Alluring Infatuation by Skye Turner, Kari Ayasha Page B

were both Pre-Med. We started seeing each other. We fell in love quickly.” She swirls her wine. “Things were great. We helped each other study, spent time together, moved in together… We’d bounce ideas off of each other for our respective theses. I was Obstetrics and Gynecology and he was Urology. We both graduated at the top of our classes. He proposed. I accepted. We started working and just stayed in the same groove. We spent less and less time together, as a couple, but when we did, it was enjoyable. Our lives were going in different directions. I never pushed for a wedding date and neither did he. We both concentrated on our careers. He moved into the spare room since we both worked long hours and our sleep schedules were different.” She points at the hall. “My parents kept asking about a wedding. One day over brunch, I kind of just threw a date out there. He never said no.”
    She swallows and looks at the ceiling. “Before I realized it, the wedding was almost here. I didn’t care about the dress, the flowers, the cake, the catering… I didn’t care about any of it.” She looks at me and grimaces. “It’s not supposed to be like that. Your wedding is supposed to be a major life event and I honestly didn’t care. It’s supposed to be the happiest time of your life.”
    Her glass is empty again. I offer to top it off and she shakes her head ‘no’. She smiles at me and shrugs. “I called Jake at work one day and told him we needed to talk. This was in early December. That night, we got home around the same time and talked. I mean really talked for the first time in a long time. We both agreed that we weren’t the same people as when we’d gotten together. We’re amazing friends. He’s an amazing man, but he no longer made my heart race. When I looked at my future, he wasn’t in it.
    He admitted he loved me, but wasn’t in love with me either. We canceled the wedding and he decided to move out. It was mutual and there were no waves. Neither of us was especially sad. It was more of a relief that I wasn’t settling.”
    She looks me dead in the eyes and smiles wryly. “I don’t know what I want. I don’t know what my path is supposed to be from here, but I know that I’m not settling. Not for something like marriage and the rest of my life, you know?!”
    I nod.
    Wow. She was engaged. To another doctor. He seems much more suited to her than a rocker. But then again, I’m here. I didn’t see that coming, but I’m glad she told me.
    She’s looking at me with expectation on her face.
    Shrugging, I say, “I didn’t expect that. Thanks for filling me in. Do you still see him?”
    She nods. “I do. We work at the same hospital.” She laughs. “He’s dating a cardiac nurse. They seem happy. I’m happy for him.”
    She really does seem happy for her ex. I didn’t know women could be like that. Not that I have much to compare it to.
    Smiling at her, I ask, “What do you want to know about me?”
    She smiles back softly and shrugs. “Whatever you want to share, I guess. What’s it like to be a rock star? How did that come about?”
    Of course she asks that one.
    I get up and grab both of our plates. Dumping them into the trash I see near the stove, I turn and set the plates in the sink before rinsing them.
    She’s just watching me with a confused expression on her face.
    Turning and leaning my hip against the counter, I watch her watch me. “What?”
    She blushes. “Nothing. You just don’t really act like a rock star.”
    Quirking my brow I tease her, “Really? You know a lot of rock stars?”
    She chuckles. “Absolutely not. Just you. I’m more of a country girl.”
    I expected that.
    I chuckle and gesture to the fridge. “May I?”
    She nods. “Help yourself.”
    Grabbing another beer, I open it, and point to the living room. “Can we go in there?”
    She laughs. It’s musical. “What? My kitchen isn’t cozy enough?!”
    “It’s plenty cozy. I just want to put my feet