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Dominic
The conference room window was taped over, so I couldn’t see what was happening inside. So, I gnawed at my thumb as I paced the hall and waited for the door to open.
Leaving her first thing that morning so I could get ready for work was maybe the hardest thing I ever did. More than an addiction for me, she was food for my soul, my blood, my breath. Being removed from the warmth of her body again was like having every basic necessity required to live taken away from me, and I was dying to touch her one more time.
Catching her laugh among the others coming closer behind the door, I checked myself in the painting’s glass on the wall.
As soon as she found me by the corner, she smiled and reached for my lab coat as she came at me. “Don’t you look handsome?” Tugging at the chest pocket of my light blue scrubs, she rubbed her thumb over my name. “Well, Dominic Vasser, M.D. What are you doing here?”
I grabbed her elbow and pulled her with me down the hall. “I thought I’d buy you lunch and show you off a bit.”
She dropped her phone in her sweater pocket and slung her bag strap over her shoulder. “Thanks. I was dreading the idea of being the new kid alone at the table.”
Right inside the cafeteria by the vending machines was a little cubby in the dark, unexplored corner where a payphone used to be. “Let me show you something over here real quick.”
Pushing her inside, I shoved her to the wall and laid my hands on her face, taking her lips before she could stop me.
Starving for a taste of her cherry lips, I swiped them with my tongue between every pause between our kisses.
Even when she pushed her fingers into my chest to stop me, I clung tight to her mouth, too afraid that I wouldn’t have another dose until God knew when.
Like I’d run a hundred miles to deliver that kiss to her, I could hardly catch my breath when I let her go. “Damn, I needed that.”
Collapsing into the wall more, she swatted her hand at her face. “Whoo!”
I batted my eyes a dozen times and shook my head as I backed away to regain my senses. “Either my blood sugar’s low, or that was the best kiss that ever was. Because my bell is rung.” Smiling at each other like two drunk idiots for a minute or two, I cracked first and pinched her chin. “I wasn’t sure if I’d have another chance to paw at you today, so I figured I better make it count.”
Wiping her finger down the side of her mouth to smooth out her lip gloss, she jerked her eyes at me. “And I thank you for that.”
I motioned toward the stench of fried food and the chatty staff who scarfed it down and pulled at her sweater to come with me. “Most of the food is garbage, but their chicken wings and grilled cheese aren’t half bad.” She turned her nose up at everything behind the glass barrier as I lifted a tray from the stack. “I never quite figured out why a hospital, of all places, can’t be bothered to serve healthy food. But it is what it is.”
When she reached the next window, where the carousel of pre-made food circled before us, she tapped me with her elbow. “Tell you what. I’ll make something tonight, and we can picnic in my office tomorrow if you’re not too busy.”
I tossed a couple of things wrapped in silver foil on the tray and laid my hand on her back as I turned for the cooler. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.”
The glass door popped open, and I turned my chin back to her. “What do you want, baby?”
I felt the air from her flapping her lips behind me. “Um. Water, I guess.” My head flopped back over my shoulder, and she rolled her eyes. “What? I’m trying to be healthier since I have someone to be fit for now.”
With two fingers, I grabbed the water bottle cap, and my thumb wrapped around the soda I knew she actually wanted. “You’ll be stuck here for eight hours a day with bad lighting and smells rivaling the pig farm outside town. You’ll need the caffeine and sugar pick-me-up so you don’t snap.”
At the register, I pulled off my badge for the cashier to scan while I spotted a table in the corner by the window. “Thank you, ma’am.”
I reached behind me for her fingers and pulled her closer as I led her around the counter, and I felt every eye on us along the way. And I have to admit, I was proud as hell.
When she sat in the chair I pulled out for her, I bent down and kissed the top of her head so everyone would see it. “If I don’t get too screwed this evening, do you mind if I stop over for a few minutes?”
I pulled out my chair, and her face wrinkled as she opened her soda a little at a time. “You don’t have to do that. I know those twelves you do have to be exhausting.”
As soon as she set them on the table, I took her fingers. “I’m not doing it for you.” My thumb curled back at me. “I need to be with you. It’s like my battery has been dead all this time, and I’m recharging.” My eyebrows wiggled back at her. “I just need to plug into you for a few minutes.”
The corner of her mouth flipped up at me as she tossed a mound of shiny food in my direction. “Yeah. That doesn’t sound as appealing, knowing Dad will be there.”
I unwrapped what I hoped was a chicken sandwich and shrugged back at her. “Well, soon, you’ll have your own place where you can take advantage of me. Won’t you?”
“That reminds me.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket and set it on the table. “I have an appointment with the bank tomorrow after work. So wish me luck.”
Nearly choking on the mouthful of food I swallowed, I rushed to take the lid off my orange juice. “That quick. Huh?”
