Chapter Text
Audrey Lim never knew exactly how to talk to Neil Melendez. She had been in love with him for years, but she never quite knew what to do about it…
Of course that hadn’t ever stopped her from having sex with him…
The light was just barely peeking through the window and she rubbed his hair,
“Good morning.”
“Mmm.. morning…”
“I’m going to leave. Just need to find my fucking pants.” She groaned, getting off his bed. He sat up and sighed,
“Aren’t you going to kiss your long-term hookup goodbye?”
She rolled her eyes before leaning over and pressing a kiss to his lips,
“Fine… but seriously, I’ve got to go. I have to get dressed before work.”
“Or, alternatively, you could shower here?”
“I tend to prefer my own shower, darling,” she replied, pulling her pants up, “besides, I don’t have clothes here.”
“We’re still on for drinks tonight?”
“Absolutely.”
He smiled as she left his room, he could hear her grumbling, trying to find where she kicked off her shoes.
“I’ll see you at work!” She called across the apartment before leaving. Neil stretched and shook his head…
Neil Melendez had been in love with her for years… but it was always difficult for him to bring up the topic with her. Audrey had been clear that she never had much of an intention to go beyond the hookups. They were good friends… who happened to have enjoyed the addition of sex in their relationship…
But Neil wouldn’t have denied that he wanted more than that.
“I brought you coffee.” He said with a smile as she nudged his arm,
“Thank you, very appreciated…”
The duo leaned against the railing and he yawned, “So what’s your schedule looking like?”
“Absolutely insane. I think that I get about a half-hour between surgeries before I have to run off to the next one.”
“That sucks. It really does.”
“Yeah, well someone needs to tell Andrews that I actually need breaks.”
“I would, but I don’t feel like pissing off our boss today.”
“Smoothly said Dr Melendez.” She replied, rolling her eyes.
He chuckled before checking there was no one around and pressing a kiss to her cheek, “How about after work, you let me treat you to dinner?”
“Dinner? Isn’t that verging a little too much into dating for you?”
“Friends are allowed to treat their friends to a good dinner. You would really benefit from a nice, relaxing evening.”
She chuckled, “Fine, it honestly sounds wonderful… though we should probably walk away from each other, I can feel Andrews burning a hole in the back of your head.”
“Ooh, yeah. I’ll see you after work, meet in the parking garage.”
“Actually… let me go change first. I’ll meet you at your place.”
Neil Melendez hadn’t been able to get his mind off Audrey Lim all day. Marcus Andrews had noticed the overly excited smile across his face…
But Neil didn’t care. He was getting the closest thing he had gotten so far to a real date with Audrey and he didn’t plan on wasting it. He had seen Audrey in the hallway, and she had playfully rolled her eyes…
And the resident noticed the flirting as they went over their surgeries for tomorrow…
Audrey couldn’t help herself… she was letting herself live in this fantasy for a few hours. Where they were dating… they were flirting…
Audrey took a breath as she looked in the mirror as she got ready to leave her apartment for his. She was wearing a red dress with black heels…
Neil Melendez swore his heart nearly stopped beating in his chest when he answered the door and saw Audrey with a shy smile across her face,
“Hey…”
“Wow… you look so insanely beautiful, mi amor.” He said with a bright smile on his face, “Wow.. I mean…”
She blushed a bright color, “Thank you… I just thought… you know…”
“Yeah… yeah…”
He took her hand and led her inside, smiling brightly as he pressed a kiss to her lips… she leaned into him for a few moments before pulling away, “Neil…”
“I know. Just, let’s enjoy tonight, okay?”
“Yeah.”
The restaurant was quieter and his eyes never left her.
“How was your shift?”
“A bit rough darling… but it’s nice that I get to spend some time with you.”
Her dark brown eyes were glittering as she smiled at him, making his face blush a bright color. She was so beautiful…
He couldn’t deny just how…
Oh, fuck it…
“I love you.” He said, not thinking of the consequences…
Her heart skipped a beat… those wide, beautiful charcoal eyes were fixated on her… She wanted to say it back… the words were stuck in her throat…
And then she watched as he frowned and looked down, “Sorry… I shouldn’t have said anything…”
It’s not you’re fault… she wanted so desperately to say.
Then whose? He would have responded
Mine.
They just stared at each other as she held his hand in hers under the table… He knew. He knew what she would have said.
“Hey… ummm… you don’t have to go home.” he said as they drove together.
“Neil, I’m really not in the mood fo–”
“Maybe we can just hang out… and cuddle a little?”
“Yeah…. That’s okay. I’d really enjoy that.”
She took off her dress and he tossed her a sweatshirt,
“Here you go mi amor.”
“Thank you…”
His body felt warm as it wrapped around her and she nuzzled into him…
What was she supposed to say to an ‘I love you? Well… she wanted to say I love you so so much. She wanted to love him the way that he loved her…
So freely, so unburdened…
But Audrey Lim was still afraid of what happened next. What happened after she admitted to loving him back?
It would end up in disaster… just like every other relationship she had been in. He would leave her eventually…
But if she just kept their relationship like this, maybe she had a chance…
Her eyes felt heavy as she inhaled the smell of his cologne,
“You’re so beautiful mi amor…” he whispered.
“You’re just saying that…”
“You are mi amor… you’re so beautiful…”
Her eyes fluttered shut and the drowsiness was starting to get to her brain…
“I love you…” she whispered as the words hung over them…