Chapter Nineteen
Kelly
Seeing Reese every Saturday completely spoiled me for the last month.
I’d lived on this island my whole life, but I felt like I was discovering it anew with her.
We’d gone on several hikes (Ted happily getting to tag along), explored tidal pools, and eaten the best food the island had to offer.
I felt a sense of adventure I hadn’t experienced since I was a kid.
It was the first weekend in a month that Reese was working, and I felt sick to my stomach. I knew this would happen eventually, but I didn’t expect it to feel this shitty. I was hopelessly addicted to Reese. I was
addicted to the way she laughed, the way she punched my arm when she thought I was a dork. I was addicted to every new freckle that was sprinkling out across her nose, despite her consistent sunscreen use.
I was worried that after I told Reese my adoption story, she would just pity me.
It was a story I had never shared with anyone outside my family.
Instead, we connected on a level I had never felt with anyone else.
It’s crazy how similar we felt in life; we knew our families loved us, but we both felt lonely and a bit lost.
It was now the end of July, and she was going to be talking with her recruiter about her next assignment soon. We had casually talked back and forth about where she should go, and I slowly died inside every time. The last time we spoke, she was leaning towards Nashville.
Deep down, I think that I always wanted Reese to stay, but the luau had changed everything for me.
I didn’t want to pretend I was her boyfriend anymore.
I wanted to date Reese. I wanted her to stay so we could give this thing between us a chance, but I could tell that she was scared.
So, I didn’t push it. I knew she needed more time.
God, I wanted to kiss her so badly. A real kiss. I wanted to do much more than just kiss her, though. There had been times when her body was pressed against mine, whether during surf lessons or crouching together under a tree to wait for the rain to pass, when I almost lost all control.
I had fallen in love with the way she snuggled up next to me on the couch in the evenings, each of us taking turns at picking movies.
I loved the way she sat on my countertops as I cooked for her.
I had fallen for her the way night slips into morning—slowly, almost unknowingly, until suddenly I was flooded with light.
And once I had seen the light, there was no returning to the dark.
Now, I was lying on my sofa when my phone buzzed. I almost jumped up to get it out of my pocket.
Reese: Would you be shocked to find out that the cafeteria is closed on weekends? And guess who didn’t bring lunch?
Me: Oh no! What are you going to do?
I glanced at my watch and saw that it was almost 1:45 PM.
Reese: Maybe I’ll order some food from a local place. I also heard that the ER is the primo place to get a turkey sammich ??
I laughed at her use of the word “sammich.”
Me: That does sound tempting. How about I bring you something instead?
I stared at my phone for several minutes, waiting for a reply, dread and embarrassment starting to seep in.
Maybe she didn’t want to see me if she didn’t have to.
I groaned and closed my eyes, wishing I could take my text back.
I turned back on my screen, thumb hovering above the keyboard to type up some excuse, when three little dots appeared.
Reese: Really? You don’t need to go out of your way. But...if you really don’t mind, I would owe you big time! Could we meet up at 2:30?
My heart pounded as I hastily replied that I would see her soon.
What the hell could I bring her? I didn’t have enough time to go buy something and make it to the hospital on time.
I ran to my fridge and looked in, seeing only some leftover spam musubi I’d made last night.
I sighed and grabbed it, throwing it into a reusable grocery bag, praying she liked spam.
I grabbed some kettle chips, an apple, and poured some POG juice into a big water bottle. It sure as hell wasn’t fancy, but maybe it would be the thought that counted.
The day had started cloudy, matching my mood. But now the sun was beginning to emerge as I drove to the hospital.
I parked in the ER lot, in the far back, as she had instructed in her text. It felt so strange to be this happy about arriving at a hospital. The hospital had always been a place of sickness and death. But now it was giving me life. Something I wanted to hold onto tightly.
For fuck’s sake, I was bringing this girl lunch in the middle of the day just so I might catch a glimpse of her smile and be able to see those honey-colored eyes.
I entered the ER and went straight to the security desk.
“Aloha, cousin.” An Asian man, who was spilling out of his uniform, sat comfortably at the desk. His white button-up shirt was tucked tightly into the front of his black pants. He had a gun pinned to his hip. His name badge read ‘Buddy’.
“Aloha,” I said back.
“You checking in, ‘cuz?” He looked me up and down and saw the grocery bag I had clutched nervously in my hands.
“Nah. I’m here to drop lunch off for a nurse,” I said.
“Oh, I see.” He waggled his brows as he looked down at a little yellow notepad in front of him. “Are you here to see Topanga? She told me she was expecting a friend.”
Topanga? Like from Boy Meets World? “No, brah. I’m here to see Reese. Tall blonde?”
Buddy laughed a little, smacking his knee. “That could be a lot of them, ‘cuz. I’ll let you back. But if you cause any trouble, I’ll kick you out. Sound good?”
Buddy seemed like a good dude, but I knew he could kick my ass. “No problem, ‘cuz!”
He laughed again, lifting the black rope that led to the triage desk, and then sat back in his chair. I walked up, and a pair of industrial-sized double doors opened up for me.
All around me were noises. Beeping, people walking by, patients crying out from their rooms. I was already overwhelmed, and I had only been here for less than a minute. I didn’t know how Reese could work with all these noises.
I followed Reese’s instructions that she would be near room five when I heard Reese’s laugh. At this point, I was able to pick out her laugh in the sea of chaos that was going around us. I hurried my steps, but stopped promptly when I saw Reese’s back to me.
Her golden hair was pulled back into a tight bun on the top of her head. There were little pieces that had snuck out throughout the day, and now curled at the nape of her neck. She was wearing heather-gray scrubs with bright blue running shoes.
Even without seeing her face, she looked beautiful to me. But her presence wasn’t what stopped me in my tracks. It was the man sitting across from her.
He looked to be in his mid-thirties, wearing pale blue surgical scrubs. He had shaggy, light brown hair, and his knee was almost pressed up against Reese’s. He looked at her as if what she said was the funniest thing ever. He looked at her like I did.
I approached slowly, clearing my throat. Reese spun in her chair, and her eyes went wide with excitement when she saw me.
“Kelly!” She jumped up and pulled me into an embrace. Instinct and jealousy took over, and I pulled her closer to me, just like I had done several times over the past month, to show everyone she was mine. The man who had been talking with Reese was now looking at us with furrowed brows.
Reese pulled back, but didn’t release me, and her eyes looked like melted honey today. There was such a warmth in them that I had been craving.
“I missed you,” I said before I could take it back. I could feel my ears warming at my confession, but Reese smiled widely.
“I missed you, too!” She gave my arms one more squeeze before finally letting go.
“Kelly, this is my friend, Dr. Taylor.” She stepped back and waved between us.
Dr. Taylor recovered quickly from his previous scowl and stood, reaching for my hand. “Hi, you can just call me Erik.” Erik’s smile was polite, but his light blue eyes were anything but.
“Nice to meet you, Erik,” I said as we clasped hands. He squeezed tightly, almost like he was trying to tell me off. “I’m Kelly.”
“See, Reese. Kelly calls me Erik. You should too.” He winked over at her, and I squeezed his hand a little tighter. I could tell he was trying to suppress the wince and instead released my hand.
“I don’t know.” She crossed her arms across her chest. “Kelly, do your staff call you by your name?”
“Oh, are you a doctor?” Dr. Dick cut in.
“He is,” Reese answered for me. “He’s a veterinarian.”
“An animal doctor. Gotcha. That’s great.” He smiled like he didn’t think it was great.
I chose to ignore his petty comments and instead turned to look at Reese. “Well, my family calls me doctor in front of patients, but everyone just calls me Kelly when we are working alone.”
“That makes sense,” she said.
“So how do you know our Reese?” Erik asked.
I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes as he said, ‘Our Reese.’ I knew I didn’t have a right to claim her, but this guy sure as hell didn’t have that right, either.
I wanted to tell him that I was her boyfriend, but I knew that wasn’t right.
If that’s what Reese wanted to claim me as, she would have done so already.
Reese paused and then opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by an annoyingly familiar voice.
“Oh. My. Goddddd,” a high-pitched voice dragged out the word, and it felt like nails on a chalkboard. There was no fucking way.
We all turned to see Alana standing there, her blonde hair pulled into a tight ponytail. She was smiling so brightly, and all I wanted to do was run.
“Can we help you?” Reese said, not unkindly, but a little short for her.
“What are you doing here, Kelly?” Alana turned towards me, ignoring Reese altogether. She looked at the bag in my hand, and her eyes started to gleam. “Did you come here to surprise me with lunch?”