Page 7 of Stat: Love In Scrubs

T oday was our annual trip to Silverrun Aquarium—one of the city’s landmarks that never got old, no matter how many times we’d visited.

With twenty-four kids and four chaperones, we had our work cut out for us, but I lived for these moments when the kids could escape the academy and just be children.

They got the chance to build memories with their peers. It was why I made sure we went every year, and not to mention, who didn’t like the aquarium?

I allowed the chaperones and the teachers with the kids to use the buses, and drove separately. I usually came earlier to ensure everything was in order for the trip, so we wouldn’t run into any problems. I liked to have a seamless situation.

I had been there for thirty minutes and had received the badges, along with the food passes.

While double-checking the names, it dawned on me that I was going to see Doc again today.

Ever since that awkward pickup encounter, I’d made it my mission to be everywhere he wasn’t.

Today, that strategy was about to fail spectacularly.

I didn’t bother with my usual goodbye; I gave the kids at the exit. I thought about getting one of the workers in the ticket booth to hand out badges, but I knew that wasn’t their job or normal for me.

As the thought came and went, the buses drove toward me.

I pasted on a smile and prepared for a fun but busy day.

I just planned to stay as far from Doc as possible.

What more could we talk about? Shit, nothing that was suitable to be said around kids.

I smiled as two of the hosts from the aquarium came to stand alongside me.

We would be splitting the group into two.

The moment all the kids stepped off the bus, they rushed over to me. The worry and concern I had earlier easily disappeared in their presence. The smiles that adorned their faces helped to give me the energy to ignore the fine ass built man who had just stepped off the bus.

He was dressed in a pair of Khaki cargo shorts and an athletic T-shirt that hugged his muscles while wearing a solid colored baseball cap.

Esa had a tight grip on his hand, almost as if she felt a wind could pick him up and blow him away.

As they walked toward me, I could tell he was saying something to her that caused her to loosen her grip with a big grin.

Esa’s smile was contagious. I found myself smiling as well until my eyes lifted from hers to lock onto the set of dark eyes that had a hold of mine. The funny thing was, it didn’t seem like he planned to let go. The way his tongue wet his lower lip tentatively reminded me of that night.

“Ms. Sinclair, did you hear him?” one of the teachers now standing in front of me asked.

I cleared my throat, then looked in their direction, finally able to break the stare down.

“I’m sorry. I got so lost in seeing my babies. What did you say?” I asked.

One of the aquarium hosts, Miguel, smiled in my direction.

“It’s cool. We just wanted to see how you would like everyone to be split.

We also need those tags and badges so we can get started.

I’m sure the kids are ready to see a few sharks, jellyfish, and dolphins! ” he said, causing the kids to cheer.

“And turtles!” one of the kids shouted.

All the adults chuckled as I split the stack I had in my hand to get going.

I got down to my final chaperone badge, only to notice I was holding Desmond, or Doc’s, badge.

I silently cursed to myself before placing a smile on my face and heading in his direction to hand it over.

I released a breath and chastised myself the entire way.

I needed to grow up. It was just a one-night stand.

“Here’s your badge, and it looks like you’re the last one, so you’re with my group,” I told him.

I held out the badge, waiting until he reached out, brushing his fingers against mine.

I wanted to cross my legs to alleviate the pressure between my thighs.

This was why I didn’t want to be around him.

My body didn’t forget how he made it feel and was hell bent on figuring out how to get that feeling again.

“I appreciate it. Looks like we got lucky, right, Esa?”

I glanced down at Esa. She nodded enthusiastically. I smiled and walked back to the front of the group.

“Are you ready to have a good time?”

“Yes!” everyone shouted.

I smiled and turned to face the two hosts. They separated the group, and we all went in different directions with the plan to meet up within the next hour for lunch. I knew the kids would need to take a moment to rest.

We made it to the shark tunnel, and all the kids rushed to press their hands against the glass. I stood back, watching to make sure no one wandered too far from the group. The air seemed to shift, and his cologne drifted toward me. I didn’t need to look over to know he stood right beside me.

“I guess we just gone continue to pretend like we don’t know each other, huh?” he asked.

I smirked, then tilted my head up to see him staring down at me.

“Do we?” I shot back, then returned my attention to the kids.

He chuckled, and I felt the heat from his mouth close to my ear.

“I know what you sound like coming apart, and I still have the taste of you embedded on my tongue. I would say we more than know each other.”

I sucked in a breath as the memory of that night played a dangerous game with my bud between my thighs. I took a couple of steps away from him and rolled my eyes in a fit to regain my composure.

“Well, I hope the taste is embedded in your memory, too, because you can bet I’m never going there again.”

I crossed my arms against my chest and walked away, leaving him right where he was. I needed space, and if I had to use the kids to get it, I would. I could hear his cocky chuckle behind me. I wanted to groan aloud, but I knew he would hear me, and I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.

It seemed like every room we went into, he wasn’t too far away, steadily offering up his suggestions and thoughts.

I knew I was only irritated because I didn’t have the time to entertain the way he made me feel when he was near.

Or at least, I wasn’t making the time to entertain it.

Not when the academy’s future was still uncertain, not when these kids needed me focused.

We finally made it into my favorite room, the jellyfish habitat.

They kept it dark to enhance the glow-in-the-dark effect.

Even as an adult, it was the one moment I always smiled and felt most like a kid.

My shoulders relaxed as I walked around the cylindrical glass tanks that filled the room.

I ran the tips of my fingers across the cool glass.

“It’s amazing,” a little voice beside me said in wonder.

I smiled and glanced down to see Esa staring up at me. I wrapped my free arm around her shoulders, then pulled her against my side.

“Absolutely amazing.”

I glanced over my shoulder because I could feel his eyes on my back.

Although I expected him to approach, since he had practically been following me the entire time we had been here, he smiled, then turned to watch out for the remainder of the kids in our group.

I didn’t know why that action caused a sinking feeling in my stomach, but it did.

I returned my attention to Esa as she named every jellyfish in the tank, the perfect distraction for my confused ass mind.

It wasn’t long before Esa left me to stand with the other kids as they chased some of the jellyfish from one end of the tank to the other.

I smiled. Their happiness was contagious.

I glanced once more at Doc, and he was watching the kids as well.

I released a breath and walked across the room to stand beside him.

“It’s lonely pretending like you have a problem with me, huh?” he asked.

I turned to look at him so quickly that I could have gotten whiplash.

His arms were crossed tightly against his chest as he kept his eyes on the kids.

He had a slight smirk on his face. I started to walk away before he reached out to stop me, lightly holding onto my wrist. His thumb brushed across my pulse point, and I wondered if he could feel how fast my heart was racing.

I glanced down at the connection of our skin, needing him to release my wrist before steam came from it.

I looked up at him with a lift of my brow, so he quickly released his hold on me and held his hands up in mock surrender.

“I’m not trying to overstep your boundaries.

I just didn’t want you to leave, at least not before we actually had a chance to talk.

I’m not sure what I did wrong. Maybe I could have held back on my comment earlier, but I’m going to keep it real with you.

I have a tendency to be arrogant as fuck.

Shit, not like I can’t back it up, but you get what I’m saying. ”

I released a breath and turned to face him. He adjusted his baseball cap, the brief pause revealing something more vulnerable beneath his swagger.

“Arrogant is an understatement, but you aren’t the only one who fucked up.

I’ve just been a little thrown off since I saw you back at the school.

That night in the club was supposed to be a one-time thing.

You weren’t supposed to be one of my favorite kids’ fathers.

That night was supposed to be harmless?—”

“But I am,” he interrupted, then reached out to hold my hand. “So why does that matter, Liz? Shit, I just want to get to know you a little better. No expectations. I know you feel the vibe just as much as I do,” he continued.

I glanced away briefly before meeting his intent stare. I studied his face, looking for signs that this was just another line. But something in his expression seemed... genuine.

“Maybe, but this is just to have a good time, no pressure,” I told him with a tight smile.

“You can drop all that tough shit now. You’ve already agreed. Now it’s my job to show you a good time.”

I couldn’t contain my smile this time. The man was good with his words.

“We’ll see,” I responded, simply.

We stayed in the jellyfish exhibit for another ten minutes before deciding to meet up with the group for lunch.

We got the kids settled at the seating in the food court area.

We bought pizza for each kid and the volunteers.

Instead of Doc sitting next to me like I expected him to, he sat with his daughter.

I groaned to myself because he was only making me like him even more. I told myself over and over that I could use a day to get free food and a possible good time. A day when I wasn’t concerned about what happened next for my business.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

I glanced up with a soft smile as I took the outstretched penny from the tips of his fingers.

“That cheap, huh?” I asked with a smile.

He shrugged with a chuckle. “The way you’ve been in deep thought since we got here, I’d go broke if I offered more.”

I playfully swatted his shoulder as we laughed, and he took the seat beside me.

“All jokes aside, just the usual things adults think about. Money, bills, dinner, and so on. Nothing too special.”

He nodded. I knew he could tell I wasn’t interested in going deeper than that. Doc seemed like he was going to say more, but then his pager went off briefly. I lifted a brow because it had been forever since I even heard of those things.

His brow rose as he pulled his cellphone from his pocket. The calm man who was speaking moments prior was gone. It was as if a switch had flipped, not in a negative way, but he became more serious.

“Damn, I didn’t hear my phone ring moments earlier. I’m glad I didn’t leave this damn pager. I have to get to the hospital. Are you guys okay? If not, I can call my mother to be here before you move onto the next thing,” he said.

He stood from the bench and waited a moment for me to respond.

“You’re fine. As long as someone is there to get Esa when we get back to Little Angels Academy.”

He nodded, then turned to walk away, but stopped and turned around to face me.

“What’s your number? I meant it when I said I wanted that date.”

I couldn’t help but smile as I rattled off my number to him. Not long after he said goodbye to Esa, I had a text.

Unknown Number: Lock me in as your future husband.

Me: A little presumptuous, wouldn’t you say?

Doc (Arrogant ass man): Nah, confident. Enjoy the aquarium.

I locked my screen, then slid my phone back into my pocket. God, give me strength where this man is concerned.