Page 9 of Cherish

“But Alexandra is so much more feminine.” I ignored his unwillingness to call me by my preferred name. His hand touched my hair and he squeezed my curls between his fingers. Emboldened by the alcohol and the way he was looking at me, I leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

I could sense the surprise in his body. For a few seconds, he was tense, but then he kissed me back. The kiss was nice. Neither one of us opened our mouths, but our lips remained on each other until Ananda stumbled out of the bar, laughing hysterically at something Ed had said.

“There you are, Alex,” Ananda said, barely registering what just happened between John and me. “Come and listen to this story.”

She grabbed my arm, and the three of us walked to Ed’s car, leaving Dr. Doyle behind.

After that, we ran into each other several times at the hospital. We ate lunch together a few times and went on two dates. After the second date, we made plans to see each other again, but a few days before that date, he had to fly to California for his grandmother’s funeral.

When he returned, something was different. The texts stopped, and he could never find the time to see me, but he was always very pleasant and seemed happy to see me whenever we would bump into each other at the hospital.

I had given up all hope of a romance with him and was ready to move on until I had a dream about my mother telling me it was okay to find love and to fight for it.

“Hey,” Ananda says, rolling her chair next to mine and bumping my shoulder with hers. “You haven’t said a word in hours.”

“I’ve been working, Nanda.” To prove my point, I start a reply to an email. “These claims aren’t going to settle themselves.”

“Melanie!” Ananda shouts. “Bring your lunch tomorrow. We usually eat lunch together Monday through Thursday and go out on Friday. We go to the Bean Town Café. Alex is obsessed with that place.”

Melanie smiles at us and gives two thumbs-up. “Yeah, Jason and I walked by there this morning.” I choose to ignore the mention of Jason.

Despite the incident with her brother, Melanie seems like a good fit here, but I worry her brother will visit her in this office. I hate how he made me feel this morning. I can still smell and feel him. He smelled of soap and laundry detergent, but that scent has invaded my senses. It’s fucking with my mind. I smell him everywhere.

“Maybe we’ll see Dr. Doyle in the cafeteria tomorrow,” I say.

Ananda rolls her eyes and moves her chair back to her desk.

“Who?” Melanie asks.

“This guy Alex is hung up on. They went out a few times and he ghosted her. She’s way too attractive and interesting for him. You want to know what they talked about the first night they met? The weather.”

“I know another doctor I can introduce you to,” Melanie says.

Ananda rolls over to her and gives her a high five.

“Who? Dr. Mute?” I say.

“You just rocked his world, Lexie. Did you ever think of that?”

I smirk at her and turn back to my computer, typing as loud and as fast as I can. “Don’t call me Lexie,” I say back.

“I like it better than Alex. And my brother is a good guy. We had a shitty relationship for years, and we talked and cleared the air. He invited me to not only move to Boston, but to live with him. Before that, he saved my ass from getting a felony on my record. He’d give you the shirt off his back if you ask him to. He’ll do anything for the people he cares about. And he’s no coward. Cowards ghost people. Jason Dupree would never do that.”

Instead of pretending to type, I pick up the phone and pretend to make a phone call, shutting everyone else out.

CHAPTER 5

JASON

In the past week, I’ve seen her everywhere. I’ve worked at this hospital for years and never saw her until a week ago, but now I see her every day. I’m usually in the hospital before six in the morning. One day, I saw her walk through the main entrance. Despite having rounds, I stood in the corner and watched her carry on a conversation with the security guard assigned to the front desk.

She was so animated, gesturing wildly with her hands. At one point, she threw her head back and laughed so hard, I heard it all the way to my soul. Whatever was being said must have been hilarious because the security guard laughed too. They fist bumped, then she walked toward the elevators. I noticed her curly hair was straight and reached to the middle of her back.

As she walked away, I admired her bare legs and tight ass beneath a gray pencil skirt.

The next day, while taking a mid-morning break outside the hospital, I saw her walk out of Beantown Café and walk to work. She had earbuds in her ears, and as she waited for the light to turn green, she smiled and even laughed at whatever she was listening to.

One day, I was walking behind her toward the same elevator. Our eyes met as I stepped inside. Despite the full elevator, I could feel her eyes on the back of my head. I could smell a light and flowery fragrance, and I knew I was smelling was her. She had the same distinct scent when we collided that first day.

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