The Love Triangle (BWWM Romance) (42 page)

She blanched and shook her head. No one had ever talked to her in such a way before and she didn’t know how to handle it. Stacy looked to Charles, but there was no sympathy there. Only shock and outrage for what she had done. Stacy wanted to tell him she only did it because she didn’t want to lose him, but he did not seem to care either way. Looking back at Dahlia once, she jerked up a couple of things from her desk as she walked past. Everyone was silent after they heard what had gone on in the meeting.

***

“I know not to ever cheat on you. You don’t play girl.”

“Yes well, you better not. It was till death do us part. Remember that.”

He chuckled, though he wasn’t quite sure how much she was joking around. “Never.” He moved into kiss her and for a moment, he thought she might not kiss him back. She did though.

“I'm sorry I thought that of you, but it just seemed like there was no other option.”

“How did you find out she did all that stuff?”

“Women’s intuition. I should have seen it when I met her. She always had this look on her face that I should have seen as jealousy.” It had occurred to her, Dahlia even felt bad about it, but that was before she realized her plan. “How were you ever with a woman like that?”

“I don’t know, love. I guess I had just been waiting for you. Tell me you will be home when I get there?”

Dahlia pulled back and nodded her head. His blue eyes sparkled and she was lost in their depths.

“Promise.”

The End

Dating A Doctor

By Violet Jackson

Chapter One - Ciara

Ciara counted the money on the counter again. Somehow she imagined it would come out to more, and she would be ahead. She sat back in her chair and glanced around the apartment where lived with her father and her son Antoine. They all had each other, and she was grateful for that. She was the one in charge, running the show so to speak. It was up to her to make it happen the way it needed to and she did her best, but sometimes fell a bit short. Her mother had always told her she was bound for greatness. She missed her so often on days when things were falling apart. She could close her eyes and even still hear her mother’s sweet voice humming to her.

Music was a part of who she was, it was in her blood. She loved to sing and it filled her life with joy. She had always had the dream of doing it professionally, at least in the beginning. Now she just wanted to hustle to survive. She walked down the hall towards Antoine’s bedroom. He had long since gone to bed. At 6, he was a good boy, sweet and charming. He also was growing faster every day and she was having a hard time keeping up with everything he needed. She had done her best to love him enough for two parents. His father wasn’t around and she was fine with that, after all she was a strong independent woman. They were doing their best to keep his father from finding them.

He had threatened them the last time she had seen him and she knew he meant it. His name was Frank and his threats, along with the economy in Detroit, had propelled them into a move to a cute town a few hours away. The apartment certainly left something to be desired. It was cramped and tight, but they were there together, happy and had love for each other. She shut her son's door and made her way back down the hall to the kitchen. She pulled out a glass and poured some water. Even that simple gesture worried her. Bills, including the water bill, were piling up and the money she made as a waitress wasn’t cutting it anymore. Her father’s health was another growing concern. He needed his medication, but he was always telling her to put it off. His insurance from his days at the mill wouldn’t cut it anymore and she was responsible for the difference.

She sat at the table, lost in thought for another long moment before she picked herself up and headed to bed. They had made it through another day, they would be alright. She caught her reflection in the mirror. She was average curvy woman she thought. Her hair was curly, but not frizzy, she was tall and her skin was a high yellow, almost as if it had been kissed by the sun. She was no Halle Berry, but she was ok with her looks. She wondered if it even mattered. She was only 28, but she was feeling anxious about ever meeting anyone, let alone "the one". She knew she was a romantic and she wanted to find some happiness, a person she could lean on. After Frank, she had been scared, terrified really, but now, now she wanted more out of her life. She had hope and that's all that mattered. She fell asleep dreaming about warm arms wrapped around her.

The next day came and with it, the normal hustle and bustle of the day.

“Antoine, let’s move or we are going to be late…again.” She swatted at him as he flew by her, grabbing his backpack.

“Ooohh kayyy, Momma.” He gave her a grin, missing one of his front teeth.

She couldn’t help but smile at him. He was always in good spirits and the best thing she would ever do in her life. She made her way down the main thoroughfare and walked Antoine to his school. He was just getting to an age where she was an embarrassment to him, so she left him at the door, allowing him to walk in on his own. She took a step back and waited until the bell rang before she walked back to the apartment to get ready for her day. She was going to take her father to the clinic in town. Hopefully they would be able to give her some
direction, some options for his care. To say it was a struggle was an understatement. She needed the help and although it was hard to ask for it, she couldn’t handle it on her own.  She climbed the steps and made her way inside where he
r father was eating his breakfast leisurely.

“Daddy, you know we have to go to the doctor today, what are you doing still taking your sweet time to eat, come on now, let’s get dressed!”

She gave him a smile as he chuckled and made his way to his room to get dressed. She moved around the room easily enough, gathering necessary paperwork and pay stubs. There was always so much they needed whenever they went to a new doctor so she was doing her very best to be as prepared as possible. She certainly didn’t want to have to do it again in a week. Finally he came out ready to go and they made their way downstairs to the car.

Their car was old and held together by a thread, she took a moment to do a prayer over it as always. Somehow by doing so, she felt like it would be more likely to start. It was something she had done for years and she did it once more. She went through the passenger side and crawled over to the driver’s seat; one of the many issues with the car was the door on the driver’s side was stuck. She waited for him to get settled and took a deep breath before she turned the key.

Ten minutes later, she was still waiting.

“Baby girl, you done flooded it. Just give it a few more minutes and give it another try, that’s all.”

He patted her hand that was gripping the wheel. She glanced down at her watch and sighed. They had ten minutes to get where they needed to be and she knew they would be late. She held her breath and turned the key one last time. With the roar of the engine, she smiled. Thankfully, they could get where they needed to go, even if they were a little late. She pulled out and made her way down the highway while her daddy hummed a song for the ride.

Chapter Two – Derek

Not again. He looked over at the clock on the wall and sighed. He couldn’t sleep, ever. He sat up and decided to make coffee instead. The last few months had been hard on him, ever since he had come back. He rarely slept and if he did, his sleep was riddled with dreams about everything he had seen in the war. He had only done two tours, but it had been enough. Enough to haunt him almost daily.

He was a doctor, and a good one. He had finished top of his class and took pride in his work. He had a genuine smile that put people at ease and he did his best to help the people who came to see him. He could help others, but doing what he needed to do for himself was the issue. He knew good and well that he needed to be seeing someone, someone he could talk out everything he dreamt about and what kept him awake at night. For whatever reason, he had yet to find that person. Perhaps part of it was because he felt that he could handle it on his own. Whatever the reasons, none of them were good and he knew it. Taking the step was proving to be difficult, but somehow he would have to find a way before it started affecting his work.

He liked being needed, it was probably what most women he had dated in the past would say was his worst quality. He had a hero complex, sure, but he rarely thought of it as a bad thing. More often than not, he found himself flashing a charming smile at a patient as he did his best to save the day. He wasn’t sure how to be any different. Helping people was engrained in him, a part of who he was. Most recently it had been Abigail, beautiful, curvy Abigail, who had left him in the wind because he was "never there". He could remember the conversation they had as if it were yesterday.

“Who are you really, Derek? I mean everything is so cookie cutter and perfect, it's unnerving. I didn’t sign up to have to stay up at night to worry about you and then spend my days not even knowing who you are!” She had ranted and raved until her pink cheeks were red.

He had stood there allowing her to vent. It had been common knowledge in his world, especially with four sisters, that when a woman is mad, just let her get it out. He waited and watched her. He eventually put together his thoughts enough to try to defend himself to her.

“Abigail, I am me, this is who I am. I’m not sure I understand what the problem is here. Have I done anything to hurt you or harm you?”  His very matter-of-
fact attitude didn’t help his plight.

“That’s just it Derek, if you had then this between us would at least be normal! I’m sorry, Derek, you’re not a bad guy… you’re just not here emotionally.” She kissed him on the cheek and he watched her leave for good.

That had been two months ago and aside from two individual dates, he was avoiding woman altogether, at least on a personal level. He supposed there should be some sadness about her leaving, some regret, but he felt none of those things. In fact, if he were honest, he was relieved to see her go. She was a nice girl, a great partner in bed, but they hadn’t connected, not really.

He knew part of what she felt was real. He was absent a lot of the time. Even sitting there, sipping his coffee, he had too much on his mind. He felt as though he couldn’t connect with women like he once had, perhaps the war was to blame for that too. The only time he could be himself was when he was at home, visiting his mother and sisters. They managed to bring his old self out of him. Maybe that’s what he needed, a trip home. Soon, maybe he would visit them. He looked up at the clock once more and made his way to the bedroom to shower. He may as well just get going to work. Even if he would be 2 hours early, it was better than sitting there with himself doing nothing.

***

He slipped on his lab coat once he arrived at the office. He loved his job, loved managing a team of people. He was friendly with everyone, at least he tried to be. He liked being able to work for people who really needed the help, not just wealthy people looking for a quick fix. He glanced down at the list for the day. They were packing them in tightly, trying to get as much people as much help as they could. Working at the clinic did have some drawbacks, but there was something about the true appreciation in the eyes of his patients that made him want to be there, to do more to help them.

Nurse Nancy went by and gave him a smile, as she passed he shook his head. He had been approached on more than one occasion by a nurse or two who would happily go out with him, but he never mixed work and pleasure, and they wouldn’t understand him, or his issues. It was better that he was alone, at least for now.

“Hey, Nancy, how was your weekend?” He gave her a smile.

“It was good, uneventful really.” She continued to smack her gum while responding. “How about you, sugar, how was yours?”

“Good, well, I’ll see you in a bit, Nancy.” He stood to head towards his office to read up on the first patient of the day.

“Sure thing, doc.” She moved on, passing him and heading to gather her things for the day.

Mondays were always busy, there were two Mondays a month when people could come in as new patients and the rest of the month they could only come if they had been seen there before. So often the caseload would triple as new people flooded the door looking for help. He would often have to weed out those looking for narcotics for recreational use, and those who needed specialized services he wasn’t qualified for. Mainly, they were just simply good people scraping by who couldn’t afford the rising cost of medical care. He grabbed the chart closest to him and went inside.