As if expecting this answer, he asks, “Who? Does it happen to be that surfer guy from the beach when…” He doesn’t finish that sentence, but he doesn’t have to.
“Yes. It is that same guy. His name is Dax.”
He shakes his head at this. “Dax?”
I just look at him. I decided to tell him the whole story. He deserves to know the truth. I leave out the part about him being a patient of mine, and instead, I start with the part that matters.
“After your accident, Dax helped you. He is a physician here in Houston. I didn't think that I would see him again. He tried to contact me a few times, and I didn’t answer immediately. I answered one text message. I was out for a run and saw him at this coffee shop. I wasn't ready to talk to him and left. It brought back many memories, and I just wasn’t ready. I don’t know if fate was intervening, but I saw him while we were at a club with Emma. Then again, at the hospital, where I am currently doing my clinicals. We started talking again, and things just got more serious.”
He seems to process all this information. “So, are you guys serious then? Like you just said?”
I nod my head in confirmation. “Yes, I met his parents, and he invited me to a gala where his mom chairs the event. Things are progressing.” I look into his eyes and see the sadness there. I don’t get a chance to comment.
Melissa walks into the room. “Hey, guys. Here is the smoothie and your bagel you wanted, Liv.”
I get up to take the tray from her. “Thank you, Melissa.”
She nods and clears off a spot on the table outside. The weather is nice out, and the wind is calm. Even though it is fall, the temperature in Texas still allows for lovely outside dining. If you sit outside, this is the best time of year to do so. Summer is so oppressive in the city, with all the cement causing the town to seem hotter than the already scorching temperature on any given day. She places the tray down. The mood has darkened. She looks between us, sensing that something has happened by our interactions and body language, but doesn’t comment. She asks if we need anything else and then exits. We hear a click as the door closes behind her.
Brodie and I go out to the terrasse with the mood now turned somber. I help him navigate the small space and move things around to accommodate his wheelchair. I don’t particularly feel hungry anymore, but I decided to attempt eating. We both sit there without saying anything, and I can’t take the silence that continues. I put my bagel down and looked at Brodie.
“Brodie, say something.”
He looks at me. “What do you want me to say, Liv? I can’t be the man I was before or be the man you need even if I wasn’t…” His voice trails off as he shifts his hand down to his legs and the wheelchair. “I understand that you have moved on, and I can’t blame you.”
I want him to understand that this—me moving on—isn’t because of the accident. This is because of the man he was before the accident. It changed things.
“We had broken up before this happened, Brodie. I considered us not together at that point. I met Dax in the emergency department the night before everything happened. He was a patient there, and I was his nurse. I could tell that he wanted to ask me out. We had made plans to meet up the next day at the beach. I hadn’t heard much from you; honestly, things changed for me after I got that video. Well, after that, I considered us not together at that point.”
“Liv, I told you how sorry I was.”
I go to grab his hand. “And I believe you, Brodie, but this was over for us before that. Now I am with Dax. Things didn’t work out for us. We have been friends for many years, and I want to continue being your friend. I want you to know that I will be there for you. Nothing has changed regarding that—our friendship.”
He looks resigned but seems to understand, or at least I think so. Honestly, I am glad that we finally had this conversation. It was a long time coming and needed to happen. I wanted to be honest with him and owed it to Dax. I want everyone to know that this thing between Dax and me is serious. I am tired of trying to deny my feelings for him since that day he walked into the emergency department. I called out his name. I knew that there was something there. His tall, lean body and those piercing green eyes did me in. Then that dimple was my undoing. I am smiling at this, and I hear Brodie chuckle.
I look up and see him smiling at me. “You were always so expressive, Liv. You could always tell what you were thinking no matter what.”
I swat at his hand. “Oh?”
“Yep,” he says. “And I don't want to repeat what I just witnessed. You can keep all those naughty thoughts about your boyfriend to yourself. I am not there yet to be able to talk to you about Dax.”
I smile at him. “That's okay. I always want to be honest with you, Brodie, and I am glad we could discuss this. But now, I am done talking about Dax and wish to enjoy the company of the boy that picked me up from that tire swing all those years ago when I didn't have any other friends. The man protected me and made me laugh. The man who will always hold my best memories.”
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Dax
I lookat the name Tatiana displayed on my phone and debate on letting it go to voice mail. I decided to just get it over with and answer.
“Hello.”
“Hello to you, stranger. I was beginning to think that you were avoiding me.”
I stay silent on the line for a minute before I answer this loaded question. It’s not that I have avoided Tatiana. It’s just that I have been preoccupied with Liv. The girl who I got a second chance with. The girl who just a few hours ago told me she loved me. The girl who I undeniably love back. In her defense, she was half unconscious and had been in a sleep-induced coma precipitated by lots of award-winning orgasms from yours truly.
“Good morning to you. You are calling bright and early. What do I owe to the pleasure of this phone call?”
She immediately gets the wrong idea and purrs into the phone. “Well, I was hoping we could catch up. Get together today?”
