||You're Mine|| {Scrutinized: Tanner x Reader}

Chapter 3

(Y/N)

I felt a bit awkward at the sudden greeting, mainly because I was currently wallowing in my own misery, but as a nice person, I nodded my head and smiled back. "Hey, how are you this evening, sir?"

The man grinned and bounced on his feet a little. "My day has been pretty great! Everything seemed to go right today."

I was a bit taken aback by his enthusiasm. For a doctor — or surgeon — he had this cheerful, cartoony bounce to him. It was also a bit strange considering the man was at least 28. I cleared my throat, trying to find a good response, but the man beat me to it.

    "Do you mind if I sit here? This place is very busy in the evenings and you seemed like the most approachable person."

    "Heh, I get that a lot." I muttered, failing to hide the smirk that formed on my face. Before he said anything, I patted the chair next to me. "Go ahead."

    In all honesty, I just didn't want to feel awkward and alone, so it didn't take much convincing for me to agree that the guy can join me. When he finally sat down, I took a moment to observe him better. He was very handsome, chestnut brown hair that was smoothed back, and he wasn't muscular, but rather tall and lanky. And his eyes were pools of dark brown.

    God, I'm such a loser virgin.

    I tore my eyes away from the man, briefly remembering the time I was staring at Arlo when I met him today. I cleared my throat, clearly embarrassed. Thankfully, the doctor broke the growing silence, and I sighed with relief.

    "You can call me Tanner if you'd like, I am not a fan of professionalism." Tanner exclaimed, his eyes shining with humor. I felt myself blush at his gleefulness. A man older than me was being more enthusiastic and bubbly.

Goddammit I'm such a loser.

"Hi Tanner, it's nice to meet you!" I attempted to match his enthusiasm, and offered him my hand, which he immediately took. I almost yanked it away immediately.

His hand was fucking freezing.

I mean, it is understandable, considering he's a doctor, but damn, how does that man not have frostbite? Tanner released my hand and gave me another cheerful grin. "What about you? What's your name?"

For some reason, I couldn't help but hesitate. I know he works here, but should I just tell him every detail about me? After a moment of struggling, I decided to reveal to him only my first name. "Um, my name is (Y/N), nice to meet you."
For some odd reason, I felt so small, and nervous, like I was just a mouse, smaller than everyone else in the room. The thought then hit me. Should I really be trusting these strangers? After what happened with my family, I need to be more careful about this.

After saying my name, confusion swelled up inside my chest when I saw something tick in Tanner's face. His smile was still there, but I could have swore I saw some sort of twitch, as if something clicked.

I felt a bit uncomfortable, but once again Tanner broke the growing tension. "(Y/N), huh? Quite the name, did your parents both agree on it?"

I stared at him, not sure how to respond. Maybe the paranoia was getting to me. He didn't look like a psychopath or anything, I just thought I saw his face shift.

Tanner seems like a genuine and good guy.

    "My Dad was keen on calling me that. It took a while to convince my mom, though." I said, feeling a bit more comfortable towards the man. Tanner nodded, and I was surprised at how attentive he seemed.