Presently Perfect (Perfect #3) (46 page)

Tweet’s free hand flew up to her mouth, muffling a happy sob. In an instant, the tension left her body. As she sat up, her arms wrapped around my neck at the same time mine curled around her waist.

Tweet and I broke the hug at the sound of Dr. Lang’s voice.

“I know these exams are nerve wracking. How about we do away with some of them. Let’s say we go to one every six months,” he said.

Tweet finally let out the deep breath she had inhaled when the doctor first walked in the room.

She glanced up at my grinning face and then her gaze bounced to Dr. Lang. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.” Her face collapsed in relief.

“Keep up the good work. If you have any trouble, call me, otherwise, we will see you back in six months.”

Smiling, Dr. Lang patted the side of Tweet’s leg and shook my hand before walking out of the room with his nurse.

Turning to Tweet, I raised my arms high and said, “Six months, Baby!”

Slapping her palms against mine in a double high-five, Tweet gave me a huge teeth-bearing smile. “Six months!!”

The year that followed was extremely stressful and exhausting for me. Some days, I wanted to give it all up, drop out of school, find a nine-to-five job, and live with my girl. Then I’d look at Tweet and knew why I was busting my ass. I wanted to take care of her to the best of my abilities and give her a great life. I was trying to build our future as quickly as possible. From the time I could remember I always wanted to be either a baseball player or a doctor. I was a good ballplayer, just not good enough to make a viable career out of it.

I’m not sure how I did it, but I earned my undergraduate degree in three years instead of four, heading straight into medical school during the summer session. My days were spent in classes, lab practicums, studying, or working at the hospital, which left me very little time for anything else, including Tweet. I did manage to get the night off in order to celebrate the second anniversary of her being cancer free, surprising her with a candlelight dinner cruise around Charleston Harbor. But most days I left early in the morning before she was awake and got home late at night after she had fallen asleep.

“Hey, what time did you get home?” Tweet said groggily.

I was sitting at the desk in the second bedroom that we converted into our home office. I twisted in the chair, to find Tweet standing in the doorway wearing my gray T-shirt, her hair down and messy. The sight made me smile.

My hands raked down my face as I yawned. “Not too long ago.”

“Noah, its 3 am. Why are you still up?”

“I have a chemistry exam tomorrow and wanted to get a little more studying in.”

With the help of her crutches, she walked toward me. Tweet kept the crutches handy at night after going to bed. She didn’t want to go to the trouble of putting her prosthetic leg on in case she just had to go to the bathroom. I held on to her hips as she propped the crutches against the side of the desk. She placed her hands on my shoulders, steadying herself as I helped her into my lap. I buried my face in the crook of her neck, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other resting across her thighs.

“You feel so good, Tweet.”

“I miss you,” she whispered in my ear, her fingers combing through my hair.

Tightening my arm around her, I inhaled a deep breath, slowly letting it out. “I miss you too.”

“I’m worried about you.”

“Don’t be.” I nuzzled deeper into her neck. The scent of raspberry and vanilla relaxing me.

“I barely see you. You’re working too hard. Why don’t you cut back on your hours at the hospital? They’d understand.”

“Working there is a good networking opportunity. Knowing the staff and the way the place works will give me an advantage in class and in getting picked for my residency when the time comes.”

“I know, but…”

I lifted my head, looking her in the eye. “But nothing. I told you I’d handle our future and that’s what I’m doing.”

She placed a soft kiss on my lips before resting her forehead on mine. “I know,
but
you’re missing a lot of our present.”

“It’s hard right now getting used to the course load. Medical school is more demanding. I’m trying to find a good balance.”

“I know you are. I just don’t want you to kill yourself in the process.”

“Things will slow down soon. I promise.”

I lied. As the months went on things didn’t slow down, they got even worse. Medical school was like having two more full-time jobs in addition to the actual one I had. I saw Tweet less than before, if that were even possible. With my class and work schedule being the way they were, some nights I ended up sleeping at the hospital. The night nurses and doctors gave me special treatment since I’d been working there for a while, allowing me to crash in the resident’s lounge. Tweet continued to take freelance writing jobs while she got more core classes out of the way. None of the local colleges offered a degree in journalism, so she researched universities that offered the degree online. Our lives were full, so I was confused when a hollow emptiness invaded my chest on a daily basis. Something was missing and it scared the shit out of me.

“My brain is fried,” Dan said, stretching his arms above his head.

The five members of my study group had just spent the last three hours discussing the structure and composition of DNA. Our brains and the library were shutting down, so we were calling it a night. We worked well together, each of us having different strengths that formed a well-rounded group.

Dan was good at organizing notes. Jennifer thrived at research. I was the best problem solver. Alex was good for a laugh, there’s always one in the bunch. Angela, who had been the only member I knew from C of C, basically excelled at all of the above, except being good for a laugh. She was funny, just not on purpose. She and I had become friends, having a lot of the same classes during our undergrad work. Angela also managed to graduate in three years. Our time together had always been spent strictly at school or in the study group. Other than her academics, I didn’t know anything about her.

“Yep, I’m done as well,” Jennifer chimed in.

As we packed up our textbooks, charts, and notes, Alex asked, “It’s still pretty early. How about we head over to Tommy Condon’s for a beer and a bite to eat?”

“I’m game.” Dan pushed away from the table.

Jennifer grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. “Count me in. I’m starving.”

“Me too,” Angela said.

“I gotta take a pass,” I told them, shoving my books in my backpack.

“Come on Stewart, just one beer,” Alex pushed.

“Maybe next time.”

“Your loss. Alex and I are charming as hell once you’ve had a few beers,” Dan joked.

Putting her hair into a ponytail, Jennifer asked, “Angela, are you coming?”

“Y’all go ahead. I’ll be there in a little bit.”

The three turned and walked away, leaving Angela and I alone at the table. The feel of a warm hand on my forearm brought my gaze down to Angela’s thumb, gliding back and forth over my skin. We were friends but not that friendly. She had always been a little awkward around me, so this was a new uncomfortable development. I shifted away, her hand dropping from my arm onto the table.

“I’m going to be heading out. You outta go catch up with the others,” I said.

“I’d rather stay here and catch up with you.”

“I’m going home. There, you’re all caught up.”

Chuckling, she leaned in closer. “You seem stressed.”

“Busy with work and school is all.”

“Noah, we’ve known each other for quite a while now. Six semesters to be exact.” She tilted her head to the side. “I really like you too.”

“Too? Um… Angela.”

“Would you like to go to dinner or lunch… brunch… a snack? Any meal you want.”

“You do realize I have a girlfriend?”

“Is that still going on?”

“Yeah.” I couldn’t stop my eye roll.

Her face turned beet red the split second before her hands slapped over her cheeks. “Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! I didn’t… I thought you… I mean, you’re always so nice to me and sit next to me in class. And tonight you kept smiling at me during the study group.”

“I was smiling because Alex was being a dumbass.”

“I thought you were flirting with me.”

“Because I smiled?”

“Well, it’s a pretty terrific smile, Noah!” Her voice increased in volume and pitch with each word.

A chorus of
shh’s
broke out around us.

“I’m sorry if I’ve given you the wrong impression.”

“Nooo, it’s not you. It’s me. I should have known someone like you wouldn’t be available. All I do is work, go to school, and study. I keep telling myself that once I have my career established then I can focus on my personal life. I have my head so far in the future that I’m lonely in my present.” With her arms folded on the table, her face took a nosedive and hid.

“You’ll find someone special one day.”

Angela and I had more in common than I thought. The only difference was, I already had that one special person in my life. Being so focused on our future, I was missing her and missing out. I should have realized that was the emptiness I’d been feeling. After walking Angela down the street to join the others at the restaurant, I headed home.

Walking in our room, I found Tweet already in bed, reading.

Her gaze lifted, a smile crossing her lips when she saw me standing in the doorway.

“Hey. You’re home earlier than usual.”

Without saying a word, I slipped off my shoes and socks, stepped out of my jeans, and striped off my shirt. Tweet placed her Kindle on the nightstand.

“Wow, I didn’t realize I was going to get a floor show. Hold on. I’m positive I have a few one-dollar bills somewhere.”

Crawling into bed, I wasted no time taking her face in my hands and devouring her lips. Her fingers trailed down my chest to my stomach. Pulling away, I left her gasping for air.

Her eyes filled with all kinds of sexy. “Wow!”

“I love you and I’ve missed you so much. I’m cutting back on my hours at work, Sundays are now reserved for you to do with me what you want, and I’ll do everything in my power to be home at least once a week in time for us to eat dinner together.”

“Hey bestie. It’s great to have you back where you belong,” she said, pulling me back down to her lips.

Tweet struggled, being too scared to think about the future. I was just the opposite, thinking about the future too much. I needed to step back, find balance in the present, and stop sprinting ahead.

“Lucy! I’m home!” I said in my best Cuban accent, walking in the condo.

I asked Tweet how she wanted to mark her third year of being cancer free. Her answer,
together
. She had been feeling tired for the past few days, so we kept the partying low key with takeout and a movie marathon. I had a bag full of Cuban sandwiches, black bean soup, and fried plantain in one hand, and chocolate cake in the other. We were going old school eighties for the marathon with
Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

I was taking the food out of the bag and placing it on the counter when Tweet came in the room.