Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“Jacob,” Hartford called. “Take this one.” She pointed at the seat next to Sutton.
As I made my way over, I could see Hartford trying to arrange the table so she and I could sit together. At least that way, I’d not be sitting next to Sutton. But by the time I got to the table, somehow, the only free space left was directly between the two women.
My gut seized like I had just been presented with a bad case of advanced leprosy.
I needed to get a grip. I was going to be sitting next to a foundation doctor for twenty minutes. If I could swim in the middle of Hyde Park at five thirty this morning, taking a seat next to a beautiful woman wouldn’t defeat me.
I pulled my mouth into a smile and headed to the empty seat.
I set down my tray and pulled out my chair. It was like I was playing the board game Operation, except I was the tweezers. Trying to hold my nerve, I lowered myself into my chair, desperate not to make any contact with Sutton that might set off the buzzer.
Sutton shuffled her chair to give me more room, but all I could think about was touching her, and not touching her.
“You okay there?” Hartford asked, her eyebrows pulled together.
“Yeah, just trying to squeeze in.” I sat, pulled my chair in, and quite by accident, knocked my leg against Sutton’s.
Electricity sparked between us and she jumped away.
I’d never been much good at Operation.
I shifted, turning so I had my back slightly to Sutton, without making it too obvious.
“So tell me what’s going on,” I asked Hartford, desperate to pull her focus and mine to our conversation rather than the fact that I’d turned into an awkward, lanky thirteen-year-old boy who thought he’d go up in flames if he touched a girl.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m really behind in my paperwork and I’m working on my research project and studying. I feel like instead of spinning plates, I’m constantly dropping them. I’m thinking of asking for a sabbatical.”
“Wow,” I replied just as Sutton pushed her chair out. “How long have you been thinking about that?”
“I have to return a call,” Sutton said to the person she sat next to. Who was she calling? A lover? A friend? More likely, she was trying to put some distance between us. It was like a cloud had passed in front of the sun—it was both a relief from the heat and a disappointment at the lack of warmth.
I was totally fucked. So totally fucked.
“Oh, just a couple of weeks or so,” Hartford said. “I probably won’t, but it feels good to fantasize about it sometimes.”
I chuckled as I felt Sutton move away from the table. My mind began to focus on the conversation I was having with Hartford. “You want me to look through some of your paperwork with you to see if there’s a way we can speed up what you’re doing?”
“That would be great if you don’t mind?”
“Of course not.”
“I know you’ve got a lot on with the foundation doctors. When do they start on the wards?”
“Week after next.” By then, things should have settled between Sutton and me. I would have gotten perspective and become accustomed to seeing her around. Time would have passed from the last time she and I were alone together, and feelings would have faded. Things would look very different in a week.
“When do you find out who’s in peds?”
That would be the only fly in the ointment—if Sutton had her first rotation in my department. Four months with us running into each other most days would be hell. Four, eight, twelve, sixteen months from now, she could have her rotation in peds and it would be fine. Whatever was between us would have fizzled out and we could be professional. But if she was assigned to peds as her first rotation, I was going to have to incorporate more than swimming in the lido every day before work to survive.
“Not sure.” As soon as we were finished at lunch, I was going to track down Wanda and ask to see the list of doctors assigned to each department. If it turned out that Sutton was meant to be in peds, I’d have to make up some kind of excuse. Or I’d have to hack into the computer and change it. Or something. But it wasn’t going to happen. I was sure of it.
Eleven
Sutton
After lunch, all the new foundation doctors were gathered in the lobby of the lecture theatres, coffees in hand, as we waited for the doors to open.
“I can’t believe he sat next to you,” Gilly said. “What does he smell like?”
I grimaced. “I wasn’t sniffing him.” But I knew he smelled of musk and ginger and everything good.