My legs couldn't hold me, and I shuffled to the side of the path to sit on my butt and huff hoarsely. If I just sit here, Kimi will come back. Or someone will catch her, hopefully, and walk back down.
"Jeeze..." I picked myself back up as worry threaded my veins and gave me a boost of adrenaline. Kimi was an expensive, beautiful cat, and my best friend. I had gotten her as a kitten when I first moved here. I couldn't just trust someone to bring her back! "God— okay."
This time, I walked instead of jogged, and I rounded the bend to crane my neck for any flash of light grey. Relief eased the pressure on my heart when I saw Kimi up a tree, her leash stuck between a branch's fork. She meowed like crazy when she saw me, and I frowned up at her as I paused under the tree.
"You dumb cat! You ran away and now you need help getting down!" I wagged my finger at her, propping my fists on my hips as I debated how to get Kimi down. She kept yowling at me, balancing on the tree branch with her claws out and panic on her kitty face. "You better not jump off or you'll ring your own neck. You're lucky I love you, or you'd be stuck there forever!"
"You're in a good mood, aren't you, Mel?"
Jumping with a squeak of surprise, I whirled around to find Carl smiling happily at me. Pointing up at my cat, his smile grew as I struggled to get my heart back down from my throat.
"Want some help?"
"Can you reach?" Rather than answer me, Carl strode up to the tree to reach up, and my eyes widened when I realized he was shirtless again. The thick muscles of his back played tantalizingly, and flames licked up my neck. He couldn't quite reach, and I bit my bottom lip absently as he grabbed the branch. Hoisting himself up with a grunt, he carefully unhooked the leash, and Kimi instantly sailed over him to land on the concrete walkway.
"Dumb cat." Kneeling down to pet her and grab the leash, I smiled as she weaved between my legs, and I straightened as Carl dropped down. "Thank you. Again."
"You're welcome. Again. You look good, Mel." His eyes trailed down to scan my athletic wear, and my nipples tightened at the intense appreciation in his gaze. "Really."
"You're just saying that because of my cat." Blurting out the first thing that popped into my head.
My face flamed when Carl's eyebrows twitched suggestively. Swiping back his hair, he stepped a little closer and crouched to pet Kimi. His eyes scanned my front, and I crossed my arms under my breasts. Lightly, he licked his lips, almost unnoticeably when he quickly stood up.
"I— you know, I never properly thanked you for the last three times... you know— you helped me out. I think after the third time, I owe you... some tacos?"
"... I would like to, sure."
I smiled brightly, but Carl held up a hand quickly with a stern look.
"Only because you want to repay me for helping your cat, Mel. I'm your doctor. When you're having an asthmatic crisis, it's my duty to help you."
"Oh— yes. Obviously. Um, so, what's been going on with you? How'd your sister's visit go?"
I'm your doctor. Carl's gentle reminder that this was bordering on inappropriate zinged through my head, and I bit my lip in uncertainty. I knew that, but... I couldn't stop coincidentally bumping into him everywhere, dang it! How was I supposed to know which park he was running in?
"It went great. Actually, I have to disclose something to you, and I'm not sure how okay you'll be with it."
My brows knit together as discomfort roughened Carl's tone, and I tightened my grip on Kimi's leash. He met my gaze, his brown eyes intense as expectation tingled my inner cheeks.
"I had to disclose some of your personal information— specifically, what happened at The Golden Pearl with your father— because Eva queried me for sleeping with a patient to HR. I want to apologize for breaking your confidence."
Blinking hard, it took my brain an extra few seconds to really process what Carl was apologizing for. He was so sincere, like he felt genuinely bad about it, but that wasn't what heated my face and burned between my eyes.
"She what!" The image of that woman that I'd only ever seen that one time blossomed in my mind's eye, and I bristled. Carl's eyes widened in surprise at my high-pitched bark, and my nails dug into my palms as I fumed. "We haven't even slept together yet! Why would she do that! If she's mad I'm better looking than her, she should invest in some plastic surgery or— or— or go to a college bar, not report you for something that hasn't even happened yet!"