Competition chapter 4
Title: Competition, chapter 4 (FFF 24 may 2013: mischief on the mind)
Summary: Luke and Reid meet at work
Luke's POV
A very big thank you to my beta Liz!
Letting go and moving on was completely fucking with my head. I had these flashbacks that to my old life, but it was like it hadn’t been mine. I missed my friends and colleagues, but my new life went so fast that I didn’t have time for melancholic memories.
The doctors here worked ridiculously long hours that after a week I realized I had only been working and sleeping. Most of the boxes in my house were still unpacked. I hadn’t any time to buy furniture and I still slept on a mattress on the floor.
I was looking forward to the weekend and the grand tour Casey had promised me tonight. Maybe we could drink something afterward. He seemed nice. None of my colleagues had invited me or really talked to me. Maybe going to New York was a bad decision. I could make some calls this weekend to people I knew to see if I could work somewhere else. But first I had to talk to Reid.
I had tried to avoid him all week, but somehow we bumped into each other a lot. His intense eyes always made me feel very uncomfortable. They had a hint of arrogance and superiority, or passion. I couldn’t read him, but he could be the definition of a predator. And I sure as hell wasn’t his prey. He couldn’t touch me; we had no connection. He was a good surgeon, but so was I. It felt like a competition, but no one told me what it was about. And it confused me. What did he want to talk about?
My stomach tightened when I opened the door. Reid was pacing in the room. He gestured to a chair and I sat down. He looked through a window while he talked about things Bob had told him. I just listened to his voice without hearing the words he said. His voice was different than the rest of him. It had nuances, and I thought I heard a tremble in it. Was he agitated? Nervous? But why?
“Can you please sit down and look at me while you talk?” I asked. I was too tired to focus. Too distracted by the things his body radiated. I still didn’t have a clue what it was, but it made my mind wander all over the place.
He sighed and sat down, showing his irritation about my demand. I didn’t care, I wanted this conversation to be fast and clear so I could leave. “Can you please start from the beginning? I didn’t hear a word you said,” I asked him.
He sighed again, showing me what a piece of work I was. I swallowed a smile. “Bob asked me to form a group of people who are going to make plans for a new OR. He suggested that you could join us because of your experience”.
My smile froze in my throat. What the… why? Why me?
“When are we starting?” I asked. The softness in my voice made him finally look at me.
“You say we?” he asked. “So you’ll do it?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, I really don’t, Reid. I need this weekend to think. I don’t feel welcome here, or at home, or at ease, and it exhausts me. I feel like an alien, who landed on the wrong planet. But I have signed a contract for three months, so I have to finish that. I will help you guys to make a start”.
His eyes bore a hole in my soul. “You’re leaving,” he said, toneless.
I shrugged my shoulders.“Maybe”, I said. “That’s what you want, right? I can’t be gone within a month, but I think that I can find myself a better job while I try to survive here for another eight weeks.”
I looked back at him, stubborn, needing him to cast his eyes first. I caught his restless hands in mine without thinking and held them. His whole body moving distracted me so much that I couldn’t think. But when the look in his eyes changed and a blush reddened his cheeks, I realized what I was doing. What I was feeling. The contact warmed my stressed body; his gaze changed and reflected what he needed.
I had seen this face before, last night, in my dream. He had pushed me against the wall and had kissed me while he grinded against me. When I woke up, I had difficulty breathing. This was so not what I needed right now. I had broken up with Roth and I was alone and sad. I didn’t want him to comfort me. But I felt drawn towards him; I could see the real man he was: skilled and determined. Finally he stood up and left me cold and alone.
I closed my eyes for a moment and inhaled. “Sorry,” I said softly. He didn’t react. His back was turned away from me and I had no idea what to do.
“Bob wants you to be the leader of the group, since you are such a marvelous guy,” he said.
I heard how he tried to get his emotions under control, but he failed. Was he pissed that Bob didn’t ask him? Did he like the physical contact as much as I did? What the hell was I supposed to do? Without thinking I stood up and walked to him; so close that I was in his personal space. His scent made me reach out; mischievous thoughts making me caress his red curls.
He leaned in, and laid his head against my neck. My hand found his shoulder and for the first time I touched him, my fingers traveled over his scrubs till they reached the naked skin of his arm. I felt his goose bumps and heard him sigh. Lost in a world without words we stood there, till I heard someone cough.
When I looked up I saw Casey standing in the doorway, his eyes big in disbelieve.
Summary: Luke and Reid meet at work
Luke's POV
A very big thank you to my beta Liz!
Letting go and moving on was completely fucking with my head. I had these flashbacks that to my old life, but it was like it hadn’t been mine. I missed my friends and colleagues, but my new life went so fast that I didn’t have time for melancholic memories.
The doctors here worked ridiculously long hours that after a week I realized I had only been working and sleeping. Most of the boxes in my house were still unpacked. I hadn’t any time to buy furniture and I still slept on a mattress on the floor.
I was looking forward to the weekend and the grand tour Casey had promised me tonight. Maybe we could drink something afterward. He seemed nice. None of my colleagues had invited me or really talked to me. Maybe going to New York was a bad decision. I could make some calls this weekend to people I knew to see if I could work somewhere else. But first I had to talk to Reid.
I had tried to avoid him all week, but somehow we bumped into each other a lot. His intense eyes always made me feel very uncomfortable. They had a hint of arrogance and superiority, or passion. I couldn’t read him, but he could be the definition of a predator. And I sure as hell wasn’t his prey. He couldn’t touch me; we had no connection. He was a good surgeon, but so was I. It felt like a competition, but no one told me what it was about. And it confused me. What did he want to talk about?
My stomach tightened when I opened the door. Reid was pacing in the room. He gestured to a chair and I sat down. He looked through a window while he talked about things Bob had told him. I just listened to his voice without hearing the words he said. His voice was different than the rest of him. It had nuances, and I thought I heard a tremble in it. Was he agitated? Nervous? But why?
“Can you please sit down and look at me while you talk?” I asked. I was too tired to focus. Too distracted by the things his body radiated. I still didn’t have a clue what it was, but it made my mind wander all over the place.
He sighed and sat down, showing his irritation about my demand. I didn’t care, I wanted this conversation to be fast and clear so I could leave. “Can you please start from the beginning? I didn’t hear a word you said,” I asked him.
He sighed again, showing me what a piece of work I was. I swallowed a smile. “Bob asked me to form a group of people who are going to make plans for a new OR. He suggested that you could join us because of your experience”.
My smile froze in my throat. What the… why? Why me?
“When are we starting?” I asked. The softness in my voice made him finally look at me.
“You say we?” he asked. “So you’ll do it?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, I really don’t, Reid. I need this weekend to think. I don’t feel welcome here, or at home, or at ease, and it exhausts me. I feel like an alien, who landed on the wrong planet. But I have signed a contract for three months, so I have to finish that. I will help you guys to make a start”.
His eyes bore a hole in my soul. “You’re leaving,” he said, toneless.
I shrugged my shoulders.“Maybe”, I said. “That’s what you want, right? I can’t be gone within a month, but I think that I can find myself a better job while I try to survive here for another eight weeks.”
I looked back at him, stubborn, needing him to cast his eyes first. I caught his restless hands in mine without thinking and held them. His whole body moving distracted me so much that I couldn’t think. But when the look in his eyes changed and a blush reddened his cheeks, I realized what I was doing. What I was feeling. The contact warmed my stressed body; his gaze changed and reflected what he needed.
I had seen this face before, last night, in my dream. He had pushed me against the wall and had kissed me while he grinded against me. When I woke up, I had difficulty breathing. This was so not what I needed right now. I had broken up with Roth and I was alone and sad. I didn’t want him to comfort me. But I felt drawn towards him; I could see the real man he was: skilled and determined. Finally he stood up and left me cold and alone.
I closed my eyes for a moment and inhaled. “Sorry,” I said softly. He didn’t react. His back was turned away from me and I had no idea what to do.
“Bob wants you to be the leader of the group, since you are such a marvelous guy,” he said.
I heard how he tried to get his emotions under control, but he failed. Was he pissed that Bob didn’t ask him? Did he like the physical contact as much as I did? What the hell was I supposed to do? Without thinking I stood up and walked to him; so close that I was in his personal space. His scent made me reach out; mischievous thoughts making me caress his red curls.
He leaned in, and laid his head against my neck. My hand found his shoulder and for the first time I touched him, my fingers traveled over his scrubs till they reached the naked skin of his arm. I felt his goose bumps and heard him sigh. Lost in a world without words we stood there, till I heard someone cough.
When I looked up I saw Casey standing in the doorway, his eyes big in disbelieve.