'Doc Juan'

Chapter 25

"Here we are - Soho!" the realtor exclaimed, as she took the couple on a tour of the house. Mumsy had insisted on cleaning the apartment till it was spotless (and crumb-free) and hadn't noticed they'd snuck out. "D'you know why I chose this house?" Elle asked, as they were led through the many rooms and up the architectural wonder of a staircase (as the realtor referred to it.) "I dunno. Why? Cuz it's large an' posh?" he replied, shrugging his shoulders and taking a guess. "Yeah, that too. But, more so cuz of the location. Doc Juan in Soho. Like, the play, Don Juan in Soho. Get it?" she explained with a goofy grin, chuckling at her own lame idea of a joke. "Right! A play on words...An' the nasty nickname I loathe so much!" he muttered under his breath, forcing a laugh at her joke. "Anyway, mumsy's keen on watchin that play. I keep telling her it's a tad racy. But, she's a big fan of that David Tennant!" Elle continued to ramble. "The fella from The Queen, right?" Dr. Miller pretended to be interested in all her chitchat, even though he seemed to be lost in a world of his own. "No, I'm talkin bout the fella from Blackpool. You're talkin bout Michel Sheen." she replied, correcting him.
  "Oh! They do look a wee bit similar, don't they? Anyway, I was thinkin we'd continue this relationship long after mumsy goes home. Cuz I've got a good feelin bout us, goin strong an' all, ya know?" he finally blurted out what was on his mind, hoping she agreed with him. "Scuse me? What relationship?" she questioned, backing away in confusion. "The fake one that's gradually turnin into a real one." he spelt it out, taken aback by her question. "An' what makes ya think that?" she shot back, surprised by his sudden proclamation of love for her. "Obviously, the fact that we expressed our feelins for each  other right before we made love, remember? " he reminded. She looked around, realising they'd lost track of the realtor. But, it didn't matter anymore, as she realized she needed to talk to Dr. Miller privately in order to clear things up between them.
"That was a spur of the moment thing?!" he exclaimed, horrified by her confession. "Yes...An' also, we were pissed as newts!" she tried to explain, as they walked down the street to talk things out. "Thanks for the ice-cream, by the way. A cold treat for a cold shoulder...brilliant!" he remarked in a snark manner, tossing away the cold treat she'd offered to buy him, knowing the heartbreak that would've soon followed. "Oi! That's a 99! There's poor people in my apartment building starvin an' possibly dyin from the swelterin heat, cravin for an ice cream....An' ya throw away milky vanilla ice cream plus a bloody chocolate Flake?!" she reprimanded, watching as the dessert landed on the street with a plop! "Ya just had to go ahead an' tug at my heart strings, didntcha? Tug so bloody hard that I fell for ya, didntcha?!" the hurt man cried out accusingly, ignoring her comments about poverty and food wastage. "If ya ask me, ya haven't thought with your heart in a long time an' instead let an organ down south of the heart do the thinkin! What makes ya think you're ready for a real relationship, doctor?" she asked. "Well, let's see...I'm a handsome doctor with a great practice who's alone an' feels empty at times an' I think it's about time I settled down. Been thinkin bout it for some time now." he replied. His revelation made her stop in her tracks.
"My problem with you is that you sleep with all these women who crave intimacy an' you do it out of lust. You don't love any of em. Honestly, I don't think you've loved any one in your entire life..." she pointed out, finding it hard to believe him. "Do NOT assume that I haven't loved! I love you! I know I lusted after ya before, but now I can't stop myself from picturin us together. Us havin kids, us startin a family, us movin into that gigantic house together right now instead o' makin a scene on the streets! What d'you say?" he poured his heart out, as he clasped her hands in his. "You're bein ridiculous. Neither of us are any good at relationships. I dunno if it'd work." Elle whispered, letting go of his hands as she began to walk in the direction of the car. "I'm not bein ridiculous! I've never imagined myself startin a family with anyone else...not even with Ms. Tabsworth...An' she's unmarried an' got a great figure! Plus, the bosom on er....!" he called out behind her. "Lower your voice! Goodness gracious, doctor!" she scolded, going beet red and hoping none of the passersby on the street had heard him.  "....An' you! Yer a flat bosomed loner....An' I'm fallin for ya!" he continued, in no hurry to speak about his feelings for her in hushed tones. "I dunno if that's s'possed to make me feel offended or deeply moved." she mumbled, raising an eyebrow at his comment.
"It's s'possed to make ya see that I'm a changed man who sees beyond bosoms!" he explained, hoping that the hesitant Elle would see past the womanizer tag. "Doctor, this wasn't s'possed to happen. You were just s'possed to pretend ya loved me, not actually fall for me! Can't we be just that? A phony couple? " she suggested, in a bid to change his mind. "I hope that wasn't the end o' that sentence, cuz I want more than that!" the lovestruck man refused to back down. "It wasn't." she whispered after some pondering, hoping what she said to him next would provide some comfort to him or atleast buy her unsure self some time to think about how she really felt about him."Maybe, we can figure our relationship out once mumsy leaves, yeah? Until then, maybe keep up the act for a while, yeah?" she requested. "Fine... But, only cuz I'm the perfect bloke in yer mum's eyes, when everyone else- from my patients' husbands to the dorky dentist next door- knows me as the womanizer. Besides, I don't like breakin my promises. Especially, ones involvin me bein the phony better half to my receptionist...With whom I possibly might have a shot with in the future!" Dr. Miller decided, heaving a sigh of relief and forcing a smile, even though he'd be happier still if she'd jumped into his arms right there and then on the busy street and promised to be his forever and ever!