“Fuck! I knew it. Did you take Lex’s paperwork?”
He’s like Dr Jekyll and Mister Hyde. One minute he’s standing there, watching me like I’m a genie and I might disappear in a puff of smoke any minute, and then he’s pure, raw anger. He grabs hold of my wrist and moves with lightning speed, shoving me roughly back against the wall. The corridor is empty at this time of morning so I’m completely alone and vulnerable. His hand closes around my throat, just tight enough to terrify the shit out of me. “You like feeling like this, Sloane?”
Hearing my name come out of his mouth makes my eyes well with tears. He’s known who I am all along. I shake my head. “No,” I gasp.
“Then you need to treat Carrie, make sure she gets better. I’ll be coming back for her in two days. Don’t let the goddamn shrinks near her. Don’t let them section her or I’m gonna be seriously pissed.” His body presses up against mine—he’s like a wall of muscle and testosterone that’s trying to possess me. I’m too frightened to do anything but nod my head. Something changes, then. I could be fooling myself but I think I see his eyes soften. “Do you remember?” he whispers.
I nod.
“And when you close your eyes?”
I know what he’s asking. I nod again. “Yes.”
“Do it, then. Close your eyes.” His hand tightens fractionally, making me gasp. I take one long hard look into the bottomless depths of his eyes and then, just like the last time, I do as I’m told. I close my eyes.
His lips brush lightly against mine, and my mind stills. His breathing is fast, ragged and hot against my mouth. It has the most devastating effect. I’m practically tearing myself apart over how conflicted I am. Should I kiss him back? Should I knee him in the balls? He blows all argument right out of the water when his tongue darts out and meets my parted lips. He slowly teases it over my mouth, so carefully, lovingly, like he’s tasting me. I react on impulse. I open my mouth wider, welcoming him inside. He doesn’t accept the offer, though.
“Two days, Sloane. Two days and I’m coming for you,” he whispers.
The next thing I know I’m sinking to the floor. When I open my eyes, all I see are his black boots walking away.
The coffee at Fresco’s is particularly bad today, but that’s no great surprise. Everything here tastes bad. The bagel I'd tried to force down my throat for breakfast might as well have been made out of sawdust. There are a thousand different, but more importantly palatable coffeehouses in the greater Seattle area, but Fresco’s is a tradition for Pip and me.
We've been meeting here ever since we were poor, struggling students and their drip coffee was all we could afford. I see my best friend arrive, looking immaculate as ever. Her hair is swept back into a classic chignon and her pantsuit is perfectly creased in all the right places. I look like a tramp in my cuffed-up jeans and my long-sleeved t-shirt.
Pippa breezes through the café, grinning at Marcus the barista, who will have her regular double espresso on the table precisely sixty seconds after she sits down. She dumps her Louis Vuitton onto the bench beside me and slumps down into a seat.
"Morning, stranger." It's been a week since I've seen her; that's a lifetime for us. She gets comfy, giving me a wink. "What's so urgent it couldn't wait until after I'd finished with my twentieth slightly deranged patient later on today?”
Pippa opted for psychology instead of medicine. We graduated at the same time; she's been certified by the Board of Psychiatric Medicine for the last fourteen months. She works out of an office downtown, dealing with patients who have been sentenced with mandatory therapy in one form or another. A lot of violent offenders walk through her doors. She could easily have chosen to work with Prozac-happy, depressed housewives but she wanted more. Said it felt better to help those who really needed it.
I stare into the bottom of my empty coffee cup, suddenly doubting whether I should tell her anything that happened yesterday. But…but I think I need to. She's my best friend, but she's also always been able to see things from an unbiased point of view. That's exactly what I need right now.
"If I told you I had a patient who had an issue they needed to talk through, you'd already know I was talking about me, right?"
"Yep."
"Okay, well, I won't bother with that spiel then."
Marcus drops her coffee off. She sips at it, raising one eyebrow at me. "Would save some time, yes."
"Okay, well…” I just need to spit it out. “I had sex with a guy."
She spits her espresso back into the tiny cup. "What? Who? When?"
I cringe. This is going to be really bad. Pip’s thought I'm going to be the last virgin standing for a long time now. "It wasn't recently. It was…it was two years ago."