Chapter 45
Isabelle
I took the train back to Manhattan a couple hours later and managed to make it back by early evening.
Austin told me he’d come over to my place once I got back and we could have a quiet night in with a movie.
With my last year of residency in full swing with the summer puttering out and his final season with the team starting soon,
we were sort of nesting—relaxing with each other before schedules got a little crazy.
Instead of waiting for him to come over, I went straight to his place and, as though he had been expecting me, the door was
unlocked.
“Hey,” he called when he heard the door open and close.
I smiled because he probably knew I’d come straight here. We had settled back into a place we were in right before the argument,
except now it didn’t feel like the terrifying precipice at the top of a roller coaster before I fell.
Now it felt like the opposite; a hammock’s supportive embrace keeping me from hitting the ground. All the time. I felt safe and I never realized how nice it was to simply expect someone was looking out for your happiness.
“I thought I was meeting you later,” he added over the sound of dishes clanking in the kitchen.
I liked his place, and I didn’t want to wait to see him.
“I missed you,” I called back, loudly and unabashedly, not feeling the need to hide behind anything, because it was true.
And more than that, I wanted him to know.
The hallway opened up to his kitchen on one side, overlooking the giant living space and the view of Lower Manhattan.
“How was it?” He threw the kitchen towel over his shoulder, and I made my way to him in front of the stove.
“Good.” My voice went up an octave unexpectedly.
He grinned. Before I left, I’d been a little nervous and I didn’t hide it well. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. They weren’t ecstatic about me choosing Dr. Reinhold’s fellowship, but my mom understood.”
“And your dad?”
I shrugged. “He’ll come around.”
“You sure that’s not why you came here?” His eyes searched mine to make sure I was okay.
My heart dipped. “I’m sure.”
He put both arms around me and pulled me into a soft kiss. “Or maybe you were hungry and knew I’d be making you something
for tonight?”
“No, that’s a delightful side effect.” I smiled as he pulled away. “I missed you and I like your place.”
It felt like a home. Warm and cozy.
I had a feeling Austin knew that without my saying it, as evidenced by the fact that he had left the door unlocked for me, like he’d expected me to change my plans after seeing my dad.
He grinned. “I love hearing that.” He turned and walked back to the stove when a few sizzles got a bit louder. “Wanna help?”
I peeked over his shoulder. “No, you seem to have it covered.”
I leaned over the stove with no real desire to actually cook. Besides, it looked like it was about done anyway. I was enjoying
watching the process.
We settled on the couch after dinner with a couple glasses of wine.
“What do you want to watch?” Austin leaned forward and picked up the remote.
“How about a match?” I suggested. Austin had a bunch he wanted to watch saved on his TV. “I should learn the sport to make
those lessons worthwhile.”
My job was learning the movements likely to cause injury and then operating on them, so this was helpful, but we lived in
the era of 4K game film. I could just as easily see the mechanism of injury as many times as I needed with perfect clarity.
And the fellowship offered rotations in all types of sports, not just soccer. But my boyfriend was sort of a big deal in that
particular sport, and I wanted to love the thing he loved.
He looked down at me with raised eyebrows. “Really?”
“Yes, I want to learn.”
“We should probably start with the rules.” Austin leaned forward and reached under the coffee table.
“Okay . . .”
He pulled a book from the second shelf underneath the coffee table.
It was the book I bought to figure out how to start learning the game, the one I’d used to set up that little kicking practice lane in the park.
The title, in bold black font against a bright-yellow background, was Soccer for Dummies.
Except Austin had taken a Sharpie to DUMMIES, crossed it out, and written SURGEONS.
“I wanted to make sure we didn’t bruise that ego.” He kissed my forehead.
I ran my fingers over the Sharpie line.
I laughed quietly.
I’d told myself for years I’d be able to achieve my way into happiness, all on my own. I was so sure letting someone in during
that process would get in the way.
Then, I’d found Austin. A man who was strong enough to listen to what I needed and brave enough to act on it. Because I was
a force, and I needed someone who could not only withstand it but revel in it.
Turned out, I could have it all. Not one or the other. All of it.
“Okay.” I flipped through the book, then back to the beginning with the rules. I handed Austin the remote. “Teach me something.”