Open Heart: Second Year {On Halt}

Chapter 2- Within Seconds

He was back.

And....he was way too different.

I was supposed to be smiling in his direction but I found myself with a slackened jaw as my eyes followed Ethan entering from the doorway to the outlet. Sienna let out a whistle and said, "He's back! And he looks so different!"

"Fighting an outbreak in Amazon will do that to the guy." Jackie murmured, unable to take her eyes off him.

All I could do was stare.

Ethan had the power to captivate anyone around him, irrespective of the situation. There was something about him which drew the entire fixation towards him. Standing at a towering 6'2 with a muscular toned body I had found myself craving for, he was a package of masculine sensuality which absolutely broke all the stereotypes regarding a doctor. He was wearing an olive green jacket underneath which was a grey plain shirt and denim pants to complete the look. Even with comprehensible appearance, he managed to put a cover model to shame and he didn't even have to pose.

His eyes were on me since he found our group. I was unable to process anything because he literally did a rewind of my brain. I hadn't had seen him for two months and two months did a lot to someone. His magnetic blue eyes promised a scorching reunion but they were partially overshadowed by the fact that he was...sporting a beard!?

I scowled. It covered his high cheekbones, a dusty shade of light brown which revealed that polishing yourself on the field was quiet difficult. It made him look more...raw. Savagely gorgeous.

Berserker. Sexier. Wilder.

I shifted in my seat and crossed my legs.

He passed by our table and nodded (and probably judged). Then he looked at me and all the air was sucked out of my lungs, "Rookie."

His voice was deep...heavy, smooth with an irresistible rasp hinting a mysterious accent I could never find. It did a thousand things inside me and I totally forgot that I was with audience. Not alone.

My mouth was dry as I said, "It's good to have you back. Dr. Ramsey."

He nodded again and went off to sit at a distant corner bar, trying to put as much space between both of us as possible. In front of me, Jackie and Elijah were observing the exchange.

"I gotta grow bread like that. My patients won't think me as fifteen." Elijah enviously eyed him as he ordered for a drink, most likely scotch.

"Maybe Charlotte should find a way to grow beard because she is forever a teenager here." Bryce patted my head.

"Of course. You don't find twenty-two year old second year resident often in the world." Jackie added, "P.I.T.A straight away found out that she was really young. He hollered her as a school girl."

"Hey!" I protested.

It had become an inner joke in the hospital which ran around all floors. At the age of 22, I was the youngest doctor Edenbrook had ever seen. The sole credit goes to my family which gobbled me the life education at a rapid rate and by the time I got the job, I had two med degrees and a masters degree in oceanology which was put in a cabinet waiting to be dusted by time. Being very short in stature, just barely over five feet, didn't aid the situation at all as well.

Jackie looked at me and said, "So, are you nervous?"

It caught me off guard and I faltered before answering, "Me? What do I have to nervous about?"

Sienna explained with a knowing look, "Tomorrow's your first day as the Junior Fellow on the diagnostic team! I'll be totally freaking out!"

"Thanks, Sienna. If she wasn't before, she would now." Bryce dryly commented.