I swallowed the thickness in my throat and told him the address. His car purred as it pulled away from the curb and drove us smoothly to our destination. The entire time I was afraid to breathe or exist too much because I couldn't believe this was actually happening.
I allowed myself to peek at Dr. Daemen from my peripheral vision. I couldn't look directly at him—it was like staring into the sun. Too bright and too powerful. He'd changed his clothes. Without his doctor's scrubs on, he looked like the world's hottest male model instead of just the world's hottest doctor. I felt unworthy to even just sit next to him.
"So, Miguel."
His cool voice shook me from my reverie. For some reason it startled me that he was actually speaking to me. Was he trying to be polite? Driving me home was nice enough. He didn't need to force himself to engage in conversation.
"Um." My voice cracked. "Yes, doctor?"
He chuckled. "I'm off duty right now. Besides, I discharged you, so you're no longer my patient. Please call me Daemen."
A shiver went down my spine. Just Daemen? That felt too casual. Almost intimate.
"Are you busy tomorrow?" Daemen asked.
Why was he asking me that?
"I'm working during the day, but my schedule's flexible,” I answered.
"What is it that you do?"
"Code. For apps. I'm, uh, a programmer."
Oh my god, why was it so hard to form a decent sentence? Daemen was so sexy that it was melting my brain cells.
"Fascinating," Daemen murmured.
"Nah, it's not as cool as it sounds. I smash blocks of coding language together until it works."
Despite my brain devolving into one of a caveman, I found it strangely easy to talk to Daemen. Maybe it was my imagination, but it didn't feel like he was judging me for my awkwardness like so many others did.
"You're talented, Miguel. I certainly can't do that," Daemen said.
My cheeks burned up. The sexy doctor was callingmetalented? Was I hallucinating?
"I-I'm not really," I blurted out. "You're way more talented. You're a doctor!"
He waved it off like it was nothing. "A lot of time and practice. Is this your apartment?"
Time zoomed by in a blur. I felt a flash of disappointment that I was already home, meaning my time with Daemen was over.
Then again, I knew it wasn't meant to last. I had to get over it.
"Thanks so much for everything," I said. "Taking care of me and the ride and all."
Daemen smiled. "It was my pleasure, Miguel."
Every time he said my name my heart did a stupid little jitter.
"Well..." I unwillingly reached for the door handle. "I better go."
Daemen leaned over in a smooth, fast motion and put his hand on top of mine, preventing me from opening the door.
"The reason I asked about your schedule tomorrow was because I want to invite you out for coffee," Daemen said in a cool, playful voice.
Heat flooded my face.
"Yes. I mean, sure. I mean, yes, my schedule's free for coffee, doctor."
