Monitored (The White Coat Series Book 3) (6 page)

“Me too,” I said, looking around at the huge warehouse looking space separated into different areas, rooms filled with gawkers and various art pieces. Fedora hats and weird mustaches. Plaid shirts and red solo cups. It was a hipster's paradise and an artist’s wet dream.
 

We started our walk through the galleries, stopping first inside a loft space that had been converted into an industrial utopia pulled from the future. Giant metal gears clung together as beams that supported a ceiling that looked like it was made out of floppy discs. The past supporting the future.

“Check this out,” Alexander said, pointing at a small gear set in the wall, the sides of it inscribed in an odd, yet beautiful, old font. We both peered in close, our heads almost touching as we tried to make out what the hidden gear said, but neither of us could understand it.

“Maybe it’s not meant to be understood,” I said, both of us shrugging our shoulders as we moved on.

“Do you do anything arts related?” Alexander asked me as we walked under an arch that led back out of the loft, it was also made up of gears but these had electrical wires running through and around them, lighting them up like a cheap knock-off casino.

“I took a little bit of drama in high school, but I other than that, no,” I said.

“Well, we’ll change that. I’ve always been into music since I was little, but growing up has opened me up to so many more expressions of art,” he said, his spanish accent making everything sound more meaningful, passionate.

I also clocked his use of ‘we’ll’.

“I would love to have you teach me some stuff.” I smiled a small, only cheeks lifting halfway, type of smile. I could feel my face getting pinker, but I turned and played it off.

“Piano was the one I wanted to learn the most.” We walked into another gallery, this one set to look like a bird’s nest, random sticks and twigs adorning the ceiling and decorating the floor. One crunched under my steps.

He looked at me, his eyes slowly trailing over my body. I felt uncomfortable for a fleeting second. It was quickly replaced by a growing warmth, spreading from my center and reaching the very tips of my fingers. He was into me and he wasn’t making it a secret. “Good, that’s one of my favorite to teach and play.” He stopped us in front of a water painting consisting of two bluebirds and what looked like a sparrow but could have passed for a Pokemon.
 

“Is that a Pokemon?”

I shook my head. “It almost fooled me too.”

“So when do you want to start your lessons?” We moved from the Pokemon hybrid to a miniature sculpture of a similar looking bird display. I wasn’t expecting him to actually follow through with teaching me, and not so soon. Usually someone suggests they’ll do something and then just let it slip by, sinking to the depths of either party’s memories. But not Alexander. He was making me commit now.

“Free on Tuesdays?”

“Can’t, Blake has me in his office during business hours.”

The name made my gut turn. A quick lurch that sent the contents of my stomach on a wild ride. I paused for a second, for just a second, so that I could somehow compose myself. Alexander would have ran far away if I laid everything out on the first date. I mean, I planned on filling him in, but this early would have been a definite deal breaker and I couldn’t do it without fully trusting him either. Thing was, I liked him more and more with each second that passed, my trust growing along with it. I really did find him so interesting, so cultured, something exotic about him, an endangered leopard that needed to be protected and admired. And of course, he was incredibly hot.

But I wanted to know more, I wanted to pry into him. I was analytical by birth, holding a spreadsheet as they cut my umbilical cord (or so my father always says). And the fact that I wanted to dig into him was something that took even me by surprise. I had never been this interested in a guy before. I haven’t even been this interested in a person before.

So I dug really deep and found the strength to set Blake aside

“Sunday afternoon?” he asked, smiling as he if knew that it would be a good time for me. That was the kind of guy Alexander was. He knew those sorts of things. When everything would fall into place, he would be there, smiling.

“That works for me,” I said, smiling back.

“Good.” We made our exit out of the nest and found our way into a normal looking gallery, extremely impressive modernist interpretations of old furniture was on display. I know, it sounds odd, but the pieces were some of the best.

We had stopped in front of a glowing neon Victorian looking throne when Alexander’s phone buzzed in his pocket. I had never seen someone retrieve their phone so fast. He glanced at the caller and looked up at me, his eyebrows scrunching together.

“Sorry, I gotta take this,” he said, walking around me and into the hallway. I stayed back and was so mesmerized by the painting that I had no idea how much time had passed.

“Sorry again,” Alexander said, a hand sliding gently around my waist, grabbing my attention, and then letting me go. It was enough to make the butterflies in my stomach flap like they were on a bad LSD trip.

“It’s ok,” I said, moving us over to a floral print sofa bed that was seemingly in 3D. I readjusted my shirt a little and tried to stop focusing on the small electrical shocks that were sparking where Alexander had last touched.

“More work stuff?”

“Yeah, but it’s been handled.” He closed off that topic of conversation pretty quickly.

“Wanna grab something to eat?” he asked, seeing the answer written all over my face. He smiled and turned, leading the way out of what seemed like an Ikea aisle dedicated to LSD. We walked down the concrete steps, the air in the stairway felt heavy, and we only occasionally brushed hands together.
 

Accidentally of course.

“So where are you from?” I asked.

“Both my parents are Brazilian.” Well, that explained the hotness. “But I was born in San Diego.”

“Oh nice! I love going down there,” I said, having flashbacks of going down there and visiting the zoo, Connor always making my family stop there whenever we were in town.
 

“Yeah, it’s beautiful,” he said, the accent making everything he said sound so much smoother. It had such a disarming effect and made me have to focus really hard on what he was saying instead of how attractive he was.

“So you’re not too far from your family then?”

“No, it was one of the reasons why I didn’t just move to New York, figured I should stick around for a little bit.” His hand gripped the railing, rusted underneath his strong fingers.

“Makes sense, so you're close to your family?”

“Mom mostly,” he said, his tone letting me know that his father was out of the picture.
 

“What’s she think of you coming out here and becoming a famous musician?”

“She supports me, always said I had something special since I was old enough to touch a guitar.”

I looked over at him, his eyes glowing at just the mention of the guitar. It made me fluttery again, thinking of how passionate he was about his music. It made me think about how much passion he had to give to someone.

“Well, now you’re really going to have to play something for me,” I said, reaching the bottom of the steps and walking out into the sunlight.

“So you mean you didn’t want to hear me earlier?”

“No it’s not that. I just definitely can’t pass it by with those glowing reviews,” I said, this time taking the lead as my nose directed us to the best smelling hot dogs. They were the types that were grilled on the street, letting the meaty aroma fill the plaza outside of the building.

“How ‘bout you?”

“Can I play? ” I grabbed a hot dog bun and loaded it up shamelessly, some onions falling to a toppings graveyard on the floor.
 

“No, I meant where are you from? Don’t worry, I already know I’m going to teach you how to play the piano,” he said, smiling as we walked over to a nearby bench.
 

“Oh, yeah,” I said, my heart skipping a beat as he mentioned our piano lesson. The thought of spending more time with Alexander had me so high up in the air that I had almost forgotten that I was pregnant.

Almost.

My hand moved up to my midriff and smoothed out a wrinkle, one that was pretty much unnoticeable on my black shirt. I lingered there for a second and then returned my attention back to the hotdog that was on my lap and the hot guy that was on my right.

“So?” he asked, taking a sip from his soda.

And then I was brought back to Alexander, his blue eyes staring at me with such intensity, like nothing else mattered in this world but my answer. Such a stark contrast compared to Blake’s empty television prepped gaze, a certain sheen to his pupils that made him seem slimy.
 

Untrustworthy.

But then again, my perspective on him was more than tarnished now.

“My parents are both from San Fran, born and raised. They met there when they ended up in the same law school,” I said, finding myself getting lost in those eyes.

He stared back, a curl at the side of his lip creating a smoldering side smirk.

“San Francisco was a good place to me,” he said, recalling something that was clearly still ingrained in his memory. I wanted to know what sparked that fire in him.

So I asked. “How so?”

“I played my first paying gig there. I wasted the money in gas but it was incredible.” His smirk grew into a full smile, perfect teeth gleaming in the sun, those dimples and they way his eyes scrunched up.
 

It all added up to construct the perfect man.
 

And he was sitting here next to me.

I let myself forget everything for a second and just picture us dating. Actually getting to know each other. Sure, it may have been a bit of a jump, but he was just too good to not picture in that way. I mean, he already showed interest in me and with each passing minute, each bite of the hot dogs, I could feel myself trusting him more and more.

So I let myself drift off to a place where I wouldn’t have to either tell him I’m pregnant with his boss’s baby or cut it off early. Where I was letting all my guards down and allowing him to know me, to like all of me.

To want all of me.

“I have a gig at the Viper Room tomorrow night if you want to come,” he said, brushing a lock of jet black hair off his forehead and back up to that full head of hair.

I suddenly saw us rocking the night away as he played his guitar, sang a few songs, and murmured to me at the bar. And then that vision popped like an overgrown pink bubble.

“I probably wouldn’t be allowed in.” I said, sighing.

“Don’t worry, walk in with me. They won’t say anything.”

His eyes glinted with something, a little mischievous shine that bubbled underneath those ocean blue eyes. I wanted to melt.

I literally wanted to melt right there and then.

“Really?” I asked, like some dumb high school girl getting asked out to prom by the calendar worthy quarterback.

“Yeah, the bouncer’s cool there. Besides, I’m the one bringing them people,” He smiled at me. “It’s a sold out show.”

“All for you?”

“Yeah,” he said, dangerously confident. He exuded confidence, the kind that comes along with an intense amount of sex appeal. Alexander knew exactly what he could do with a smile and a smolder, and he used those weapons well, wielding them with expert skill. Anyone else, and I would have thought he was gloating and just trying to show off, but with Alexander, it was different.

He had nothing to prove. This meant that everything he said felt genuine, I didn’t think he was just some asshole spouting off his list of trophies.

“Well, I’ll be there.” I smiled, feeling the butterflies start up again, like my dad starting up the lawn mower.

One tug.

Two tugs.

Three tugs.

Vroom, butterflies colliding together at light speed.

Alexander was doing something to me, something comparable to being on a roller coaster. You’re sitting there, strapped in one second, and then the next you’re catapulted at inhuman speeds, launched through the air and clinging on for your life, yet, at the same time you’re having the time of your life, adrenaline coursing through your veins.

Pure, unadulterated emotion.

So I took a breath, smiled, and decided I was going to get in line for this ride.
 

I didn’t know just what that had entailed.

“JESUS, YOU NEED TO SLEEP with him. Like, I’m talking, hands down best fuck of your life. I call it now.”

Rachel Woods, one of my closest friends in college, sat cross-legged on the couch, a fluffy white pillow laying loosely between her legs, threatening to fall over onto the floor. We had gotten to know each other during freshman orientation and found out we had a ton in common. I had also found out that she gave some blunt dating advice. It was pretty much a perfect match and I knew college wouldn’t be the same without her.

Which was why I felt so bad that I wasn’t able to tell her about my pregnancy. Not yet at least. I was honestly still too scared that the news would leak, and even though I trusted Rachel, I still felt like I would be safer keeping quiet.

So instead I told her all about the incredibly hot and absolutely swoon-worthy musician I had met. Alexander Cruz. After a quite a few “oh my gods!” and “no fucking way” with a few “wows” thrown in for good measure, we finally calmed down.

“When do I get to meet him?” Rachel swooned, tapping my knee.

“Never,” I said, throwing my head back and letting a defeated exhale. “It’s not going to work.”

“How do you know that?”

Because he’s not going to date a pregnant girl.

“I just know,” I said, feeling the urge to just tell her everything become stronger and stronger.
 

“Well, I don’t believe that for a second. Look at you! He sounds like a catch, but you’re a fucking trophy.”

I puffed. A laugh that did not agree with the conclusion Rachael was drawing up.