There are more people at the Gala than I expected there to be but I'm glad at the outcome. Gigi, Mazzey and I all step out of my white Audi. I smooth out my dress. Thankfully Gigi and I were able to find last minute gala dresses because if I hadn't found this elegant yet simple creme silk dress then I wouldn't have showed up at all. Dr. Russell would've taken it as me blowing him off which would've led to me trying to explain to him it was not my intention. Then maybe things would've been weird at work. It's not a date I remind myself so no reason for that happening.
"Do you think Amanda and Tyler are inside already?" Mazzey asks. She pulls out a small mirror from her purse and touches up on her makeup. I admire the dark shade on her lips. Most females can't pull off a black lipstick but Mazzey sure as hell can any day of the week. I envy her for that.
"Only one way to find out" I answer. Plans changed when Amanda said Tyler would be picking her up from her apartment. Mazzey said she'd love to ride with us so we picked her up on the way.
I take a good look at all of us and admire how amazing we look. Gigi in her hot pink dress, it's a one shoulder with a slit up her thigh revealing some skin. Mazzey is in her favorite color: black. Her dress has ruffles towards the end and her sleeves hang off her arms. We all smile at each other as we walk arm in arm making it inside the hospital.
A few heads turn as we make our entrance. Immediately I spot Dr. Russell by a table talking to the chief of surgery, Dr. Harrison. Russell looks extremely handsome tonight. I've always loved a man in a nice suit and he can definitely rock one. I tell myself I shouldn't be saying these things but at the same time it's not a bad thing to compliment someone you work with.
I'm glad he doesn't notice me first. I plan on having a drink or two with my girls before I go off to Russell. I'd be more relaxed with alcohol in my system. Amanda spots us and waves her arms to grab our attention.
"Wow you ladies look stunning!!" Amanda has her arms open for hugs. Mazzey gets the first hug then me and Gigi last.
"Girl your curves in this dress! Tyler must be drooling" Gigi compliments Amanda's dress. The dress does show her hourglass body and she looks phenomenal. Red is her color. It's sexy and playful. Amanda comes off as the innocent one of the group but I know she has that wild side to her. We just have to find a way for it to come out and play.
"Thank you!" Amanda blushes. "Tyler and I have been hitting it off so well guys. I think I'm really falling for him" she gushes. Mazzey lets out a soft aww.
"Tyler needs to hurry up and make you his lady!"
"Hopefully Savannah doesn't try ruining that. She wants every girls man" I comment. This earns me a weary look from Amanda. I shouldn't have said that.
"Hey, I'll fight her if she dares make a move on him" I add. Next time I should leave Savannah's name out of the conversation, it was stupid of me to mention her.
"Me too" Gigi chimes.
"And me three" says Mazzey.
Amanda gives us her best smile. I hate how low her confidence is sometimes because of Savannah. It makes me want to drag her down some stairs. Tyler would be an idiot to ever chose Savannah over Amanda. She is the right girl for him. But sometimes men don't know what or who is good for them.
"I love you girls" her voice is soft and for a moment I'm scared she's going to tear up. Amanda is also the most sensitive one out of us and will cry over anything. But she has such a big heart and I adore her for it. It sounds silly but I have this urge to protect Amanda from the harshness of some people in this world. She's too kind for it.
"Moore." That husky voice sends chills all over my body. Usually it's doesn't have an effect on me but tonight it does. He's standing behind Amanda who spins around giving him a shy smile before going to stand next to me.
"Dr. Russell" I look up to find him... smiling. That's new. All the girls eyes are on us. Gigi is trying to hide her smirk. I almost nudge her with my elbow.
"You look dashing tonight" he blurts out. He immediately seems like he wishes he hadn't said that in front of my friends. I feel my cheeks getting warm.
"Thank you! You look nice too" I tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. We stare at each other for a moment before he snaps out of his small trance and acknowledges the fact that I'm accompanied by my friends.
"Hello ladies" He greets the girls. All at the same time they quietly say "Dr.Russell"
"Is it okay if I can steal Moore for a bit?" He politely asks. I have never seen him ask us if he could do anything. Usually it's us asking him if we're allowed to do something.
The girls nod their head in unison before leaving me alone with our attending. My nerves are on fire. I didn't prepare myself on what to talk about with him. What is there to talk about with him?
Dr. Russell slowly starts turning away. He glances back at me and nods for me to follow and I do just that without a word. We stand next to one of the empty tables. I observe some of the people here at the Gala to distract myself from the awkwardness.
"Moore" he begins.
"Please. You can call me Stella" I tell him. He takes a sip out of his glass. I didn't even realize he had a drink in his hand. It'd be great if I had one too.
"Okay. And you can call me Victor" another sip from his glass, those warm chocolate brown eyes set on me. I quickly steal a glance at his left hand. No ring. He's not married. This shocks me but also sends a wave of relief through my body. I'm glad he isn't because then I definitely wouldn't be here with him if I knew he had a wife at home.
"I hope it doesn't make you feel uncomfortable that I've asked you to be my plus one." I shake my head when he asks.
"It doesn't" I semi lie.
"Good. I've asked you to accompany me over everyone here because I see something in you." He sets the empty glass on the table. My eyes study his every move. I try to look confident. He sees something in me?
"And what might that be?" I raise a brow. A grin splits Victors lips. He looks even more attractive when he's actually smiling. I notice how full his lips are. His bottom lip slightly bigger than his top. I imagine he's a great kisser. Don't do that. He is my attending for crying out loud!
"Talent. Extraordinary talent. You don't seem like a normal girl" he's eyes are burning into mine. "And I don't think you're meant to be normal. You exceed the other interns and don't get me wrong they are great too but you stand out." I'm left speechless. To hear my attending tell me he sees potential in me is something else. I can't help but give him the biggest smile.
"Do you know what you want to specialize in?" He asks after a moment of me not saying anything. I was still trying to register his compliment.
"Neonatal surgery has my interest but so does Cardio. I'm a bit stuck between the two" I respond.
"Whichever one you'll choose I'm sure you'll be great in" his eyes are soft and I can't help but notice the way he's looking at me.
"Thank you, that means a great deal to hear from you. You're one of the best surgeons. It's an honor to be able to have your guidance." I beam.
"I will do my best to teach you all I know and hopefully it'll help you make your choice. Although Cardio is the best" he winks, "and yes I am a bit biased." A laugh escapes my mouth. I've never imagined myself in this situation. When I first got here I had the impression Victor didn't like me but tonight I am seeing a whole new side of him. I'm enjoying it. A bit too much.
Our conversations go smoothly and I'm no longer feeling worked up. I asked Victor what made him want to go into Cardio and why he chose this hospital. I even asked him if he's married to get confirmation. Might be too personal and none of my business but I wanted to know.
"I am not married" Victor replies.
"Why?" I surprise myself. The question came out before I could catch myself. Victor shrugs.
"There isn't a woman who has made me want to be in love. I've dated but with the life I live I always told myself I can't be married. Or the woman I've dated never made me think of marrying them."
"I felt like they didn't understand me or my life. They weren't the right one for me...I'm not even sure if I'm looking but lately something has been making me want to look for something special that will make me feel alive..." his eyes wander off to his empty glass. He wants another drink. Something special that makes you feel alive... I haven't found myself thinking of such a thing. Medicine is that something that makes me feel alive but I've never imagined finding that in a person.
"That's nonsense, why don't you just marry a doctor? That way you'll have someone who understands."
He stares at me for a moment. "It isn't that easy. What about you? Are you married?" He wiggles his index finger at me. I quickly shake my head.
"God no!" The way I respond makes him laugh.
"Well why not?" Victor stands a bit closer to me. I fix my posture.
"Because I'm now just starting this new journey and can't afford to have relationships. I want to focus on my career first. Plus, most guys are just dumb and don't get it" Truth is I don't know how to let someone love me and love them back. "Every guy I've met doesn't get me so I've decided to put relationships on hold until I find the one. Medicine is my greatest love right now and no guy can understand that..."
"Why don't you just marry a doctor? They'll understand" he's mocking me. Pretending to be insulted by his mockery I put my hands on my waist.
"Heyyyy" I do my best Savannah impression. Russell laughs. It's a nice sound. Deep but sweet at the same time. I want to hear it again.
We are interrupted in the middle of our conversation when I am lightly tapped on the shoulder. I freeze when I turn my head to see who it is. You have got to be kidding me.
Savannah. With no other but the one and only Buck by her side. He has a mischievous grin on his face. This isn't good.
"Stella" she greets me first then slightly parts her mouth as if she can't believe her eyes when she sees I'm accompanied by Dr. Russell.
"Oh what a surprise to see you here Dr. Russell. I wasn't expecting you to come" she eyes me up and down. "Especially with her." I can't help but laugh softly. She is looking for a fight and I might just give her one.
"And I wasn't expecting to see you here," I eye her down with distaste as I speak to Buck, "especially with her." Since she wants to play that game.
Victor clears his throat. I watch as he shifts uncomfortably. He didn't notice Buck's presence until he look behind Savannah and I see his jaw clench. Here we go.
"Aren't you the idiot who wouldn't get off my burn patient?" His brows furrowed remembering his face. Buck chuckles, his head shaking as he does so.
"The idiot who was trying to save her life you mean?" His voice sounds different. I stand there speechless only able to glare at Savannah. She smirks. Everything was going fine until she showed up. With him. No matter how hard I try I just can't avoid him. He's everywhere. But I wonder how the hell was Savannah able to get in contact with him?
And why did I care.
"That's what you think. Truth is, you were putting my patient in even more danger by refusing to follow orders!" Russell's volume makes me jump. This is the Russell I normally see but the way he's looking at Buck has me on edge. He looks ready to slam him against the table and I don't think I'll be able to stop him from doing so.
"I'm not a very good listener. And I don't take orders from you!" Buck steps up challenging Victor. Oh no! This is not happening.
"I think that's enough" I step in between Victor and Buck placing a hand on both of their chest. Geez, I can feel their muscles through their jackets. They both are shooting daggers at each other with their eyes. What the hell was Savannah thinking bringing Buck to the gala? And then to come up to me as if we're friends. She has some game plan and I intend to figure out what it is.
"He didn't have to be a dick for no reason" Buck pushes his luck. "Plus, I trusted him to save her and he failed." I gawk at Buck not believing he would say that knowing damn well our doctors did everything they could. Including Victor.
"Careful." Victor taps his fingers on the table.
"Or what!?" Buck takes another step. I push my hand against his chest. My eyes blaze into his blue ones, warning him to step down. His eyes were blocks of ice.
"Buck please" I plead. "Don't come here looking for a fight" I ask of him. His eyes remained on Victor but when I placed both my hands on his chest they found me and they softened. We stood there staring at each other, my eyes begging him to not do anything reckless. I could see Savannah from the corner of my eyes crossing her arms. Being the helpful person she is. I'm sure this is what she wanted. Drama.
"Feel free to take this table. Me and Stella will go elsewhere" Victor gently takes my arm in his and without taking another glance at Buck or Savannah takes me away from the two. I can't stop myself from glancing over my shoulder. Savannah's face is red. She looks disappointed that her plan failed. Whatever it was. Maybe she wanted them to get into a fight. Maybe she wanted to show me she can have what I've already had, thinking it'll bother me. Buck on the other hand was hard to read, his eyes locked on me the entire time as I stayed clinging onto Victor. It's as if his eyes were begging me to be on his side.
The rest of the night is spent sipping champagne with Dr. Russell, talking about what we believe should change in the medicine world, his first year as an intern, we exchanged a little bit of personal details and surprisingly I had a very good time tonight. It didn't go as terrible as I had imagined in my head.
We ignored being near Savannah and Buck the entire night. There were a few times I caught them staring at us. It was obvious Buck isn't fond of Victor. I know the feeling is mutual on Victor's end.
The night finally started to come to an end around midnight. The gala was successful. We raised over $1million which I think is phenomenal. Being able to help out people has always been something I enjoy doing.
Despite having a good time tonight I couldn't stop my mind from wandering off to Buck. The way he looked at me while I walked off with Victor. Not that I care if he's mad or jealous even. It was just curiosity. What was that look in his eyes?