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“No, thank you for last night,” I say with emphasis.
Since Chase was so passionate and giving the night before, we barely got any sleep. I have no idea how he’s going to handle a twelve-hour shift, so I ask him this.
Chase laughs. “You should have seen when I was doing my residency. You learned to survive on coffee and cat naps. I’ll be fine if I grab twenty minutes when I have a break.”
“I would be falling asleep at my desk if I had to work twelve hours.”
“Megan, you did fall asleep at your desk,” he chuckles.
“That was because you didn’t tell me that I could take until the next day to finish that project.”
“Forgive me. I was a jerk that day.”
“Did you care about me, then?”
“What a silly thing to ask, of course, I did. If I didn’t, I would have never brought up the idea of sleeping together. I can’t sleep with someone that I’m not attracted to.”
“So, you were attracted to me when you first met me?”
“I would have been a fool not to be. I’m sure you had and still have plenty of men that are attracted to you.”
“Does that bother you?”
“A little, but I learned a long time ago that you can’t stop men from looking at what is yours. And I don’t mean it like I possess you in any way. I mean it like someone you’re together with.”
“But you do possess me; my heart is yours.”
“And you possess mine.”
CJ starts to babble loudly. Chase kisses my forehead before we head into the living room to see what he’s up to. We play with him for a little while; then, Chase needs to get ready to go to the hospital.
“What are you going to do today?”
“It’s a little cooler today than it was yesterday, so I think I’ll take CJ to the park.”
“Are you meeting, Lexi?”
“I could ask, but I thought I would go for a walk. Just the two of us.”
“Just be careful.”
“I always am. By the way, I’m going to stay at my apartment tonight.”
“I wish you would stay here.”
“I just feel more comfortable there when I’m alone.”
“But you won’t be alone. I’ll be home by eleven.”
“I’ll think about it and text you.”
He kisses me as he heads out the door. I hate that he’ll be away from us until late in the evening. After he’s gone, I quickly get dressed and pack a few things for the park, like sunscreen and some water for myself and CJ.
Central Park is teeming with activity as it usually is on weekends in the summer. I wander along one of the main paths with CJ in his stroller. I need some exercise since I don’t work out and I really should. As I approach the main hub where other mothers are congregating with their children, I notice there’s a show being put on by one of the park performers. He’s making balloon animals and giving them to kids
I stop and watch for a while until my legs are tired. When I move to a bench, I notice a man watching me before ducking into the crowd. The familiarity of his face sends a shiver through me. The clothing he wears is wrinkled and somewhat dirty. But his face reminds me of Chase’s except he has shaggy shoulder-length black hair and a dark, thick beard.
My eyes dart around the crowd, but the man is gone. I wonder if I should mention it to Chase. Once is a coincidence, but this is the fourth time that I’ve seen him. The other three times were outside Nolan a few months ago and, most recently, near my apartment.
