Doctor, Doctor (R.S.L)

Chapter 4

I remember tearing up the piece of paper into dozens of scraps. 

"How do you feel when you're with Ross?" She asked, and I was grateful for the slight topic change. 

Cue the butterflies in my stomach. "Like a freakin' teenage girl who can't stop giggling." 

She smiled. "Blake, you like him. A lot. And I don't think you'd almost kiss him if you didn't." 

"I don't know why that terrifies me." I admitted. 

"Maybe because you can see yourself having a future with Ross?"

"Morgan, we've only known each other for a few weeks." 

She shrugged, as if it were no big deal. "I don't see your point. Look, just talk to him about the almost kiss; see if he likes you like you like him. Geez, that was a lot of likes." 

I couldn't help but chuckle, shoving her shoulder. Talking to Ross was going to be nerve wracking, but it had to be done if I wanted clarification on our "relationship." And the fact that we haven't talked since that night only added to my nerves, so I prayed that I would be able to keep my cool.

~*~

My cool flew out the window when he called, asking to meet up. I somehow managed to make my mouth move and agreed, but I'd be lying if I said my hands weren't shaking. I honestly wasn't entirely sure why I was so nervous. Yes, we almost kissed, but we were still friends and that didn't change. 

Did it? 

"Baby, are you ready?" I walked into my daughter's room, leaning against the doorframe. "We got to go." Because Morgan was working today and Jess didn't have school, she had to come with me. This would be the first time she was seeing Ross outside of the hospital, and I wasn't sure how she was going to react. If something did happen between me and Ross, then she would have to get used to seeing him a lot more. 

"Where are we going, mommy." She asked, grabbing her doll as she walked towards me. I hoisted her up on my hip, kissing her cheek before exiting her room. "We going to Aunty Morgan's?"

"Not today, princess." I told her, making my way towards the front door. I made sure I had everything with me before making my way out of the apartment, locking the door behind me. "Do you remember the doctor that put the pretty cast on your wrist?" 

"Dr. Ross?" She questioned. 

I chuckled, nodding. "Yes, Dr. Ross. You and I are going to spend some time with him. And I know he really wants to see you again." Okay, that was a lie. I really had no idea if he wanted to, but I think he did. 

"You and him fwiends?" 

"Yeah, we're friends." And hopefully more after today. Opening the car door, I placed her down in her car seat and strapped her in, kissing her forehead before running over to my side. I exhaled a long breath before starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot, heading towards the local diner. 

I had told Ross that Jess was going to be with us during our talk, but he didn't seem to mind. He sounded almost happy about it, which put me a little at ease. There was just a small part of me that wished we weren't going to have this discussion in front of my daughter, though she probably wouldn't understand what we were talking about. 

My heart rate increased as I parked between the two white lines, the diner right in my view. I let Jess walk by my side, my hand holding hers as we walked inside. I spotted Ross at a booth in the corner, his eyes roaming the menu. His hair was slightly messy, his bangs tousled over his eyes. He wore a plain grey t-shirt, a couple of chains hanging around his neck.