Dr. Neurotic(15)

"Remy?"

Winnie's oldest and most protective brother, Remy had a special vat of  hate stored deep inside all for me. I didn't blame him. I'd been a  jackass to his little sister, and he'd picked up the slack as a  consequence.

But he was one of the most prominent people in Lexi's life. He loved her  with a ferocity that made it impossible to even fake dislike him.

Still, all of that didn't make our interactions any less uncomfortable.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he demanded as though I were the enemy there to attack.

"Lexi called me to take her to school."

"Did she now?" he asked, looking over his shoulder and back into the  house to yell for her. "Lex!" he shouted. "Come to the door!"

He turned back to me and sneered. "You look like absolute shit, asshole. What'd you sleep in a fucking pothole last night?"

Lexi came fairly quickly, thankfully fast enough that I didn't have to  answer Remy but slow enough that she hadn't heard his words, her  backpack already in place and her sweet blond hair swept off her face in  a half ponytail.

"Hey, Lex," I greeted softly, even if through some confusion. "What's going on?"

She shrugged, her cheeks warming sheepishly. "I know you said you were  coming. And I believed you. But Mom said I should have a backup plan."

Christ almighty, the lash of that whip was painful. I deserve it,  though. Memories of opportunities past flashed in my mind like a  firefight, and I struggled to find cover. When I finally came up for  air, Remy's smug smile hit me again.

I swallowed thickly before nodding. None of this was her fault. Not the  strife between her uncle and me and not the reality of the mistakes I'd  made in the past.

"So do you want me to take you?" I asked. "Or are you going with your uncle?"

Lexi looked between Remy and me and then pointed to him. "We're going to  run by the dance studio and pick up our costumes on the way. Is that  okay?"

I swallowed my disappointment and pulled her in for a hug. "Of course, honey. I have to get to the hospital anyway."

With a quick kiss to my cheek, Lexi's sweet smile returned full force. "Okay! Let me know if you do any craniotomies."

I forced myself to smile back and nodded before turning to jog down the  front steps of their brownstone to head to work. I didn't look back to  see Remy's face.

I didn't need to.

I could feel karma as she curled around my guts and squeezed quite well enough on my own.





After another round of ibuprofen and a cup of much-needed caffeine, I  was well on my way toward feeling rejuvenated-a whole whopping hour  before the end of my workday. But whatever. Considering I'd spent the  better part of my morning nursing the small hangover courtesy of the  multiple drinks I'd consumed with Nick and the girls, it was just nice  to reach the point where the side effects of alcohol had made their  official exit, timing be damned.

The slight headache and sleepy eyes I'd started the day with had been my  body's way of saying it'd been a while since I'd engaged in alcohol by  shot glass.

I couldn't complain, though. The headache and fatigue paled in  comparison to that one night in college where I'd ended a frat party  with my head in the toilet. Everyone has experienced at least one night  of drunken debauchery and poor decisions, but I wasn't sure anyone had  done it with quite as much flare as I had.         

     



 



Let's just say I walked away with a condom stuck in my hair and an  undisclosed array of colors on my white skirt and leave it at that.



Ah, memories.

All the reminiscence had me wondering how Nick was feeling.

I'd chatted with him briefly this morning via text, and he'd been  obviously thrilled by my magnificence at planning a night out … and  slightly accusatory about the way he felt as a result.

A part of me felt a little bad about dragging him out to a dance club  last night, but another part of me, the one who'd danced and kissed and  laughed her ass off with Nick, didn't have the slightest regret.

Last night had been fun. More than fun, actually. Having the opportunity  to see normally conservative and reserved Nick Raines let loose had  been the best damn sight I'd witnessed in a long fucking time.

Taking advantage of the short break in my workday, I grabbed my phone off my desk and sent him a quick message.



Me: Feeling any better?



Nick: I think I might have aged ten years between last night and this morning.



Eeeek. It was probably safe to assume the side effects of alcohol were still running wildly in his veins.



Me: That bad?



Nick: Yes, *that* bad.



Me: Shots were probably a bad choice, huh?



Nick: They were perfect if you were trying to enhance my capability for  empathy. Apparently, THIS is what it feels like when I root around in  someone's brain.



Me: LOL. Whoops. What are you doing tonight?



Nick: Letting my liver recover.



I snorted at his response. I could picture him saying those words to me  in person, his mouth crested in a sarcastic little smirk.



Me: But it's Friday, Nick. Liver recovery is for Sundays and Mondays. Tonight, we should go out again and have some fun.



Nick: I think you're secretly trying to kill me. I'm forty, AKA an old  man by drinking standards. And, you do realize I'm inside people's  brains all day, right? Just confirming.



I giggled out loud at his dramatics.



Me: LOL. Don't be ridiculous. Pretty please, Nick. Hang out with me tonight?



Nick: No begging necessary. I'm a big fan of spending time with you, and  I had an amazing time last night. But, tonight, for the sake of  civilization and any hope of the brain cells you claim to need for FMSP,  I need to stay low-key.



Before I could respond, he sent another text.



Nick: Not gonna lie, I felt like a shit dad this morning when even my daughter picked up on the fact that I was hungover.



Oh hell. Break my heart, why don't you. My mouth fell into a small frown as I typed.



Me: You are NOT a shit dad. But I'm one hundred percent down with  low-key. No alcohol, or even dancing for that matter. Just a  nonthreatening, nonviolent, nonmind-altering dinner. I know the cutest  little diner a few blocks from your office. They literally serve the  very best milk shakes and cheeseburgers the world has ever known.



Nick: Dinner without violence sounds spectacular. I only have one request.



Me: And what's that?



Nick: You let me kiss you again.



The instant I read his text, I squealed. Out loud. Like a total girl.

Kiss me again? Yes, please!

Nick Raines could press his lips to mine whenever he wanted.



Me: If you must …  PS-You must.



Oh boy. I think I have it bad for the brain surgeon.




Harry's was a staple for NYC locals. Greasy food, kitschy fifties décor,  and Harry himself running the show every single day of the week, it was  basically an Americana icon. One that I'd frequented with my parents  since I was old enough to walk.

With the dinner rush in full swing, a hostess led us to the last empty  booth in the joint, and I slid into the vacant seat, only to have my  handsome dinner date slide in right beside me.

I grinned at Nick as the hostess with a name tag that read Suzy Q set our plastic menus on the table.

"Our special tonight is the double-decker cheeseburger with a side of  fries, and our homemade, Oreo-infused chocolate milk shake," she  explained with a hand to her poodle-skirt-covered hip. "Take your time  looking through the menu. I'll be back to get your orders in a jiff."

I picked up my menu and moaned out loud at the staged picture of my very  favorite item on the bottom of the first page-The San Francisco Frisco  Melt.

"Someone sounds a little excited." Nick chuckled softly beside me, but his eyes stayed fixated on his menu.

"I can't help it." I shrugged and shivered playfully at once. "I haven't  eaten since breakfast, and I feel like it's been a hundred years since I  ate at Harry's."

"This is my first time eating here."

"What?" I damn near shouted. "You're a Harry's virgin?"         

     



 

He nodded his amusement, his gaze finally lifting to mine. "That I am."

"You mean to tell me Harry's meat has never touched your lips?"

"Very nice, Char." His eyes were all grimace and disgust, but his lips crested into a smirk. "My appetite is just ravenous now."

I giggled. "Would you like my recommendations?"

He quirked a brow. "Do I have a choice?"

"No," I said with a smile. "But sometimes it's nice to feel like you have a choice, isn't it?"

Nick grinned. "Have you just given away one of womankind's greatest  secrets? You all just make it seem like we have a choice, like we have  some kind of control, but in reality, you've chosen everything for us?"

I avoided outing the sisterhood with an innocent smack of my lips and  proceeded to give him my Harry's spiel. "For a newbie, I suggest going  for the double cheeseburger and fries. Just so you don't get overwhelmed  by the goodness. But, if you're feeling real frisky, I highly recommend  the Frisco melt."