“Mmm, what have you done, Miss Peace?” he playfully asked.
I smiled and blushed even more when he called me Miss Peace. During each visit, Elijah found a way to work in calling me that, and it always made me smile.
“I’m not confirming or denying this,” I began my tease. “But there’s a chance that I’d occasionally send a pic or shower video to a guy.Ifthose existed, the face would have been blocked out.”
There. I hadn’t confirmed it but had hinted at it to see how he’d react. Again, he remained calm and hadn’t batted his eyes at what I had hinted at.
“To older guys at school?” he finally asked.
Was that his way of getting me to confirm where I was sending these? Suddenly, I felt like this could all backfire on me. If he mentioned this to my mom, my internet access would disappear, no doubt.
“Yeah, older guys. Guys my age don’t do it for me.”
“You’ll notice a huge jump between guys you graduate with in a few months, and what they look like in a couple of years. Many young men fill out considerably between high school and college.”
“Good to know,” I said.
We talked more about school, Sioux, and books until our time was up. I checked my phone to see if my mom had texted early, but she hadn’t yet. I figured that I could probably get my algebra homework done while I waited. As I was about to stand, Elijah spoke up.
“Say, since you’re my last appointment and you’re waiting for your mother, would you like to help me with something?”
“Yes, absolutely,” I answered.
I realized that I’d sounded way too excited. I’d help this sexy man with whatever the hell he needed. I settled back in the chair again with my pulse racing while I waited for him to explain how I could help him.
My eyes flew to his bulge as he stood up.Does he have that thing sitting on a shelf in his underwear?
“I’ll be right back,” he said and left the room.
He left the door open and went across the hallway to another office. About thirty seconds later he reappeared with a spiral notebook and then he closed the door to the office. Instead of sitting in his usual chair, he took up one of the seats on the loveseat. He slapped his hand down on the empty spot beside him, and I didn’t wait for another invitation. I quickly moved from my chair to sit beside him.
Elijah smelled so good—just like a sexy man. I had no idea what cologne he wore, or if it was cologne at all, or only aftershave. But whatever it was smelled delicious. I eyed him with a sideways glance and stared at his five o’clock shadow. None of the boys at school had these. We were close enough on the small leather couch that our arms could touch accidentally. His bicep was impressively large concealed by the navy shirt.
He opened the notebook and set it on the coffee table in front of us. On the top of the page was his name—his full name. ElijahHenryHamilton beamed from the paper in the most beautiful handwriting that I had ever seen. They say doctors have some of the worst handwriting, but I begged to differ.
“Henry, huh?” I flirted. I could flirt, right? This was like an after-hours thing.
“Yes, my father’s name was Henry. So naturally theyhadto give me that for a middle name.”
“It’s a cool name. It’s a strong name,” I said.
“You and your strong things,” Elijah teased and then leaned toward me to bump my arm.
Oh my God, that was flirting! He was flirting with me! His arm touched mine! I’m never washing this shirt!
“Okay, so you inspired me, Salem.”
“I did?” I questioned with a frown. I quickly straightened my face because I was constantly giving myself away with my facial expressions.
“Yes, you did. Your interest in finding out who you are and more about your heritage made me want to do that too.”
Oh my God!
“That’s awesome!”
“It is, yes. But I’m not sure where to start exactly, or how to map things out, or even how to organize notes. So I was hoping you’d be interested in helping me. Not as a doctor and patient, but as a friend,” he explained.
Oh my God … we were friends. True and genuine friends! We had the same interest in genealogy!
