Doctor’s Duties by K.C. Crowne

Chapter 15

ABBY

The rest of the week flew by. As Saturday drew closer and closer, the strangest thing happened – instead of being nervous and looking ahead to the dinner with loathing, I was really excited about it.

I should’ve been worried out of my mind. After all, I was lying to my parents, bringing some guy over and being like, “here’s my boyfriend” knowing full well it was all a lie. But more than anything else, I was excited to see Logan. Thursday had been rough. I’d come to class as usual, chatting with Blake and pretending that I didn’t have some nuts scheme in the works with an official member of Blake’s freebie list.

In fact, seeing Logan and not being able to talk to him had been so intense that I’d started having doubts about how much longer I could wait.

So, that night, I decided to text him.

Hey! So, my parents are planning on doing wagyu steak for dinner. I think some potatoes too, not sure how they’re cooking them. Probably some ice cream from a local place for dessert. Not sure about seed oils, but they go all out with cooking so the food’s probably fine. That all sound good?

It was a long text. And more than that, it was unnecessary. It’s not like Logan was a picky eater, or that he might suddenly change his mind if I’d told him that we’d be serving sushi or something.

Really, I just wanted to talk to him.

That all works for me. Oh, and there was something I wanted to ask you – what’re you doing tomorrow night?

My heart skipped a beat at the words. I couldn’t think of any reason why he was asking.

You should know better than anyone what a med school student’s going to say if you ask her what she’s doing on any given night. I followed this up with a winking face emoji and the book emoji.

True, true. I was asking to see if you’d want to swing by here for dinner.

Yeah?

Thought it might be a good idea to practice having dinner together as a couple. Well, a fake couple. Might make it more believable to your parents.

I prepared to type a response, one about how it wasn’t a good idea and how I really needed to study. Being around him alone seemed…dangerous.

At the same time, it wasn’t the worst idea in the world. The more time we spent around each other, the easier of a sell this fake relationship would be. Not to mention the little detail that I really, really wanted to see him again.

Fuck it.

Sure! What time?

Seven work? Won’t be a big thing. We can order takeout and go over the game plan.

Seven works. See you then. I almost, almost added a kissing face emoji at the end. And the weirdest part was that I almost did it without even thinking about it. It felt natural to act that way with him.

Thankfully, I caught myself. He replied with an A-OK emoji and that was that.

“Yo, Abs!” Lexi’s voice boomed through the house, loud enough to snap me out of my thoughts. Fear rushed through me as I remembered that I hadn’t told Lexi about my plan yet. It wasn’t like she’d tattle to my parents about it or anything, but that didn’t mean she’d be thrilled.

“Hey!” I called out. “I’m in my room.”

Without another word, she marched into my room, throwing open the bedroom door as she did.

“What’s up?”

I turned around and faced her, the phone still in my hand and a guilty look on my face as if she’d just caught me red-handed doing something I most definitely shouldn’t have.

“O…K,” she said, looking me up and down. “Is there…is there a guy under your bed or something? Because you look about the guiltiest I’ve ever seen someone look in my entire life.” Before I had a chance to say anything, she raised an accusatory finger. “And don’t even try to lie, cuz. You’ve never been that great at it and you know I can always see right through you.”

I sighed, knowing she was right about everything.

“There’s no guy under the bed,” I said.

Disappointment formed on her face. “Aw, really? Because that would’ve been totally perfect.” She kicked off her shoes and jumped onto my bed.

“Hey!” I shrieked. “No gross feet on my bed, please.”

“Just wanted to make sure!” she said. “No cries of pain mean you were telling the truth.” She dropped into a cross-legged position, an eager expression on her face. “Now, let’s hear it.”

No sense in delaying it.

“It’s…Logan.”

“What about him?”

I took a deep breath and went into it, telling her what had happened between me and mom and dad, and then the “arrangement” that Logan and I had decided on. By the time I finished, her mouth was slacked open in total shock.

“You’re kidding, right? You must be kidding. You’re not seriously going to try to convince your parents that you’re dating Logan Frost, are you? As in, Dr. Logan Frost, bestselling author and doctor extraordinaire?”

“That’s the plan.”

“And then what? I mean, say you convince them. Then what? You keep up the lie until when?”

“Until I finish school, I guess. It’s only three more years, and it’s not like I was planning on dating anyone else.”

“Three years? That’s…that’s so long to keep up a lie. You’re going to slip up eventually, you know that don’t you?”

“Geez – thanks for the support.”

She pursed her lips for a moment, as if trying to carefully think through her next words.

“It’s not that I don’t support you. You knowthat I’ve got your back when it comes to not getting stuck with some rich d-bag while you finish school. And you also know that I’m not going to blab to your parents or anything. It’s just that there’s all sorts of ways this could go wrong. And that’s not even getting into how he’s your professor. What if it gets out?”

“I’m going to look into switching classes…or something. Or maybe he’ll teach something different, or…”

“And!” she exclaimed, “There’s the little fact that you’re into this guy like crazy.”

“That’s not true. I mean, he’s cute and all but I’m not into him, you know?”

Lexi gave me a look that suggested I was making a bad call and I knew it. More than that, she could tell I was lying to her and myself about being into Logan.

“This is a crazy idea. And that’s coming from someone who loves crazy ideas. Remember when I told that gallery owner in Boulder that I was Russian so he’d give me a spot in his European art exhibition?”

I laughed. “I most definitely remember your insanely bad Russian accent.”

“Hey, it worked! But anyway, this little caper you’ve got going on…it’s got all sorts of what we call in the lying game ‘points of failure’ – places where, if someone like your parents were to poke at, the whole thing would come crashing down.”

I sighed, knowing she was right.

“Then what do I do? This is the only way I can think of getting Mom and Dad off my back so I can finish school.”

“Well, you already told your parents that you’re dating him, right?”

“Right.”

“Then, for now at least, you’re in it. In that case, I’d say to stick with it for a little while – enjoy the fact that you’ve got some breathing room. But after, say, another semester, you need to end the lie and just tell your parents that you’re going to finish med school no matter what. And you’re not going to get paired up with some rich kid dork as terms for their support.”

“Are you serious? Then…then how would I do it? I can’t pay for med school without Mom and Dad’s help.”

“You only think that because you haven’t looked at options. You’re an amazing student, which means there are probably tons of scholarships out there. And if worse comes to worse, you can take out student loans. I mean, you’re going to be a doctor – not like you can’t pay them off.”

“But what about rent? If they cut me off that means I’m broke. And being broke means I won’t be able to afford living here. I’d have to move back home and —”

She stood up and put her hands on my shoulders before I had too much of a chance to freak out.

“You’re not moving. We’ll find some way for you to stay here, even if that means I cover rent for a while.”

“Are…are you serious?”

“Of course, yes I’m serious! We’re family, Abs! And there’s not a chance in hell you’re leaving this place without an MD in your hands. Got it?”

I didn’t know what to say. Tears formed in my eyes, and I gave her a big hug.

“Now,” she said as she patted me on the back. “Let’s work on this insane lie you’ve got going. Your parents aren’t dummies, and it needs to be perfect.”

* * *

Friday came and I spent the day looking forward to it like it was the first date I’d ever gone on.

But it wasn’t a date. It was me and Logan getting take-out and practicing for tomorrow night. More likely than not, I’d be over there for a couple hours, tops, then back home by ten to get into my pajamas and jump right back into my Friends binging.

Still, I was mega-excited to see Logan again. Even if we weren’t going to be doing any…other stuff, I still had fun with him. I was beginning to appreciate his calm, even-keeled disposition, and dry sense of humor, and how he never let anything get to him. Lexi was likely right that this lie was a bad idea, but if there was anybody I’d want to be doing it with, it was Logan.

But there’d been a major change to the plans – Mom and Dad had messaged me last night letting me know that they didn’t want to do dinner at their place. Instead, they wanted to do it at Logan’s. I wasn’t looking forward to breaking the news to him, but it had to be done.

I pulled up to his place, the house just as big and impressive as I remembered. I parked and hopped out, grabbing the bag on the passenger seat, and making my way to the front door. Right as I put my foot on the first stair, the door opened and there he was.

Logan’s eyes went right to my bag, and he didn’t waste a second before hurrying over and taking it out of my hands. It was so chivalrous that I couldn’t help but smile.

“I can get my bag,” I said.

Instead of saying anything, he placed his hand on the small of my back and led me up the stairs. Just the feel of him touching me was enough to push every thought aside from how much I wanted him.

“Wait,” he said when we reached the top. “What’s with the overnight bag?”

He led me over the threshold, and I realized that I was going to have to tell him the news. Before I said anything, however, my eyes went to the amazing entry hall of his home. The last time I was over I’d been so wrapped up in getting him naked and on top of me that I hadn’t bothered to really look the place over.

It was incredible, a total palatial estate with wood floors and columns, impressive art on the walls, and dramatic lighting from the chandelier hanging from above. I’d known so many rich people over the years who’d gone for the same McMansion deal of a huge, cookie-cutter home out in some sub-division, it was a nice change to see someone with actual taste.

“So,” he said as he shut the door behind us. “I see you’re appreciating the house.”

I snapped out of my daze. “Um, yeah. It’s going to be great for the dinner with my parent’s tomorrow night.”

His eyes went wide. For the first time since I’d met him, Dr. Logan Frost was stunned.