Friday, 6:43 PMLiz parked in the underground parking of her apartment building.
Her first week at work went well. Boringly slow, but well.
Because she had nothing else to do, she went to the hospital all five days, from Monday to Friday.
She spent most of her time in the office and in the urgent care.
As a new doctor, she still does not have many patients, so she used the time to get to know the people who are working there. Everyone seems friendly, but not too friendly. That is good. It works for her.
During her two in-office days, Liz saw a total of four patients. And those are four people which got cancelations from their regular doctors, and they didn"t care who will see them as long as they get examined.
The urgent care is disappointingly… not urgent. Compared to Chicago, Seattle is very peaceful, and she ended up sleeping most of the time on the sofa in her office. The biggest thing they had for the whole 12 hours long shift today was a broken hip (a lady slipped and fell in her kitchen). It"s not that Liz wishes for people to get hurt, but there is no work! At this rate, her on-call days will be no-call days. What will she do with all the free time? Liz started considering to start volunteering somewhere, because this… is not going to keep her busy.
Again, she regretted that she didn"t go to Los Angeles. She heard that LA Medical Center is looking for surgeons. They must be busier than… this. And it"s sunny there.
Dr. Kaviraj told Liz that she will get her to a.s.sist with her surgeries whenever possible, and Liz is grateful for that.
When Liz told Dr. Kaviraj that there is not much to do, she got an offer to join her at the horse riding club. It seems that Dr. Kaviraj and her family go there for lunch and then riding on Sat.u.r.days, about once a month. Liz accepted. She likes horses, and meeting Dr. Kaviraj"s family will definitely be better than her previous Sat.u.r.day"s lunch… with those two Anderson jokesters, and their sister. Well, Rina seems nice. And Liz would love to have a shopping and a spa buddy, but not at the risk of her brothers coming closer to her. She didn"t see any of them since last weekend, and Liz is perfectly happy with that.
With those thoughts she entered the elevator and pressed the familiar "31".
The elevator started moving up and Liz smiled at the thought of a good bubble bath. Yes, that sounds like a great way to spend Friday evening.
The elevator stopped on the main level, and Liz moved to the corner.
By the time she looked up, she was facing the back view of broad shoulders with a neatly combed black hair on top. The man"s perfume smells nice. Based on his clothes (and smell) he is ready for a date.
She observed with a frown his hand, large ring on the middle finger… his index finger hovering in front of "31". He is also going to the top floor? Well, she definitely does not know him… so… he is going to visit Max. There is no other option on that floor.
He turned toward Liz and she could see his face: black hair, dark thick eyebrows above dark eyes… and a beard neatly trimmed in balbo style. Based on his gaze and smile, she can see that he is a confident young man.
"Are you Elizabeth?", he asked in a husky voice.
Liz"s frown deepened. "And you are?"
He chuckled, amused by her hostility. "Sorry, just saying your name must make me appear like a creep. I"m Quentin. I"m Max"s friend. He mentioned that his neighbor is Elizabeth, and based on the floor selection, I a.s.sumed that you are her. Am I wrong?"
"No." Elizabeth scrutinized Quentin. "He talks about his neighbors?"
"Not to everyone. You can say that the two of us have a… special relationship."
Liz didn"t respond to this.
They reached floor 31 and Elizabeth waited for Quentin to exit first. He is standing in the middle, in front of the door, and if she tries getting out, she will rub against him.
He stepped out and placed his hand to prevent the elevator door from closing before speaking again: "Can you not mention to anyone from Max"s family that you saw me here?"
"What?" Liz was not sure she heard him right.
"His family does not approve of Max and me." Anderson family members see Quentin as Max"s party-buddy, a bad influence… and they don"t like that Max is socializing with him.
"OK.", Liz mumbled, happy that he moved out of the way and she can get out.
She punched the pa.s.scode swiftly and got inside her apartment.
In the hallway, Quentin rang the doorbell on 31B. Few seconds later, Max opened the door.
"I"m almost done.", Max told Quentin while b.u.t.toning up his shirt. "Get in."
They have a plan to attend one private party and then spend the rest of the evening in the Black Rose nightclub. Friday will be eventful!
…
Liz ordered delivery. She didn"t want to cook tonight. Food from that Asian restaurant is really good.
After dinner, she prepared a luxurious bubble-bath.
About fifteen minutes later…
Ahh… there is nothing better than a relaxing evening inside a bubble-bath with a gla.s.s of wine.
Liz remembered Quentin. She found it strange that he asked her not to tell Max"s family that he came to visit Max. Max is a grown-up man, are his parents filtering and approving his friends? And Quentin said that he and Max have a "special relationship". Is that a code-word for... what exactly? Strange…
Liz thought, what all she knows about Max…?
Hunter and Rina look like normal and loving siblings. They are close. Would they not approve of Max"s choice of friends?
Olivia told Liz several hard to believe stories about Max and his record setting love conquests. If she remembers correctly, Olivia said that there are thousands of girlfriends. That is either a huge exaggeration, or he is dating randomly to compensate for something… or to hide something.
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Liz remembered what Hunter said that Max has issues. And that Max will tell her about it someday, maybe. Like it"s something shameful, or difficult to talk about. At that time, she thought that it"s a joke, but what if it"s not?
Liz bolted into a sitting position when the pieces came together: Max has issues… thousands of girlfriends to cover up the truth… Quentin and Max have a special relationship that Max"s family does not approve of…
Liz"s mind exploded: Oh… My… G.o.d… … … Max is gay!
That is the only thing that makes sense. Max is gay. And his partner is Quentin. And his family doesn"t approve. That perfectly explains his need for a fake girlfriend. Max asked Liz to be his pretend-girlfriend because he was aware that she will not expect more from him, because she is not interested in him.
Liz exhaled and leaned back into the tub… sliding lower until she almost disappeared into the bubbles.
Ah, now she feels so silly. Last Sat.u.r.day, when they spoke about how they met, and he reached to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear… and he inched closer… for a brief moment she thought that he is going for a kiss. Really… How can she misjudge a person so badly? Why would he go for a kiss? He is not swaying that way…
And she was rude… Not giving him her number because she thought that he is. .h.i.tting on her. Would she act differently if she knew that he is gay at that time? She is not sure. But she would be more… compa.s.sionate. It must be tough when you like someone, and your family does not approve... regardless of the gender.
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