by Olivia Deici
“All of your patients are your favorite patients.”
She waved my comment off.
“I needed a drink, a series of them. So there I was, at the bar in Oasis, and I felt eyes on me. I wasn't there for anything else other to wallow in self-pity and anger at the unfairness of life. And just like the movies, I looked up across the bar, and I saw these magnetizing eyes. Jesus. Even from far away, I saw they were blue.”
I grinned knowing the power beautiful blue eyes can have you.
“He's younger!” She placed her palms on her cheeks. “I felt like a fucking cougar!”
Laughing, I asked, “How young?”
“Two years.”
I couldn't stop laughing. She always exaggerated.
“Two years. Come on, Cari! So at least he's over thirty.”
She nodded and smirked. “Still…a younger man.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I'd never had a one night stand, but shit Iz, when we made eye contact, he walked over to me. Even the crowd separating us parted for him like the ocean for Moses, and he never broke eye contact.”
A smile remained on her face as she looked away, lost in thought.
“He was dressed in a sharp suit that was obviously tailored. He didn’t have a tie on, but he'd undone the top few buttons on his dress shirt.” She closed her eyes and opened them. “The next thing I knew, he was standing in front of me. He was huge. A freaking foot taller than me with my heels on! Tattoos on his neck and hands. Sexy. As. Fuck.”
“So the sex was good?”
She rolled her eyes in pleasure and grinned.
“Fucking. Amazing! I lost count of the number of orgasms I had. I'd never even done some of the stuff he did to me.”
“Ohhh, younger man teaching you,” I teased. “Now that's hot.”
Laughing, she nodded her head. “He rented a room for us. It's a five-fucking-star hotel. It was gorgeous and luxurious!”
“Wow. At Oasis?”
“Yea. Fucking WOW. At Oasis.” She stopped to breathe. “Completely unlike me, but fuck I needed a wild night.” She shrugged. “I'm totally relaxed now.”
Our laughter was bubbly.
“He wanted to exchange phone numbers but I said no.”
“Not relationship material?”
She shook her head. “It's not that. Just better to have one taste and move on.”
“You're nuts. If he was that good, then what's the harm of seeing him again?”
She shrugged. “I'm too busy, Iza.”
“That's an excuse to keep and push men away.”
She sobered. “Iza. Cut me some slack. It's too soon for me.”
It wasn't really, but I understood.
I hadn't wanted to make her sad. Her brother had died of cancer two years ago. It was the reason she worked herself to death when it came to her patients.
With every patient she saved, she was trying to make up for Chris, who she couldn't. She had devoted everything to help save him and in the end, his cancer was too aggressive. He was her only family, and without him, she didn't know what to do. She continued to work her ungodly hours because she had done so for so long for him, she didn't know how to be “normal” anymore.
My heart broke for her.
“Did you exchange names?”
She puffed air out of her nose. “I didn't know what proper etiquette was for one-night stands. He wanted to, so we did. But it wasn’t before we had sex.”
My eyes widened and I chuckled. “Ohhh, anonymous sex. So…what's his name?”
“As fucking hot as his body and sex action. Los. Doesn't that sound fake, though? Who would name their kid Los?”
I shrugged. “Maybe it's a nickname.”
She moved her head to the side in agreement. “Perhaps.”
There was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
Roman walked in.
“Yea. Ok. So I guess you're Roman.”
I looked at Cari. “How do you know?”
“Your face lit up like a Christmas tree, like I’ve never seen it.”
Roman laughed and extended his hand. “Roman.”
Cari shook his hand but brought him for a hug. She stood back and looked at me.
“It's the blue eyes, huh? They getcha every time.”
I couldn't help the giggle that escaped me especially when I saw Roman’s smug grin.
“Stop feeding his ego, Care. It's big enough as it is.”
“Among other things.”
Cari’s laughter was genuine, looking at me with amusement in her eyes.
“Thank you for all that you've done for Pop. He and the rest of the family should be here in a minute. They were parking.”
“We should get more seats then. Actually, why don't we move to the conference room down the hall.”
Roman followed me as Cari told the receptionist to send the group to the conference room.
“Works out perfectly. Adequate seating and a projector attached to a laptop.”
She was shuffling papers and reviewing documents when the group came in. Cari looked up, smiled, and walked over to Alejandro. She hugged him, and the look on his face was comical. He was obviously unused to the affection from non-family, but that was Cari.
And she was like this with all her patients.
“How are you feeling?”
He motioned his head side to side. “Sometimes alright, others not so much.”
She clasped his hands. “It will get better.” Cari turned to Roman’s mother, who’d I'd just met two weeks ago. Maria Elena was a sweet woman. She cared for her family very deeply. I took a liking to her immediately. The kindness I sensed in her spirit and saw in her eyes reminded me of my mother’s. Cari patted her back and stood at the front of the room.
“How wonderful, Alejandro, that you have a great family who cares about you so much, that they want to come to find out about your condition.”
Marco slapped Pop’s shoulder and rubbed it. “He's our Pop. One hell of a Pop, too.”
Alejandro smiled. “I'm blessed to have a good family.”
I'd only met Roman’s family twice, and they were a strong, loving family.
“Carlos is missing. He was running a few minutes behind.” Maria Elena looked at her watch.
“Then we’ll wait.” Cari remained standing at the end of the table at the front of the conference room. She was fiddling with the computer and projector.
“Sorry, guys. The meeting went over. Thanks for waiting.”
I looked over to the door and saw Carlos walk in.
“Great, we’re all…”
I looked over at Cari who had a shocked look on her face. Feeling like I was at a tennis match, I quickly looked over at Carlos, and his face mirrored the same.
Well, hell’s bells.
This must be Los.
What a small world we lived in.
Cari cleared her throat. “Here.”
She shook her head and turned the projector on. “Could someone get the lights, please.”
“I'll do it.”
I saw her stiffen and I looked over as Carlos turned the lights off.
“Thank you.”
I heard the catch in her voice but I bet no one else did.
“So, the good news is, the cancer was caught early. It was a good thing that you kept up with your regular screenings, Alejandro. Even better news is that because it was caught early, we have a leg up on this. I recommend we do a course of EBRT. That's external beam radiation therapy. It requires a bit of a commitment on your part.”
Alejandro nodded his head. “I was diligent with my last round of treatment. How many times a week and for how long.”
She smiled, but her eyes wandered to the back of the room where Carlos sat. The smile fell from her face.
“I think five days a week for five weeks. Each session only takes a few minutes but set up takes longer. I'll be monitoring your progress. If we need less, we’ll do less. If we need more, we’ll do more. Do you
know what to expect with radiation in terms of side effects.”
He nodded.
“You feel anything wrong or off, here is my card with my cell number on it. Don't hesitate to use it this time.” She winked at him.
Alejandro looked taken aback. “Do you do this for all of your patients?”
Cari laughed and her eyes focused on the back of the room, and for some reason, she laughed harder. I casually looked, pretending to look at the clock, and saw Carlos make a face.
“Only the special ones,” she replied, winking at Roman’s dad.
The appointment lasted another fifteen minutes and then everyone began getting up to leave. Maria Elena hugged Cari and then came over to me.
“How are you doing, Izabella? You haven't come around in a while.”
Roman stood up next to me and placed his arm around my shoulders. “Mamá, it's only been a week.”
Roman’s mother slapped his shoulder. “Butt out, Romano. I like her and want to see her more often.”
My eyes widened. Maria Elena smiled warmly at me. “Oh yes, linda. You, my dear, are a gem and savior. My heart would stop cold when I thought of Romano settling down.”
“Why?” My confusion must've been evident on my face, because she stroked my cheek.
“I had two fears. One, that he would never settle down. Or two, he would bring home a tramp.”
The laughter bubbled inside of me and spilled out of my mouth. I looked over at Roman, who grinned.
“I told you they'd love you.”
“Only by default when compared to a scary unknown loose woman.”
His mom laughed. “Witty, too.” She looked at Roman. “Treat her well, Romano.” Her eyes focused on me again. “Dinner on Saturday?”
“At what time? The clinic is open that Saturday.”
“What time do you need dinner to be?”
How thoughtful was she? I found myself so surprised at his family’s kindness towards me.
“Six?”
Her hug was warm as she pat me on the back. “I cannot wait to see you then.”
Maria Elena turned to Cari.
“Dr. Zavala, please join us, too. We'd love to have you over for dinner.”
I saw her gaze fall to the back of the room.
“No. I couldn't. Thank you, though, Mrs. Zambrano.”
Roman’s mother took Cari’s hands. “If you change your mind, please come.”
The family was at the door heading out. Maria Elena turned and looked at Carlos. “Coming, Carlos?”
His eyes had found their home in Cari, and they hadn't moved an inch since.
“Naw. I'm staying behind to try and convince the good doctor here to come to family dinner.”
Cari’s face reddened like a tomato.
“Very well, hijo.” She patted him on the shoulder as she left.
I looked at Cari and caught her eyes. They pleaded with me but I just smiled at her encouragingly.
“Call me if you need me, Care. Would love to see you at dinner on Saturday.”
“Iza!”
I was already walking with Roman to the door.
“Iz!”
I turned back and smiled over my shoulder. Carlos wasn't a bad guy. He'd been pretty nice to me. If he was an asshole, I wouldn't have left her alone with him.
“Izabella!”
I was down the hallway when she yelled at me. I laughed when Roman asked me what was wrong with her.
Chapter 42
Cari
“Bitch.”
I stood there staring at the empty doorway.
“Naw. She's a sweetheart. Better than my brother deserves.”
I said it under my breath but obviously he’d heard. Iza and I always threw that word around at each other, so it really wasn't a big deal that I'd muttered that. Los didn’t know that, though.
Carlos.
My eyes refocused on his.
“I have to go. I have another appointment.”
“Not so fast, Dr. Zavala. Or do you prefer Cari? Care? Or Caridad?”
His voice was velvet. The way he said my name was like a caress down my back.
“I don't have time for this. You should leave.”
He walked over to the door, locked it, and leaned against it with his arms crossed, patiently waiting.
“Which do you prefer?”
“Neither. I'd prefer you not call me at all.”
His face was a serious mask, completely unreadable.
“Why are you so hostile, Cari? Making you come six times the other night wasn't enough?”
I gasped in shock at his nerve.
“Should I make it up to you then? Two more orgasms now? Would that make you happy?”
He moved away from the doorway and walked towards me. I backed up until I reached the end of the conference table.
“Back off me, Los.”
I spat out his name with a twist of my lips.
“What did I do that was so terrible that you ran out of the hotel room without saying goodbye?”
My fucking cheeks! I felt them heating.
“It didn't just have to be a one-night stand, Cari. I just asked for your number. That's all. Not a key to your apartment, not your signature on a marriage license. Just your number.”
So many emotions swirled within me. Something had come over me that night and a part of me had been embarrassed by my behavior. I wasn't a floozy. I didn't screw random men.
“Let's go out for drinks. Dinner. Hell, coffee, even. Is that so scary?”
He stood in front of me.
“I've never met anyone like you, Cari.”
“Who? A woman with morals who exhibited bad judgment one night?”
I hadn't felt the least bit guilty until I saw him walk in the room. I had made peace with my wild night.
But now it felt like vomiting after getting drunk. I had a good time during it, but now I had a price to pay. I wouldn't have to pay anything had he not been related to my patient.
“No.”
“A non-slut who made a poor impulsive decision?”
“No.” He smirked at that one.
“A woman who regrets the night she had with you and is resentful that she has to face you now?”
That wiped the smile off his face. He brought his hand up and caressed my cheek.
“You regret that night?”
“Yes.”
It was a half-truth. Part of me did and part of me didn't.
“I don't. It was the best sex of my life.”
My freaking cheeks!
“I gotta go. Bye Carlos.”
I couldn't do this now. It was like being in traffic and cutting someone off while giving them the finger because they were going twenty miles per hour in a fifty zone, and ending up at the same damn traffic light parallel to them. I didn't expect it, and now I had to face the humiliation my behavior had caused.
He caught my hand as I tried to step around him.
“No, sweetheart. Not so fast. You’re not sneaking out on me again.”
I tried to get my hand out of his steel grasp. He didn't let me go.
“I'm not sneaking. I'm doing it in front of your face.”
He grinned. I get the sense from him that he didn't generally smile or laugh much.
“Just come to dinner on Saturday. You've met my family. Izzy likes us. We can't be that bad.” He caresses my cheek again. “I can't be that bad.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Why are you running away?” He head was moving closer to mine. “I know you felt it, too, Caridad.”
His voice was soft, silky. I smelled his cologne and I was always a sucker for scents that pleased my nose.
“Dinner. That's all.” He raised his other hand. “Scout’s honor.”
My eyebrows rose. “You were a Boy Scout?”
He shook his head. “No, but my parents would kill me if I offended the doctor that is saving Pop’s life, and Rome would cut my balls off if I hurt the love of his life’s best fri
end.”
I laughed. I couldn't help it. His unintended humor was how he'd gotten me to warm up to him at the bar.
He smiled and passed his thumb over my lips. “Was that so hard?”
“What?”
“Being human with me. Laughing with me.”
I turned my head away but he slowly moved it back. The way his eyes studied mine made me shift on my feet.
“I won't hurt you or suffocate you. We don't have to get married tomorrow.”
He stopped speaking when I inhaled sharply.
“Unless you want to.”
The light beaming in his eyes as his lips stretched wide made me laugh. I felt the stress recede from my neck. His head moved towards me but before I could stiffen, his soft lips touch mine. I let him kiss me for a few seconds without returning a thing, until his hand cupped the back of my head. The possessiveness in his touch sparked something in me, and I opened my mouth and returned his kiss.
The mating of our mouths grew frenzied and he began unbuttoning my blouse. His mouth found my nipple and I cried out. I fisted his hair and brought his mouth up to mine again, where I bit his lips and had the most carnal kiss of my life. He growled and laid me back on the conference table. Jerking my scrubs off, he lowered himself to his knees. One lick of his tongue on my pussy and I was gone.
Jesus.
I was powerless to my basal needs. The ignored woman in me didn't give a flying fuck that I was having anonymous sex again.
Ok. Well, it wasn't technically anonymous anymore since I now knew his name. We’d exchanged our names at the end of our sex session that night, before we fell into exhausted sleep.
Before I'd snuck away.
Five swipes of his tongue was all that it took before I began coming. I slapped a hand over my mouth as the rush flooded my veins. He stood up from between my legs when my sex stopped seizing in pleasure. He began unbuckling his belt. The movement was beyond sexy because it was so jerky. It gave away his neediness, which was also reflected in his eyes.
Shit, I now understood Iza’s inability to look away from those eyes.
To be mesmerized by them.
To be smothered by them.
To be a slave to them.
I heard ripping and realized he was putting a condom over the beast he carried between his legs. Those sexy eyes of his remained intently focused on mine.