Doctor Kim

Chapter 10

My best friend Danielle was five years older than I was. She had sleek, iron-straight hair the color of caramel that hung halfway down her back, and she stood almost six feet tall when she was in heels, which she wore every chance she got. She had to be the only woman on earth who slipped into stilettos after a grueling day of work.

She couldn't wear them at the animal hospital. Sometimes she had to chase an escaped bunny around the exam room or needed good footing when an overly excited mastiff wanted to jump up and say hello. Her four-inch heels weren't going to cut it against a dog that weighed more than she did.

I'd become friends with the veterinary assistant on the first day of my summer internship when we'd walked into an exam room together, and the pet owner demanded we look at her 'duck.'

"He refuses to swim," the woman whined.

Bless Danielle's heart—she gently let the owner know her chicken, not duck, was in excellent health, and Danielle said it in a way to minimize the woman's total embarrassment. It wasn't until the owner was gone that we died with laughter.

"It's like she'd never seen a cock before," Danielle teased.

She always turned the conversation sexual, and I sort of loved that about her. It meant I could talk to her about sex stuff. She'd been on me all summer about the Jay situation, telling me every day to dump his selfish ass.

"I did it," I said this morning, using a flat mop to clean the exam room floor. "I called him, and we talked . . . I guess. He definitely got the message that we're over."

My friend grinned her approval. "Finally. How'd he take it?"

"He acted like it wasn't a big deal." I shrugged. "Like he thinks I'm going to come crawling back to him within a week."

"Please." She rolled her eyes as she flipped the sign on the door to let the rest of the staff know the room was clean and ready for use. "I can't wait for you to hook up with someone with actual dick game."

My hesitation was short, but just a fraction too long, and more than enough time for my new friend to catch on. Her pretty blue eyes widened.

"Hanni," she accused.

I feigned innocence. "What?"

She hustled me across the hall and behind the stacks of prescription dog food, so we were out of earshot of anyone in the waiting area. Her voice fell to an urgent but excited hush. "Already?" Her smile was evil . . . and a little proud. "Who was he? Was it good? Shit, tell me everything."

It wasn't a trust issue that made me cautious. I knew Danielle would keep my secret. We'd had plenty of in-depth conversations after the animal hospital closed for the day, talking about boys and sex while we'd cleaned cages and done laundry. But this secret was huge, and worse—Danielle knew Dr. Kim. After college, she'd moved into the converted pool house behind her parents' home, which was in the same wealthy neighborhood, just up the street from the Kims.

"I'm waiting," she said playfully, although sort of serious.

I needed to tell someone. The amazing afternoon spent with Minji had planted feelings inside me that grew too big to contain. My voice dipped low, and she leaned over to hear me. "It was Jay's dad."

There was no reaction from her, other than a set of slow blinks, like she couldn't interpret the information.

"Did you just say what I think you did?" she whispered. "Dr. Kim?"

I pressed my lips together and nodded.

An enormous, incredulous smile dawned on her face. "Holy Mother of God. How? Where? I have all the questions."

Too bad I didn't have good answers. I was still fuzzy on how it had happened. In fact, everything was fuzzy and complicated after Minji and I kissed the first time. "Uh," I said, searching for something to say. "I don't know. I gave her a hug goodbye, and it just turned into . . . more."

"Where was Jay?"

My face heated with shame. "That time? He'd left for work."

"What?" Her word was so sharp, surely someone in the waiting area heard her. She moved in until I was trapped in the corner. "How many times have you slept with her?"

"No, we didn't have sex the first time." It had been tame enough to be considered PG-13, although nothing about it felt tame. "Yesterday, Jay was still downstairs, playing video games with his friends, when Minji and I—"

"Minji," she repeated. "Holy fucking shit, Hanni." She gazed at me in awe, as if I were a brand-new person, and then she grinned like a fool. "How was it?"

"It?" I played dumb.

She shot me a pointed look. "The sex."

Now my face burned a thousand degrees. "It was . . ." Unbelievable. Magnificent. "Um, great."

She gave a half-laugh, and her expression said she didn't believe me. "Just great?"

I scowled. "It was fucking amazing, okay? But . . . I can't believe I did that."

"Dumped your boyfriend and banged his dad right after? Yeah, me neither." Her amusement seemed to have no limits. "You're a bad girl, Hanni. I never would have guessed."