Page 3 of Break

Or maybe I’m just making up excuses. I’ve been skating for as long as James has. We learned together, after all.

“Marie, Mr. Carter is ready for you in room three,” Patti winks at me as she skips out of my office. I see the flash of her black hair swinging behind her as she leaves me alone to deal with him on my own. I groan and move away from my desk. I feel like my ass has a permanent imprint of the seams along my leather chair from charting so much today. Anything to keep me in the office and away from people in between appointments.

I pluck up my tablet and sign in, pulling up James’s chart and frowning when I see he’s here for another physical… Odd. They just did those a few months ago prior to the season starting.

I knock on the door, staring down at the tablet as I walk in. I look up to see a woman standing with James that I’ve never seen before. My heart lodges in my throat and I feel my blood pressure spike. I glance between the two of them and want to throw my tablet against the glass window behind them and jump through it.

What the fuck is going on?

“M! This is Alex, my girlfriend,” he winks at her and wraps his arm around her slim shoulders, leaning down to kiss her cheek. I just stand there, blinking at them in confusion. Even tilting my head like an owl… or a dog. Girlfriend? “We reconnected a few months ago and she finally agreed to date me.”

I shake my head as I check out the woman. Long, thick auburn hair, she’s about my height and build, but has glittering green eyes, lightly tanned skin, and dresses like she has one of James’s black cards in her wallet. I wouldn’t be surprised if she does. She looks like she’s dressed to kill, even wearing heels and here I am.

Wearing old scrubs, my hair hasn’t been washed in days, and there was no way I was putting makeup on my red, puffy face after crying so much.

I clear my throat and step forward to offer her my hand. “Hi there, I’m Marie, nice to meet you.”

She nods and looks at James with a pout, ignoring my hand and me completely. “Can we get the tests done now? I’m hungry,” she flutters her long, thick eyelashes at him and sits on the exam table before pulling out her phone and scrolling. And tapping. And scrolling some more. How old is this creature?

She looks like she barely just turned eighteen.

Cute.

James licks his lips and smirks at me. “I’m here for another set of STD tests. She’s allergic to latex and doesn’t want to… you know… without knowing I’m clean.”

I just nod and tamp down the tears that are threatening to spill. I feel my face draining of color and I pray that he doesn’t look at me too intently. Why did he have to come here? See me? On today of all fucking days.

So, not only is James unavailable now, he’s about to be having unprotected sex with this… woman. That I had no idea about.

Does he really not remember the night we were together? I know that we never talked about it… But, really? I guess this is the answer. If it was as good for him as it was for me, he wouldn’t have a girlfriend, right? Was it only good for me because I’m in love with him?

I huff out a breath, step up to the sink to wash my hands. I sing the ABC song in my head as I scrub before I dry them off and slap on some gloves.

“Do you want to have this appointment alone?” I wince as Alex snaps her head up and clears her throat. James immediately shakes his head and sits down beside his woman and nods for me to continue my charade. I nod and clear my throat. “I see Patti already did your vitals. Before I draw blood or any samples, do you have any reason to believe you have any STD’s?”

I glance back over to James and he shakes his head. “No, I’ve never had sex without a condom… I don’t have any issues down there.” My stomach drops and I feel like I’m going to faint and pass out at the same time.

Yes he has. With me. A few weeks ago.

He blushes and clears his throat and I nod and glance over to Alex.

“What about you? Any concerns?”

She blinks up at me with a frown, “No, I just need you to test us both.”

I breathe out through my nose and frown at them both. “This is a sports medicine clinic. The only reason why James can show up for anything like this is because of his career and Dr.Patterson’s affiliation with the NHL. You’re not a patient here, you’ll need to see your own doctor about that.”

I ignore their whispered conversation as I grab everything I need, focusing on James’s arm to draw several tubes of blood. I hand him a cup and point him out to the hall. “Go ahead and fill that up for me, would you like Dr. Patterson to complete the swabs?”

He nods mutely and shuffles to the door and I focus on labeling the tubes before dropping them in the bag to hand off to our lab. I send a note to Dr. Patterson to come to this exam room as soon as he can and I try to focus on anything aside from the gorgeous woman in the room with me.

“So are you and James close?” Alex asks as she continues to tap on her phone.

I glance at her over my shoulder and roll my eyes. “You’ll have to talk to your boyfriend about that,” I mutter and start to tap out some notes on James’s file. Might as well while I wait. Better than tossing it at the floozy’s head.

She hums. “I’m going to marry him… so if you have any feelings for him, I suggest you back off. He’s asked me to move in.”

I chuckle under my breath and nod. No worries there, girl. I’m not one to chase after a man that obviously doesn’t want or love me. “And what about Alyssa and Caroline?”

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