3 months earlier...
Kath was on her break. Usually she spends her break time on her desk, chatting and talking with other interns, but today she decided to come up on the rooftop of her hospital building to enjoy her own company..
There's no doubt that Kath loves interacting with people, talking to them, and helping them. She was on her way to be a proper doctor , after all. Helping people is her job.
Kath equally loves her solitude as well. It's a serene feeling of being alone with her own thoughts and feelings. No one to disturb her, no need to carry out nonsense conversation. Just her and herself..
Although the sun was out in its full glory, the weather was still chilly. She clutched the jacket a little tighter. She was nursing a coffee on one hand and looking outward at the scenarios in front of her. There were buildings after buildings all big and tall, the sound of car honks, traffic, people all were busy with their own personal life. A typical New York City life..
"You seem all by yourself up here, Doc. !" an almost familiar voice spoke up behind her.
With a frown, Kath turned back to look at the person who interrupted her private 'me time' , her eyes widened when she saw her.
"I guess you really like being alone!"
That person; 'Sam', her name, smiled at her which made Kath annoyed and the anger she felt that night came back. The audacity of this girl !! How dare she??
" You !! " ...
...
It was the 31st night, Irin dragged her to a bar where one of her friends was throwing a New Years party. Irin complained saying Kath didn't have any social life, all she did was study and her job as an intern. She even asked her when was the last time Kath went on a date! That was not a way to enjoy one's youth.. One should go out and meet new people.
But Kath wasn't interested in any of that. She and her ex girlfriend broke up almost two years ago. The breakup was mutual, well almost! Kath thought the relationship was affecting her studies and all so she took the initiative to break off the tie. It's not like she was in love with her or anything anyway. Also Her dreams are most important to her.
She also didn't like bars because she's never been a party girl. She's more like a nerdy one. 'A beautiful nerd' as Irin liked to call her. All Kath wanted to do for the night was to simply choose a novel from her ever growing shelf, sip hot chocolate and enjoy herself. But Irin was a stubborn mole, she was determined as hell to get Kath out of the apartment and at the end Kath had to give in..
The party was on a roll.. They were at the bar and many of their familiar faces were present there. Kath was sitting at the bar. Irin kept her company as long as possible, then she went to socialize, actually to find herself a suitable person to kiss at midnight. Kath was not interested in all that crap, she didn't believe in the New Year's Midnight kiss theory. It's all made up to have someone to kiss at twelve am. In fact she was very bored with everything and really wanted to go home.
It was nearly 25 minutes until midnight and almost everyone was on the dance floor.. Only Kath was sitting on the bar, many people approached her in the meantime but she simply didn't find anybody interesting until..
"You seem all by yourself here, Doc. !"
Kath's head turned to her left where a girl sat, elbow leaning on the countertop, slender fingers dancing along the rim of her glass, mouth curled into an easy half-smile, and was looking at her.
"Umm.. yeah! Yeah I'm not exactly a social bird, actually! " she said, sitting up a little, suddenly feeling a little conscious under the gaze of a pretty girl.
"Yeah, I get that nerdy vibe, No wonder why you're a doctor!"
Okay! That's offensive! One thing about humans is when they call themselves various names it's okay, but when someone else does the same it's offensive. Don't exactly know why!
So Kath felt offended! despite the fact she herself considered her a nerd. But still nobody had the business to call that in her face, especially a stranger. No matter how gorgeous that stranger might be!
Kath frowned, she frowned hard! The stranger was looking at her intently, so that didn't go unnoticed by her.
"It seems, I may have offended you!" she said.
Without missing a beat, "Yes, you did!"
The stranger laughed, seemingly unbothered by Kath's outburst. See! This is why Kath didn't like this kinda gathering. If she stayed at home, she didn't have to deal with all of this.
"I didn't mean to offend you Doc.! You're beautiful, I just wanted to catch your attention.." She confessed truthfully which seemed to work but only a little, If the red tint on Kath's cheek was anything to go by. But luckily no one could see that in the dimly lighted bar.
"Well, that you certainly did!" Kath mumbled.
She smiled, "Well, I'm sorry, Doc.! I really didn't mean to offend you. I know being a doctor is a tough job. You have to work really hard to save others lives."
Well, That amended Kath's heart a bit. "Hmm.." Kath isn't much of talker.
"Are you a cardiologist? Because my heart seems to have some problems functioning!"
Was that a pick up line?? Seriously?
Kath gave her a look and the stranger laughed , "That was a bad one. And to answer literally, no. I'm not a cardiologist, actually not even a complete doctor yet, I'm just an...."
"An Intern, I know!" She finished for Kath.
"How do you even...??" Kath asked,
"Know that?" She once again finished the sentence for Kath.
Seriously, how did this stranger even know that she's in the medical field? Is she a stalker or something?
But before Kath could think of another possibly worst scenarios, the girl spoke up again,
"No, I am not a stalker, Doc. Chill!! The friend of yours is talking about herself and her friends with that guy, giving away much more information than necessary!" She pointed at Irin who was now dancing with a guy.
"I even know your name, Katherine." Kath sighed. Irin always talks more than necessary. Now this girl even knew her name while she didn't know anything about her!
"My name is Sam by the way! In case you're wondering!"
"Sam! Only Sam?" Kath wondered
She nodded, "Only Sam!" then she smiled. Kath thought she had a very contagious smile
"Can I buy you a drink Katherine?" The way she called her full name was making Kath feel something. Things she really didn't want to feel.
So she simply replied, "No, thanks. I'm content with this!" she showed her almost empty glass.
"Come on Doc. You're still cross with me? I'm not good with words. Consider this as my peace offering. Please!" she pleaded,
Kath sighed, "Okay! Alright" giving' in.
Sam smiled, waving at the bartender. When he came to their side she pointed at Kath, "Whatever the lady wants, Joe! Clear her tabs and put them on mine." She handed him a crisp note of a hundred bucks. Kath's eyes widened!
"Oh now you don't have to do all that!" Kath said.
"It's done already, Doc. Your order please.." Sam said and the The barkeep looked at her expectantly. Kath had no choice but to order.
When the drink came in front of her, she thanked Sam sincerely. Sam smiled in return..
At the end of her third drink Kath was a little tipsy , not exactly drunk, just tipsy! She noticed by the time, both of them had leaned more and more towards each other...
"Two minutes left Doc. You sure you don't wanna go to the dance floor. There are so many people out there who would like to have a chance with you! And to kiss you at midnight!"
Kath chuckled, "Sorry! not interested in any of them!"
"How about me doc.? Can I interest you in me?"
"You called me a nerd before! " Kath playfully stated. The drinks made her loosen up a bit. She was feeling free.
"Aren't you one?" Sam chuckled this time
"Of course I am! But you shouldn't say that on anyone's face directly, especially if you're trying to make them interested in you!" Kath grinned, shaking her head. Seemingly very proud of herself for saying that. Some of her hair fell on her face.
Sam didn't respond to that. She got out of her seat. Woah! she was taller than Kath, but just a little bit. Perfect height to hug according to her.
Sam moved closer to Kath. She removed those hairs out of her face, and tugged them behind her ear. The action made Kath shiver for unknown reasons and made her stop grinning. Instead they were looking at each other intently. Sam's thumb was caressing her cheeks..
Kath knew where this was heading, she was well aware but she couldn't pull away. It was like she wanted to see where this was going to stop. She would be lying if she said she was feeling nothing. A little desire bloomed in her heart as well..
"You're so beautiful doc." Sam finally said, still caressing her cheek, "I wanna kiss you right now! Can I kiss you right now?"
She asked alright, but didn't wait for the response. Because before Kath knew, Sam had already crushed their lips together. Firmly.
Kath found herself a little dumbfounded to respond but not for long. She couldn't think much because Sam lips were doing some kind of magic, numbing all the senses of Kath.
She closed her eyes and started responding to the kiss.. Her response seemed to encourage Sam more. Because the kiss was simple at first but then it became passionate..
Lips kept moving in sync and with the same fervor as well. It was like both of them had forgotten about the rest of the world, and the only thing they cared about was the passion fuel exchange of one another.
In the background Kath faintly heard the countdown began for midnight.
10.. 9.. 8.. 7..
They broke the kiss momentarily..
6..5..4..
They filled their lungs with the necessary oxygen
3..2..1..
Happy New Year...
They crashed their lips all over again, this time with the addition of their tongue.. !!
It was full of passion and desire . Kath didn't know how long they kept kissing. But she surely knew she had never been kissed like this before, not even by her previous lovers. It was like there was this fire inside of this person that can only be tamed by kissing Kath. It was something else..!
They broke the kiss slowly and then apart completely from one another.
Kath kept her eyes shut for some reason she didn't know. After a moment or two when she finally opened her eyes, the person in front of her was no longer there.. There was absolutely no trace of Sam. It was like there never was any person there. Kath frowned in confusion. She got up from her seat and tried to look for her. But no nothing! She had been nowhere. Poof!! Gone.
Being dejected, Kath came back to her original seat. The Bar was filled with people once again. Even Irin came back to check on her.. But Kath was utterly distracted by the sudden disappearance of an unknown stranger.
Where did she go??
...
She was here; right in front of Kath, on the rooftop, smiling ! And her smile was making Kath angry. She felt angry that night too..
"Hi doc.!" She said,
"You!! What are you doing here? And How dare you?" Kath said again, fuming with anger.
"Oo oh! You seem..., not okay Doc. What happened?"
"What happened! Seriously? You kissed me that night and then disappeared..!!" the audacity of this girl to even ask her that question.
"Oh! So you are upset about the fact that I kissed you or me leaving?"
That question made Kath pause. She never thought it through, what exactly affected her that much. If this was all about that kiss then why was she so upset anyway? It was just a kiss. Not a big deal. It was not like she had never been kissed before.
'You had been kissed but never like this' a voice in her brain responded. Kath shook her head to chase that voice away. She was in the middle of something. She didn't want to think about anything else right now.
And wait! Did she say, upset?! No she wasn't upset, she was angry. Angry about the facts that, She not only disappeared but also kissed her without waiting for her consent.
"Excuse me? I am not upset. Why would I be upset with you, huh? I am angry! Angry that you kissed me almost abruptly!" Kath argued.
"But I asked you before that Doc !" she reasoned, still smiling .
Ugh!! Kath resented that smile, "Did you wait for my response after asking?"
"But you did respond to my– err to our kiss!"
That statement made Kath's mouth shut for a second. Sam wasn't wrong, Kath did respond to that kiss. She kissed her back almost as passionately as Sam did.. She internally scolded herself on her internal agreement, Is it the time to agree to all that?
"Answer my question first, Sam!" She commanded.
" At least I'm not the only one who remembered the names. and No Doc. I admit, I didn't wait. I just couldn't help myself. I wanted to kiss you so bad!" She confessed simply like it was the most natural thing in the world.
She moved a little closer to where Kath was standing. Kath clutches her coffee cup a little bit tighter, frowning. She stood right in front of Kath.
"I think I told you before that I am not good with words, Doc. And it seemed like I'm not good with my actions either. Especially when it comes to you! I have a pretty weak heart!" Again she said simply, bringing her gloves clad hand on her heart.
A bit much simpler than Kath's liking. Kath didn't like that. Nothing in the world was simple. But for Sam it seemed like she didn't have any care of the world.
"Everything is so easy for you, isn't it?" Kath asked almost annoyedly. She's annoyed at Sam's don't care attitude, she's annoyed at herself just how easily she let this person affect her. A person who was literally no one.
"Nope. Not at all. Getting away from you was not easy, Doc. In fact it was the hardest!" she said easily.
Then why?? Kath wanted to ask. It was bugging her to know why she disappeared afterwards. But she didn't ask. She didn't want to be affected like that night.
"Yeah, whatever!" she lastly said.
Sam observed her for a moment, "Now that we meet again Doc. How about a coffee together?"
Oh hell no to that! Kath had a feeling that staying away from this person was the best choice she could make in her life. Kath wasn't a fan of her care free attitude.
"No, thank you.. I already have my coffee!" Kath gave away a tight lipped smile, bringing the coffee to her mouth
Sam's eyes followed her movements, "I'm sure another wouldn't hurt! I assure you I am a pleasant company Doc.!"
"My experience wasn't so pleasant last time." She said flatly, with a firm voice to draw an effect on the person in front of her.. But it didn't seem to work because the girl only smiled.
"I can be pleasant this time. Trust me, I learn fast, Doc. I will be more careful about my actions. I promise." She smiled expectantly, thinking it'll work but no! No way Kath would give in this time.
Kath gave her that tight smile again, "No. You may have to continue with your hardest work of staying away!"
She tried to slip away from her but the person was standing right in front of her, so she carefully rounded her way out to get to the elevator..
She was so focused on not bumping into the girl that she didn't notice the pipe in front of her. So her foot caught on the pipe and she lost her balance.
Luckily Sam caught her wrist that was holding the coffee cup, in time and she pulled Kath into her, that eventually made her stop in her descent but the impact made the coffee spill both on Kath and Sam..
"Oh no, My jacket !" Kath cried out..
Sam chuckled "You are lucky you didn't fall on your face! You okay Doc? "
Kath was still very much l focused on her Jacket completely ignoring Sam's question.
"It's just a Jacket, not a heart! Doc. You can easily replace that" The remark caught Kath's attention which made her enraged even more.
She looked at Sam, with fire in her eyes, "It's not just any jacket, It's my favorite one which is very close to my heart!" she yelled in frustration and then she stormed out of there, completely ignoring the fact that Sam's white shirt was drenched in coffee too...
___
Sam's 'Doc.'
Dr. Kath's 'Sam'
. . . . .