Doctor’s Duties by K.C. Crowne
Chapter 13
ABBY
“Would I ever what?”
I felt silly the moment I’d asked the question. My strategy had been to get to the heart of the matter, to not dance around it. But the way I had just phrased that, I’d ended up asking something I really didn’t need to know the answer to.
After all, I wasn’t looking to marry the guy.
“You want to know if I’d ever marry a student?”
“No, no – that’s not exactly what I meant.”
“Then enlighten me,” he said with a grin.
“I want to know what would happen if you did marry a student. Like, hypothetically.”
The shock faded a bit, but he was still confused. Maybe it was the fact that he was wearing nothing but a skintight pair of swimming trunks, the hem short enough to put his huge quads, not to mention massive bulge, on full display. How was a girl supposed to think clearly with a guy who looked like him sitting right next to her?
“OK, so…you’re asking about the dating policy between students and faculty? That’s what you’re getting at?”
“Yeah! That’s it.” Relief hit me as he put it into much less outrageous terms.
“Well, things are different now. I know back in the sixties and seventies it was far more common for relationships to happen between students and teachers. It was one of those don’t-ask-don’t-tell sort of things.”
“And now?”
“The climate with those kinds of things has totally changed, to say the least. There are issues of power imbalances and favoritism and all that. Long story short, there’s zero tolerance about professors getting involved with students. If it happens and you get busted, then that professor will be out on his ass. Or her ass, I suppose.”
“But that’s just for students in your classes, right? What if it was someone not in any of your classes?”
“Like, someone who went to the med school but was in a different department, for example?”
“Yeah. Like…if you, er, he, was dating a cardiology student.”
“It’d still be majorly frowned upon. I don’t know if it’s as cut and dry as a professor dating a student in his class, but it wouldn’t go over well. But that doesn’t matter, especially with the marriage question.”
“Why’s that?”
He held up his hand, making a circle with his index fingers and thumb. “Because I have zero intentions of getting married anytime soon.”
“Oh.”
Silence fell once more.
“Now, why on earth are you asking me this?”
“You’re inviting a massive explanation,” I said.
“Fine with me. Here.” He nodded toward the empty bleachers on the far side of the pool. Then he stood and offered me his hand. I took it, noting how big it was compared to mine, how firm and confident his grip was. Once we were both on our feet, we grabbed our towels and wrapped them around our waists before heading over to the bleachers and sitting down.
“Now,” he said. “There’s obviously something on your mind. Go ahead and get it off your chest. And if you happen to explain why you asked me such a weird question, so much the better.” He offered me a slight smile that put me at ease. I could sense that, as confused as he might’ve been, he really wanted to listen.
“It’s…it’s my parents.”
“The ones who set you up on a date with that prick from the café?”
“You got it. And the thing about all that is what you saw then…that was the tip of the iceberg. They’re obsessed with my love life. All they want is for me to end up as the trophy wife of some guy that they approve of and have chosen for me. They don’t care about what I want, they don’t care about my dreams. All they care about is this future they’ve picked out for me. They’re relentless about it, too. They’re not going to give up until they’ve got me hitched to who they want me to marry.”
“That’s not good,” he said. “But something tells me there’s more to it than that.”
“There is. The other day I was home and my parents dropped by unannounced. Well, long story short, they pressed me about the dating thing again and I, uh, I let something slip.”
“Uh-oh. Let’s hear it.”
“OK,” I said, the tension building in my belly. “Here’s the thing – before I tell you this, I need to know that you’re going to hold the judgement. I’m sure you’re going to have all kinds of opinions but try to keep them in check for now.”
He lifted his brow in a knowing way. It was a look I’d seen on his face more than a few times already, though in the context of him silently chiding students acting up in class. The “I’m the teacher and I know better” look.
“I’ll do my best. But if your goal is to stop me from having opinions on the matter, we’re already off to a bad start.”
I sighed, clasping my hands together. And as I did, I noticed his eyes dip toward my cleavage for the briefest of moments, as if he’d accidentally let his gaze wander. It was strange. Ogling me like that was usually a quick way to put a guy on my bad side. But with Logan, it was different – I liked it when he looked at me.
“I kinda-sorta might’ve told them that I couldn’t possibly be set up on a date because I was already dating someone.”
He chuckled. “And tell me about this someone who you told them you were dating.”
If there was any doubt about him knowing where this was going, that comment dispelled it.
“Well, he’s a doctor. And, um, he’s a writer – a successful writer.”
He smirked. “And let me guess – he’s a little older, too.”
“You got it.”
Logan shook his head. “Abby, you told your parents you were dating me?”
“Not exactly. I told them I was dating someone who happens to be exactly like you. But I didn’t give them your name or anything like that if you’re worried about the school finding out.”
“That’s part of it. But damn, a bigger part of it is that you involved me in some lie that I didn’t give you permission to make me a part of.”
“But you’re not in it yet,” I said. “That’s what this conversation is about.”
“OK,” he said with a nod. “You wanted to talk to me about this so you could formally ask if I wanted to be a part of the lie? Then just come out and ask it, Abby.”
I sighed, feeling certain he wanted me to put it all out there in the open so he could shoot the idea down for good.
“I…I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend.”
He said nothing for several long moments, as if he were gearing up to break out in laughter at the idea.
“Tell me why,” he said.
No sense in holding back.
“Because you’re perfect. But I’m sure you already know that. You’re handsome and smart and you’re successful in two fields that most people have a hard time being ok in one of. And —” I laid on the sarcasm thick for this part, “you’re wealthy enough to provide a future trophy wife like me with the brunch and shopping budget that I require.”
He laughed, shaking his head.
“I’m serious,” I said. “This situation sucks. All I’ve ever wanted since I was a kid was to be a doctor and I had to watch my grandma waste away in front of us despite how much money my parents threw around to get all the best specialists. And now I’m right on the verge of making that happen after working so hard, and all my parents want is to make me give it all up so I can lead the life they want for me. It’s like…it’s like they thought I was joking or something when I said I wanted to be a doctor, like they didn’t expect me to actually go through with it.”
“But now that you are, they’re really putting the screws to you.”
“Right! Like, they have this now or never sense that if I manage to graduate, they’ll lose me forever to the horrors of having a career.” I wiggled my fingers as if were telling a spooky story.
“Well,” he said. “To be perfectly honest, this is a bunch of bullshit.”
I said nothing, my eyebrows raised. I hadn’t expected him to say something so direct. Was he talking about my plan?
“Taking a woman like you, brilliant and ambitious and driven, and trying to force her into some trophy wife box…it’s not just misogynistic, it’s downright stupid.”
I smiled warmly, my heart beating with excitement as he spoke.
“The world needs more talented doctors, and as far as I’m concerned if they don’t let you do what you were clearly born to do, they’re depriving the world of someone amazing.”
He took in a slow breath through his nose, then nodded.
“OK. I’ll do this. It’s insane, but I’ll do it.”
I couldn’t help myself. I let out a squeal and threw my arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. And, of course, it was impossible not to notice how solid his body was against mine.
“But wait,” I said. “There’s still all those rules, right? About you dating a student?”
“We can figure all that out. The important thing is that we make this plan work for you.”
“I’m serious. I don’t want to get you in trouble or fired or anything like that.”
Instead of a response, he took my hands and clasped them in his. His touch felt amazing and comforting all at once.
“Let me ask you this – how important is your future to you?”
I didn’t wait a moment before responding.
“It’s more important than my own life.”
He smiled. “You sound like me back when I wanted to do this whole doctor thing. And I can tell you that it was worth it. You want my help, then it’s yours for the taking.”
All I could do was smile.
And notice that we were still holding one another’s hands.
