Carter finally closed his mouth and licked his lips. Rafe’s eyes followed the action, and his cock definitely took notice.
“Why?” Carter’s voice was small, his brow furrowed in confusion.
“Why what?” Rafe asked.
“You still haven't even told me why you really did that…”
“The guy was being a jerk. I thought you looked like you needed some backup. I was only trying to help.” Rafe held out his hand. “My name is Rafael Baxter.”
Rafe watched as Carter stared at his outstretched hand for a moment, but he was patient and gave him time. It felt like forever before Carter slowly shook it.
When he finally took it, Rafe felt like he’d won an award.
“Carter Dixon,” he mumbled.
Rafe nodded. “I know.”
“You know?” Carter’s eyes were wide on his.
He nodded and shrugged. “Yeah, you operate in the Orthopedic Department at the hospital I just started at.”
Of course, there was more to how Rafe knew Carter. He’d noticed Carter for a while now, observing him while he operated, and maybe he’d been hoping to get to know him. Although it had all been to no avail.
“Wait, hold on.” Carter studied him. “Are you… you're the Rafe Baxter,” Carter said, his eyes round.
Rafe chuckled. “I always dreamed of the day I would be known as ‘the Rafe Baxter,’” he teased. “You’ve heard of me?”
“Well, I might have seen your picture around. You won the award for your new keyhole-surgery technique, right? Your motto is that you'll save a million lives before you die.”
Rafe laughed. “Ten million lives actually, but the message got across. Not sure it's so much a motto as more a hope… and a goal.”
Carter rolled his eyes. “And so modest,” he mumbled.
Rafe wanted to laugh out loud, but he held it back.
“I could have handled myself. You didn’t have to swoop in and save me” Carter let out a sigh. “You practically made a fool out of both of us.”
Rafe shrugged. “I was merely trying to help. I didn't mean to overstep.”
“But it's how you chose to help…” Carter said. “Do you go around kissing every stranger that needs help?”
No, only the hot ones that I’m completely attracted to.
“If I did, I'd probably be sued,” Rafe pointed out.
He wanted to make Carter laugh, but Carter didn't seem all that willing to find amusement in any of the situation that Rafe had gotten them in. So, he went for sincerity.
“The truth is, I thought it'd be a good opportunity to introduce myself. I wanted to get to know the well-known orthopedic surgeon. I’ve seen you around the hospital a few times, and I guess I always wanted to meet you…” Of course, he left out the part where he had heard around the hospital that Carter had been dumped, and that he had seen him as more than just a professional, but perhaps one day he could explain that to him. “And, well, the opportunity presented itself… so, I jumped.”
That wasn’t the whole truth. Rafe didn’t really jump into anything headfirst without considering the consequences. But he saw his chance, and he’d really hated the smug look on that asshole Adrian’s face. Besides, Carter might not have realized it, but he was about to lose his shit in the middle of the bar, in front of a lot of medical professionals from all over the West Coast, and from what he’d seen of the man, he wasn’t really one to court attention.
“Will you at least accept my apology?” Rafe asked.
Carter looked towards the elevator. “It’s over and done with, I suppose.” Rafe watched Carter glance at his watch. “Well, uhhh, I have to rush off to meet up with some friends... for dinner.”
Rafe tilted his head thinking about the drinks he saw Carter down before Adrian even arrived in the picture.
“Dinner?” he repeated. “You were drinking so much, I guess I just assumed you had already had dinner.”
“Being judgmental now?” Carter’s brows were raised questioningly. The man rolled his eyes at him before heading in the direction of the elevator.
Rafe watched him until he walked in the lift. Carter hadn’t looked back once, so when the doors opened and he stepped in and turned around, Rafe murmured, “Look my way, look my way.”
When Carter did and actually gave him a small smile, his heart soared. Fuck yeah.
Carter didn’t know it yet, but his dismissal hadn’t worked. Rafe wasn't going to give up so easily. He needed to find another way to see Carter because he could feel it... The man was special and definitely worth getting to know.
More than from just the viewing gallery of an O.R., Rafe had heard all the gossip. He had also seen Carter’s talent as a surgeon… now he wanted to know the man.
3
Carter
There was a knock on Carter's hotel-room door forty-five minutes later, and he paused the movie he was watching, got out of bed, and opened the door for his room service.
Okay, so he’d lied when he said he was meeting up with friends. He’d just needed to get away from Rafe, and it was the logical excuse to make.
“Thank you.” Carter smiled at the woman who was at the door, then stepped aside letting her through. She pulled the cart into the room and parked it next to the small dinette set in front of the window. As the woman turned and walked towards the door, Carter stopped her as he grabbed his wallet from the bedside table, took out a few bills, and handed them to her.
“Thank you, sir. Enjoy your dinner” she said, and nodded before leaving.
Carter pulled the cart to his bed, sat down, and put the tv on. When The Holiday started playing again, he removed the lid from the tray and saw his sandwich and fries with the pickles off to the side.
He grabbed a fry and popped it into his mouth, and instead of watching Cameron Diaz and Jude Law make out, Rafe quickly came back to his mind. Mostly the feel of his lips against Carter’s… the man’s large body behind his.
Carter couldn't stop thinking about the other man. The more he thought about him, the more difficult it became to push him from his mind. He wanted to remain upset with the man for assuming it was okay to pull him into his body and kiss him. Still, it wasn’t only the kiss he couldn't get out of his mind. It hadn’t escaped his mind that Rafe was the sexiest man he had ever seen before.
His body had reacted immediately when he thought about Rafe. He was attracted to the man. He might have been able to lie and run away from the man, but there was no way to deny that fact.
Carter took a bite of his sandwich and heaved a sigh. Why did things have to be so complicated? Adrian was an ass, no doubt, and having Rafe there to look like Carter had moved on had been awesome. He had to admit he’d gotten pleasure out of watching Adrian’s smugness disappear, especially when he said he was a cardiothoracic surgeon. Every surgical intern knew Cardio was one of the hardest programs to get into.
Carter had been avoiding his ex because he didn’t want Adrian to think that he was the only one that had moved on, especially after the asshole had cheated on him, broken his heart, and humiliated him.
Okay, so Rafe had kind of given him a win—even though it wasn’t real… still, allowing Adrian to get the best of him would have been the worst thing that could have happened.
Carter worked on finishing off his plate, then after putting it back on the dining cart, pushed it outside his hotel room and placed it in the hall by the wall.
As he stood there with his door open, he heard laughter. He turned at the sound of it to where two men stood at a door. They were kissing and groping one another while trying to get their card into the door. Carter watched them for a moment, a feeling of sadness washing over him. Then he imagined it being him and Rafe. He had reminded Carter what it felt like to be kissed… wanted.
It was fake. It was make-believe. You don't even know the guy.
Yet it was a moment where Carter could actually believe that he had someone who cared about him. Rafe had allowed him to believe that for
a moment… looking back, he wasn’t sure Adrian had ever made him feel like that.
Fuck, no matter what he did, he couldn't get the cardiac surgeon out of his mind.
As he got ready for bed, Carter told himself over and over he would not think about Rafe. And he repeated it over and over as he tried to get some sleep.
Carter got up early for breakfast and then a Pain Management seminar, but even as he got ready, Rafe still remained on his mind. Dammit! Just stop thinking of him already! He tried to order himself to get over it, but even that didn't work.
As he took the elevator to the lobby, there was a part of him that kept an eye out for Rafe, even as he told himself he really didn’t want to see the man.
He headed to the hotel restaurant so he could take advantage of the Continental Breakfast, and he spotted him. Rafe was headed out of the restaurant, so he quickly ducked down behind a planter so Rafe wouldn't see him. He watched as Rafe walked into the convention room, and if Carter’s eyes just happened to travel down to the man’s ass, well, he was only human.
He peeked through the planter and watched Rafe walking further away from him, then breathed a sigh of relief. It was a close call.
“Carter?”
He jumped when he heard a voice behind him. He turned around and saw Michael and Teo behind him. Michael was a doctor in the building where he had his office, but he hadn’t seen the man in a while. He’d gotten engaged recently to Teo and they’d invited him to a few parties at their home. They were one of those really happy couples that Carter had tried to avoid since the breakup.
“Hey, Michael… Teo… how are you guys doing?” Carter stood up and managed to smile at them, ignoring his heated cheeks or the fact that he felt like a total idiot.
“We’re doing well,” Michael replied. “Been a while since we ran into you.”
Carter sighed as he saw the same look in Michael’s eyes he’d seen in most peoples’ since the news of Adrian cheating and calling off their engagement had spread.
“Been really busy you know… surgeries.” Carter tried smiling, but he wasn’t sure he quite hit the mark.
There was a pause in conversation that was slightly awkward, and Carter couldn’t help wondering if he could back away.
“Did you get a chance to see the ring?” Michael asked, probably to fill the silence.
Teo hip-checked Michael, clearly in a bid to spare him from the conversation of marriage.
“I haven’t seen it yet.” Carter figured speeding the conversation up was the only way to go.
Teo held his gaze and he nodded, so he held out his hand for Carter and he looked down at it. He smiled and nodded. “It’s gorgeous, Teo. It really is.”
“Thank you, Carter.” Even though he was talking to Carter, his eyes were on Michael.
Carter wasn’t sure what else to say, but he realized it didn’t hurt as much seeing his friends happy talking about their engagement.
“We invited you to the engagement party,” Michael said. “We were sorry you couldn't make it.”
“Oh yeah… it was a rough week and I was in New York for a surgery. Sorry I couldn't make it, but I'm sure it was absolutely amazing.” Carter found he truly meant that. It would have been a lie a few weeks ago—don’t lie. It would have hurt before Rafe.
“We understand,” Teo said, then he shot a look at Michael that seemed to communicate something, and Carter wondered what that was about.
Teo looked back at him. “We know Adrian is here,” he said, as if that could explain all. “If you want to hang out with us, then we’re in room five sixty-five.”
I'm not about to be a third wheel.
“Thank you so much, but really… I'm fine. But, we should get together sometime soon and have drinks, though. My treat. I better run. Don't want to be late for the seminar.”
Before Michael or Teo could say anything in response, Carter hurried off to get to the convention center. He didn't want to be caught in another awkward situation. Just a couple more days to get through.
As the seminar began, he realized he hadn’t even managed to get breakfast.
Carter sat in the back of the room and listened to the speaker. He hated to admit it, but he had looked around the room to see if he could find Rafe, and even though he knew it was silly, his heart had skipped a beat when he spotted him in the second row.
On the flip side, he was also happy that it left him a safe distance away so that Rafe wouldn't be able to catch him.
Yeah, he was definitely a mess.
When the two-hour-long seminar finally ended, Carter realized he had caught like half of it… probably less. He got up and dashed out of the room, making it to the elevator without getting spotted or stopped by anyone, thankfully.
When he got to his room, he stood there for a little while, unsure what to do with the rest of his day. Then he walked over to the balcony, opened the sliding glass door, and peered down at the pool. The pool was not as crowded as he would expect.
He figured, why not? He didn’t have anything else he really wanted to attend for the rest of the day, so he decided to strip down to his bathing trunks and a t-shirt and hang out by the pool.
He got changed and sprayed himself with SPF—even after all this time, Adrian’s voice droning on about it was still in his head— then walked down to the pool through the back elevator.
Carter stopped at the bar and ordered a drink and a cabana. He walked over to one of the empty ones and put his Kindle down on the table, then took his shirt off and tossed it on one of the two lounge chairs before he lowered himself into the other.
Carter just sat and watched the people swimming in the pool while waiting for his drink. The waiter finally came and dropped it off, and this time he’d gone for a virgin daiquiri. He didn’t want to overdo it on the alcohol.
He started reading the mystery novel on his Kindle, but before he knew it, he started to doze off.
He put his Kindle down and let himself drift off, closing his eyes, but he could hear everything around him, though he wasn’t really focused on it. There were so few chances for him to relax with his schedule that he lost track of time and wasn’t sure how long he’d been there when someone came up and sat down in the seat next to him. He figured it was Teo or Michael trying to hang out with him or something, but when he opened his eyes and turned, it wasn't either of them.
It was Rafe.
“Hey,” Rafe said. “Hope I'm not interrupting your nap.”
Carter groaned.
He had spent all morning trying to avoid Rafe, and yet here he was, sitting just two feet away from him, a smile on his face.
Liar. You’re happy he’s here.
“Hey,” Carter said, and sat up, his eyes never wavering from Rafe. “What are you doing here?”
His eyes drifted down Rafe, and he wanted to curse himself when his eyes lingered over the shirtless, golden-skinned Rafe. His eyes travelled down his lightly-haired muscled chest, following the trail down as it disappeared into his trunks.
Carter hadn’t over-exaggerated his attraction to the man. Hell, he had never been so physically attracted to another person, and it wasn’t just Rafe’s looks. Since he’d read about him, he’d been more than just a little attracted to him.
Don’t let yourself get lost in the fantasy... not when your heart is still healing.
4
Rafe
Rafe caught Carter’s eyes on him, and he couldn’t help smiling. It was a good sign that Carter might be interested since Rafe sure as hell was. Carter looked up, caught him watching him, and he dipped his eyes downward, a cute blush staining his cheeks.
Rafe smiled. “I owe you an apology. I know you weren't ready to accept it last night, so I'm hoping you are more agreeable to it today. Please… let me make it up to you. I shouldn't have been so forward yesterday when I kissed you. I'm sorry… not for the kiss… I will never be sorry for that. But, can we start again? Please, let me buy you a drink and introduce myself to you properly.”
Rafe waited for his response, hoping that Carter said yes. He really wanted to spend time with him… get to know him.
“First off… It's not even eleven o'clock in the morning. It's way too early for a drink.” Rafe chuckled at that, but nodded. Carter continued. “Secondly, you’re apology is accepted, but not necessary. I understand why you did what you did, and while it's not exactly how I would usually handle things, it got the point across. So, maybe thank you are two words I should have used.”
Rafe quickly shook his head. “Believe me. I get it. This was my—”
Before he could get the words out, Carter wrapped his hand around Rafe's neck and pulled him in for a kiss. He felt a hand to his chest, and he was pretty certain that Carter could feel his racing heartbeat.
He was way too dazed to ask any questions—not that he wanted to. As he tasted Carter again, he sank into the kiss, not really caring what had brought it on. Rafe brushed his tongue across Carter's lower lip right as he pulled back.
“I've missed you all day, babe,” Carter said. “How was your last conference?”
Rafe's head was spinning. He was so confused.
The only conference he’d gone to today, he’d spotted Carter in the back of the conference room, so he knew they’d attended the same one.
He had to admit hearing Carter call him babe had his brain stalling… okay, so the kiss contributed too.
Rafe opened his mouth to question what was going on when he heard someone come up behind him. He turned, and that's when he spotted Adrian and his boyfriend. It hit Rafe in the face what happened, and he felt like a brick had settled in his stomach.
When he looked over at Carter, his eyes pleaded with him.
“Didn't mean to interrupt you two.” Adrian managed to look irritated and smug all at the same time.
Rafe shrugged. “A few minutes of interruption doesn't bother us. Now if we’re interrupted during sex, that would really piss me off.”
Boyfriend Emergency Page 2
