11. David
11
DAVID
Everything was set. Dinner was staying warm in the oven. The house was clean, and I even brought in a few live plants to make it look like I lived here. Lexi sat in the rocker-recliner across the room with her stuffed bear on her lap—a gift from her boyfriend after she told him she'd be in London for six weeks. Even he would miss her. I was just glad I got these two weeks before she jetted out of the country.
"Dad, it's going to be so amazing. You have no idea." The chair rocked as she bounced her torso rhythmically. "They have the best program in the world for journalism, and when we're off duty, we have these amazing locals who are supposed to befriend us and give us anything we need." Her dreamy, faraway expression made me feel a sense of nostalgia for my own college days when enduring an internship at Toronto General. I was happy for her.
"I'm so proud of you, baby. And I'm so sorry I wasn't there for the ceremony." I hated that I had to make excuses so often for why I wasn't showing up. If I had pushed my way into the event after Claire told me to "buzz off", she'd have made a scene. The last thing I wanted was for Lexi to be embarrassed by her parents' behavior on such an important night. I'd seen what it did to her when Claire got loud and out of control at a band concert last fall.
"It's okay. I know Mom is pushy. I really wanted you there and I told her, but she is still just so angry with you." Lexi's smile faded and her chin drooped, and I didn't know what to say.
I was willing to bury the hatchet with Claire immediately after the divorce was final. My relationship with my daughter was always more important to me than the petty things we said and did to each other during that time. But Claire never moved on or let things go. She was just as angry and loud about how she felt I'd wronged her as she always was.
"Well still, I'm sorry." I sat forward and rested my elbows on my knees. This was a discussion I'd been needing to have with Lexi for a very long time. "Mom and I just had a rough go of it. She's still having a hard time facing some of the things that happened." I wouldn't talk bad about Claire even though I was angry with the way she handled things. She was still Lexi's mother, though I doubted she gave me the same respect.
"I've heard enough to put the pieces together, Dad. I don't blame you. But now that I'm eighteen and making my own choices, she won't have as much say over what I do and where I go." Lexi grinned at me. "But I don't want this to be a sad visit. I'm only here for two weeks. I want to hear all about this new 'lady friend' you have."
My shoulders relaxed and a smile stretched across my face at the very thought of Lauren. Some parents hid their new relationships with their children after such a nasty divorce, but it had been long enough, and Claire had no problem moving on only months after she and I separated. It was time for me to move on, and I appreciated that Lexi understood that and was happy for me.
"Well, her name is Lauren. I work with her. She is so smart…" I grimaced as I thought of the age difference and how Lexi might take it. Lexi herself was only just eighteen, which made Lauren halfway between Lexi and me. Such a young "stepmom" might not be so appealing.
"What?" she asked, letting her crossed legs relax and stretch toward the floor. She perched the white teddy bear on her knee and waited.
"She's younger than me." When Lauren and I got tangled up in this little fling, I never stopped to think how Lexi would take it. Claire would crucify me publicly for leaving her to go to a younger woman, though that definitely wasn't what happened and everyone would know it. Plus, there was the stigma of a man my age dating someone so much younger—how I was stuck in a mid-life crisis, etc.
"And?" Lexi asked, furrowing her brow. "How young? You're not dating someone my age like one of those weirdos who quit their jobs and buy fast sports cars, are you?" She chuckled, but I could see the serious hint of concern in her eyes.
"No, nothing like that." I started to explain but the doorbell rang. "One sec…"
Feeling a little nervous for the two women in my life to meet, I headed to the door and opened it to find Lauren holding a bottle of wine. Her face was drawn. She looked tired. But she was still stunning, dressed in a white silk top and blue jeans. Her purse dangled lazily over her shoulder and she forced a smile.
"Hey, Doc." She held out the wine toward me, and I took it and stepped aside so she could come in.
"You didn't have to do that…" The wine wasn't fancy, but the kind gesture was heartwarming, considering I knew she was struggling.
She stepped through the door past me and I closed it, and when I turned around I was surprised to see Lexi on her feet, joining us. She grinned so brightly I thought her cheeks would hurt if she didn't stop soon.
"Oh, my gosh, you must be my dad's new girlfriend." Lexi threw her arms around Lauren and squealed, hugging her and leaning from side to side. She looked so happy to meet Lauren, but Lauren looked a little surprised. We hadn't even begun to discuss what was happening between us seriously, and she had come here thinking we were going to talk. I didn't realize when I told Lauren to come over tonight that Lexi would decide to start her two weeks with me immediately.
"Well, uh… we should go eat before dinner turns." I nervously broke up the hug. "Lauren, this is my daughter, Lexi. Obviously, Lexi, this is Lauren Newhouse."
Lexi backed away and Lauren said, "It's so nice to meet you, Lexi." She didn't look freaked out or uncomfortable, but I could see a hint of sadness in her eyes. She knew we wouldn't get to have a deep talk over dinner like she needed, and I felt bad for that. I determined to make that up to her if we got any privacy tonight.
"Dinner, then?" I asked, trying to move us toward the kitchen. Lexi took the lead, and Lauren and I followed.
"So, what sort of doctor are you?" Lexi asked, and Lauren dived into her history, which I knew, but I still found it fascinating to hear her tell it.
While I pulled the roast and vegetables from the oven—Lexi's favorite—the ladies sat at the table and chatted. I served them each a moderate portion and listened to them share about internships. Lexi was going into journalism, and Lauren knew very little about it, which led to a thousand questions asked and answered. I hardly said a word even when I sat down to eat with them. They got along so well, I didn't want to interrupt that.
Instead, I sat back and admired Lauren's grace, how she put aside her own emotions and tapped into this vibrancy and joy I knew ran deep through her. She hung on every word Lexi said, encouraged her at appropriate times, and asked all the right questions. There was no doubt in my mind that the two of them would get along should Lauren and I develop something serious, and it only gave me more reasons to fall for her. She was more perfect than I even knew.
We neared the end of dinner, and Lexi started yawning. I knew she'd gotten up early this morning after a late night last night. She was probably exhausted, so when she excused herself to go to bed, I kissed her on the cheek and she was off, leaving me and Lauren alone.
"Are you all done?" I asked, standing to clear the dishes. I'd scrape and rinse, but the dishes could wait for the morning. I wanted to spend some time alone with her, talking.
"Sure," she said, and I could see she had more on her mind to say to me. She was going through something pretty heavy, so I cleaned up as quickly as I could. Knowing this would get emotional for her and not knowing how she'd feel if Lexi walked in during our discussion, I opted to move our conversation to someplace more private.
"Want to go sit on my bed and talk?" I asked, offering her my hand, and she looked up at me and nodded. There were already tears in her eyes before she stood.
I led her across the living room and up the hall just past Lexi's room. We slipped into my bedroom quietly and I locked the door. There was a good chance Lexi already had her ear buds in, cranking her music in preparation for deafening herself to any noises that might come from my room—teenager thing—but those noises would likely only be crying, for now.
"Tell me what's going on," I said, gesturing at the bed.
Lauren sat on the edge, and I crouched at her feet and slid her shoes off. Her sad smile and the way she swiped tears from her eyes made me ache for her. She pulled her legs up and sat cross-legged in the center of the bed as I kicked my shoes off and climbed up with her. I sat facing her, our knees touching, and took her hands as she started.
"Jason, well, he was at the hospital with a friend. The kid overdosed. I didn't look at his chart, but I'm pretty sure it was fentanyl or heroin." She sniffled and continued. "Jason is so addicted, and I've kept him clean for a while now, but I think he's using again. I need to get him into this rehab, but…" She burst into tears, sobbing into her palms, and I pulled her forward and wrapped my arms around her.
Helping a loved one who struggles with addiction is a challenge to anyone, but to someone doing everything to build their own life and career, I imagined it felt horrible.
"Hey, I'm here…" I rubbed circles on her back and she cried it out, and when she sat up, she had a determined look in her eyes.
"Look, I need to know what the heck is going on between us. I need this job really badly. The salary is way better than anything else, and I have to get my brother into this treatment place." She picked at her fingernails and looked away from me, and I could see why she was so worked up. Her life and her brother’s were on the line. "I really like you, Dr. Park?—"
"David… please. We're past the point of using titles outside of work, I think." I let my hands glide down her arms and catch her hands.
"David. Sorry. What I’m trying to say is, this is a huge risk. If the hospital board finds out we're sleeping together or messing around, I'll get fired. I can't get fired. I really like you, and my God, you drive me insane sometimes. I can't think. I can't focus. You smell so frickin' good, and there are times when you smile and my gut melts?—"
I leaned forward and kissed her hard, biting her lip and lingering there close to her, breathing her in. When she calmed, I pulled back but remained very close to her.
"I feel the same way about you, Lauren. Your body is a work of art. Your smile makes me forget my own name. And you are so smart, you literally leave me speechless. I want to know where this is going, work or not. When you meet someone you click with like this, you don't just pretend it's not happening. You go for it."
Her lip quivered and she bit it. "But it's against hospital policy." I could see the desire in her eyes, the same desire I'd seen countless times on duty at work.
"Then we'll be ultra professional at work. I think we're fooling ourselves to think we can put aside what we are experiencing to pretend it doesn't exist. We'll drive ourselves mad. We'll climb the walls and fantasize about each other, and people will notice." I laced my fingers through hers and she finished my sentence for me.
"But if we really indulge when we're off the clock, it will tame the raging lust and let us be able to focus while we're working." Her fingers squeezed mine back, and I grinned.
"Now you're getting it. And if it develops into something really serious, then we'll approach the board the way we should. HR will fight us, but there are steps to do this the correct way. There's just no point in all the hassle if we don't know what will happen, right?" I leaned closer again, so tempted to bite that trembling lip of hers.
"I can't lose this job, David. Jason depends on me." A strand of hair fell across her eyes, making her blink in a seductive way.
"Then we just have to be very careful… Sexy stuff outside the office, work stuff inside the office."
Lauren pushed the hair out of her eyes and asked, "Is that an order?" It made my heart lurch in my chest.
"Yeah, it is. Now strip your clothing off and spread yourself on my dresser. I want to see your pretty pink pussy on display."
Her lips flushed dark pink and she said, "Yes, sir," and it made my dick hard instantly.
Yes, I was going to really enjoy this adventure.