitar player, and don’t apologize for being you—ever.”

5

Sicily

I was sitting behind the desk when someone dropped off an envelope of paperwork. “This is for my client.” Then they just left, without any more explanation.

I opened it and found Dylan’s paperwork—along with the cashier’s check for the visit and the surgery.

It was over a million dollars, and he paid in full…just like that.

Now I understood how Dex made his money. He volunteered his time to people who needed it, but he charged the people who could afford it up the ass. I returned it to the folder and watched the last client leave his office.

It was lunchtime, so I grabbed Dex’s food and brought it into his office.

He was used to it now, so he immediately glanced up in excitement, looking forward to his lunch that I grabbed for him every day. After he busted his ass all day, it was nice to do something for him, give him some kind of reward for all his hard work. “Whatcha got for me, Sic?”

I liked it when he called me that, using a nickname no one else had used before.

“Hot roast beef sandwich with a Gorgonzola salad.”

“Ooh, fancy.” He opened the bag and put his food on the table.

I turned to leave so I could give him some time to himself.

“Hold up a second.”

I turned back around.

“You got plans tonight?”

I stilled at the question, immediately jumping to a conclusion that I shouldn’t desire. “Nope. Free as a bird.”

“You want to go out for a beer with me?”

I felt my stomach tighten at the question, wondering if he was really asking me out, just out of the blue like that.

“My sister wants me to spend some time with her and her boyfriend, and I don’t really want to go alone. Thought it would be more fun to bring you.”

Reality slammed back into me, and I realized how stupid I was. He just said a few weeks ago he never wanted to get married, so why would he ever ask me out, his assistant? That would never happen. I didn’t even understand why I was disappointed because it wasn’t something I wanted in the first place…or at least, I didn’t think so. “Sure. You don’t like him?”

“It’s not that.” He unwrapped his sandwich and prepared to take a bite. “I’m just…probably not gonna like him.”

“That’s ironic, considering you seem to like everyone.”

“People in general, sure. But dudes for my sister…not so much.” He took a bite and chewed. When he got it down, he spoke again. “I know what it’s like to be crushed, and I’d rather go through that a million times myself than watch my little sister go through it once.”

We sat side by side at the table in the bar, waiting for Daisy and her boyfriend to join us. We were both enjoying a dark IPA, and there were a couple baskets of fries on the table. It was strange to be with Dex when it wasn’t work-related, because when we were on the clock, there were always a million things to do. Now that there weren’t, I didn’t know what to talk about.

Every time I scanned the room and waited for his sister to step through the entrance, I noticed several pairs of eyes on us. They all belonged to women making eyes at Dex, the hottest guy in that bar, with those broad shoulders, laid-back demeanor, his thighs open under the table as he took up a ton of space. His sleeves were shoved to his elbows, showing off his chiseled forearms and manly hands…surgeon’s hands.

Dex didn’t seem to notice, his eyes usually on his beer or out the window beside us. This man was the sexiest dude on the planet, but most of the time, he didn’t seem to be aware of it. He was also the smartest, but that didn’t seem to register either. He didn’t spend his free time deep in self-absorption but thinking of other people and other ideas.