Page 21 of Remedy: Love In Scrubs
I watched as his eyes moved between the photo and me, and I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Part of me wanted to help him connect the dots, but another part—the part that still remembered being the invisible girl in the back of AP Chemistry—wanted to see if he'd figure it out on his own.
"Silver Run..." he repeated slowly, still studying my teenage face in the photo. "I went there too. Graduated the same year."
"Really?" I said, trying to keep my voice casual while my pulse hammered in my throat. "Small world."
He set the photo back down and turned to face me fully, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Skylar Wise... Skylar..." I could see him searching his memory, and I held my breath, wondering if he would remember me. His close examination of me had me thinking back to that girl who sat three rows behind him in AP Chemistry, who watched him dominate the basketball court from the bleachers, who had written his name in the margins of her notebooks like a girl love-struck.
“That’s what you meant the other day in the conference room about having twenty years of experience. Did we know one another?” Aries asked.
I let out a self-deprecating chuckle. “Everyone knew who Aries Yerba was,” I replied. Then added, “No one knew Skylar Wise. And yes, that’s what I was referring to. You’re different, but notthatdifferent,” I stressed, and broke eye contact as the old feelings of that insecure teenage girl tried to creep in.
“Don’t do that,” Aries told me as he closed the distance and lifted my chin with his pointer and middle finger.
The way his fingers lingered on my chin sent a wave of heat through my entire body. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, as his eyes searched mine.
"I apologize," he said softly.
“What are you apologizing for?” I asked.
“Because I was a self-absorbed horny teenager, who didn’t care about anyone but himself. So, I apologize if I ever did anything to make you feel uncomfortable, or if I ever pulled one of my idiotic stunts on you.”
This time I let out a real chuckle. “You never did anything to me,” I replied.
I was getting ready to turn to the plates, and pile them up with food when Aries asked, “Did we have any classes together?”
Damn! I almost escaped.
I nibbled on my bottom cheek and played with the curls that were trying to escape my top bun. “We had AP Chemistry together.”
That had him pausing. “Really? I really don’t remember.”
“It was a long time ago, and I wasn’t exactly memorable.”
“I simply find that hard to believe. There are many things about Skylar Wise, head of legal at St. Ambrose, but forgettable isn’t one of them.”
“You’re just saying that because I can cancel your operating schedule,” I joked, trying to break the serious direction the conversation took.
"And I'm saying it because it's true," he said, his voice dropping to that low register that made my knees weak. His fingers were still on my chin, and I could feel the heat radiating from his body as he stood so close to me.
I swallowed hard, trying to find my voice. "Aries..."
"What, Skylar?" His thumb brushed across my lower lip, and I felt my resolve crumbling like a house of cards.
"We should eat," I managed to whisper, even though food was the last thing on my mind. All I could think about was how his touch was setting every nerve ending in my body on fire.
"Should we?" he asked, his eyes dropping to my lips before meeting my gaze again.
I knew I should step back, put some distance between us, remind him that we were here to discuss his case. But instead, I found myself leaning into his touch, my body betraying all my professional instincts. The warmth of his fingers against my skin sent electricity through my veins, and I couldn't remember the last time anyone had made me feel this way.
"This is a terrible idea," I whispered, but I didn't move away.
"Probably," Aries agreed, his thumb still tracing my bottom lip. "But I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. From the moment you walked away from my O.R. board, demanding my presence. You have been consuming way too many of my daily thoughts, Skylar."
I tried to deflect, "That pissed you off," I reminded him, my breath catching as his hand slid from my chin to cup my cheek.
"It did," he admitted. "And then it turned me on. No one challenges me like you do, Skylar."
My name on his lips sounded like a prayer, and I felt myself melting under his intense gaze. The space between us seemed charged with an energy I couldn't explain away as simple attraction. This was something more—something dangerous.
