Page 10 of Egotistical Jerk
"Sebastian?" I didn't know how it was possible, but Simon sounded both annoyed and amused at the same time.
"What?"
His features turned worried in an instant. He leaned forward, deep lines wrinkling his forehead. "I said I was heading out, but I can stay if there's something you want to talk about."
Where the hell did I even begin?
When I'd walked into the hospital that morning, everything had been perfect. I was looking forward to meeting my new team. Hopeful we'd make headway with Cheryl's case. Thenshehappened, and my entire day had gone to shit. Yeah, that might've sounded harsh, but freaking hell, one person had never had the ability to crawl under my skin as Phillips had within seconds of meeting her.
At first, I'd thought it was mild annoyance but when she stood in front of me in the cafeteria. So close that I could smell her citrus shampoo and count the freckles on her nose, I knew exactly what it was.
Attraction.
There was no way I could tell Simon this, so I settled for something else that was weighing on me because my friend deserved some truthfulness at least.
"Mrs. DuBois's case is grating on me. Diagnosing an illness has never taken this long."
Understanding and sympathy were evident on his face when he smacked his palm against my shoulder blade.
"It's tough, I know. But you'll get there." After throwing a few bills on the counter—it was his turn to get the tab—he hopped off the stool. "All right, I'm off."
We said our goodbyes, but instead of going home, I opted to go for a walk. Before I knew it, I was strolling down Benefit Street, taking in the beautiful historic Federal and Victorian homes that preserved our city's colonial history.
I'd lived in Providence all my life and because my parents were from here—they'd met at Brown and were both surgeons at Memorial until they retired five years ago—I never saw a reason to go anywhere else.
But as I came to a halt in front ofProvidence Athenaeum, I had to admit I suddenly felt like a stranger. Not only in this city, but my own skin too. Nothing about my life had ever bothered me. I was happy. Or at least I thought I was.
The thought that I might've been spending too much time perfecting my work, instead of building stronger relationships with the people closest to me, had been playing on my mind a lot lately.
Even though I would never admit this out loud to anyone, there was this worry somewhere inside of me that I had somehow missed my chance at happiness. That I wasn't going to have what my friend had.
At the end of the day, success meant nothing without someone to share it with. My parents showed me that.
I let out a slow breath as I tilted my head toward the sky. It was such a beautiful night and here I was souring it by thinking of things that were better left alone. Maybe I was just tired. Tucking my hands inside my pockets, I started on the 30-minute walk to my apartment, hoping beyond hopes that the mess that was my mind would be clear by the time I stepped through my front door.
Chapter 7
MIA
"Hey, Mia, wait up!"
I froze mid-step to look over my shoulder at Mary, sidestepping a few patients. Her cheeks were red, her face the picture of concentration. The first time I'd seen her I'd thought the woman had just completed a ten-mile run. As it turned out, Dr. Lawrence's pale white skin changed color with even the slightest bit of effort.
Burying my hands inside the pockets of my white coat, I turned around completely and waited until Mary made it to where I was standing. I liked her. Which was a good thing considering Dr. Ryker usually paired us together.
Speaking of… the man had not warmed up to me one bit. In fact, during the past two weeks, his mood had soured even more. And although I knew it shouldn't, it bugged the crap out of me that he would greet the other doctors with a friendly smile on his stupidly handsome face, but when it came to me, I'd get nothing more than a scowl and a grunt.
The only thing I hated more was the way the butterflies in my belly would flip when I'd catch him staring at me across a room. Or how my pulse would speed up whenever we shared the same space.
It's just a teeny tiny crush, I assured myself. It would pass sooner or later.
Wouldn't it?
"I got you one too," Mary said cheerily as she shoved the to-go cup my way.
I caught it just in time to stop the contents from spilling onto my chest. She chuckled, the sound of it joyful and carefree.
Pulling her shoulders to her ears, she said, "Whoopsie. Guess I did that with a lot more force than was necessary."
