The only thought in her mind at that moment was gratitude for the fact that she had decided not to strip, because nakedness would not have gone well with her indignation.
“No, Abby, that’s not it at all. I bet I’ve slept with more people than you have,” Chris said, getting up and walking to her.
“Then what?” she asked, unconvinced.
“Aren’t we supposed to be just friends?”
“Yeah. Look, this was obviously a bad idea, let’s just go.” She turned and went backstage to retrieve the bag she had left on the floor.
“Let’s go to my place and talk about this,” Chris said, reaching for her. “We can come back for your car later.”
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” she said, avoiding his eyes.
“Are you mad at me?” he asked, surprised. She took a breath as she gathered her thoughts, worried her voice would break if she spoke.
“I just don’t get you, Chris,” she said. “It’s like you want to make me want you, just so you can reject me.”
“It’s not that I don’t want you. You can see that I do.”
“Well, that’s counter to today’s experience,” she muttered. “I need to lock the doors, so let’s go.”
She propped the door open as Chris walked out, shaking his head.
“We need to talk about this,” he said.
“I have to take care of Sara and Audrey today.” She locked the door quickly, anxious to escape before she broke into tears.
“Abby!” he called after her. She held a hand up as she fled to her car, needing to get away.
“But you never eat ice cream,” Sara said, looking at Abby in disbelief.
“Well, I am today. And when we finish our ice cream we’ll shop some more.”
Abby was still brooding inside over Chris’ rejection the day before. Wanting a man was a very big deal for her; it hadn’t happened in a long time. Though his hands had moved over her body in all the right ways, there had been something more about the hunger she had felt for him. It was like it had been building since that first lunch together, and growing more intense. It had felt so personal to her, so intimate.
Chris had become special to her. He was smart, warm and a good listener. Her admiration for him grew every time she saw him working at the hospital. People came to the emergency room during their worst moments: upset, broken and hurting. He was reassuring and capable, healing people one at a time.
And what did she do for people? She got men off for money as a stripper. He was the best side of humanity, and she was the worst. Next to him, she had so little to offer. And she continued feeling more and more self-conscious about him not wanting the one thing she did have: her body.
She had decided as she pulled out of the club and not looked back at Chris that she would ignore his calls and texts for the day. He needed to know he had really hurt her feelings. What was bothering her more than anything today was the fact that he’d never called.
As he lathered soap around his forearms to do an exam on a patient, Chris couldn’t help hearing the conversation between the young couple in the room.
“Don’t cry, baby. It’ll be okay. Shh,” the man said.
“I’m scared, Jonathan. I want this baby so much. I can’t lose another one. I can’t,” her voice broke as she cried.
“No, Cara, don’t say that. Shh. You need to stay calm, okay? Stay calm for the baby.”
He cradled her head to his chest as she cried, and Chris offered them a reassuring smile as he walked over.
“Just relax while I take a look, okay?” he said. He shifted into work mode, remembering the steps he had to perform for the exam. It wasn’t something he did every day.
“I’ve been thinking,” Jonathan said to Cara. “If it’s a boy, I think we should name him after your Dad.”
“Really?” The joy in her voice was contagious, and Chris couldn’t help smiling. “Jonathan, that means so much to me.”
“You’ve been so strong through this whole thing. I love you so much, Cara. No matter what, I will always love you.”
“Everything’s good so far,” Chris said. “I think you were just having some implantation bleeding, which does happen.”
Fresh tears flowed down Cara’s face, and Chris’ heart went out to her. Her head dropped against her husband’s chest with relief.
“Thank you,” Jonathan said, tears welling in his eyes.
Chris nodded at him as he finished the exam. He had never been envious of a happy couple, but he was feeling a twinge of … something. The love between these two people was palpable, and he couldn’t help thinking of the empty apartment he’d be going home to. The look of pain on Cara’s face when Chris had entered the room had made him think of Abby, and how hurt she’d been the day before. He hated that he’d been responsible for it.