The Love Doctor

by S. W. Andersen

  "I see. And that's the problem, isn't it?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Oh, come on, Runa. I know you were hoping things would finally work out with Allie. I could see it in your eyes after that hockey game. I thought you were over her, but that flame sure reignited in a hurry."

  "That flame never went out."

  "Seriously? Damn girl. I feel for you. So, what now? Is there a chance?"

  "Unfortunately, no. I really wanted it too. You know, for all those years, even with the girls I dated, my heart had always planned on ending up with Allie. It's hard to think of being with anyone else, but as much as it sucks hardcore to admit it, we just didn't click. Never did. Wish I'd realized it sooner."

  There it was. The cold hard truth put into words, cementing it in reality. "God, that hurts to say aloud." Runa fell onto the stool beside Kat. A single tear tumbled down her cheek.

  Kat wrapped Runa into a warm hug, her arms surprisingly strong for such a thin woman. "Runa, I love you and I want you to be happy, but you and Allie just never had that little extra something—that thing where all of a sudden it's BAM! Then, nothing and no one else matters."

  Runa laughed and shook her head. Allie hadn't been kidding earlier. How had she never heard this theory in all their years as friends?

  "Yeah, you know," Kat continued, ignoring Runa's look of disbelief. "When you meet that one person that lights you up like the sun. The one that makes it impossible for you to see anything else when they're in the room."

  Runa thought it through. She had a different view, one she was certain had matched her feelings for Allie. The idea in her head of a "BAM" moment resembled more of a feeling of absolute positivity that they were meant to be and not all that made for television fluff. Just as she moved to protest, she was cut short.

  "Let me clarify, that you, my dear bestie, most definitely had eyes for Allie and only Allie. I get that, but this is different. I can't explain it. You just have to feel it. Tingles all over. Heart pounding like crazy. Like that one final piece of the puzzle had been found. It's all consuming. What you had was a crush. A crazy hard crush. And let's face it, Allie is all kinds of awesome, so it's easy to do. But," she held up a finger, "I know there's someone else out there that will make your heart and stomach flip like a bad carnival ride, exciting you and making you nauseous at the same time."

  "That doesn't sound pleasant." Feeling sick to her stomach wasn't something she associated with being in love and it was certainly not anything she had experienced with Allie—if you didn't count an hour ago or the time she had asked her to prom. Those had been nauseating and not in any pleasant way. If she was being honest, her stomach did flutter whenever she was with Reyna, but she'd kept brushing it off to the fact the woman was exotic and stunning as hell.

  "Oh, but it is. Trust me."

  "How do you know? You don't even want to consider a relationship?"

  "Our mom swore by it. That's how she and Dad met and they both knew it right on the spot. Allie always brushed it off, but then, she was always set on finding out things the hard way. But me? I'm a believer. I saw how in love they were and it's impossible to believe it could be any other way, at least to me." Kat nodded to the bartender as he set the two glasses in front of them. She slid one to Runa. "Maybe it'll find me one day and I'll settle down. Until then, I'm not going to waste time searching it out. I'm gonna sow the hell out of these wild oats."

  Runa grinned and took the offered shot. A numbing agent in the form of alcohol was needed. There were a million things running through her mind. Her day had been exhausting and had passed without reward, leaving her with nothing but the emptiness that accompanies a cheap shot to the stomach. But the blow had revealed a simple truth—she no longer needed to spend her energy and focus on finding a way to make Allie love her.

  A whole new world had opened up and anything could happen.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Strolling along the shoreline, Allie let the waves wash over her feet. Leaving her boots in the car had been a great idea. There was nothing like the sand between her toes. Good thing she kept a pair of flip flops handy just in case she had a last-minute urge to hit the water. She stared at the white foam left in the wake of departing waves, leaving a line along the sand until the next wave swept it away. The day had been a carnival ride of emotions, but the only thing she could focus on now was the woman from the bar, Sofia.

  When would she see her again? What would she say if she got the chance? Would the second encounter be as intense as the first?

  She closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath of sea air. The scent had always soothed her soul. There was just something about the ocean that called to her during life's chaos. Maybe it was the slow, reliable roll of the waves that spoke of the way she should roll with whatever life threw her way.

  As she blew the air out of her lungs, she opened her eyes to the view of a pair of bare feet planted in the sand before her, bringing her to an abrupt halt. Her eyes rose up to meet the stranger, ready to offer a polite pardon me, but instead, found her voice muted as she stood face to face with Her.

  There she was, Sofia, standing there in all her glory like some kind of heavenly dream. Moonlight danced in her light-colored eyes and a hint of an amused smile pulled at the corners of her mouth, even though she appeared every bit as dumbfounded as Allie. Oh, how she wished for the shadows to part and reveal the details in those eyes, to see their true colors and the tiny flecks. She wanted to absorb every detail possible.

  "Hello."

  The simple greeting revealed a voice as soft and smooth as honey. The sound of it, combined with the shimmer in her eyes, caused Allie's legs to quiver. Tongue-tied and flustered, "hi" was all she could manage in response. The single word held a tremble and she scolded herself for sounding so fragile. "It's you. You're here." Was this a dream?

  "I am," Sofia replied with a bounce of humor. Her lip quirked up slightly higher as she continued to pull Allie in with those hypnotizing eyes.

  Allie couldn't look away, though she desperately wished she could in order to collect herself before she said or did something stupid. Instead, her mouth worked on autopilot. "I've uh...been looking for you."

  "Have you?" Her expression tiptoed between humor and intrigue.

  "God yes," Allie let out in a nervous chuckle, no longer caring how crazy she sounded. The energy crackling between them eased her fears of scaring the woman away. Only the sound of the waves traveled between them, though their eyes engaged in an intimate conversation.

  Sofia smiled wider. "Looks like you found me."

  Allie smiled back, finally regaining the ability to breathe. She relaxed and took a step closer, getting a better look. She fought through the hitch of her breath to reply, "Seems I have." Comfortable silence. "What are you doing out here?" Allie's confidence seeped back in.

  "I like to walk the beach at night. It soothes the soul. What about you?"

  "I enjoy it too. Something about the peace of darkness and the sound of the waves."

  Sofia nodded. Their gazes remained unwavering.

  Allie extended her hand, anxious to make a physical connection and hoping it would somehow ground her in reality. "I'm Allie."

  ♥♥♥

  Sofia momentarily froze. When she had happened upon Allie, she had considered side stepping and passing without a word, but something inside refused to allow it. She'd been entranced, pulled in as if the woman had possessed a tractor beam and it excited her to the extreme depths of her being. In that moment, there had been no other option than Allie.

  Now, however, her heart pounded with possibilities while her mind careened with indecision. A conflicting storm of work responsibilities and love for her wife swirled, leaving her fearful, tentative. But the mystifyingly profound pull to be near Allie, now that the woman was standing before her, seemed to transcend everything.

  Her left hand trembled as it drifted to her back pocket, running her fingers over her phone. In green and whit
e, the message locked inside flashed in her mind. "They would never work out. They weren't meant to be." Even if her conscious mind had dared an attempt to sway her, Sofia's feet would never have obeyed. Cemented in soft sand, a new resolve filled her.

  Allowing her hand to meet Allie's, she embraced the warmth and soothing buzz that accompanied the touch—a touch that possessed the power to erase the turmoil that had ruled her just seconds ago. "Hello, Allie. I'm Sofia. Would you care to join me for a walk?"

  The smile that erupted brightened the night sky with pearly whites that stole Sofia's heart, leaving her vowing to make it appear as often as possible.

  "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

  Low tide waves rolled gently upon the shore, ending just inches from bare feet. For nearly a quarter mile, the pair walked, exchanging only soft smiles and stolen glances until Sofia's curiosity finally won out. "You were looking for me, huh?"

  "Yeah." Allie kicked at the sand. "I may or may not have spent my evenings at O'Malley's hoping you would come back in."

  Sofia grinned wide, feeling an astonishing sensation of ease wash over her. "If we're doing confessions, then I have one too."

  Allie's eyes brightened. Her smile followed suit. "Ohhhh, do tell."

  Hypnotized by the smile directed at her, a momentary pause led her admission. "That wasn't the first time I'd seen you."

  "No?" Allie cocked her head to the right, her expression bright and open and full of excitement.

  "Nope." Sofia shook her head and chewed the inside of her cheek. A sudden irrational fear of following through on her reveal swept through her. Too late to go back. Besides, Allie's smile is already worth it. "It was a week or so before that, at Rafael's."

  "Really?" If it were possible for Allie's smile to get any bigger, Sofia had just accomplished the feat. Happiness spilled over to her eyes and, despite the darkness, they twinkled like the stars above. "I wish you would have come over."

  The fragile organ in Sofia's chest tripped over itself, skipping a few beats upon hearing the words. "You were with someone. Besides, by the time I'd caught my breath, you were gone."

  "It's like…destinies intertwined or something."

  "Could be." They stared at one another for a breath and then Sofia asked, "So, Allie, what do you do when you're not stalking women at O'Malley's or walking the beach?"

  Allie's laugh was a melodious one, a sound Sofia found made her heart sing like a spring bird.

  "Well, Sofia," she began in her best game show voice. "Aside from long walks on the beach, I enjoy picnics, sappy romantic movies, eighties music, and dancing in the rain."

  It was Sofia's turn to laugh. With her bottom lip pinched between her teeth, she tipped toward Allie, peered up through a sideways glance, and hummed in amusement. "Do you now?"

  Allie's gaze fell to her feet, her lips fighting a losing battle against a shy smile. The child-like vulnerability was endearing and adorable, a stark contrast to the confident woman at the bar that had oozed sex appeal. "Maybe. Maybe not." With a smirk, her eyes rejoined Sofia's. "You'll have to get to know me to find out." In a blink, sexy, confident Allie had returned. "What about you?"

  Sofia cleared her throat and played along. "I enjoy candlelit dinners, everything about the ocean, a good book, and watching the sunset." A toothy smile perched upon her lips as the pair came to a stop and faced one another.

  Allie hesitated before she took a deep breath and asked, "Might I persuade you to join me for one of those candlelit dinners? I would really love it if you would say yes."

  Sofia stiffened. It had all been fun and games up to that second, but now, Allie was asking her out. All of her wistful thinking had suddenly become very real. Still, she couldn't bring herself to say no. Everything about Allie screamed "yes" all the way to the depths of Sofia's soul. Seemed she had no real control over her decisions around Allie. She was at her mercy. "I would like that."

  Allie released a heavy breath of relief. "Great. That's great. Whew!" She chuckled.

  Sofia laughed, once again baffled by the woman's ability to go from sexy to adorable and back again in the blink of an eye.

  "Is tomorrow too soon?" Caution laced Allie's words, as if trying not to be too pushy, but obviously anxious to spend more time with her.

  "Tomorrow would be fine, Allie." A buzz surged through her body at the prospect of a date with the woman who seemed to have fallen from the sky and landed in her lap. "How about six o'clock?"

  "Six is perfect. Should I pick you up or would you prefer to meet somewhere?"

  "Let's meet, if that's all right with you?"

  "Whatever you're comfortable with. Where would you like to go?"

  "I'll let you choose, but it doesn't have to be candlelight. Anything is fine, as long as there is good food and we can talk without yelling."

  "No yelling. Got it. One more question, sushi or Italian?"

  "I love both. Hmm…I haven't had sushi in forever. Let's do that."

  "Great. You and me tomorrow at six. Dinner at Yo Mi's. Sound good?"

  "Definitely."

  "Great. It's a date."

  Every time Sofia thought Allie couldn't possibly be any more radiant, she turned it up a notch. Now she was luminous. Like the sun as it broke the horizon at dawn, sending the other stars scampering away with its dominance, Allie's effervescent presence had served notice to the darkness within Sofia—if given the chance, it would no longer have a home.

  The sight of Allie under the pale moonlight with a smile that combined innocence and temptation so smoothly knocked the breath from Sofia. Allie was a living work of art bathed in soft white and the black of night. Helpless to withstand the force between them, Sofia gravitated closer until Allie's lips pressed against her own. A pair of gentle hands cupped her cheeks. Her fingers found their way to curvy hips, clinging to stiff denim for dear life.

  Who kissed who was irrelevant. Sofia's senses fell victim to the woman in her arms the same way the shore succumbed to the force of a tidal wave, engulfed by the invigorating smell of coconut shampoo and lips tasting of the sweetest delicacy money could buy. Allie's heated touch scorched the skin upon Sofia's cheeks. Her hold quickly became a safe harbor for a soul that had been tossed about relentlessly since the day she had said goodbye to Kylar.

  Kylar.

  Sofia yanked herself away, ripping her mouth from Allie's with a cry, both from the loss of Allie's heavenly lips and the fact that those lips did not belong to her wife. The depth of the kiss had been earth shattering, more so than she could have ever prepared for. She'd kissed other women the last few years, even indulged in pleasures of the flesh, but not a one had managed so much as a flicker.

  This woman, Allie, however...she was a force to be reckoned with, causing a magnitude ten quake to rumble throughout Sofia's body that nearly sent her to her knees. The force released an eruption of emotions she'd thought long extinct. With everything she had believed about herself now lying in ruins by the work of some unbelievably soft lips, Sofia did the only thing that made sense to her.

  She ran.

  Fast as her unsteady legs would take her, choking back sobs of confusion and sorrow, she left Allie alone in the wake, calling out her name to no avail.

  ♥♥♥

  "Sofia!" Allie screamed out for a third time, her pleading falling on deaf ears once again. The woman was gone, disappearing into the night as fast as a meteorite across the sky. "Shit. I didn't even get her number." A pain shot through her chest that buckled her knees. Everything had been so right. So, what had gone wrong?

  Her fingers ghosted across her lips, the electricity still sending life altering shocks throughout her body. Sofia was something else. Something extraordinary. Something she really, really wanted to explore further. But now, she wasn't sure when she would see her again. If ever. The feeling had been undeniably mutual, hadn't it? But what if she'd been wrong? What if she had been fooling herself? Would Sofia still show up for their date? What if she didn't?

&
nbsp; I will spend every afternoon at O'Malley's and each night at this beach for the rest of my life to find her.

  A ragged breath escaped and the pain eased as Allie steadied herself with a renewed determination. She hated how their evening had ended, but she wouldn't be deterred. No one had so effortlessly commanded her attention, had ever enraptured her so completely, and she'd be damned if she'd give up easily.

  A wide smile returned as the memory of their kiss replayed on loop. She stared up at the moon. Somehow, without a doubt, she knew she would find Sofia again. Something about her just seemed…like destiny.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Sofia awoke the next morning feeling every bit of the bottle of Malbec she'd used to douse the flames inside after fleeing the sanctuary of Allie's arms. Last night she'd been distraught, overwhelmed with sensations whose nerve endings had long since been severed. Or so she'd thought. By the time she'd gotten home, the only thing she wanted to feel was numb.

  As she lay face up in bed with sunlight peeking around the corners of curtains in an otherwise dark room, the lingering question remained—why had that kiss hurt so much? She stared at the white ceiling. It offered no response, no help. Frustrated by the glaring eyes formed by swirled patterns carved in paint, she reached for the extra pillow beside her and brought it to her face. The fiber-stuffed fabric provided much needed solitude from the overly enthusiastic rays of sun.

  During the course of drowning her misery in finely fermented grapes, Sofia had come to accept certain truths. One: Alcohol solved nothing. Two: There was no way she could not see Allie again. Three: This whole Runa and Allie thing would probably get messy. And finally, four: Despite the depth of her love for Kylar, the mind-boggling power of the connection to Allie was too intense to ignore.

  And that's what hurt. It hurt more than the piercing pain through her chest when she had ripped herself from Allie's lips and ran. More than when she'd lost Kylar. Why? How? It didn't make sense to her muddled mind, but her heart seemed content to not overthink. If only she could shut off her brain, or maybe her heart.