“I missed my exam so I was removed from patient care hours until I took it.”

“Oh.” She adjusted her pillow and sat up. “Why did you miss your exam? Were you under the weather?”

“No. My friend’s truck wouldn’t start and she was in a hurry. I let her drive my car while I changed her oil.”

Her eyes narrowed while she stared at me. She pressed her lips together while she thought for a long time. “That was nice of you.”

I shrugged. “She didn’t have anyone else.”

“What kind of truck does she have?”

“Some piece of crap that’s at least thirty years old.” I laughed just thinking about it.

“Oh…”

“What?” I asked.

She pressed her lips together again. “Nothing.”

I didn’t press her on it.

“You seem down lately.” It wasn’t a question.

Alaska came into my mind. “I’ve just been stressed…”

“About what?”

“Nothing worth mentioning.” I grabbed my stethoscope and positioned it to my ears.

“Is Dr. James having girl problems?” she pressed.

I smirked. “Why do you ask?”

“Just a hunch.”

I didn’t see the harm in telling her. I had no one else to tell. If I mentioned it to my sister, she would beg me to marry Alaska. “My new neighbor has been turning my life upside down, basically. I just wanted to sleep with her when I first met her, but now…I don’t know.”

She stared at me while she waited for me to continue.

“She’s just really cool. She’s passionate and compassionate. She loves her artwork and she’s talented at her craft. She’s drop-dead gorgeous and she’s totally ignorant to it. She drives a beat up truck because she doesn’t care about expensive things. She’s soft and friendly, but if you cross her she won’t let you get away with it.”

“It sounds like you don’t just like her…” A smirk was on her lips.

I wasn’t sure what I felt. “I went to her art show, but during the bidding she disappeared. When I followed her outside, she was sitting in the dark crying to herself…” I hated thinking about it. “I’m not an emotional guy and I don’t care about other people, but when I saw her my heart broke.”

Mrs. Patelo sat up. “Why was she crying?”

“She just feels alone. She doesn’t have parents who want her, and her piece of shit boyfriend wasn’t there.” I got angry from thinking about it.

“You don’t like him?”

“Fuck no.” I shouldn’t curse in front of her, but it just came out. “He doesn’t deserve her. He doesn’t treat her right. I don’t know how he landed her, but if I were him, I’d be busting my ass to keep her around.”

A slight smile stretched her lips. “Does she know how you feel?”

“No…I’m not going to tell her.”

“Why?”

“She has a boyfriend. And she made it clear she wasn’t interested in me. I’ll settle as her friend because that’s all I’m going to get…”

“Shouldn’t you just see what happens?” she suggested.

“I already know what would happen.” I set the chart aside and began my examination.

“Dr. James is in love.”

“I am not.”

“And in denial,” she teased.

I knew I was fond of her, but I couldn’t fall in love. That was a line I would never cross. If I fell too deep, I would drown. I was barely keeping my head above water was it was.

Scotty and Liam sat across from me in the booth.

Scotty sipped his drink while he stared at me. “So…where did you disappear to the other night?”

“What are you talking about?” My mind was elsewhere.

“At the art show. When Livia and I looked around you were gone…and so was Alaska.” The meaning of his words was clear.

“She had to step outside so I joined her.” That was all I was willing to share.

“Alaska is a cool girl. I like her.”

“Good for you,” I snapped.

Liam drank his beer and stayed out of the conversation.

“So, how’s her truck running?” Scotty asked.

I was going to snap his neck. “Fine.”

“What’s going on?” Liam asked.

“Ash, the biggest jackass in the world, missed an exam just to help his neighbor…Alaska.” Scotty gave me a knowing look.

“Wow.” Liam understood the significance.

“I helped her. Big deal.” I was getting sick of this.

“It’s not a big deal,” Scotty said. “But for you, it is.”

I rubbed the area between my eyes. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Why?” Scotty asked.

“Because I’m sick of talking about her.”

“Why don’t you ask her out?” Scotty asked.

“She has a boyfriend.” I just wanted this conversation to end.

Scotty nodded his head and had a knowing look in his eyes. “Now it makes sense…”

“What makes sense?” I was practically growling.

“Why you haven’t gone for her.”

“I don’t like her,” I snapped.

“Right…” He sipped his beer.

“Just drop it. I mean it.”

Liam smirked. “You’re awfully defensive.”

“I’m getting another beer.” Mine was half full but I needed a break from these guys. I headed to the counter and ordered another bottle. I was tired of people asking me about her. She was just a girl. She wasn’t special. She didn’t mean anything to me…

The bartender finally slipped me the bottle and I downed half of it in a single gulp. I turned around and surveyed the bar. People were gathered around tables and pressed against the walls. The music was loud, but I preferred that so I couldn’t hear my own thoughts.

“Are you drunk enough?” a man said a few seats away from me.

“You know you don’t need to get me drunk to take me how you like.” The girl giggled at the end of her sentence.

I glanced over, wondering why this couple wasn’t keeping their voices down.

A man ran his fingers through her hair then tucked it behind her ear. “You look beautiful tonight, Sarah.”

She smirked, a redness coming to her cheeks. “You already have me…you don’t need to butter me up.”

I wanted to gag. I looked away and kept drinking my beer.

“You ready to head to my place?” he pressed.

“You fuck me all the time. Why are you in such a hurry now?” She drank her beer and let him press her into the bar.

He used his size to pin her. Then he placed both arms on either side of her, caging her in. A tattoo marked his entire left arm. It wound around his forearm and reached his wrist.

My blood pounded in my ears.

The girl turned slightly, trying to get out of his grasp. “You’re bossy.”

He dropped his left hand and turned, facing my direction.

I recognized his face. He had the hazel eyes from the picture. His hair was so short, he was practically bald. His arms were thick like trees. He had a darkness in his eyes, a threat.

It was definitely Jace.

Alaska was sitting at home, organizing her pictures and filing them. She would cook dinner for herself and eat alone. Sometimes when I walked by, I heard music from her apartment. She was lost in her artistic zone, but alone nonetheless.

And this fucker was out pounding pussy? He missed her art show, didn’t open the door for her, didn’t help her with her car, and worked all the time, and now he was cheating on her?

I saw red.

Fucking red.

I slammed my bottle onto the counter, making it break in half.

Everyone stilled around me, wondering what was happening.

I marched to himthen slammed the rest of the bottle directly onto his head. “You fucking asshole.”

The girl gasped then got out of the way.

Jace fell to the floor, cowering. Blood dripped from his skull, but he was still conscious. He looked up at me, the anger in his eyes. “What the fuck?” He climbed to his feet, ready to kill me.

I punched him in the face before he could get a hit in. “You have the perfect woman sitting at home waiting for you, but you’re here with this tramp? What the hell is wrong with you? How could you do this to her?”

Confusion came into his eyes.

“She’s the most amazing girl in the world. God, you’re such a fucking idiot.”