Page 7 of A Brush with Love
Please call me, habibi. I’m having issues with the practice’s patient retention and need your help. Like I told you, this is really going to affect our finances, and I can’t do all of this on my own.
Dan deleted the message.
“What kind of asshole declines a call from his mom?” Alex asked, staring at Dan’s phone.
Guilt slammed into him, but he corralled it into a dark corner of his chest and locked the door. Since his mom had gained full control of the family practice, there was always a new emergency. A new threat to her livelihood. Another burden Dan had to carry to ensure she was okay. Dan had never thought of his mom as a helpless woman, but she seemed to be crumbling without someone to tell her exactly what to do and when to do it.
“I’m… busy,” Dan said, waving his hand down the hall.
“You’re always ‘busy’ when she calls, huh?”
Dan shot him a look as he pocketed his phone. “It’s really none of your business, is it?”
Alex held up his hands in surrender. “Whatever. I’m just saying, she’s offering you a job on a silver platter as soon as you graduate. It wouldn’t kill you to answer her calls sometimes.”
“It might,” Dan mumbled, ending the conversation. Alex didn’t know the half of it. He didn’t understand the overwhelming swell of guilt and bitterness that came as side dishes to that silver platter.
They rounded the corner to the lab, and Dan’s eyes landed on Harper.
She sat on the large wooden bench in front of the lab, her feet tucked beneath her and a hefty textbook perched in her lap. She twisted one of her soft curls around her finger while she squinted at the page in concentration as her friend from earlier chatted away next to her, oblivious to Harper’s focus.
As if feeling his gaze, Harper’s head lifted, and her eyes traveled to Dan. A slow, honeyed smile lifted the corners of her mouth, and Dan felt his own mimic the look. She clapped her textbook shut and raised her hand in a small wave. The gesture was sweet and almost vulnerable in its sincerity, and it made Dan’s heart ping-pong against his chest.
“Whoa, who’s her friend?”
Dan had forgotten Alex’s existence, and it took him a minute to follow his friend’s gaze to the girl next to Harper.
“I don’t actually know. She was there this morning.”
“You have to introduce me,” Alex said, running a hand through his hair.
“Did you just… primp?”
“No! I didn’tprimp. I… had an itch,” Alex shot back.
Dan bit back a grin and nodded at his friend’s reddening face.
Harper stood as Dan walked toward her, shoving her textbook into her backpack.
“Hi,” she said, shifting her weight from foot to foot.
“Hi.”
Dan’s eyes were locked on hers for a long, beautiful moment before a loud throat-clearing drew his attention away.
“Sorry to interrupt this, uh, eye contact, but I’m Thu.” Harper’s friend stuck her hand out toward Dan, but Alex grabbed at it with such speed that everyone flinched.
“Sorry. Hi, I’m Alex—Alex Huang. Dan’s roommate… Alex Huang.”
“Smooth,Alex,” Dan mumbled, and Alex shot him a dirty look.
“Aaron, was it?” Thu asked with a furrowed brow, continuing to shake his hand. Alex’s face fell in confusion, but Thu broke into a grin before continuing, “I’m just fucking with you, Alex Huang. It’s nice to meet you.”
“And I’m Dan,” he said, offering Thu a small wave before turning his attention back to Harper with an uncontrollable smile. “Ready to do this?” He gestured toward the lab, and she nodded.
They shot quick goodbyes to their friends then moved through the doors.
“I’m sorry again about this morning. I promise we can power through this and I won’t break anything else.” She gave him a sheepish grin.
