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I sniffled and rubbed my nose, trying hard not to let the past five years of my life come flooding forward. “No, but I can tell you, you don’t need to worry about that, like, at all.”
Asher looked at me. “You on the pill?” he questioned.
I shook my head.
He frowned. “Why is it that if you aren’t on the pill then I don’t need to worry?”
I blew out a breath. “I’m infertile.” The words rolled off my tongue as if they meant nothing. “So, there’s no need to worry about a silly condom breaking,” I said, putting on a brave face and meeting his eyes.
He said nothing else. He just picked up the plate that was filled with fruit slices, setting it between us.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“There isn’t anything to say. I understand. Remember, I’m a doctor. I just didn’t want you to be freaking out and think that I didn’t care, because I do,” he whispered, then leaned forward and kissed me.
As we sat there, he changed the subject, talking about the next exciting adventure he wanted to go on this summer and how he was hoping I’d join him. I smiled and laughed, nodding at what he said, but somewhere deep inside, I couldn’t help but wonder how it was he was so understanding about what I’d told him. Sure, he was a doctor, and of course, we were nothing to one another except friends, or now friends with benefits. Perhaps, it had lifted a weight off him as well, the fear of being stuck in some sort of relationship because of some accidental condom mishap.
As much as I worried over that little incident over the coming weeks, things didn’t seem to change between us. We began spending more time together. Asher would come and wait at The Cooling Rack until my shift was over, and we’d head to the drive-in. We began spending weekends together instead of just evenings, and while I didn’t want to admit it to myself, I knew I was beginning to fall in love with him.
Asher
I’d noticedthe first sign of fall this morning while I was on my jog, which meant summer was ending. I’d just finished setting up my office on the thirteenth floor of Eastport General. It had taken way longer to complete the business purchase. So long, in fact, I’d held off on renting this space, in case things didn’t go through.
Once all of that had been completed, I reached out to the owners of the small home I’d been staying in. I was more than comfortable there and wanted to see if they would consider selling it. I guess my timing was right because they were more than happy to sit down and work out a deal, and after work today I was to swing by and sign the paperwork.
Now that everything had fallen into place with work, I had one last thing to figure out: Where I wanted to take things with Bella. We’d spent an amazing time together this summer, and now that I knew I’d be living here, it was time to talk to her about us. I wanted something more with her—a lot more. I had mentioned nothing to her yet because I wanted it to be a surprise that I was staying in Eastport. A day hadn’t gone by that I hadn’t seen her or thought of her since we’d had sex the first time. I was lucky to have her in my life, and I realized she was too good to lose. However, this past week, things seemed to have been off between us. She seemed distracted and distant, and no matter how many times I’d asked her, all she’d say was not to worry. I was worried. I wondered if her perhaps her boss had called and she was worried about telling me she was going back to her job. I couldn’t worry about it any longer, so I’d booked us reservations at a steak house for dinner tonight. I picked up my phone and shot her a text.
ASHER: Dinner, tonight, 7pm?
BELLA: Can I call you?
I frowned as I watched those three little dots jump around, then disappear, then jump around again.
ASHER: Yes, of course.
Only when the phone didn’t ring right away, I decided to just call her.
She answered the phone, all out of breath. “Hey.” She sniffled.
“Hey, everything okay?”
“No, I’m sorry if I’ve been distracted this week. It’s my mom. She’s in the hospital. Stage four cancer. I have to go to Columbus and care for her. She needs help, and I’m the only one. I was just on the phone with the airport booking a flight. I did ask that they get me on an earlier one, but for now, I’ll be leaving on Friday.”
My heart sank for her. My heart sank for me because that meant she would be leaving. “How long will you be gone?” I questioned.
“I’ve given Brielle my notice. I do not know when I’ll be back… or if.” She sniffled. “I even gave up my condo. I’ve been staying with Brie and Sawyer.”
The other end of the phone went silent. I swallowed hard. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go, and hearing her say those words to me made my heart flip. “How is your mother?”
“Well, the chemo has stopped working. Doctors aren’t very optimistic.” She sniffled again.
I wanted to be there for her. I wanted her to know I’d be here always. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her I’d find an oncologist here for her mother to see, but since I was new here, I really didn’t know anyone at the hospital yet.
“I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
“Do you have a magic wand that will help me find a job out in Columbus and—” I heard a sob catch in her throat and the phone went quiet. “I’ll see you tonight at 7?”
“If you’d prefer not going, we can always—”
