CHAPTER SIX: in which they meet in the present part 4- VEGAS

Present day

VEGAS

“Um, Jae, can you give me a moment? I really need to use the restroom.” I dashed off before he could reply, my stomach heaving and rolling like a ship tossed on stormy waves.

Just as I sank to the floor, the pasta primavera Terence, and I had shared for lunch, spewed from my mouth in an Exorcist arch, splashing the pristine toilet bowl in chunks of red and partially digested white.

When the dry heaves were over, I stood on shaky legs and wiped everything down with the antibacterial cloths from my purse. After dumping them into the silver bin on the wall, I plunked down on the toilet lid and pulled out even more of the wet clothes to use on my mouth and trembling hands.

The toilet seat shifted with a slippery creak as I bent over and held my head in my hands, moaning softly, I hoped the release of my frustration would relieve the fist-sized knots in my stomach. It didn’t work. Nothing did. I had to face the music. 

Jae.

After two years of working as an Emergency Room resident — through sweat, tears, and blood — I dulled the memories of my past, Jae included.

At one glance of his broad shoulders, trim waist, messy hair, and lazy smile, everything came rushing back. Instead of fuzzy black and white, the images of the night we spent together came back to me in vivid living color.

***

Jae licked the spicy sauce off of his longer fingers, leaving his thick thumb for last. He finished with a resounding smack, wiping the last bits of sauce on his stained napkin. He then set his empty wineglass and plate on the nightstand.

“So you start your residency next week? At the same hospital they brought JFK to in Dallas?”

I nodded and took a sip of wine.

He fixed his eyes on my moistened lips, and I resisted the urge to lick them again. “Have you ever been to Dallas before?”

“I was born there, or so my birth certificate says.”

“What does that mean?” he asked, picking up a carrot stick.

I elaborated, giving him the dry toast version. I wasn’t quite drunk enough to give him the meat and potatoes. “My mom died of a heart attack when I was two. Her sister, my aunt Mae, raised me until I was eight.”

A drop of condensation, like a tear, slid down the outside of my goblet. I collected it with my finger and wiped it on my jeans. “The company she worked for needed her in Japan. She wanted to take me, but she thought life in America would be better.” I took a healthy gulp of Riesling, pausing in the middle of a tale I was in no hurry to finish.

When I fiddled with the delicate stem of my wineglass, Jae prompted me by nudging his sock covered foot against my bare one. “And?”

I took a deep breath. Only my best friend knew of all the shit I went through. Why should I tell this man?

All I knew was that I wanted to. He hurt like I had hurt. Besides, I’d never see him again, anyway. Then my thoughts took over.

The guy just got divorced. You would be nothing more than a rebound. Just like you were with your football player senior year.

Jae nudged me again, bringing me back from my past. “I’m here, Vegas. Talk to me. I want to know everything there is to know about you.”

“Why do you want to do that, Jae?” I took another sip of courage. “We’re strangers attracted to each other at best and at worst... we’re two people who want to escape our pain.”

Jae leaned forward, drawing up his long legs and circling them in his arms. His eyes fixed on his knees. “You’re right, I came here to escape my pain, but I ended up with so much more. I feel a connection to you Vegas, something I can’t explain. All I know is I want to see you again after tonight, I want...” Jae leaned his forehead on his knees. His t-shirt pulled up, showing a bit of his erector spinae.

So damn hot.

I licked my lips in my want of him.

Yeah, he was handsome, and he made my heart stutter. More than any man I’d come across. Even more than the man who took my virginity.

Jae was also a good listener. He seemed like he cared, and he wanted to get to know me. I believed he was sincere in that. My upbringing, shitty as it was, gave me a sixth sense in judging people.

Jae was one of the good ones.

The silence that stretched between us had gone on long enough. It was my turn to prompt him into a confession. I did so by running a finger along the valley his t-shirt had exposed. “What do you want, Jae?”