The Way We Were : A second chance romance (Take Me Home Series Book 2)

by SJ Cavaletti

  Later, in the cafeteria, Liz and I sat at a table with two trays. Me, with the healthiest food I could make myself take, a Caesar salad and some orange-colored smoothie. Liz, a bowl of soup and a baguette. I watched her bring the spoon to her pouty lips and blow the hot liquid, puffing out her lips. I never wanted to be a piece of cutlery before now.

  “How’s the soup?”

  “Hospital food has come a long way,” she answered, shaking her head approvingly. Then she stirred the spoon in the soup bowl, inspecting it.

  “Yeah. Not bad.”

  She lifted another spoon to her lips again, blew and wrapped them sensually, well I thought it looked sensual, around the spoon that was slightly too big for her mouth. I had to stop staring at her lips. They were making my dick twitch and in scrubs I’d pitch a serious tent in a minute.

  Just then, a tuft of hair fell from behind her ear, and the subtle hue of pink at the tips made me smile.

  “I like the pink,” I said, pointing to my head, referring to hers.

  “Dang. Yeah. It didn’t wash out. My niece promised me it would. So did my sister. So much for trying to look more professional as I slip into my thirties.”

  “You’re never too old or young to do your own thing.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m not sure if pink is my thing or her thing.”

  “So you have a niece?”

  It was unbelievably cute to think that Liz had allowed some little girl to dye her hair.

  “Yeah. She’s twelve. I’m playing the crazy auntie role pretty well. She’s turned me into a guinea pig plenty of times but I might have to draw the line soon.” Liz took the end of her pink hair into her fingers and lifted it. “She did this supposed semi-permanent color like, six months ago. Just glad I talked her out of the blue.”

  Sweet. So damn sweet. A woman who didn’t take herself too seriously.

  “You like kids?” I asked and although she didn’t know what I was thinking, I still worried it might come off like some assessment question on a dating site.

  She didn’t bat an eyelid.

  “Loooove them. It’s funny because when my sister had Molly, I was in awe of that baby. Like, she was so tiny and helpless in this absolutely perfect and innocent way. Then, she was a toddler, and that was so fun to watch her take those first steps. Then, she spoke and could read and at every single stage I thought, wow, it doesn’t get more fun than this. You know, watching a toddler or then Molly singing at a concert. I guess what I’m saying is that watching a kid grow is just the bee's knees. It’s a trip.”

  I almost asked her if she wanted her own one day, but I knew it was a step too far. So I settled for, “I love kids, too.”

  “Yeah?” she asked, ripping a piece of her baguette and dunking it, “You have any in your life?”

  “No. Not so lucky as you. I have two older siblings. One is a priest…”

  “Really? Gosh, I never met anyone who knew a priest in real life.”

  “I can tell you. He’s a blast.”

  “Seriously?”

  “No. He’s not a blast. He’s, I mean, my brother is nice and all, but very serious. And ten years older than me, so we weren’t too close, anyway. Then my sister, who’s five years older… well, she and her husband haven’t been able to conceive. My Mom bores holes into me whenever I visit. Like I’m her only shot at grandchildren. Greek moms are gaga for kids. She’s too nice to say it out loud, but I know she has a tragic inner monologue plaguing her inside. No grandchildren? And we’re all over thirty? It wasn’t in her plan.”

  Liz smiled, picked up her water bottle, and sipped. Fuck me. Those lips again. This time wrapped around a phallic object. I had never put myself down to being one of those guys raging with testosterone, but I was started to wonder if I needed to get laid. It was a fucking water bottle.

  Liz didn’t notice me ogling, thank God.

  “Will you oblige? I mean, give her children one day?”

  We locked eyes, and something inside me shifted. Like an old-fashioned turn dial timer being set for a full hour, finally ticking away again after not doing any cooking for a long time.

  Like I had come alive.

  A chance for innuendo, a bit of a flirt. “Depends. You up to the task?”

  She chuckled, and I swore I saw her cheeks go pink, knowing what I meant but still doubting she heard me. “What? I’m not sure I got that.”

  “I mean, I can’t make babies on my own. I could use some help.”

  “Oh, right?” She eyed me up, beaming from ear to ear. “You need an incubator?”

  “I’ll settle for a date. That would tide Greek mama over for a while. If I told her I was taking out a beautiful girl tonight. She might just have a peaceful night’s sleep for once. What do you say? Give an old woman something to live for?”

  3

  Liz

  Seven Years Ago

  Miami General Hospital

  * * *

  Was that the cutest invitation or what?

  This El. He was a serious catch. Warm brown eyes, intelligent, cute hair, confident… and me saying yes was inevitable. Still, I didn’t want to be the new girl in town who snatches up all the doctors. It felt too soon to date someone from work. What would people think?

  I had to ask. “Do you just go around asking out at the eligible incubators walking around this place?”

  He grew more serious. “Just so you know, I’ve never asked anyone out from the hospital.”

  I liked that. It made me feel special. And to be honest, El was special, too. I could feel it in my bones. And a few other places, too. This guy was hot. A pleasant surprise because contrary to what the TV shows and books tell you, hospitals are not teeming with good-looking doctors. Most of them were women (not my thing) or men with hair growing out of their ears and noses.

  Elias was picture perfect. Like the beginning of my own personal fairy tale. So the answer was yes. Not a casual yes, but one I wanted to jump up and down on the table and shout.

  But if there was one thing I was good at, it was playing it cool. My Mom taught me well. Never let a man know he has the upper hand. Don’t show your cards too soon. She also told me not to give away the milk before he bought the cow. But I settled for the twenty-first century version of her power woman advice. Sex allowed whenever I wanted it, not when he did.

  I was a little stand-offish with a touch of coy. “Well, if it means curing your Mom’s insomnia, I’ll go out with you.”

  El smiled, and I could see just inside his dark pink lips that he bit his tongue. I wanted to bite something, too, right now but kept to my M.O..

  “But no babies on the first date,” I said. “I’m not that kind of girl.”

  He burst out laughing. “Okay. Understood. I’ll make sure Mom’s hopes don’t get too high.”

  I took another sip of my soup, but I wasn’t hungry anymore because feather dusters filled my stomach and tickled my insides. The feeling radiated down to my groin, making me smile bigger than I had wanted to.

  “So where are you taking me?”

  “Good question. I wasn’t exactly prepared for this moment. But I’ll make it worth your time.” He took a bite of his salad and thought as he chewed. He swallowed and asked, “Do you like playing pool?”

  I put my spoon down on the edge of the saucer, gently, as if I was about to say something serious and considered. Then I contacted those mahogany eyes of his, hugged by thick, glossy lashes. I wanted to dive in to that mysterious pond.

  Stay cool, Liz.

  “El, you need to know something about me. I like everything. I mean, my go to answer for literally everything is yes. So I’m pretty much a jack of all trades. But that also means I’m the master of none.”

  He gave me a crooked smile. “And that means what in this context?”

  “Meaning of course I love and want to play pool. But I’m not any good at it.”

  “Guess me letting you win to woo your ego will be pretty hard then?”

  “Don’t w
orry, I’m not a sore loser.”

  “You don’t worry. I’m a shit pool player. It’ll be the blind leading the blind, but I’ve always wanted to go to this place. Run by Cubans and supposedly has the best food. So pool and mojitos it is then?”

  “El, you had me at Ropa Vieja. I’ll endure failure, embarrassing myself and many other humiliating activities for that stuff.”

  He looked to the heavens as if the mere mention of the food was holy.

  “I know, right? I’m trying to eat healthier but it’s like the crack-cocaine of food.”

  I eyed his broad shoulders. “You don’t look like you need to watch what you eat. Or maybe you look like that because you do?”

  I swore it looked like his pecs flexed in appreciation under his top.

  “That’s nice of you. But since doing my residency, I’ve let myself go. Ironic that doctors are so damn unhealthy.”

  “I’m just saying, you don’t look it.”

  Not that I could see his body very well in his scrubs. But he was Greek. And I’ve seen those statues. Just hoped to Zeus or whatever God was in charge of handing out willies that El was better endowed.

  El smiled at me and took the compliment, giving one in return. “Since you’re the only one I’m trying to impress at the moment, I’ll consider that a win.”

  Dang. It was just too easy to flirt with El. To talk to him. To be with him. From the second I had seen him at the entrance of the hospital, he put me at ease. All morning, as I learned the ropes from the heads of the department, I wished El was one of them. I thought about him non-stop from the minute his soothing brown eyes turned to walk away from our first meeting, to the minute they came back to me for lunch.

  I had that giddy feeling. Like I was in the front row of a concert watching my favorite boy band, and one of them made eye contact with me. El was swoon-worthy and if things kept going like this, I wasn’t sure it would take long before the cool collected Liz would throw her panties on stage and scream with wild abandon.

  This felt so right. He was intelligent, had wit and yes, again, was hot as hell. But my sister had warned me about doctors.

  When I told my sister about this gig, this new job, she had more than a few words for me. Jess was a nurse, and this was my first hospital job. Up till now I’d only had two internships in hospitals before I graduated college. She told me not to date any of the physicians.

  “Whatever you do, find your man somewhere else. Hospitals are total bitch fests.”

  Jess was my big sister, and to this day I still followed most of her advice. But this time? No dice.

  I reasoned maybe my sister had just been burned. She had gone through several physicians before she became Mrs. Dr. Berman. Yeah. Girl was just jaded. I wasn’t her. She wasn’t me. And El and I weren’t them.

  Plus, the attraction between us was palpable. A big part of me thought this guy had marriage material written all over him. But then, maybe we’d just end up as friends. Having workplace rapport was important in life, too. I just had to keep it in my pants and not get too drunk if this didn’t go anywhere.

  I watched El’s face, looking down at his salad, poking his fork around like he was looking for something more tasty to eat. High cheekbones, warm skin tone. Healthy sheen. The nose of a Grecian emperor. Chiseled cheeks.

  Yeah. Friends, my ass.

  Later that night, after trashing through my closet, I settled on a very boring, but reliable choice of a black lacy tank top and my best jeans. I had little else clean and hadn’t been shopping in forever. It would have to do. El’s invite had caught me by surprise.

  Would I have worn anything different?

  Maybe not.

  I had been dating throughout my twenties and from about twenty-two to twenty-five; I tried hard with my clothes. I likely would have bought a new date outfit or two every month. Definitely straightened my hair, done my makeup, worried about what shoes to wear. Hoped he liked me.

  From twenty-five to twenty-seven, I worked on just being myself. What you see if what you get.

  And by twenty-eight years old, I just hoped I liked them. The market wasn’t flooded with goodies. And in Florida, it seemed like by the time men were my age, they were looking for younger. And fake tits. And fake lips. And… not me.

  They didn’t want someone challenging and intelligent. That’s what I called myself. They may have used the words “pain in the ass.” Because I wasn’t easily pleased. Sure, I had fun wherever I went. I wasn’t picky in that way. But I yearned for intellectual stimulation. Men were so boring and just didn’t seem to want to engage in any actual conversation.

  So yeah, they weren’t looking for me. And I wasn’t looking for them either.

  Maybe I had been unlucky. It seemed like all the guys I met were superficial. A year ago I gave up on dating apps and joined a beach volleyball team and a running club. No luck. But at least my ass was ready when I did meet Mr. Right. I was in the best shape of my life right now.

  I’d been at the dating game for the better part of a decade but had been through the mill enough times not to feel nervous. Even though I had found El gorgeous and on the surface a golden guy, I still told myself not to try too hard or get my hopes up.

  But then the doorbell rang. I opened the door.

  Shit.

  Having only seen Elias in scrubs, I suppressed a sigh when I saw a tight black t-shirt rippling over the pecs of a man who didn’t normally eat salad. This man was a bench pressing meat eater. Slim waist, flat abs. Broad shoulders that I’d happily allow to give me chest compressions.

  “You look great,” I said.

  He rolled his eyes. “Hang on. That’s my line. You’re not one of those women that’s going to emasculate me, are you?”

  “Yup. Probably.” I locked my door, then turned around again.

  El looked down at his hand as if it was a notepad. “Confidence. Tick. Independence. Tick.”

  I laughed. “Did your Mom help you with that list?”

  “Nope. I’m man enough. I’ve been looking for a match not a complementary pair.”

  Oh geez. This guy was sexy as hell, and definitely not boring.

  “So you’re independent and confident, are you?” I asked.

  “I didn’t make it through med school and a grueling residency on my good looks.”

  He was so damn hot, though. He could have.

  We walked to El’s car, an electric blue Honda Civic coupe, and he opened the passenger door for me.

  “Where’s the Mercedes? Not one of those show off doctors?”

  “I’d rather buy a house. Which by the way is the approximate amount of my med school debt. But anyway,” he tapped the roof of the car with his hand, “I love old Atomic Blue. I’ll miss her when she’s gone. Sorry to disappoint.”

  “Not at all.” I raised my hand, making a notepad with it as he had. “Sensible. Tick.”

  I bent down to get in the car and he joined me in the driver’s seat. Watching his masculine profile, we drove along and I really couldn’t believe the agitated feeling in my belly. My nerves escalated since the moment I opened the door and El was no longer some caricature doctor from the hospital but a real man. It was like some bullet ricocheted inside me, gaining momentum.

  El tried to look at me occasionally while he drove. “So this place, it was recommended by Dr. Katz.”

  “The really old guy with a double chin?”

  “Ha. Yeah, the old one. Also, the one that makes more decisions than anyone else in that place. He’s in with the administration. Big time.”

  “Ah.”

  “So, there’s a hint for you. If you ever want approvals. Just saying. Make friends with him. He waxes lyrical about the place we’re going so you could use it as an icebreaker.”

  This line. So… interesting. Sure, El wanted to take me out. He didn’t really hide that he liked me, or at least wanted to get in my pants, but that he chose a place that could inadvertently help my career?

  Considerate. Tick.


  “Noted,” I said. “El, just want you to know I wouldn’t normally let anyone pick me up at my house. I broke my rule for you so don’t make me regret it.”

  “Oookay. Just so you know, there’s a wide variety of things I had planned to do with this intel. I mean, knowing where you live is precious information. On the spectrum of leaving gifts on your doorstep to doing a stakeout, where would you say the regret feeling lies?”

  “At the stakeout end. No binoculars for sure.”

  “Alright. I can do that,” he said and smiled. His lips curled upward and cocked to one side. I was a sucker for a crooked smile.

  It wasn’t long before we were in the restaurant/bar-cum-pool hall. And there wasn’t a dull moment in between. Elias and I seemed to speak like old high school sweethearts.

  Easy.

  Familiar.

  Hopeful.

  4

  Elias

  Present Day

  Seattle

  * * *

  Oh my fucking God.

  Why did I check my email before going to bed?

  Because I was an insomniac. And for some stupid reason, several blue light activities were on my sleep hygiene list.

  But this time it wasn’t just a bunch of spammy promos that I should unsubscribe from and an update from my Mom.

  Liz.

  Not that I didn’t get several emails from Liz every year since we broke up. I did. Because we were “friends.” Usually, she’d write on my birthday and around Christmas. Some things in between, like she was thinking about my Mom or something.

  But it was August.

  And more than that.

  The usual subject of her emails was, you guessed it, Happy Birthday or Merry Christmas.

  This one said: Uyu.

  Shock surged through my body and I looked around my apartment, wishing to share this unreal moment with some other human, but it was empty as the day she left me. Empty as it had been for five years since.