We'll always have Paris (CLEXA AU)

Chapter 16: Octavia

A 24-hour shift in the hospital can go from one extreme to another in a blink of on eye. One minute you're bored out of your mind, not knowing what to do with yourself and next thing you know you're elbows deep in the operation room, trying to stop the politraumatized patient with multiple open fractures from bleeding out on your operating table.

Unfortunately for Octavia, that wasn't the case on that particular Sunday at the Trauma Emergency Department. The whole morning was incredibly slow, the only two cases she had were a child with a twisted ankle and a man with a dislocated shoulder, which she took care of very quickly.

The bad side of it all was that she had a lot of time to think about, well, who else if not Raven and their steamy encounter in the restroom the day before.

Was she thinking about her too?

What was going through her mind?

It was their second kiss and this time it felt even more passionate and wild, as if their bodies had been missing a vital part that they could only find in each other.

The taste of Raven's lips took her back to that night two and a half months ago and suddenly she couldn't understand why she had been depriving herself of that pleasure for so long.

And then a not so pleasant thought invaded her mind, it was something that made her feel uncomfortable ever since the first time she questioned her own sexuality.

Her family.

Her very conservative, deeply religious family.

She loved them to death and knew that they would do anything for her, but the subjects that had to do with sex and relationships were never open for dicussion in the family circle. They wanted the best for her and had supported her every step of the way; like the time she wanted to be a professional tennis player, they immediately bought her the equipment and hired the best couch in the area. Or the time she wanted to be an astronomer, her father didn't think twice before driving three hours to buy her the best telescope in the country.

Being an only child definitely had its perks, but it also meant that all their expectations and hopes were focused on her. She was grateful for everything they had done for her and her biggest wish was to make them proud, and so far she was being an exemplary daughter.

Growing up in Montijo, a small town in the province of Badajoz, in the autonomous community of Extramadura, she was used to everyone knowing each other's business and she had never done anything to bring shame to her family, so to say.

When Octavia got accepted to the University of Valladolid to study Medicine, it was a bittersweet feeling because on one hand she was excited about the upcoming adventures in her life, but on the other hand it was the first time that she was going to be so far away from her family. They were also concerned, but aware that it was the natural course of life and their daughter was growing up and following her dreams. Their only wish was for her to be safe, so they insisted on her living in a catholic student dorm for girls during the 6 years of her studies, which she accepted without hesitation.

Octavia had never shown any special interest in boys or in anyone in particular. It had nothing to do with the religious environment she grew up in, especially because she did some research on religion when she was in elementary school, read a lot of books on the subject and declared herself agnostic. Not to her parents, of course, but it was something like an unspoken truth between them.

Her first sexual experience was at the age of 21 with a nice guy called Francisco Javier, who had had a crush on Octavia since the moment he laid eyes on her in Anatomy class, in their first year at the Faculty of Medicine. It was awkward and clumsy, but he was very gentil the whole three minutes that it lasted, considering they were both virgens.