"You are relentless," he panted, his eyes flashing with heat and his jaw locked in the most stern, severe line.
Before I could reply, Milana placed herself in the middle of our skirmish, her hands out. "You're both relentless—or do you not notice it in yourselves the way you see it in each other? That happens more than you think. It's similar to the way our eyes can see our nose but our brain instructs us to ignore it." She gathered the toys where they'd landed all around us. "Thank god my string of pearls was spared in this skirmish. Small mercies," she said under her breath. "For your homework this week, I'd like you to think about that. Your commonalities—and why they trouble you so much."
She dumped the toys into the crate as Sebastian and I looked on. We were still breathing heavily, our clothes disheveled and my hair wilder than ever as we glowered at each other. I wasn't going to say he'd started it—though he did—or pretend he'd been the only one to deliver snarky, juvenile comments. But the way he'd looked at me as he'd said I was relentless, the way he'd stared me down as if he was the only one who could call the terms of this war—it made me crazy enough to want to grab that pineapple and the eggplant and pelt him with them until he begged me for mercy.
Milana glanced between us. "That will be all for today."
With that, I grabbed my white coat and bolted out of there. I didn't need to be asked twice and I didn't need another minute with that man trying to stare my skin off.
Chapter6
Sebastian
There were onlythree things I needed right now.
Get the hell out of this hospital.
Watch the latest collegiate cheer competition in Orlando while shoveling a burrito bowl into my mouth.
Sleep off the shitshow that was this day.
It was a really good plan, and if I could accomplish the first item, the last two were bound to fall in line for me.
But that wasn't happening. No, ma'am. Not today. Not when I walked into the attending's lounge an hour after the juggle fight from hell only to have Shapiro plow right into me.
"Oh, sorry," she said. But then, "Um, hello? You just walk into people and—"
"I did nothing of the sort, you blind little bat," I argued. "You head-planted yourself into my chest because you weren't paying attention."
"I was fixing my hair," she fired back.
"You weren't looking where you were going."
"You could apologize."
"You could get out of my way."
Once again, we stared at each other, neither willing to back down. For fuck's sake, this lady was going to send me to my grave. She was a ninety mile an hour downward spiral if I'd ever seen one and I could not stop seeing her. She was everywhere. I couldn't go a day without spotting her bright yellow sneakers or all of that hair, and her voice wouldn't leave me alone. She was here at the hospital, she was in my apartment building, she was even yammering at me in my dreams. And today—my god, today—was just a hot, horrible journey to the center of the earth with her.
There was no exiting this hostage situation.
I rubbed the spot where her head had connected with my chest. She wasn't especially tall so she'd nailed me right on the midline of my pecs.
"Shut up, it doesn't hurt," she said.
She'd changed out of that chemistry t-shirt, the one I'd grudgingly found amusing, and into a pale sweater and trousers the color of spilled red wine. She looked expensive. Really fucking expensive. Like it would cost me to touch her. "Your skull is made of stone."
"Do we actually have to do this again? We've spent enough time yelling at each other for no reason today, don't you think?"
The door opened again, this time admitting Cal Hartshorn and Nick Acevedo into the room. I dropped my head back and I rolled my eyes at the ceiling. They were the last people we needed to see.
"Shap! Stremmel!" Hartshorn boomed. "Can we interest either of you in—"
"I'm gonna stop you right there," I said. "Whatever it is, no. Don't want it, don't need it. Sell it elsewhere. Thank you. Goodbye and good night."
Acevedo approached us, his gaze on Shapiro. "Is he bothering you?" Acevedo asked, a finger pointed in my direction. "We run together and I like making him suffer so please tell me the truth or lie flagrantly, whichever gives me more to work with."
She glanced up at me, a brow arched high and a vicious glint in her eyes. She was going to tattle her ass off and I was going to—
