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esmeraldawhitlock​:

Sobering up had been painful as Esmeralda realized that the longer she waited the more likely Phillip might not come back. She had missed ten years, and now she wanted every minute going forward to get to know him. She knew exactly what she wanted, but she also knew that ten years might have changed Phillip from the self assured man she knew years before into something else. Would he run away from her?

She was caught up in her own thoughts when a dark haired man stepped in front of her with a charming grin. “What’s a hot thing like you doing by yourself?”

Not this. Not now. She looked around pretending to not be sure that he was talking to her. “Do we know each other? I’m sorry. Were you talking to me like that?”

“Yes, you.” The man replied with a sloppy grin betraying that he hadn’t gotten the hint.

With a roll of her eyes, Esmeralda started, “I’m waiting on…”

“I’m sorry to have left you waiting.” The voice that haunted her interrupted.

“Phillip.” She whispered as all her attention focused on the man that was behind the other man who now was only a blurry figure as far as Esmeralda was concerned. She let out a happy breath as his scooped her up into his arms. “You came back.”

“I won’t keep you waiting ever again.”

Then surprising even Esmeralda his lips pressed against hers.

Ten years. Ten whole years she had dreamed of this moment. Millions of permutations that she created in her head of what had felt like a figment of her imagination. A million different ways that she had pretended this moment would happen in her head. She had hunted for his scent at stores. Every British accent made her chest hurt. She had worried all the longing would make any reality not stand up.

Yet none of it could compare.

His soft lips against her as his calloused hand pressed against the side of her face was better than any drug. She melted into him as her arms wrapped around his neck. A single flame became wildfire as his hand traveled down her back and his lips became hungrier. One of her hands sank into his hair, and the other gripped onto his back for life as she hungrily devoured his mouth that tasted bitter and warm. She wasn’t sure what she wanted or even where she was going, but she wanted to be with him wherever it was.

The cool air that surrounded them as he pulled back felt almost painful against her warm cheeks as she attempted to catch her breath.

Everything was happening so fast.

In the past, she would have told her that she was allowing lust to control her. She would have told herself that she was being like every other dumb girl that let a guy lead her into the pits of hell. She would have pulled away and insisted on a date for Phillip to prove that was really what he wanted. 

But now Esmeralda knew she’d rather burn down than to ever feel nothing again. She’d rather whatever this was kill her than to lose it. It was insane and dangerous, but she didn’t care. Ten years was long enough to know this was what she truly wanted. “Across ten years, we still found each other, we still wanted each other… we still felt something. That has to mean something. I can’t explain this, but I don’t care. I know I want you, and I also don’t want to waste another minute. Take me home with you. I’ll text Abigail.”

She got out her phone and texted, “I’m going with that guy. I know. Shut up. I’ll text you his address when we get there. Love you! Don’t get too drunk! I’ll pay for your Uber if you need it!”

Then she took his hand, “Let’s get out of here finally.”

Phillip knew that the chance of Esmeralda rejecting him was high. She was a logical woman; that was something he had known about her from their first meeting. It was something that they had shared, something that had bonded them. Yet now, Phillip was going against every grain in his body, every instinct he had learned, and pushing them all away for one chance, for one moment, with the woman he had been waiting for all of his life.

What if Esmeralda could not do the same? There was a chance that her logic was more substantial than his. She might scold him for not asking her permission for such an intimate kiss. Esmeralda could tell Phillip that while she was interested, she wanted to take things slow. She could outright dismiss him.

By the time they pulled away from each other, breathless, fear had suddenly broken through Phillip's bravado. Now, he found himself searching those foggy grey eyes for hesitation, anger, or resignment.

Instead, Esmeralda began to speak.

"Across ten years, we still found each other, we still wanted each other… we still felt something. That has to mean something. I can't explain this, but I don't care. I know I want you, and I also don't want to waste another minute. Take me home with you. I'll text Abigail."

Relief colored Phillip's face, and while Esmeralda began to text her friend, the surgeon grabbed his cell phone and quickly texted Damian. Though they lived on the same property, the two often spent time together in the evenings at one of their homes before retiring to their own spaces.

"We're going back to my place. I'll text in the morning." It was simple, as in many texts that Phillip and Damian exchanged, but he knew his friend would be supportive. In fact, it was probably precisely what Damian wanted to happen.

Phillip took Esmeralda's hand once she had texted her friend and let her out to the parking lot where he had parked his truck. Pulling out his keys, the surgeon unlocked the doors and looked at Esmeralda with a soft smile. "I tend to forget that not everyone is as tall as me," with a slight chuckle, he opened the passenger side door and helped Esmeralda climb inside.

"Ignore the dog hair," he stated as he climbed through the passenger seat, placed the keys in the ignition, and began the drive back home. Turning the radio station down low enough that there was a bit of background noise, Phillip made the thirty-minute drive toward his lakehouse. At one point, the surgeon made a slight joke that he promised he wasn't taking her out to the middle of nowhere and that he genuinely had a house.

Finally, after what felt like miles of winding roads that wove in and out of thick green trees, the surgeon turned on his blinker and drove another quarter mile until he parked in front of a contemporary-style lake house. His safe haven, his private world, is where Phillip Nash could be himself without worrying about anyone else's thoughts, expectations, and judgments.

"I built this home in 2019. My friend, Damian Ixmata, has a home on the same land. I'm sure you'll meet him; he also works at the hospital...though..."  Phillip thought about his closest friend, his cold, bristly nature. "I might want to introduce you to him first. Damian and I are very similar...."

Of course, Esmeralda wouldn't be aware that Phillip Nash was generally disliked by most of his co-workers. She couldn't know that others considered him a callous, complicated man. Would her feelings change when she realized the truth?

Getting outside the truck, Phillip walked to the passenger side, opened the door, and let Esmeralda out. Walking to the front door, he quickly entered the keypad number and allowed the brunette to walk in first. Immediately, Phillip's dark brown cocker spaniel came bounding from downstairs with energetic and excited barks. Ignoring Phillip, he went straight for Esmeralda and began to jump up and down, begging for attention.

"Winston, not everyone wants to love on you," he said, attempting to push the dog down. As he did, his cat, Squish, let out an annoyed meow from her spot on the couch as she looked up at Phillip, Esmeralda, and Winston.

"That's Squish. She came with the property."

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A glance at Phillip's 2022 Toyota Tundra Hybrid Capstone

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A glance at Phillip Nash's house.

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esmeraldawhitlock​:

Best mate somewhere around the corner watching them. Would his friend have things to say about the two of them? Would he understand the ten years that tied them across time and space? What would he say the moment that he found out about her? Would he chastise her for her choices? Would he understand the insecurity and instability of youth? Suddenly, there was an outside specter that could judge and sentence her to another lifetime not knowing Phillip.

A lifetime not knowing what the beautiful home on the lake looked like. She might never get to know his dog and barn cat. She might not get to know what things Phillip preoccupied himself with when others weren’t watching. She might never get to taste what his late night thoughts were. She could not bear to once again have something slip through her fingers. “Of course you can meet her. I think you’ll like Chickarita. She’s the most friendly. Maybe I can meet your dog and cat?”

Her breath caught in her lungs as Phillip’s hand gently cupped her face. Summer storm oceans crashed down on Esmeralda as his eyes met hers with an intensity she had never felt before. Only her in his eyes. Only her to dance with. No one else to feel the beat of the world with. 

Only her.

Only her.

She melted into his arm as she sighed, “I haven’t danced either. Nothing felt… right.”

“Dr. Nash?”

Esmeralda flinched.

“Dr. Nash. I have some questions about the paperwork you filed today.”

Esmeralda looked up at the person with a bit of annoyance before turning to Phillip, “I’ll be around.” With that, she turned to find Abigail.

With each step, Phillip took toward Esmeralda, his rage slowly faded. It had only taken one moment, one other man looking at Esmeralda, for the surgeon to realize that he was being foolish. Damian had been right; ten years was long enough. Phillip wasn't about to waste another moment. He wouldn't lose his chance with her after waiting a decade.

"To hell with this," Phillip thought as he approached Esmeralda, still standing with her arms wrapped around her frame. The Surgical Resident conversing with the brunette was obviously making Esmeralda uncomfortable—all the more reason to step in.

He didn't think about what he was doing or planned to say. Instead, he let fate close the distance between himself and the girl who had haunted him for so long. She had been in every thought, every dream, every brunette who passed by on the street. The smell of lavender brought him to his knees; rainy mornings reminded him of her eyes staring back into his as they danced under ballroom lights.

With ease, Phillip stepped in front of the Resident.

"I'm sorry to have left you waiting," the surgeon said, ignoring the protests of the Resident behind him. As relief shined in those blue-grey eyes, Phillip could no longer stop himself. Long arms reached out and pulled Esmeralda closer. As her chest melted into his, gentle hands with calloused fingers cupped her face again.

"I won't keep you waiting ever again."

Then, without caring what his co-workers might think or say, what they might speculate about their boss, what might happen tomorrow, Phillip leaned down and pressed his lips to Esmeralda's. And what started out as a gentle kiss became more as the surgeon felt passion rip through his body.

Every cell in his body longed to make up for lost time. His hands found Esmeralda's waist, and he pulled her closer, deepening their kiss. Had lips ever felt so soft? Had a tongue ever tasted so sweet? For a decade, he had dreamt of this moment, but just as before, the dream was nothing compared to the precious reality of Esmeralda's lips against his.

When they pulled apart, breathless, Phillip grabbed Esmeralda's hand and placed it on his chest. "I don't care where we go, I don't care what we do, but let's get out of here. I'm tired of pretending like this isn't what I want. That you're not...what I want. And I know that this is ludicrous, we truly don't know each other, but we have ten long years to make up for...and I don't want to waste another second. Please tell me you fell the same."

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damianixmata​:

Halfway through talking, Damian could tell that he was encountering a wall with Phillip. Something was blocking Phillip from taking in Damian’s logic, or more likely Damian was too drunk to be able to say anything that would make Phillip actually hear him. Normally, Phillip was logical, so Damian was prone to believe that it was him that was the problem. However, it seemed that this woman was the Achilles heel to Phillip. He wasn’t sure which side was right.

However, he was certain of one thing- that Phillip didn’t need to waste time being afraid of himself or her. He had waited ten years for this woman. He couldn’t miss his opportunity. Sure, Esmeralda would be there the next day, but would the excitement be there? Would all the years of tension be there? Would Phillip still have the same momentum?

Damian looked around the room as he sipped on his water. Not far was a red head puffing away on a vape, a two buff Asian men talking to each other, and then there near the dance floor was a woman with long dark curls leaned against a pole with crossed arms.

And a man looking her over like a meal.

He waved over to her direction, “Well, if you’re not certain about talking to her again, that guy certainly is.” Damian raised an eyebrow.

"Well, if you're not certain about talking to her again, that guy certainly is."

Damian's words suddenly broke Phillip's self-loathing. Looking over to where his friend was pointing, the surgeon spotted Esmeralda standing alone with her arms crossed over her chest. She seemed to be in deep thought, not even noticing the dark-haired man Phillip recognized as an Oncology Resident, looking Esmeralda up and down.

Fury roared through Phillip's chest as he watched the man walk up to Esmeralda, pulling the brunette from her thoughts.

Damian was right; ten years was long enough.

"You are a royal pain in my arse, mate," Phillip said to his friend before motioning to the bartender.

"Another round for my friend, please," he told the man tending the bar before looking back at Damian.

"Don't wait up."

Standing up, Phillip walked toward Esmeralda. And fate.