Page 88 of Wild

The doctor smiles at her, because this part she does know clearly.

"I want it to keep going too, Mia. What I can't see is how it would actually be possible."

"Why not? I'm not on tour forever. You live in New York and so do I — well, when I'm not on tour." She makes a face, and Erin smiles back, taking her hand.

She notices how small Mia's hand looks inside hers — they're nearly a full head apart in height — and for how tiny the singer is, the strength and determination she carries in her keeps catching Erin off guard.

"But tours are long. They last months, and in that time, how often do you think I'd actually be able to get away to come see you? And you barely get any days off."

Mia bites her lip, because she knows she has a point.

"We have to be realistic, honey."

"I wouldn't cheat on you, if that's what you're afraid of." Mia's voice cracks slightly at the end.

"Maybe not at first." Erin moves closer. "But as we go longer without seeing each other, what we have will cool off even if we don't want it to. And you'll be surrounded by women every single day who are dying to sleep with you. I get that — it's not an accusation. I'll have needs too, and you won't be there. I don't have experience in relationships, Mia, but I don't think they work long-distance, not when we're talking months at a time."

"Do you like your work here with me?" the singer asks.

Erin looks at her, thrown off, turning it over — she's not sure what the question is leading to.

"Yes, of course."

"I mean really like it, Erin. You're used to treating dozens of patients a month. Right now you're only treating me."

The doctor, feeling lazy this morning, lets herself fall back against the mattress and tucks her arms behind her head, staring up at the ceiling while the girl with lavender hair watches her. She takes her time thinking through the answer, and thesinger waits patiently, turned toward her, running her fingers through Erin's hair.

"I've been running on autopilot for a long time," Erin starts at last. "I wasn't feeling anything. I'd go to the hospital, do what I know how to do as well as I could, and come home to my apartment feeling like nothing had happened except another day going by. I took the MediSupport job because it meant filling my free hours. I had a good time with Barry, my partner, and even though we usually didn't have to step in, I liked it better than being at the hospital. Out there I felt useful — improvising, working with what I had on hand, like with you."

"I'm sorry you felt that way."

Erin's phone buzzes on the nightstand and she glances over as the screen lights up, but decides she'll check it later.

"Would you quit the hospital?"

Erin tilts her head to look up at her.

"MediSupport is event work — it's not something you can actually live on."

"I'm not talking about MediSupport. I'm talking about working with me full-time."

The doctor rolls over onto her elbows, and Mia stretches out on her side facing her.

"Would you? Not for us — because you love this job," the singer clarifies. "You could be the team's doctor, not just mine. Noah has stomach issues — half the meals make him feel terrible, and he'd really benefit from a sexy doctor looking after him. And you've already seen how many of us there are — about fifty people moving with this tour. The dancers get hurt, there are GI bugs, sometimes food poisoning, sometimes the other kind." She raises her eyebrows, clearly delighted with herself, and Erin watches her with a smile. "I promise you wouldn't be short on work."

"That's a beautiful idea, Mia, but what happens when there's no tour?"

"When there's no tour, you're all mine." Her crooked smile makes an appearance. "My fainting spells don't disappear just because the tour stops, do they? I'm still at risk, and I need a doctor managing it the way you are now. If it's not you, it'll be someone else — but either way, it'll happen. The label doesn't want to take any chances on me passing out in the middle of an interview, a photo shoot, or a recording session. Trust me, they'll assign someone. That someone could be you, if the idea appeals to you."

"It appeals to me almost as much as you do," Erin whispers, catching her lips.

Mia gasps with pure want and lets out a dramatic little whine when the doctor pulls back.

"No sex today."

"See? What other doctor would have the power to ban me from that?"

Erin laughs.