I touched my cheek as my phone buzzed again.
Boxer:I’m waiting.
My fingers flew across the screen to answer him.Three days.
Boxer:Jerking off isn’t cutting it. I need to see you.
“Oh my God,” Amanda exclaimed. “You’re totally sexting!”
Doctors eating their lunches a few tables away looked over in our direction. Including Dr. Sawyer. I didn’t need to give him any more of a reason to lord his authority over me.
“Shut up,” I hissed.
Amanda sighed. “I miss the days of sexting.”
“You and your husband don’t sext anymore?” Peyton asked.
She sighed. “No.”
“Why not?” Emily demanded. “I knew you and Martin when you guys were dating. What happened?”
“We had a kid,” Amanda said bluntly. “Nothing has been the same since Daphne was born. I keep hoping things will get back to normal, but they never do.”
I watched Peyton’s eyes dim as Amanda talked about her husband and child. Peyton had neither. I knew Peyton and her husband had wanted a family. My heart ached for her.
Another text came through my phone.
“Relentless,” Emily said with a grin. “Admit you like it.”
“I like it,” I said easily.
But this text wasn’t Boxer. It was from an unknown number, yet the words on the screen were familiar.
And I knew the sender.
“Linden? Are you okay?” Amanda asked.
“Fine,” I said, my tone clipped. “I’ve got to go.” I hastily stood up, grabbed my tray still full of food and dumped it into the trash, my appetite completely gone.
I set the tray on the top of the trash receptacle and left the cafeteria. Blood pounded in my ears, and I wondered why, no matter how far I fled, I could never escape my past.
* * *
Hours later, just as the sun was beginning to set, I walked out of the hospital and came to a halt.
Boxer was leaning against his parked motorcycle, a pair of silver aviators concealing his eyes. He wore his leather cut, a pair of dark jeans, and a green and black flannel shirt.
A smirk flitted across his face as he perused me up and down. When Boxer looked at me that way, my insides quivered.
“Hey, Doc,” he drawled.
“What are you doing here?”
“I was in the neighborhood.”
“Yeah,” I drawled. “I bet you were.”
“Came to say hi.”