Numb Lips, Silent Stares

Chapter 1 - Numb Lips and Melted Chocolate               The human jaw, under the influence of maximum-strength dental anesthesia, does not belong to its owner. It becomes a heavy, uncooperative block of clay.But the disaster didn't start with the numbing shot. It started the exact moment Dr. Sterling's new clinical assistant stepped into the room.I was sitting in the massive, intimidating dental chair, clutching my purse to my chest like a shield. My heart was practically drumming against my ribs. I hated the dentist. I hated the drills, I hated the needles, and I especially hated the sterile smell of the room.Then, the door clicked open."Hi, I'm Luke Bennett," a low, incredibly smooth voice said. "I'll be getting you ready before Dr. Sterling comes in."I looked up, and my brain instantly went blank. He was wearing dark scrubs that perfectly complemented his broad frame, with messy hair and an approachable, boy-next-door face. He gave me a polite smile, but as his eyes locked onto mine, he suddenly hesitated. His step faltered for a fraction of a second.Luke walked over to the metal tray beside my chair to prep the tools. He tore open a fresh pack of latex gloves, trying to look completely professional. He pulled the first glove onto his left hand with a sharp snap. Then, he grabbed the second glove.As he stepped closer to my chair to adjust the paper bib around my neck, his eyes darted down to mine again.Clatter.The second glove slipped right out of his fingers, hitting the floor.Luke froze. A slight pink tint dusted the tips of his ears. "Uh, sorry about that," he muttered, quickly bending down to pick it up and tossing it straight into the biohazard bin.He walked back to the counter, took a breath, and opened a brand-new pack. He snapped the new glove onto his right hand, his movements a little more rigid now. He picked up the small dental mirror and the metal explorer tool from the tray. He turned back toward me, taking a cautious step forward.Clink.His hand trembled just enough that the metal explorer tool slipped right through his grip, bouncing off the armrest of my chair before clattering loudly onto the linoleum tiles.Luke stared down at the floor, completely paralyzed. The pink tint on his ears instantly rushed down his neck and flooded his entire face. He looked so incredibly nervous, his chest rising and falling with a sharp intake of breath. The confident medical assistant was entirely gone, replaced by a guy who couldn't even hold a piece of metal straight just because he was standing in front of me."I'm... I'm so sorry. I'll get a sterilized replacement," he stammered, his eyes darting anywhere but my face as he quickly hurried across the room to fetch fresh, clean tools.I watched him go, a small smile tugging at my lips. My intense fear of the dental drill suddenly vanished, completely replaced by how endearing his clumsy nervousness was.Eventually, Dr. Sterling came in. Before he even picked up a tool, he hit a switch on the side of the equipment panel. With a low, mechanical hum, the dental chair began to recline. It didn't just tilt back a little bit—it kept going until the backrest leveled out entirely, physically bending the chair into a flat, horizontal bed.Being laid completely flat on my back made me feel incredibly vulnerable. My head sank slightly into the headrest, and my eyes instinctively searched the room for a distraction. Luke was standing right beside the chair, adjusting the bright overhead exam light. Because I was lying down completely flat like a bed, he had to lean directly over me. The shift in perspective made him look even taller, his broad shoulders framing my entire field of vision. He met my eyes for a split second, and I saw his throat bob as he swallowed hard, the pink flush returning to his cheeks as he hurriedly looked back at his monitor.Then came the maximum-strength Novocaine, and Dr. Sterling went to work on my teeth while I stared blankly at the ceiling tiles, trying to ignore the vibrations in my jaw.By the time the procedure was finished, Dr. Sterling snapped off his gloves and brought the chair back up to a normal sitting position. "All done, Maya. You can head out whenever you're ready," he said, his voice echoing slightly in my ears.I blinked through a heavy, post-numbing fog. The bright overhead examination light swiveled away, leaving swimming spots in my vision. I felt entirely disconnected from my own limbs. My tongue felt like an oversized sponge, uselessly bumping against my freshly filled molar. I tried to swallow, failed, and decided my best course of action was to simply flee the building.I reached for my purse on the small tray next to the reclining chair. My hand, entirely lacking depth perception, swiped empty air.Smack.My phone slid off the tray and face-planted onto the linoleum floor."Oh, hold on. Let me get that," Luke's voice said. He stepped forward, his dark scrubs shifting as he bent down to scoop up the phone."Don't move too fast," Luke warned, his voice low and steady. "The local anesthetic can make you a little—""I'b fwide," I tried to say. It came out as a wet, uncoordinated slurp.Determined to prove my independence, I swung my legs over the edge of the chair and stood up.The room instantly tilted sixty degrees to the left. My knees dissolved into jelly. The floor rushed up to meet me, and my vision blurred into a dizzy swirl of pastel walls and fluorescent lights. I prepared for impact.It never came.A pair of strong, solid hands caught me right by the upper arms, halting my descent inches from the floor. The grip was firm, anchoring me instantly against his chest. The scent of clean mint and sterile cotton filled my nose."I told you," Luke murmured, his breath brushing the top of my hair as he easily hoisted me back onto my feet.He didn't let go right away. He kept his hands braced on my arms until he was sure my legs wouldn't buckle again. I looked up. My eyes couldn't quite focus, so I tilted my head completely to the side, staring at him through a hazy, dizzy squint.Luke was staring back.Up close, his eyes were incredibly sharp, fixed entirely on mine. But as the seconds ticked by in total silence, that fierce, familiar crimson flush crept right back up his neck. His chest rose with a sharp intake of breath. He looked so painfully shy under my dizzy, tilted gaze, his eyes darting from my numb lips to my eyes.I noticed it immediately. Even through my Novocaine fog, I could see how deeply flustered he was. But I knew if I pointed it out or reacted, I'd scare him away completely after he had already dropped the tools earlier. So, I forced my face to stay blank, pretending I was way too out of it to register his blushing.Luke quickly cleared his throat and stepped back, his hands dropping to his sides as he nervously tucked them into his pockets. He wouldn't look directly at my face anymore, his gaze darting awkwardly to the floor."Um. Just... sit for five minutes before you check out," Luke muttered, his ears still bright pink.I gave a slow, uncoordinated nod, pretending to just be dizzy. Luke backed away toward the counter, but even as he picked up a clipboard to pretend he was working, I could feel his eyes on me. From across the small room, he just stood there, quietly admiring me from afar, his gaze soft and lingering whenever he thought I wasn't looking.When I finally managed to stand up properly, I walked out into the clinic's long hallway to find the reception desk. My head was still spinning. As I walked, a random guy—another patient who had been waiting in the corridor—carelessly brushed past me.He leaned in close, his breath hot against my skin, and whispered something right into my ear."Looking real cute when you're clumsy, sweetheart," he muttered with a low smirk before walking away.I froze, a knot of discomfort tightening in my stomach. Before I could even process the creepy comment, I looked back down the hallway.Luke was standing by the door of the exam room. He had seen the whole thing. The shy, blushing look on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a dark, protective glare as his eyes locked onto the back of the random guy's head. His hands clenched into fists at his sides.I quickly hurried to the front desk, paid my bill, and practically ran out to my car.Two hours later, the Novocaine had mostly faded, but my dignity had not returned. To distract myself from the chaotic morning, I threw myself into a baking project.Kunafa chocolate.It was the viral trend taking over my social media feed: crispy, toasted kataifi pastry mixed with pistachio cream, encased in a thick shell of tempered milk chocolate. I had spent three hours perfecting a batch, and the kitchen counter was covered in sweet, nutty success."Too much for one person," I muttered, packing four massive, glossy bars into a neat parchment-lined box.Our next-door neighbors were an elderly couple, the Al-Mansours. Mrs. Al-Mansour loved sweets, and her daughters usually visited on Friday afternoons to have tea with her. Delivering a box of homemade, trendy chocolate seemed like the perfect, polite neighborly gesture.I walked across the shared lawn, the afternoon sun warming my face. I rang the doorbell, adjusting the box in my hands, fully expecting Mrs. Al-Mansour or one of her bubbly daughters to open it.The heavy wooden door swung inward.It wasn't Mrs. Al-Mansour.Standing in the doorway was Nate Sterling. He looked around my age, wearing a plain black t-shirt that showed off broad shoulders, with dark, messy hair and a completely unreadable, intense expression. Nate didn't smile. He didn't say hello. He just stood there, towering over the threshold, his dark eyes locking onto mine with an overwhelming, silent intensity.My brain completely short-circuited."Hi!" I blurted out, my voice a pitch higher than normal.Nate didn't move a muscle. He just stared."Uh. I'm Maya. From next door," I said, pointing a finger vaguely toward my house. No response. Nate's eyes just tracked my movement. The silence stretched between us, thick and heavy.Panic set in. When I get nervous, I talk. And once I start talking, I cannot stop."Right, so, I was baking because I saw this thing online, you know, the viral Kunafa chocolate? It's basically Middle Eastern sweet pastry dough but you fry it in butter until it's super crunchy, and then you mix it with pistachio paste. Not just regular pistachio paste, though, like the creamy kind, and then you coat it in chocolate. I tempered the chocolate myself! It took forever because if the temperature drops even one degree it doesn't get that glossy snap, you know? Anyway, I thought Mrs. Al-Mansour would like it, or her daughters, because I thought they were here, but you're here, and I don't know who you are, but you have hands, so you can eat chocolate!"I thrust the box forward like a sacrificial offering.Nate looked down at the box. Then he looked back up at me. His expression hadn't changed at all. He slowly reached out, his fingers brushing against mine as he took the weight of the box.Nate still didn't say a single word. He just stared at me through the longest, most agonizingly awkward five seconds of my entire life."Okay bye!" I gasped.I spun on my heel, entirely abandoning the conversation, and practically sprinted across the grass back to my house. I slammed my front door behind me, leaning my back against the wood, and let out a horrified groan.Two completely intense encounters with Luke and Nate. In a single afternoon.I was never leaving my house again.