“Just like that? We’ll just ... drop everything and go?”
“We need to get to know each other’s families. That’s going to be a key to this whole operation. And I think it will be good since once your schedule is full again at the hospital, we won’t have time to do this.”
Nervous, I shoveled the first bit of sushi into my mouth. It was surprisingly flavorful and refreshing.
“Damn. This isn’t half bad! Blows my mind you can eat this stuff raw.”
She smiled, a little puzzled. “Who evenareyou? Don’t you make millions of dollars? Don’t you go out to eat whenever you want?”
“To be fair, I just got my first million-dollar contract two years ago. And I’m just more of a cook-at-home type of guy.”
She laughed. “I order out, then eat at home. Sounds to me like we’re a good match.”
“In multiple positions,” I said, which sounded odd, so I followed it up. “I mean, in multiple ways.”
She rolled her eyes playfully, and picked up another bite of sushi with her chopsticks. “Oh yeah? What other positions—I mean ways—do you want to see if we’re compatible?” She moved slightly closer to me, leaning in as she popped the sushi into her mouth, slowly. We didn’t take our eyes off each other.
I lowered my voice. “How about all of them, Doctor?”
She blushed, and ran her tongue over her lips. “Seriously? All of them? But there’s so many.”
“We’ve got time,” I said.
She wiggled her eyebrows, and I loved that she liked to play a little dirty with me. But I was angling for something else. “Well, where should we start? Oh, I know.”
“Do tell.”
“I think we should go visit Middletown, Ohio, so I can meet your family.”
I tensed up. “That’s ... not exactly what I had in mind.”
“Well, we could do that too.”
My stomach tightened as I thought about going back home. “You don’t want to meet my family, though. Nothing spectacular, really. And February in Middletown isn’t exactly anything to write home about.”
“Do you not want me to know your family?”
“There’s not much to know.”
She gave me a steely look that said she saw through my bullshit.
I ran a hand through my hair and looked at the exit. “Fine,” I said. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Warn me? What’s the worst that could happen?”
CHAPTER 18
DUSTIN
On Friday,we boarded a plane together in D.C., and headed for Middletown, Ohio, via Cincinnati.
“You look stressed,” Cat told me as our plane was close to landing. “Anything I can do for you?”
“I already told you the three things I like,” I winked.
She laughed. “Well, we’re starting our descent so I don’t think we can get a sandwich. And I don’t think our aisle-buddies would appreciate a live porn show. So do you want to talk hockey?”
I smiled and slipped my hand down to her leg, squeezing her thigh.
