Outlier, Chapter 3
No, really, proceed with caution
Chapter 3
“Your body is a wonder of nature.”
“So I’ve been told.”
Katie slapped Reid’s shoulder blade. “It’s how you get away with your sucky personality, isn’t it?” Standing behind him, she slid her arms around his middle.
Reid continued arranging luncheon meats on the kitchen counter. “My staggering genius helps.”
She rested her head against his back. “Seriously. You just had a lunch meeting.”
He opened a jar of relish. “Which I had to spend telling the architect how to do his job. You’d be surprised how much energy it takes being right all the time. And until I can develop the ability to photosynthesize - which, by the way, I am working on - that means food.” He momentarily paused in his failing attempts to prevent olives from rolling off artfully arranged luncheon meat. “Not that food isn’t a divine pleasure in and of itself, of course.” He popped the olives into his mouth. “Heading back for rounds, anyway. Berating the interns is an aerobic activity.”
Her hands slipped under his shirt to play along the skin at the waistband of his jeans. “Ah, so that’s how you keep your figure.”
“I crush Hank’s spirit for strength training.”
“Yeah, you know, you’d think you’d ease up on him a little. He is giving you your wing. I can see that gratitude might be too much to ask for, but really, is it so smart to keep antagonizing him?”
“What’s he gonna do? Check’s handed over. Done deal. Can I help it if the guy’s an amateur? That he didn’t at least try to make me sweat a little more before signing away his fortune and making all my dreams come true? He’s so easily swayed by beautiful women, you’d almost think he were straight.”
She pinched his stomach. “Still funny. And it wasn’t as easy as you might think. Even if you weren’t so…charming with him, I’m afraid you’re never going to be his favorite person.”
The second slice of bread successfully balanced, Reid leaned back against Katie. “Because I have you.”
One hand circled higher on his abdomen.
He turned his head to the side. “Speaking of aerobic activities…”
She smiled into his back before disengaging, picking up the plate with his sandwich and carrying it to the table in front of the sofa. Reid followed the food.
“Speaking of playing nice with benefactors, how was Luke?” She lay against the cushions, resting her head against the back of the sofa as she watched Reid eat beside her.
His chewing paused. “Not entirely useless.”
“What? You mean he actually had something meaningful to offer at the meeting? That he deserved to sit at the, what did you call it, the ‘big persons’’ table?”
“Do I believe he’s qualified to offer any substantive input on the design of the wing? No. Should he be on the board? Of course not. Will his being involved be as unbearable as anticipated? Jury’s still out. But not everything that came out his mouth was excruciating. Anyway, I have a lot of practice tuning out the little people.”
“He’s hardly a little person. He’s the reason you’re still in town.”
Reid looked at her, his eyes warming. “Only one of them.”
Katie smiled as she closed her eyes, her hand rubbing his thigh as he continued to eat.
You had to bring up Mr. Snyder. Not for the first time, he wondered why Luke had insisted on joining the board. He’d given up wondering why he’d agreed to fund the wing. Despite being certain he’d blown it at Luke’s house, Reid had arranged for the hospital to submit a proposal to the foundation, making sure that it had come from Bob’s office. Reid had tried to play up the pediatric aspect - Luke seemed the softhearted sort. He would have printed it on paper in Luke’s favorite color had he known what it was.
The next five days had been tense. He couldn’t admit to Katie exactly how fraught his encounter with Luke had been, telling her only that he couldn’t be sure of Luke’s mental state so soon after the breakup - whether he’d have time to focus on Reid’s request. By the fourth day, he was ready to enlist her persuasive talents - she and Luke were even vaguely related, right? (He was sure that inbreeding depression could go a long way in explaining the problems of this town.)
On the fifth day, Bob called. The foundation would cover everything. Whatever Reid needed. He was so stunned, had been so prepared for failure, that he hadn’t at first registered Luke’s conditions: a seat on the board and input into the wing. After what had happened, Reid would have bet the entire grant that Luke never wanted to see him again, let alone ensure that they’d be working together closely.
Not that anything had happened.
Without Reid’s conscious permission, his mind traveled back to that day, to that moment. He’d been so close at the end to delivering what was sure to have been the deathblow - so close to flushing the money down the toilet. Why he’d stopped, well, no point dwelling. For whatever reason, Mr. Snyder had come though. And if Reid had to endure the occasional softheaded suggestion, then he would willingly pay that price. As for their dynamic, he had hope that even it might be salvageable. It would certainly make for a more tolerable working relationship. The lunch meeting had been promising, at least. His mind moved to the moment a few hours ago when he’d seen Luke Snyder for the first time in eight, no, nine days.
Luke was sitting at a table in the hotel bar. His light-colored suit fit him loosely, as if he’d yet to grow into it. His hair was slightly more styled than usual. He sipped his drink. Reid approached slowly, taking only a few steps before Luke saw him. He didn’t look away. Neither did Reid.
Reaching Luke’s table, Reid simply stood, making no move to sit. “Mr. Snyder.” His voice sounded rusty. He cleared his throat.
“Dr. Oliver.”
“I see you’re wearing your grownup clothes.”
Luke’s mouth angled wryly. He looked down at his drink.
Reid shifted his weight. “No architect?”
“Not yet. But we can go up to the meeting room to wait. The food should be ready.”
“Ah.”
Neither man moved. Luke wiped condensation from the side of his glass with his thumb.
Reid stared at the top of Luke’s head. Again, the words snuck up on him. “I’m an ass. Officially. I have awards.”
Luke looked up. His careful expression cracked slightly, though it gave nothing away. Reid waited. He forced himself to let Luke stare. To let him search. For five seconds, ten.
Finally, Luke looked down at his glass. His mouth opened, closed. “I…I was…” Again, he met Reid’s eyes. This time, regret was clear.
“Yeah, me too.” Reid felt his facial muscles relax. “Hey, thanks for the cash.” Luke smiled. Within Reid, tension both broke and built. “Even if it means I have to pretend to listen to your ideas.”
Luke stood, leaving his drink. He hung a dark leather bag on his shoulder, adjusting it as he began to walk toward the lobby. “Yeah, well, my ideas may surprise you…I’ve been doing some homework. You never know - I just might have something valuable to offer.”
“And would this homework involve medical or architecture school? Perhaps you’ve been researching other personnel to blackmail into joining the staff?”
“OK, I will admit - there’s been a learning curve. And I first may have exhausted all that Wikipedia had to offer. But afterward, I found some shockingly helpful neurosurgeons to talk with. And here I’d thought you’d all had to complete a fellowship in assitude.”
“That program’s only for the truly exceptional.” They were nearing the elevator. “So, which hacks with too much time on their hands did you find to mislead you about the fine art of neurosurgery?”
Luke took out a yellow pad from his bag. “Well, let’s see…there was Santiago Keller at Mass General-”
“You got him to speak with you? Seems your powers of likeability are even greater than I’d thought. You’re like the human equivalent of a yellow lab.”
Luke ducked his head, appearing to concentrate on his notes. “And then there was Lisa Gambusic at the Mayo Clinic - she was actually pretty funny.”
“Well that’s an easy one - she’s got a thing for gay guys. And she does have a way with…words. She tell you the sex swing story?”
Luke snapped his head up, almost dropping the pad. “Um…and then yesterday, I talked to Leyden Rusk at New York-Presbyterian.”
“Hmm. He reminds me a little of you. The Grimaldi side.”
Luke’s eyes had gone from wide to narrow. “Yeah, well…he was delightful. They all were.” Luke’s smile took a twist. “And they had nothing but kind things to say about you.”
“That’s because I’m beloved.”
Luke bumped Reid’s shoulder as they continued to wait for the elevator. Reid wondered at the change in air pressure.
“Why do you care?”
Luke turned to Reid. “What…what do you mean?”
“Why the sudden interest in neurosurgery? Especially since you’re not…as intimately involved with it anymore.”
Luke forced the pad back into his bag. He shrugged. “I just…I know what it’s like to spend a lot of time in hospitals. How hard it can be. If I can help…if I can bring the patient’s perspective…the family’s, then…I mean, it’s not like I’ll be funding another wing any time soon, might as well take advantage of the opportunity.” He peeked at Reid, his wry smile returning. “Plus, you made a great case in your proposal for all the precious little children you’d be saving.”
Reid smiled. He liked the feeling. He liked this. It was Luke who looked away first.
“I’m assuming this elevator isn’t just for show,” said Reid, ending the silence.
“Yeah, we have been waiting for a while…” Luke stopped, a hotel employee brushing past to place a white sign in front of the elevator doors.
“Right. Looks like we’re taking the stairs.”
______________________________
“Where were you?”
“Hmm?”
“Where’d you go just now?” Katie’s hand continued to rub Reid’s thigh. “Thinking about another woman? Should I start worrying already?”
Reid placed the empty plate on the coffee table, placed his hand on hers. “There is no other woman.”
“What about all those adoring nurses?”
“If by ‘adoring,’ you mean ‘plotting my downfall,’ then yes, you should absolutely start worrying.”
“Guess I’d better up my game.” Katie’s hand curved inward, her fingers gliding in small spirals over his inner thigh.
“Hmm, now that you mention it, I think that one nurse’s crying all the time might actually be her way of flirting with me.”
“You don’t say?” Her other hand lifted to the corner of his mouth, wiping a dab of mustard with her thumb. She put the thumb in her mouth.
“Mmm-hmm. And another sends me romantic death glares. Really turns me on. I think she’s working up to making her move - maybe poison in the coffee.”
“Ooh, yeah - doesn’t get any sexier than that.” One hand still on Reid’s thigh, Katie slid the other under his shirt, lightly running her nails up, then down his side. “Looks like I have a fight on my hands.” She leaned into him, licking the same corner of his mouth.
He worked a hand into her hair, holding their faces close. His other hand kneaded the swell of her hip. “Lucky you have home-field advantage.” The sound of his voice slid around them both.
She shifted her body closer, pressing into his side, into the hand on her hip. Her fingers changed course, moving over his chest. Her nails skimmed a nipple. “You didn’t put any onions on that sandwich, did you?”
“No onions.”
“So considerate.”
“I am the model of consideration.”
“You are fucking sexy is what you are.” She attacked his mouth, arching against him. Moving her hand away from his chest so that her breasts could press fully against him, she instead slid it around his body and into the back of his jeans. “Oh, this ass.”
He smiled against her mouth. Gripping her hair, he angled their heads as they opened to each other’s tongues. She sucked his into her mouth as the hand on his thigh moved up to thread into his hair. Without breaking the kiss she straddled him, undulating against the front of his body in a few slow waves. One of his hands still in her hair, the strong fingers of the other massaged her bottom as it rocked against him.
Katie threw her head back. “Ungh, those hands.” She ground against the bulge in his pants, both hands now in his hair as she dove back for another kiss. “Yohr mips,” she mumbled into his mouth.
Her lower body having established a satisfying rhythm, his hand there moved up, rubbing slow shapes up her back. He pulled her shirt free, pressed the whole of his hand against the smooth, hot skin of her lower back. She moaned. His mobile fingers explored the landscape, eventually traveling up her side. His palm pressed against her ribs, his thumb working its way under the bottom of her bra, up the slope of her breast. It swept over the erect nipple.
Katie froze.
“Motherfucker.” With a different sort of moan, she lifted her leg and rolled off Reid, collapsing next to him, her head resting against the back of the sofa.
“It’s OK.” He laid a hand on her thigh, squeezing slightly.
“No, it’s really not. You have no idea how much I want this.” She turned her head to look directly into his eyes. “No. Idea.”
His smile was small but genuine. “You’re still not ready. There’s no rush.”
“Are you kidding? I am living with hottest piece of ass in Oakdale-”
“That you’re not related to. And I think you meant to say ‘the country.’”
“Shut up. And I can’t do anything with it. Oh, Reid…I mean, look at you…look at this…” Rolling onto her side, a pout in full force, she brushed her hands across his face, down his chest, her eyes landing on the hard ridge running down his thigh. “Look at that. Gah!” She flopped onto her back and shut her eyes. “What is wrong with me?”
Reid’s voice was soft. “You’re still in love with your husband. Not even my extraordinary hotness can change that.”
Opening her eyes, she looked at his face. “Oh, Reid. I am so sorry. You don’t deserve this.”
He touched her face, smoothing back a fall of hair. “What I don’t deserve is your kindness. And friendship. And your patience. You’re right - you somehow manage to live with me. Do you realize what an accomplishment that is?”
“You’re not supposed to make me smile. I’m supposed to be wallowing.”
“You’re not supposed to be doing anything. You know there’s no timetable for grief. If it happens, it happens. If it never does, well…you’ve actually brought me to the point where I can say entirely without sarcasm that I’m lucky to have you in my life - in any capacity.”
“Oh, there is no way we are always going to be just friends. I am going to tap. That. I don’t care if it takes decades - I will find you in the nursing home and crawl up onto your wheelchair.”
“Sweet talk me, baby.”
“Seriously, Reid. You don’t deserve this. I’m…” She looked down at her hands, now clasped. “To be honest, I can’t tell you that I’ll ever be ready. I mean, the fact that I’m not all over you right now...” She turned again to look at him, her elbow on the back of the sofa. “Just…promise me - if you find someone else, don’t think about me. Chances for love don’t come around every day, and you’re right - I have brought you far; I’ve gotten you to the point of being open to the idea of a relationship with an actual life form. Please, don’t let all of my hard work to go to waste. I don’t want you to miss out just because-”
“Katie, you’re worth waiting for.” He trailed a finger down her cheek. “Anyway, who else am I going to find? This is Oakdale.”
The cushion grazed the side of his head.
______________________________
Reid closed the door to his bedroom. He checked his phone - there was still time before he had to return to the hospital. Tossing it onto the bed, he fell beside it with an aborted groan. It was going to be a long afternoon.
Listening for signs of Katie, he undid his belt and zipper. He reached for the lotion and tissue; he had to make this quick. Shouldn’t be too hard - it already was. Leaking, in fact. He settled on a rhythm quickly, envisioning a continuation of events on the sofa. He imagined being inside Katie, her soft, wet walls squeezing, searing. She was riding him, her head back, neck exposed, her own fingers in her mouth. Her shirt was partially unbuttoned; one breast out of the cup, full flesh bouncing, Reid’s fingers teasing the stiff nipple. Her moans sounded like soft hiccups in time with his upward thrusts. Now it was her mouth on him, wet and warm, her tongue tasting both their fluids. His hands were entwined in her hair, guiding her movements, forcing the pace. “I love your cock,” he heard her say, impossibly, her mouth full. Now Madeline Stowe was behind her, as she sometimes was. With wicked, knowing sloe eyes fixed on him, Madeline slid her hands up Katie’s skirt, bunching it at her waist, lifting her hips. She grazed Katie’s swollen vagina with her tongue. Katie began to writhe, to deep-throat Reid’s cock, increasing the tempo, the suction, the pressure - as Madeline, her eyes still on Reid, switched to licking Katie with long, slow strokes.
Reid was close - he imagined gripping Katie’s head more firmly, her soft, blonde hair tangling, wild, slipping around his fingers, drawing up from her shoulders, the strands shortening, sweeping into bangs, Madeline’s sly eyes winking…
Bruch’s violin concerto filled the room. On the edge, Reid slapped the bed with his free hand, finding his phone on the third try. He lifted it to his face.
MrSnyder
The orgasm caught him hard, jackknifing his body. He almost smothered the moan.
Fuck.
The violin continued its ascent. Reid’s fingers slipped on the screen. “WHAT?”
“Um, hi…Dr. Oliver?”
“Obviously.”
“Uh, yeah…it certainly is. Are you…is this a bad time? You sound-”
“I, uh, I was just ru…” Fuck it. “You don’t want to know what I was doing. What do you want?”
“Oh. OK. Uh, um…well, I was just wondering if you’d seen the revised plans. He just sent them.”
“Haven’t checked my email. Heading to the hospital now. Goodbye.” Reid threw the phone toward the bottom of the bed, perversely hoping it landed instead on the floor. Hard.
Shit. He dropped his dick as if bitten; he’d been continuing to stroke it. He lay splayed on the bed, waiting for his systems to return to normal. Praying that Katie hadn’t heard.
He needed to get laid.