Page 161 of Love Sick

Alesha grabs my arm before I can respond. “Drinks!”

Behind me, Julian falls into conversation with Steve. They remain by the door. Alesha drags me to the crowded kitchen, where Kai holds a glass of red wine for me.

I take a sip. “Where’s Raven?”

Someone taps my shoulder.

I turn and smile. “Raven!”

She envelops me in a hug. “Last holiday party all together.”

Squeezing her tighter, I laugh. “We’re almost done!”

We release each other. She hugs Kai, then Alesha. “I’m gonna miss you guys so much.”

While Alesha plans to become faculty at TUMC to stay close to Steve, Raven and Kai have chosen jobs farther away—Kai in Colorado and Raven in upstate New York.

Julian and I… Well, we haven’t quite decided our futures.

“Should we get a picture of the grads?” Dr. Chen enters our group and holds up his iPhone.

“Yes!” Alesha goes to her tiptoes. “Juju!”

She leads us to a quieter area of the house. Julian joins us and the five of us stand shoulder to shoulder so Steve and Dr. Chen can snap a few photos.

Afterward, Julian kisses my cheek. “Have some fun, Sapphire.”

“Don’t I always?”

He winks before slipping away to join the annual poker game with Chen and Maxwell.

“Has he decided what he wants?” Alesha asks once he’s out of earshot.

Her hair is laced with red and green tonight and she wears a flowy black dress. The two of us never quite recovered from the fallout—an element of trust is irreparably broken—but she’s proven her loyalty time and again.

We’re friends.

Not best friends.

But friends.

I shake my head. “The contracts are sitting on our kitchen table. He won’t tell me which one he wants to sign.”

She tips her glass toward me. “California or Florida. Quite the decision.”

Kai sticks his head between us. “Don’t forget about that private practice in Austin that wants them.”

Chuckling, I sip my wine. Julian and I decided to search for jobs together. We have offers near my family and his, but we also interviewed between them just in case. He says he wants to go where I’ll be happy. I say I want to go wherever he chooses.

Two months and we’ve reached no decision. With anyone else, I’d be worried about cold feet, but the man is as doting and romantic as ever. He loves me. I feel it deep in my bones.

“We’ll figure it out eventually,” I say.

Raven pats my shoulder. “Of course you will. Take your time. It’s an important decision.”

We meander back toward the crowded kitchen. The younger residents are clustered into groups, chatting and laughing. Interspersed throughout the crowd are others—Levine rosy-cheeked near the sink, Dr. K laughing with his wife, Hoffman complaining about the food, Narayan unsmiling in the corner.

Joy overtakes me, an illogical fondness for everyone in the room, even the ones I don’t like.

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