Page 7 of Cherish

She blows out a breath and runs a hand through her curly mane. She turns her eyes back on me briefly before turning away and taking a few steps from me again.

“I think he might be”—she looks at me again before turning back to Mellie and the unknown female—“slow,” she says, lowering her voice, but not enough for me not to hear.

At that, Mellie throws her head back and lets out a loud belly laugh. The angel frowns at Mellie and tells her to shush.

“Don’t laugh at him,” she says, angry at my sister’s reaction. Like an idiot unable to form a single syllable, I watch as she takes the few steps to where I’m still standing.

“Come here,” she says, grabbing my hand. I let her lead me to an empty chair. She tries to push me into it, but I like the feel of her hands on my chest so much, I stand still. She finally looks up into my eyes, her cheeks pink and my body alive from just her touch. She shoves again, but this time, her hands linger a little bit longer than necessary. She finally drops her hands and points at the chair.

Mellie walks over, the smug look still on her face.

“Maybe you should go fill out your new hire paperwork,” the angel says testily. “Since you can’t help but laugh at someone who is obviously a little slow.” She drops her voice when she says the word slow again.

“Jesus!” Mellie practically yells. “He’s not slow.” She points from me to the angel. “Alex, meet my brother,DoctorJason Dupree. President of his high school class. National Merit Scholar. He went to Boston College on a full academic scholarship. Graduated second in his class at medical school at Johns Hopkins, and that’s only because those snooty fools over at Harvard were too stupid to accept him. He’s not slow. He’s just struck.”

The other woman, the one with the nose ring, walks over and looks at me. “Maybe he’s an idiot savant?” she offers, shrugging her shoulders. “You know what I mean? He’s science smart but unable to interact in society. There’s a TV show based on that premise. I bet he has one hell of a bedside manner,” she says, but she’s looking at me with a playful glint in her eyes.

“Science smart?” Mellie says with a snort. “Now, who’s the idiot?”

“Well, excuse me, but genius boy hasn’t said a word,” nose ring girl says.

Mellie turns back to me.

“Say something, Jason.” She turns her attention from me and faces the girls. “Normally, he can charm the skin off a snake. Say something.” She nudges my leg with her foot. When I still stay mute, she gently knocks me on my shoulder.

The girl with the nose ring laughs. The angel is looking at me, arms crossed and brows furrowed, clearly unamused by the turn of events.

I stand up abruptly and nearly collide with her again. To avoid me, she takes a step back, but wobbles and starts to fall. Without thinking, I reach for her; she grabs my biceps, and I steady her by putting both of my hands on her hips.

Our eyes meet again, and we stand there, my hands still on her hips even though she’s no longer in danger of falling. She makes no moves to remove her hands from my body either.

I feel my Adam’s apple bob as we continue to stare at each other. She’s beautiful with clear skin and huge eyes. Her cheeks are a light pink, and I don’t know if that’s from makeup or the staring contest we’re having.

I’m about to take that step, but all of a sudden, she purses her lips as if she tastes something sour. She drops her hands from my body and takes several steps back. She looks around, looking as confused as I feel. No one in the room speaks for several seconds.

“Well, if he’s your brother, you can deal with him. I have work to do.” Without so much as giving me her name or a second look, she walks down the hall and out of my sight.

“What the fuck just happened?” the girl with the nose ring asks. “I’m Ananda, by the way, and that was Alex.” She offers me her hand and I take it. Unlike Alex’s touch, I feel nothing when I hold Ananda’s hand in mine.

“We bumped into each other in the hallway. I was coming in here to give Mellie her wallet.” Mellie finally takes the damn wallet from my hand.

“He speaks,” Ananda says, eyeing me suspiciously.

“Yes, and despite what you just observed, I can be quite eloquent at times.”

“What kind of doctor did you say you were?” She’s eyeing me up and down now. Her lips curl into a smile, and it’s as if she’s in on a secret that I’m not. And the secret is about me, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never met this girl before.

“Surgeon. General surgery, to be more precise. I’m a fourth-year resident.”

“You don’t say? I guess you’re what some would call a healer.” She still has that secret smile on her lips.

I expect her to leave, but she surprises me with her next words. “That was the best thirty bucks I ever spent. Welcome, Dr. Jason. Welcome. It’s about freakin’ time.” Those are the last words she says to me before she turns and walks down the hall. I watch her leave, craning my neck in hopes of getting another glimpse of Alex.

I can feel Mellie’s eyes on me, and I can almost hear the wheels turning inside her head, but I ignore her. I concentrate on picking up my backpack from the floor. I have one more day of vacation left, and I’m going to spend it sleeping off the booze filled weekend I just had.

“What the hell just happened to you?” Mellie asks, while holding onto my arm to keep me from leaving. “You went mute over that girl.”

I open my mouth to argue, but she speaks first. “Don’t think I didn’t notice it’s the same girl you were staring at on the way here. The one who was in the little diner. How fortuitous for you that she and I are about to become BFFs.” She finally lets go of my arm, smiling like the Cheshire cat.

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