Chapter Twenty-Three
From: Keegan Baldwin [email protected]
To: Luna Oliver [email protected]
Date: October 15
Luna, how was your test?
From: Luna Oliver [email protected]
From: Keegan Baldwin [email protected]
Date: October 15
I was literally just about to email you. I aced it! You are seriously an incredible teacher, and I couldn’t have done so well without you spending the past few nights online with me. I owe you.
Tonight, we are headed to a rooftop in Midtown for the monthly Relationships in Residency social event, and it’s an eighties karaoke theme. It was highly suggested that we dress the part. Raven is decked out with a Madonna look, and I go with a teal and purple prom dress that I found at a thrift shop. And sadly, Myles doesn’t look much different than he usually dresses in faded jeans and a t-shirt.
Raven finishes applying my blue eye shadow, and when I look in the mirror, we both start laughing.
“I’m not going to lie,” I say. “Part of me hopes no one recognizes me. I work with these people.”
Raven smacks her lips together and ties a ribbon in her hair. “Are we ready, guys?”
“Here you go.” Myles pops into the bathroom and hands us both a drink. “After we finish these, I’ll call a car.”
“You have the patience of a saint.” Raven grabs the drink from Myles with her free hand. “It must be horrible living with women.”
“You’re mostly cleaner than men.” He walks away but yells back at us. “Well, not you, Luna.”
“I am not that bad,” I yell over Raven’s loud laugh, and I then look at her. “I’ve been getting a lot better at picking up my stuff.”
“You have.” Raven shifts her hips into mine. “You even put away clean dishes the other day. Although you did leave your clothes in the washer for three days and stunk up our place.”
“The car will be here in ten minutes.” Myles taps a finger along the kitchen counter. “We should think about heading downstairs.”
We pile into a car and head to Midtown. One of my favorite things about New York is that no one looks in our direction. The city is diverse and eclectic. There isn’t one type of person that doesn’t belong here. Three people dressed in their most ridiculous eighties outfits don’t garner us any attention. It’s probably my favorite thing about the city and something that Cherry could never afford me.
When we arrive at the venue, a sign near the door tells people from Presby to head to the rooftop for a private party. We go up a flight of stairs, and then our peers come into view. The rooftop is packed with both residents and attendings who usually show up at these things to foster relationships. Two people stand behind the karaoke machine and belt out Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”
“This place is nuts.” Raven loops her arm in mine. I grab Myles, and we grab drinks. “The entire hospital seems to be here tonight. Who’s working?”
A couple dancing bumps into me and apologizes, and I survey the crowd. The doctors I’ve met put their all into everything, whether it’s saving people’s lives or partying. None of us seem to have an off switch. We’re all former class nerds who finally arrived and have a seat at the table.
I release an audible gasp as Forest walks my way. He’s never met a theme party he didn’t like. He strides toward us in an oversized blazer, matching pants, and big sunglasses. His eyes meet mine, and he pulls his sunglasses down to wink and then puts them back in place. Being the center of attention is his comfortable place.
“Are you singing with me tonight, kiddo?” he asks as he reaches me and pulls me into a hug.
“I didn’t know you were coming,” I yell over the loud music. “And that would be a hell no to singing.”
He then hugs Raven and gives Myles a fist bump. The crowd screams as a Prince song comes up next, and one of the orthopedic surgeons I’ve met gets behind the microphone. We all move away from the speakers and huddle up close to a railing.
And then I see him. Keegan emerges from the crowd, and instead of dressing like the theme, he wears his everyday clothes. A pair of dress pants and a button-down shirt. He walks in our direction, and Elise is a step behind him. She loops her arm in his. I touch my lips and think of our kiss.
“Hey.” Keegan takes a moment to look at all of our outfits. “You guys look—”
“On point,” Forest says and pats his shoulder. “Where’s your outfit, man? Too cool or something?”
“I came straight from work,” Keegan says. “I had a surgery canceled last minute, or I wouldn’t be here at all.”
“And I didn’t even know I was coming until you called me earlier, Forest, so I didn’t have time to put an outfit together.” Elise squeezes Keegan’s arm, and his eyes flick to mine.
Jealousy and maybe a little of something else course through my veins. Elise stands so close to Keegan. She is effortlessly beautiful in her simple summer dress. Her skin looks like she bathes in milk. And her golden blond hair curls perfectly at the ends. But my lips still tingle from our kiss that happened only two days ago, and I don’t want to feel the way I feel seeing him standing next to her.
“Love the outfit, Forest.” We all turn as a man approaches. Forest smiles and puts his arm around him.
“Hey,” Forest says, looking at us. “This is my friend and colleague, Dr. Matt Theis.”
Forest introduces all of us to Matt and waits for me last. “And this is my sister that I’ve told you about. Luna. She’s an intern in the gen surg program.”
Matt’s face lights up. “Luna. I’ve heard so much about you.” He puts his hand out to shake mine. “Forest tells me you did medical school at the University of Minnesota. That’s where I went.”
I smile. “Yes. I graduated in the spring. Are you a cardiologist as well?”
“Electrophysiologist.” Matt drops my hand and leans against the railing next to me. “And congrats on your residency in general surgery. I hear it’s very competitive.”
“Thanks. I’m loving it so far,” I say. Everyone is engaged in their conversations, except for Keegan, who keeps stealing glances my way.
“I’m going to grab a drink,” Matt says. “Can I get you anything?”
“A white wine, please.” I point. “A table just opened up, so I’ll be there.”
Myles leaves us to say hi to a fellow doctor, and the rest of our group moves to a table to sit.
“He is so cute,” Raven says, nudging me with her elbow. “Right?”
“Yeah, he’s fine.”
Matt is attractive. Someone I’d usually be interested in, but all I can think of is Keegan and the way he touches me. His presence envelops me, and thoughts of him invade my brain constantly.
“He’s someone I’d be comfortable with you dating,” Forest says. “He’s the nicest guy. Newer to the city. An excellent doctor.”
I raise my eyebrow. But before I can say anything, Keegan speaks up. “I thought you guys didn’t date each other’s friends?”
“Well.” Forest laughs. “I think we officially put that rule to bed, don’t you think?” Forest looks at Raven and grips her hand.
Matt approaches, hands me a drink, then sits in the empty chair. Forest grabs Raven and pulls her to the dance floor when the song changes.
“I’m assuming you had Dr. Miller as a professor?” Matt says, turning to me.
“Uh,” I moan. “The abra-cadaver guy? Yes. I had him. He was the worst.”
Matt starts laughing. “If he said it once, it would have been fine. But it was every time we had labs.”
“You’re newer at Presby, right?” Elise says, allowing Keegan to raise his brow at me. He stares at me, questioning.
“Yes,” Matt says. “I’ve only been here for about six months. I finished my fellowship at The Mayo Clinic.”
“Did you move with your family?” Keegan asks.
“Just me,” Matt says. “But my brother lives in Brooklyn, and I wanted to be closer to him. And, well, I’ve always wanted to live in New York.”
“Keegan.” Elise puts her hand on his, and he doesn’t move it. “I love this song. Do you want to dance?”
“No, you go ahead,” Keegan says.
“Please.” She cups his face. Elise then stands and pulls Keegan’s arm until he gets out of his chair. He hesitates, but then follows her.
When they are gone, and it’s only Matt and me at the table, he turns his body towards mine. “Isn’t Dr. Baldwin the best? My colleagues and I love working with him.”
“He’s actually from the same hometown as me and Forest.”
“Wow,” Matt says. “I had no idea. I knew he and Forest were close though.”
Raven comes back to the table, and Matt stands. “I’m afraid I have an early morning tomorrow. As much as I’d love to stay, I probably shouldn’t.”
“It was great to meet you,” Raven says.
“Yes,” I say. “And thanks again for the drink.”
“I wish I could stay,” Matt says, looking only at me. “Hopefully, I’ll see you around the hospital or at George’s.”
“I’m often at one of those places,” I say.
“Great to meet you, Luna,” Matt says.
I’m finally able to pay attention to Keegan and Elise on the dance floor. Her arms are wrapped around his neck, and when he says something, she leans in to hear him better.
“Keegan and Elise look nice together,” I say, resting my face on my hand, a heavy weight in my stomach.
Raven raises her eyebrows and then glances at the dance floor. “How much is it killing you to see Keegan with someone else?”
“What?” My head jerks in her direction. “Why would I care?”
“You care.” Raven’s lips move to a thin line.
“Raven,” I say. “My brother.”
“Luna.” Raven moves next to me and sits. “What is said between us stays between us.”
“It’s not that,” I say. “It’s just that with Keegan, things are overly complicated.”
“I know, I know,” Raven says. “He’s like family. You’ve said it so many times I was starting to believe it. But girl, he’s never looked at you like you’re family. And that’s not how you look at him, either. If you don’t get after it, someone else will. So you’re going to have to figure out what you want.”
“How do you know all of this?” I pout my lips as I continue to watch him dance with Elise. “I barely mention his name to you.”
“I’ve known it since the first moment I saw him approach you at George’s.” Raven winks at me. “Maybe you should tell Keegan how you feel.”
A slow song comes on next, and Forest finds Raven’s hand and takes it.
I look to my right, and Myles stands around with some residents, near the bar, fully engrossed in conversation. Then, I look to my left, and Elise laughs and takes Keegan’s hand. She tries to keep him on the dance floor, but he resists. He puts his hand up in the air and waves her off, but she then takes her other hand and practically holds him hostage.
And now I’m stuck, having a front-row seat to them dancing again to one of my favorite songs about that damn small-town girl and this stupid lonely world. There are at least twenty couples, dancing and laughing, as a man and a woman belt out the lyrics, but my eyes fixate on Keegan.
He towers over Elise. She says something to him, and he leans in to hear better. Elise then goes to her toes, and unless my eyes are mistaking me, she leans in and kisses him. On the lips. In front of me. Jealousy and a bit of rage creep up until I feel like I’m going to explode.
Raven approaches me and tries to grab my arm, but I push her off and rush through the crowd until I reach the door of the roof, my heels clanking against the metal stairs as I make my way to the main floor. I hurry outside into the night, and the karaoke music continues to blare overhead. A taxi goes by, and I put my hand up in the air and hop in the backseat.
I don’t like how I feel right now. No one I’ve ever dated has ever left me feeling this out of control and possessive. I’ve always had a plan, and I’m currently on step four of my five-point plan. The only thing left is to complete a fellowship in trauma surgery. I’ve vowed that I wouldn’t get into a serious relationship until this plan was fully executed. Yet here I am, feeling completely out of control. I crawl into my bed, pull my blanket up to my chin, and try to think of anything but Keegan Baldwin.