Chapter 20

LEIGH-ARI My conversation with Laura had made me think of my decision and everything i have done ever since that incident. And i knew for a fact that i was really being yellow, running away from my own mess which i sadly, would have to fix at the very end. Because truthfully, i couldn’t stay at Laura’s house any longer.

Not because my girl wanted me out or she was complaining about my very unwanted and disturbing residence at her house.

Thus after a very long minute of deep thinking, I concluded on going back to my house and just see what life has in store for me. If Neighbor Dearest came to address what had happened, then I would be there to give him answers and even ask questions of my own. Although I really didn’t know what I would say if he happened to ask!

I arrived at my house late at night and luckily, I didn’t run into him in the corridor or anywhere and for that;

I was very appeased! In the morning, I woke up early since I had a lot of patients to visit and some documents I had to attend to. I prepared my stuff and at 05:30 sharp, opened my door and locked it behind. I gracefully walked towards the elevator, got in and watched as it closed.

Right before it could sling shut, none but Neighbor Dearest stuck his expensive black shiny dress shoe on the double doors preventing them to close. He gave me a small smile then majestically walked into the small cubicle and stole all the air inside; I couldn’t help but shudder a bit.

“Ahhhh! She is still alive!” he said in a small voice looking at me. I decided to give the mirrored doors of the elevator my undivided attention and flatly replied:

“Good morning to you too!”

“Hmm. A very good morning indeed!” he intoned and then looked forward. I counted seconds, minutes, hours, and definitely centuries before the elevator stopped and the doors slung open. In a blink of an eye, I was out the elevator and running down the stairs towards my car, outside the apartment building.

“Care to give me a ride? They towed my car yesterday and I really need to get to work.” His voice boomed somewhere behind me, which was rather too close to say the least and I had to stop dead in my tracks and tum to look at him. And yes, he did follow me.

“I need to get to work.” I pointed out giving him a sharp eye, not that he wasn’t aware!

“So do i!”

“My work is very important.”

“And so is mine.” He shrugged casually and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

“But mine is more important and if I am a second late, a life will be lost.”

“No. I beg to differ. Mine is more important than yours because if I don’t provide the funds then you won’t have the resources to save that life.” Wait what? He didn’t just use that card to get his way with me did he?

I opened my mouth to reply him, only to close it since he had taken all the words out of my mouth and turn to the other direction so that he doesn’t see that he had rendered me speechless. A chuckle that came behind told me otherwise.

“I’d be the office by now if we didn’t stand here making an argument out of nothing! Come on, I’ll pay for the fuel. Even take you out for dinner or make you your favorite dish tonight.” He added up and I really couldn’t decline that offer.

“Okay! Deal. But don’t think you will always get your way with me.” I pointed an accusing finger at him and then turned. The clunking of my heels against the hard paved concrete ground was the only thing that was heard as I walked towards my car. I unlocked it and placed my paraphernalia in the front seat and then got in behind the wheel.

He opened the passenger’s door and settled down. I will give it to him, he looked really yummy and his cologne blessed the interior of my car with its heavenly musk and expensive scent. That made me remember how awesome it felt to breathe him in, have him at utmost vicinity and just breathe the same air that he breat…

“What are you thinking about?” His voice suddenly sounded very near, pulling me out of my trance and I yelped in my seat.

“Eh? Ah no nothing! I am just…” I covered my face with my hands and shrunk into my seat when the whole car was filled with the rich rumbling sound of his laughter!

After a good minute, he fixed his tie and glared at me, “You are blushing.” He observed making me to redden harder. I decided to ignore him and started the ignition, then took off with his stare boring holes on me.

“I didn’t know that ladies are into the “clinical headphones on the back seat” thing.” He voiced out of the blue demanding my attention.

“Huh? What’s that?”

“There’s this thing about male doctors, I don’t know if it is some sort of flex which makes them attractive o I what. But male doctors put their clinical headphones in the back seat to look hot.” He answered picking my stethoscope and examined it, compelling me to double over with laughter.

“What?” He didn’t call it that! There’s no way he did.

“The clinical headphones. Or what do you call this thing? It looks like headphones!” He replied in a very serious voice intensely studying my stethoscopes.

“That’s a stethoscope. Not clinical headphones!”

“Yeah whatever! But male doctors put them in the back seat to flex!”

“They do that?” I asked through fits of laughter.

“Haven’t you seen it? They always put them in their cars, at the back seat and unbutton the first two buttons of their shirts and think they made it in life. And guess what makes that even interesting?”

“What?”

“It actually works and ladies find it attractive.” He winked and I laughed harder.

“No! No! No! There’s no way putting the clinical headphones in the back seat is attractive. And I really don’t think the doctors put them there to attract ladies.” I contradicted taking a turn towards the street where his office was located.

“If it’s not to attract the ladies, then why not put it in the dashboard? Or in the boot? Why put it right here where everyone can see it? Matter of fact, they put them here on this seat, and then move them to the back seat after getting the girl.” He explained and I just couldn’t help but laugh harder at his weird but impeccable logic and thinking! This guy was insanely hilarious and I can’t believe that it came that naturally to him.

After a few minutes, I dropped him at his office and left. But not before being forced to promise that I will pick him up after work.

My drive to the hospital was filled with the thoughts of how he made me laugh without even trying. I found myself smiling to no one and knew that things were heading in a very wrong direction. But then, what did I have to lose?