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The waiter put down an amazingly decorated cappuccino and a colourful fruit parfait on the table. Zayne and I stared at them in silence with my jaws dropped in awe. I hurriedly fished out my phones and gathered the desserts so they could get in the frame. Then, I pushed the coffee drink to him and started digging on the parfait.
“This is so good,” I couldn’t help gushing at the parfait before asking him to try. When he nodded in approval, I couldn’t help smiling. “Right? It’s refreshing and the sweetness is perfect.”
Zayne looked at me softly. “You look happy.”
“I still can’t believe that we’re here,” I explained. I had lost count on how many times I’ve talked about this with him. “We got a day off on the same day. The sky is clear. We can finally go on a date. This is such a good day.”
He took another sip of his coffee. “So, what’s the itinerary for today?”
“The viral café. Then, the aesthetic bookstore and evening art market that’s just opened on the next block. Afterwards, dinner at this one restaurant that I’ve been dying to try. Tara always said their food is amazing and the price is quite wallet-friendly.”
He snorted. “You know, people have different interpretation about wallet-friend—"
His ringtone suddenly blared through his coat. He quickly answered the phone. “What is it? What’s the blood pressure?”
I could feel a knot in my stomach. Blood pressure and Zayne’s phone calls were two things that I began to despise whenever I heard them outside the hospital and the medical lab in the basecamp.
“Do that and update me if there are slight changes with the patient. Alright, thank you.” Zayne hung up and kept his phone inside his coat. Then he looked at me. “I’m sorry, where were we?”
I managed a smile, trying to ignore the heavy weight in my chest. The parfait helped, thankfully. “I did some researches about what to order. Well, Tara recommended some for me but, you know, my taste and hers are always clashing.”
He chuckled. “I know. After the dinner?”
“I thought of going home early,” I admitted hesitantly. “I have to get up early tomorrow for a new mission, remember?”
"Yes. You'll be gone in three months." He sighed. “Make sure you keep your phone active.”
“I will but I’m not sure if the signal is in service there.”
We talked about the mission and how dangerous and isolated it might be. Zayne kept asking whether my team and I had done health test. He also interrogated what I had prepared from important documents and weapons to details like meds and toiletries.
“Don’t be shy to ask for help,” he began his usual lecture. Not that she minded it, though. “You have to stay hydrated all the time. Try to find any source of clean water. Don’t wander by yourself no matter what.”
I grinned. “Zayne, this isn’t my first mission.”
He took my hands and squeezed them. “I know.”
His phone rang again. He scowled at the loud ringtone before he checked his phone and brought it to his ear. His face immediately changed as he glanced at me worriedly.
I nodded encouragingly at him before asking for the bills.
“Call the anaesthesiologist and prepare the OR,” he instructed to the phone before checking his wristwatch. “I’ll be there in five, no, ten minutes if the road is clear. Meanwhile—"
Once Zayne hung up, I got up from my seat and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go!”
Without another word, we rushed to the hospital. After Zayne and his resident disappeared from my sight, I decided to hang out at the hospital’s coffee shop. He estimated that the surgery would take an hour if there was no complication.
Apparently, a lot of medical staffs and patients knew me as Doctor Zayne’s girlfriend. They visited my table, asked how I was doing before reassuring me that my boyfriend would be done soon. It kept happening until I realised that I had lost the track of time. I turned to the window, watching the sunset.
The sky had turned dark. The clock had struck to eight when I booked the dinner at six thirty. We dined quickly at the hospital’s food court. The road wasn’t crowded and the cardiac doctor beside me remained silent while driving. No acknowledgement about their ruined date as if it was nothing.
When we arrived at my apartment, the last thing I expected was Zayne locking the front door and hanging his long coat.
I frowned. “Are you not going home?”
He cocked his head. “Do you want me to go home?”
I shrugged. “There’s nothing for… us to do here.”
Even if there was, I didn’t feel the mood to do it.
“There is.”
He began to approach me. I lowered my gaze, suddenly finding the floor unreasonably interesting to look at with my pounding heart. He did not have to sound husky out of the blue while rolling up his sleeves.
My breath hitched when he held my hands and softly asked, “Can you look at me for a moment?”
I dared myself to look into his deep, dark coloured and captivating eyes that tempted me to forgive his ignorance. It was my last warning before he tilted his head and kissed me. I closed my eyes, melting into his warm lips and hands.
“I’m sorry for ruining the date,” he finally said the words. “I want to make up for today.”
Just like that, and all of my grudge against him vanished in a thin air.
“It’s not your fault,” I closed my eyes, enjoying the closeness and coziness between us. His soft and warm breathing, his hands on my face. “I… I just wish that you talked about it. I thought you… didn’t care about the date anymore.”
“I’ve been dying to talk about it in the car but I didn’t know how,” he replied, resting his forehead against mine. “I felt guilty after leaving you for a long time. There was so many things I had to deal with after the surgery and I couldn’t find the time to inform you.”
“Yeah, I’d appreciate if you text me about that,” I told him. “I thought the surgery really took six hours.”
“No. It took three.”
I chuckled. “Still, it wasn’t an hour like you promised.”
“I know.”
“Is the patient alright?”
He nodded. “Something went wrong with his heart so I had to open his chest and fixed it. His guardian was quite… vocal about everything. She scolded my residents because she thought they weren’t doing their job.”
“That’s awful.”
“True. They’ve been checking on the patient every thirty minutes. I had to take care of the guardian after the surgery. Then the other cardiac patients ran into problems and their tending doctors aren’t in town.”
“You took care of them too.”
“I had to since I was the one who could make decisions. Of course, I consulted with the tending doctors beforehand so they won’t miss anything.”
“So, that’s what taking you so long.”
“Yes, and I’m sorry.”
I pulled him into an embrace. “It’s alright. I’m proud that my boyfriend is saving lives. I just wish that… he’s vocal too.”
I felt his lips kissing my hair. “I’ll try.”
We held each other in silence until Zayne suddenly asked, “What time do you have to wake up tomorrow?”
“Four.”
“Good. We still have seven hours to spend together."
I hurriedly scattered away from him. “Zayne, no. I really have to wake up early or they’re going to leave me behind—”
He closed the distance between us and claimed my lips. He pushed me until my lower back hit the kitchen island. He slid off my cardigan before helping me up so I could sit on the kitchen island. He spread my legs and stood in between.
“Don’t worry. I promise I’ll wake you up tomorrow,” he reassured me. He looked at me with his hooded gaze, his hand slowly slid on my thighs. “So?”
I bit my lips. My chest began to rise and fall rapidly. The heat between us was really getting out of hand. My gaze lowered to his parted lips down to his exposed part of his chest. Our noses bumped as my lips brushed against his. I could feel his warm breath tickling my skin.
I grabbed his collar shirt kissed him like it was the last thing I could do before I died. It was always a losing battle when he started using his charm.
“Please stay with me tonight,” I murmured against his lips with heavy breaths. "Hold me close and don't let go."
He smiled. “Always.”