We go in the elevator and I punch in my code. The elevator doors open to a small foyer with slate tile floors and a dark wood bench with a tall back that has hooks on it. Next to that is a small table with a lamp and the black bowl where I drop my keys.
"Come on in," I say to Star, leading her to the living room which is open to the kitchen and dining area.
"I like your place," she says, looking around.
"I didn't decorate it. Decorating is another thing I'm not good at."
"It's very manly," she says, her eyes going to the dark leather sofa and thick wood tables.
I chuckle. "It's not everyone's taste but I like it."
Lauren didn't. She kept threatening to hire a decorator but I wouldn't let her. That should've been a clue I didn't see a future with her. If I had, I would've been open to her making this place ours and not just mine.
"I meant manly in a good way," Star says. "It's woodsy, like a cabin. We had a cabin growing up and I always liked going there."
"You don't have it anymore?"
"My dad had to sell it. He went through a gambling phase and needed the money to pay off his losses."
"That's too bad. Is he still gambling?"
"I don't know. I don't ask." She walks over to the large window opposite the couch and looks out at the garden below. It's too early in the year for the flowers to be up but when they are, it's really beautiful.
"Nice view," Star says.
"It's better when everything's in bloom. I'm gonna go change. Feel free to make yourself at home."
I go down to my room and change into jeans and a t-shirt, then wash my hands and grab my first aid kit. When I get back to the living room Star is sitting on the couch, checking her phone.
"You need anything?" I ask, setting the first aid kit on the coffee table.
I feel her watching me, and when I look up at her, I swear she's checking me out. Or maybe I'm imagining it.
"Star?" I say, getting her attention.
Her eyes dart to the coffee table and she grabs the remote. "The TV. I found the remote but where's the TV?"
I take the remote from her and press a button. The TV slowly rises from the top of the media cabinet that's across from the couch.
"That explains why I couldn't find it," she says. "That's really cool."
"It's hidden so it doesn't obstruct the view of the gardens. I don't watch a lot of TV so I usually leave it in the cabinet."
"Why don't you watch TV? You just don't like it or what?"
"I don't have time. I'm either at work or the gym or just out doing stuff." I sit beside her. "Let me see your knee."
She yanks up her sweat pants, exposing her knee. I carefully lift up her leg and rest it on mine.
"Does it hurt?" I ask, running my finger around the cut, gently pressing the skin in certain spots.
Her body stiffens and she pulls back. "It's just a scrape." She tries to put her leg down but I keep hold of it.
"Keep it extended," I say, reaching forward to open the first aid kit. I take out a cotton ball and soak it in the antiseptic. "This may sting a little." I push her sweats up higher on her leg, exposing part of her thigh. She sucks in a breath and I glance up at her? "You okay?"
"Yeah." She forces out a smile. "Go ahead."
Looking back down at her leg, my eyes catch on her exposed thigh and I feel a twitch below the belt. Shit. That's not supposed to happen. I can't be thinking of her that way.
Redirecting my attention back to her knee, I dab the cotton ball over the cut.
My hand stalls as my eyes wander up to her thigh again, noticing the shape, the gentle curve, her smooth skin. I feel another twitch of my cock and force my eyes back to her knee.
"Still okay?" I ask, reaching for the bandage.
"Yeah." She sounds breathless and when I lift my eyes to hers, we pause a moment, gazing at each other, and I'm suddenly very aware that it's not just me having these feelings. Star feels it too.
What am I doing? I just broke up with Lauren. I can't be interested in another woman, especially not the woman I hit with my car.
I blink away from her and clear my throat as I secure the bandage in place.
"All done," I say with a smile, pulling her pant leg down.
My phone rings and I see Lauren's name on the screen. She texted me earlier to talk about our living arrangements going forward. I don't want to talk to her but we need to get this settled.
"I need to get this," I say to Star.
"Go ahead." She smiles. "I'll watch TV."
I go down to my room and shut the door. "Hello, Lauren."
"Why didn't you return my texts?"
"I've been busy."
"Busy doing what? Your nurse said you took the afternoon off."
"There were some issues with Star. It ended up taking longer than I thought."
"Star? The girl you hit with your car? Why were you with HER?"
"It doesn't matter. Just tell me why you called."
"I've decided to acknowledge your need for some time apart," she says in a business-like tone. "I think it'd do us both some good to have a little space. Time to think about our future and where we want to take it. I think it might even strengthen our relationship."
I sigh. "Lauren, this isn't a temporary break. It's over. We're not together anymore."
"Whatever you need to tell yourself," she says, dismissing me as usual. "We'll discuss it later. For now, I'll be taking some of my things and staying with a friend."
It's a start. I want her to take everything, but at this point, I'm not going to push her to do more.
"When will you be over?"
"I don't know. Why do you ask?"
"I'm just wondering. I don't want you just dropping by without telling me."
"Why? Are you planning on having someone over?" she asks, a hint of jealousy in her voice.
"What I do or who I see is none of your business. We're not in a relationship anymore."
"So you DO have someone," she huffs. "I knew you were cheating on me!"
"I was not cheating on you. And if I decide to date again, it will not be cheating because our relationship is over."
"It's not over. We're simply taking a break."
"Lauren, I don't have time for this. I have to go."
"This isn't the end, Corbin," she snaps, then hangs up.
I take a calming breath, then return to the living room. Star is still on the couch but the TV isn't on.
"I thought you were watching TV," I say.
"There was nothing on," she says, tossing the remote aside.
Sitting beside her, still angry from Lauren, I force out a smile. "You ready to search for apartments?"
"Um, sure," she says, staring at me like she wants to ask me something.
I wait but she doesn't say whatever she's thinking so I get up. "I'll grab my laptop."
"Corbin?"
"Yeah?"
"Is everything okay?"
"It's fine. Why?"
"You seem kinda angry."
"I'm not angry. Why do you think I'm angry?"
"You just seem different."
My brows lift. "Different how?"
"You were all happy trees and then you took that phone call and now you're kinda crooked angry trees."
I wonder if she heard me talking to Lauren. I did raise my voice toward the end of the call.
"Sorry. No more angry trees." I smile. "Back to happy."
"Is there a problem at work?" she asks, seeing through my fake smile. How is she able to read me so well? We just met. "Do you need to go back to the clinic? If so, I can go somewhere else, like a coffee shop or the library."
"It wasn't work." I rub my hand over my jawline, which is scruffy because I didn't shave this morning.
Star's waiting for me to say more. Should I tell her what's going on?
My phone rings. I get it out and see it's Lauren calling again. I send it to voicemail, then text her, Can't talk now. Text me before you come over.
"Is it her again?" Star asks.
Her? So she DID hear me talking on the phone. And she knows I was talking to a woman.
I put my phone away. "It was Lauren."
"And she's your..."
"Girlfriend," I say without even thinking.
Disappointment falls over Star's face and I suddenly feel the same way. Not because I have a girlfriend. Because I don't have a girlfriend. Not anymore. My disappointment is because I'm single now but can't act on my feelings for Star. It wouldn't be right. Not right after a breakup. Not after hitting her with my car. And now I'm letting her stay with me. I'm more involved with her than I should be and yet I want more. I just can't let myself have it.
Chapter Nine
Star
He has a girlfriend. Of course he does. He's gorgeous, smart, rich, successful. I assumed there was a woman in his life but part of me held out hope that he was single.
"Lauren's your girlfriend?" I ask casually, trying to hide my disappointment.
"EX-girlfriend. We broke up the morning of the accident. It was another reason I wasn't paying attention that day."
They broke up? Then why was she calling? Maybe the breakup is more of a break. Some time off, and then they'll get back together. What girl would ever give up a guy like Corbin?
"Did you guys have a fight?" I ask.
"Yes, but that's not why we broke up. It's a long story. Things haven't been good for a long time. So long I don't even remember them being good."
"How long have you two dated?"
"Years. We started dating in med school."
"She's a doctor too?"
"She's finishing up her residency. She'll be done in a few months. You might've seen her at the hospital. She stopped by your room but I think you were asleep."
"So why the other day? Why'd you pick then to break up with her? Or should I not be asking?"
"You can ask. As for the answer, I'm not entirely sure. I spent that whole night before thinking about it, wondering if there was anything I could do to save the relationship. I realized there wasn't, because my feelings for her were gone. They'd been gone a long time but I tried to deny it. I woke up the other day and realized how unhappy I was. I couldn't take another day of it so I ended things with her."
"But didn't she just call you?"
"She's not accepting the breakup, which doesn't make sense because I know she was just as unhappy as I was in the relationship, but for some reason she's not willing to let it go. I think it'll just take time."
So they broke up but she's not letting him go. I wouldn't want to either. I've only known him a few days and already miss him when he's not around. I shouldn't be getting this attached to him but I am. Maybe because he stayed with me in the hospital, and because he's the only person I know in Boston.
"Want something to drink?" he asks, walking to the kitchen.
"No, thanks."
I watch as he takes a glass from the cupboard and fills it at the water cooler that's next to the stove. He's wearing faded jeans and a white t-shirt and damn, he looks good. He looked good in his doctor clothes but I like this casual look even more. I can get a better look at his body. Maybe I shouldn't be focusing on that but he's got a great body so it'd be a shame not to look. He obviously works out a lot so I'm simply admiring his hard work.
When he touched me earlier to bandage my knee I almost passed out. It could have been due to my concussion but I think it was more about how I felt when he touched me. I wasn't expecting my body to react that way. Breathless. Heat flooding my core. When he pushed my sweat pants slowly up my leg, his warm hands sliding up my thigh, I was so aroused I had to pull back before I kissed him. He noticed and looked up, our eyes meeting, and for a moment I felt like he was just as aroused as me. I was convinced of it. But then he went into doctor mode and my fantasy ended, reminding me he's not interested. It's just my imagination telling me so because I want it to be true. He just broke up with a girl he dated for years. He'll need time before he's ready to date again.
"I'll be right back." Corbin goes down the hall and returns with his laptop. He brings it over and sets it on the coffee table in front of me. "I have two so we can each search. It'll go faster with us both looking."
He seems to be in a hurry to find me an apartment. He wasn't before, but then his girlfriend, or EX-girlfriend, called and now he wants me out of here as fast as possible. Maybe she said something to him. Maybe she told him it's not right to help a patient this way. Maybe it's against some doctor code of ethics. But he's not my doctor. He's just helping me out.
I wake up the computer. "I need a password."
Looking behind me I see Corbin sitting at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, his laptop open. Why is he sitting way over there? There's plenty of room on the couch.
"Hold on." He comes up behind me and reaches over to put the password in, then quickly returns to his spot at the breakfast bar.
"I'm not sure where to start," I tell him. "Any suggestions?"
"Search apartment rental agents. We'll have better luck going through an agent than using one of those apartment search sites."
"I can't just look for apartments. I need to look for a roommate. I can't afford to live by myself."
"If you do that you risk getting another roommate who'll take off with your stuff."
"I don't have a choice. I can't afford to live on my own. I need to find a college student. If they're here for college, they're not going to take off mid-semester."
"Those people already have roommates. You're not going to find someone looking for a roommate this time of year."
"You could be a little more positive."
"I'm just saying, it's not likely. And if you have to find a place with a roommate, we're not going to get this done today. It's going to take time."
"Then I don't know what to do. I don't have money for a hotel. And I can't go home. My parents would kill me if I showed up there again. I already stayed five years past their 18-and-you're-out rule. Even if I could live at home I don't have a car to get there." I sigh. "I'm so screwed. I have no money. No place to sleep. No car."
"Hey." Corbin appears beside me. He takes the laptop and sets it on the table. "I told you I'd help you and I will."
"I know but there's only so much you can do. Like you said, it'll take time to find a roommate. And I don't just need a roommate. I need a job. Fast. Except nobody's going to hire a girl with a concussion who has to use crutches to walk. And I have nothing to wear to an interview except these sweats, which I really appreciate by the way. I'd pay you back if I had the money. Actually...." I reach in my pocket and dig out the money I stuffed in there from my wallet. "Here's ten." I shove the wadded up bill into his hand. "It's not much but it's something. Anyway, to find a job I'm gonna need—"
"Okay, stop." He takes my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. "Take a deep breath."
I do as he says, watching as he does it with me. On the exhale we both whisper 'happy little trees' which makes me laugh.
"Feel any better?" he asks.
"A little, but I still don't know what to do. I don't even have a place to sleep tonight."
"You'll sleep here," he says.
"Here? I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Well, for one, I don't think your girlfriend would like it."
"She's not my girlfriend. She's my ex. And it's not her decision. This is my place and I can have whoever I want stay here."
"But it might be a few days before I find a place. I can't inconvenience you like that."
"You're seriously worried about being an inconvenience?" He lets out a laugh. "Are you kidding? I've completely turned your life upside down. Because of me, you lost your job and everything else. If anyone's been inconvenienced, it's you. I owe you a lot more than a room in my apartment." He stands up. "You feeling okay or do you need to rest?"
"I'm okay. Why?"
"We're going out." He holds his hand out. "C'mon."
I
take his hand and stand up. "Where are we going?"
"Shopping. You need clothes."
"I don't have money."
He smiles. "Luckily, I do. Lots of it. So buy whatever you want. And feel free to toss out the hospital sweats. Those were just meant to get you home. I didn't expect you to ever wear them again."
"I'm not throwing them out. I only wore them one time."
"Which is plenty. You really want to walk around covered in the hospital logo? Those clothes don't even fit you. They're way too big and the fabric is scratchy."
"It IS kind of scratchy."
"Hold on." He races to his room and returns holding a gray hoodie. "Try this."
I take off the hospital hoodie, leaving the t-shirt on, and put on Corbin's hoodie, which is softer than any sweatshirt I've ever owned.
"It's too big on you," he says, "but it's gotta feel better, right?"
"It feels great. It's really soft."
"Sorry I don't have pants that'll fit you but we'll remedy that. Ready to shop?"
"Okay, but let's just go somewhere cheap. I don't want to spend a lot."
"I'm the one paying and I don't care what it costs. You seem to be forgetting I hit you with my car."
"I think you've already made up for that."
"Not even close. You need to use the restroom before we leave?"
"Actually, yeah."
"Down the hall on your right."
His bathroom is immaculate. The sink and fixtures are clean and shiny and there's nothing on the counter except for a soap dispenser. I know I shouldn't but I sneak a peek in the cabinet drawers. There's nothing in there. I thought maybe his girlfriend would have left some stuff here but I guess not.
When I return from the bathroom Corbin is in the kitchen, going through his mail.
"You have a really clean bathroom."
He chuckles. "I can't take credit for that. The cleaning lady was here yesterday. And that's not the bathroom I use. It's the guest bathroom. The one in my room isn't that clean."
That must be where his girlfriend keeps her stuff. I'm guessing she used to stay here. I wonder if her stuff is still here. If they just broke up, she probably hasn't had time to come get her things. What if she shows up while I'm here? That would be awkward.
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