Back in reality, Ariana was quietly giggling on the opposite side of the couch.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, confused by her reaction to the sultry scenes.
“Nothing,” she laughed. “It’s just that I’ve finally realized how absurd this day has been. I woke up this morning thinking I’d just see you for a few minutes for my appointment and then I’d spend the rest of the day at my apartment. Instead, I’m having dinner and a movie at my doctor’s house. This movie is so over the top, too.”
“Yeah?” I asked. “I didn’t think it was bad.”
“It’s just so over the top. I mean, they’ve been working together for like, a week and they’ve already hooked up. Neither of them even remotely showed interest in each other until they were in the middle of that top-secret mission.”
I smiled. “Maybe they liked each other from the start, but they were too shy to say anything.”
“Maybe. Does that seem realistic to you, though?”
I thought for a second, answering seriously. “If I found the right girl, absolutely. But sometimes, real life is more complicated than the movies. Do you think either of those characters thought about how they were putting their careers in danger?”
She giggled. “I know! It must be a lot of work to become a spy. Would it really be worth it to give all of that up for another person?”
I smirked. “Again, I think it depends on the person.”
“Yeah?” she pried, scooting a little closer to me. She sat on the couch with her legs crossed, facing me. “What would that person be like?”
I bit my lip. “Well, I like girls who are smart and a little bit feisty. They keep things interesting. I want a girl who is loyal to the people closest to her. If I’m going to put up a fight for her, I want her to put up a fight for me. It also doesn’t hurt if that girl is smoking hot, either.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a typical guy.”
“I am?” I asked, feeling slightly hurt.
“I don’t mean that as an insult,” she said quickly. “I don’t dislike the stereotypical male. Sometimes, it’s nice to have someone who wants to look after you. As long as that guy isn’t a creep who sees you as an object, rather than a human, I have no problem with the Alpha-male. In fact, I think that kind of guy can be really sexy.”
My insides did a back flip. Was she describing me?
Chapter Six
Ariana
I was starting to get the feeling that I had gotten in too deep with Daniel. I turned back toward the TV to continue watching the movie.
It wasn’t that I minded having these conversations with a guy, except the fact that I could possibly be revealing too much about myself. I had a thing for guys who were tough on the outside and sweet on the inside. I just hoped I wasn’t being too overt about it.
Perhaps it was my love of fairy tales that made me interested in guys like Daniel. For the most part, I could take care of myself, but I liked the feeling of knowing that there were guys out there who would have my back. Clearly, Daniel was one of those guys.
From my time spent in his office, I knew that he was a caring person. All good medical professionals have a certain amount of empathy and sympathy for their patients. Otherwise, they wouldn’t care about how their patients felt. When I spoke with Daniel, the first thing he would ask me about was how I was feeling. Tests and numbers on a page mattered to a lesser degree than how I felt.
The caring side to him, along with his classic good looks, was what initially attracted him to me. But, the way he handled my stalker reappearing made me like him even more. This guy really wanted to take care of me. That was the fairy tale I longed for—a good person who truly cared about me in a non-selfish way.
Unfortunately, his interest began and ended with me as his patient. I wasn’t sure if it would be crossing the line, just to be friends with him. I mean, could I be pals with the guy who understood my body better than I did?
When I thought about it, I realized that I had a thing for Daniel from the very first time I met him. I had a doctor in Ohio that I had gotten to know well over the four years of undergrad. I was excited to go to Berkeley but nervous about starting over with a new doctor. My current doctor did some research for me and told me that he was going to refer me to an excellent young doctor. At first, I was worried that he wouldn’t have experience treating people with epilepsy, but my doctor assured me that he was very promising.
I was so nervous about being late and having a bad first impression with my new doctor that I showed up thirty minutes early. The patient before me canceled at the last minute, so he was happy to have me there to keep his day rolling along. He poked fun at me for being so early, mocking me for being so excited to meet him.
In truth, I was. But, I didn’t realize it until after that first appointment.
When I got home, I had to lie down for a little bit to process everything that had happened. We hit it off immediately, talking and joking like we were old friends. I filled him in on my medical history and he told me a little about what he studied in medical school. When I left, I remember thinking that I couldn’t wait until my next appointment.
Every appointment after that had been the same. We laughed together when he would tell me stories from his medical school days and he’d hand me tissues and pat me on the back when I cried about having symptoms. He’d reassure me when I had to have my brain scanned and I was feeling claustrophobic in the bulky machinery. In some ways, we had grown pretty close.
Then, in other ways, we were practically strangers. I didn’t even start calling him by his first name until today, and I didn’t know anything about his home life. If I had to guess, I would have assumed that his father was also a doctor and his family life was perfect. In reality, it seemed like there was some reason he didn’t want his dad to crash at his place.
Just when I was starting to relax and have fun, I tensed up. Crushes were the worst—so rarely did they end up the way I wanted them to go. If I let my guard down too much, I would for sure make a fool out of myself. I needed Daniel more as a doctor than I needed him as a lover.
I tried to focus on the movie again, but there were just too many sex scenes. I hated myself for not picking something a little tamer. I just felt so awkward watching that kind of stuff when I had similar desires for him.
“I think I’m coming around to this movie,” he said.
“Why is that?” I asked.
“Why can’t they find love? I’m sure they didn’t sign a contract saying that they weren’t allowed to canoodle in their spare time. Besides, if it doesn’t affect the mission, does it matter if they’re together?”
I didn’t know if he was trying to say something or if he was truly just commenting on the movie.
“I bet you’d never do something like that,” he smirked.
“Run into a burning building?” I asked, looking at the screen. “Probably not.”
“No,” he laughed. “Have a secret relationship.”
My suspicions grew. If he was flirting with me, I wanted to play along. But, if I were just projecting his movie critiques as flirting, I would make a fool of myself.
“Is that your perception of me?” I asked. “Do you think I’m some angel?”
He grinned. “I think so, yeah.”
I playfully rolled my eyes. “Maybe I’m not.”
“But I’m willing to bet that you’ve never done a scandalous thing in your life,” he said, raising his eyebrows.
I searched my memory, trying to think of a story that would impress him. Honestly, I was a well-behaved person. I liked to follow the rules and present myself as a respectable person. I really didn’t have a scandalous story to tell him.
“What have you done in your life that’s been so wild and crazy?” I asked, defending myself.
He turned his face toward the TV for a second. When he looked back at me, he had a shy smile on his face.
“I’ve lived a rather mellow life myself,” he said. �
��I never felt motivated to go against any social norms or break any rules. Not until now, anyway.”
“Until now?” I asked before I could control my curiosity.
My face felt hot. I looked back at him, but he had turned his head. His shoulders looked stiff and his jaw was clenched. He didn’t respond.
Apparently, I had said the wrong thing. I turned back to watch the movie, vowing to myself that I would never try to flirt with him again. It was silly of me to even engage in such conversation. He wasn’t interested in me that way.
I wanted to leave, but there was nowhere to go. I couldn’t go home because Jake would likely be waiting for me there. I couldn’t go to bed because it was far too early to sleep and I didn’t want Daniel to think that something was wrong. I excused myself to go to the restroom and sat on the edge of the bathtub to gather my thoughts.
Even if Daniel was flirting with me, it would be wrong to assume that he wanted to get physical. My body told me to lean over and kiss him on the lips, but my mind knew better. I needed to chill out.
When my awkward feelings about Daniel had subsided, I returned to the living room and resumed my perch on the end of the couch. Daniel looked like he had relaxed a little in my absence, but was still sitting up straight at the opposite end of the couch.
My phone started to ring, so I pulled it out of my pocket, expecting to have to come up with a story to explain to my mother that I was safe. I didn’t want her to know I was at my doctor’s house because that would invite way too many questions. But, I didn’t want Daniel to hear me lie about my whereabouts.
But, the number calling me wasn’t my mom. I silenced my phone and set it back on the couch.
“Telemarketer,” I said, before turning my attention back to the movie. It was nearly the end, and I was worried about what we would do after there was nothing to distract us from each other.
The phone rang again. This time, I looked at the area code. It was a local number, which seemed odd for a phone scammer. Still, I never answered numbers that I didn’t recognize, so I ignored it again. Most of the time, it only took a few ignored calls for the caller to move on.
“Sorry,” I said, setting my phone down. Clearly, I had distracted Daniel from the movie because he was staring at my phone.
“Did they call again?” he asked.
“Yeah. Those people are persistent. If they call one more time, I’ll give them a piece of my mind for disturbing our film night,” I joked.
Like clockwork, my phone began buzzing again. For the third time in a row, I was receiving a call from a local number that I didn’t recognize. I thought it could be my advisor trying to get a hold of me, but it was outside normal business hours. Any classmates I regularly spoke to were saved in my phone. It had to have been a wrong number—there was no other explanation.
In an attempt to look cool and stop someone from annoying Daniel, I answered the phone.
“Hello?” I said in an exasperated tone.
No one answered, but I could hear soft breathing on the other end. Someone was there.
“Hello?” I tried again, a little louder.
“Hi, Ariana,” a soft voice said. “Can we talk?”
The voice sent a chill up my spine.
“How did you get this number?”
“I’ve always had your number.”
“Yeah, but I’ve changed it since I moved here, Jake. How did you get this number?”
“Are you at your apartment?” he asked, ignoring my question. “I’m not going to be in town for long, so I thought we could go out to dinner tonight. I wanted to apologize for how we left things. I get the feeling that you’re upset with me?”
“Uh, you think?” I spat. “I’m not going to go to dinner with you. I’m staying with a friend for a few days. If you follow me around again, I’m calling the police,” I bluffed.
“Which friend?” he asked. “Carla Bevers? Tiffany Weisman?”
I froze. How did he know people from my master’s program? I sputtered, trying to think of something to say to him to get him to leave me alone, once and for all.
“Just come out for drinks with me and I’ll be gone. I just want to talk to you. You don’t have to stay longer than an hour. Please. I promise I’ve changed since the last time we spoke.”
Logically, I knew that I should avoid him at all costs. But, the idea of suffering through an hour of his narcissism would be worth it if I never had to deal with him again. For a brief moment, I entertained the idea of meeting up with Jake, just to see if he was telling the truth.
But, before I could answer, a strong hand reached across the couch and pulled the phone away from my ear. The next thing I knew, Daniel was having a conversation with my stalker.
Chapter Seven
Daniel
From the second I heard his name escape her lips, I was infuriated. Apart for a little awkwardness, we were having a nice night together. We had spent the evening watching a cheesy movie and making jokes, and I even felt like we were flirting at times. I really thought that I was helping Ariana forget all about her awful stalker.
Then, I remembered that I had agreed to help her out. If I was going to pretend to be her husband, then I needed to go all out. Fueled by rage and a sense of responsibility, I took the phone from her hand without thinking twice about what I was doing.
“Who is this?” I asked sternly.
“Who—who is this?” he stuttered, obviously not prepared to talk to anyone else. I got a kick out of this—I bet he was really freaked out to hear a man’s voice on the other end.
Ariana looked horrified. She held a hand to my face as if she were asking for the phone back. I gently shook my head. I was going to take care of this now.
I never realized how thrilling it was to confront someone for being a creep. I didn’t want to admit it to Ariana, but I was pretty fired up. I just hoped that I could scare him off for good.
After I refused her request for her phone, she sat back on the couch and folded her arms across her chest. She twirled a strand of hair around her finger.
“I don’t think you get to ask that question,” I said icily. “I would like for you to stop harassing my wife. This has gone on for far too long.”
I could hear him sputtering, the wheels in his head turning. He clearly wasn’t expecting to hear that.
“Come on,” he said. “Who is this? I’m trying to reach my friend, Ariana.”
“Your friend?” I asked. “What’s your name? If you’re friends with Ariana, surely I’ve heard of you.”
“Jake,” he said softly.
“I haven’t met you, then. I guess your invitation to our wedding got lost in the mail. I haven’t heard of Ariana’s friend Jake. I have heard of her stalker named Jake, though. Are you sure you aren’t confused about your relationship with my wife?”
At first, calling Ariana “my wife” felt foreign to me, but the more I said it, the more I enjoyed saying it. The words felt so good coming out of my mouth. Now I finally understood why girls liked to doodle their first name alongside their crush’s last name.
“Come on,” he whined. “This is some kind of sick joke. Ariana isn’t married. I would know.”
“Would you?” I chuckled. “There’s a reason we had a small ceremony. She looked absolutely stunning in her gown and we had an incredible night together. I don’t think we left the honeymoon suite of our hotel for an entire day if you catch my drift. Do you want to know why it was such a special day, apart from the fact that Ariana and I are madly in love with each other?”
“Why?”
I grinned. Winding Jake up like this was so pleasing. I wanted to savor the moment.
“Because you weren’t there,” I said. “In that moment, it was as if you never existed. I’d like things to return that way.”
Jake huffed. “Dude, I don’t know who you are, but you’re making this up.”
“Are you sure? Then how would I know that Barbara walked Ariana down the aisle? How would I know
that her bouquet was blue, her favorite color?”
Jake was silent. He was starting to believe me.
“Look,” I continued. “I get why you’re into Ariana. I really do. She’s smart, beautiful, and an incredibly kind-hearted person. She would never cause you harm because she’s a sweetheart. On the other hand, I most certainly will.”
“Excuse me?” Jake squeaked.
I was just as surprised by the words coming out of my mouth. I had never been a violent person in my life, yet I was imagining all the things I would do to this asshole if I ever came face to face with him. I don’t know if I would ever hurt him, though, but at that moment, I would do anything to make sure he didn’t harm Ariana.
“I’m giving you a fair warning. If you lay a hand on Ariana, you’re going to pay. I want you to go back to wherever you came from. I don’t want to see or hear from you ever again. If you try to hurt her, I will hurt you. This woman is my life and I will protect my family. Bring harm to her, and you’ll wish that the police got to you first. I’m sure you understand.”
Silence from the other end. If I hadn’t heard him breathing, then I would have assumed that he had hung up.
“I’m going to need to hear a yes or no response from you, Jake.”
Suddenly, his tone changed. He went from disbelieving to respectful in a split second.
“I’m very sorry, sir,” he said. “I had no idea that Ariana had a husband. “This has come as a shock to me. I never intended for her to feel afraid. In all honesty, I missed her and felt like we left things on bad terms. I wanted to apologize for my behavior and make things right again.”
I didn’t buy it for a second. Ariana told me that he was manipulative and could put on the charm when it benefited him.
“If that’s what you’re really after, you’ll leave her alone from now on,” I said, standing up from the couch. “Goodbye, Jake.”
I hung up the phone and handed it to Ariana. “I’m not sure if he got the message, but I don’t think he’s going to try anything strange anytime soon.”
Suddenly, she sprung from the couch and jumped on me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. She squeezed me tightly in her embrace, pressing her body against mine. She was intoxicating.
Forbidden Prescription 4: A Stepbrother Fake Marriage Medical Romance (Forbidden Medicine) Page 4