On Monday, I wake up to the sound of my alarm, and I feel cold because Rian isn't here with his arm wrapped around me. I somehow manage to drag myself out of the comfortable bed, and I skip breakfast and hop into the shower. I find myself constantly thinking about what Rian did after our date, and I think about what he said.

"I'm sorry, I should've-, are you nervous?"

"Damn, Alex. I'm sorry, you need to tell me when to stop! I don't want to make you uncomfortable in any way."

"That was one of the lessons my parents taught me; to always respect a woman's boundaries. I probably just went outside of your comfort zone and I-, I'm sorry."

Rian is the epitome of a chivalrous man, and I deeply appreciate how much he cares about how I felt during that situation. I applaud him for his courtesy, but at the same time, I wish that he didn't have to ask that every time that we kiss or touch. After what Austin did to me, I definitely want to take some time and go slow, but Rian doesn't need to necessarily ask me if I'm okay with him touching me in an intimate way. Maybe that's how Rian feels, that he should ask me if I give him consent to be intimate. His gentlemanliness makes me realize that I don't need to have my guards up as high as they were before.

I step out of the shower, and I just wear some jeans and a leather jacket. One I arrive to school, I sit down and check my phone for any messages, and I smile when I see one from Rian.

Rian: good morning Alex 😊

Alex: hey Rian 😊 anything else happen with your parents?

Rian: my brother noticed that I was texting you, and I told them all that we started dating. My mom already wants to meet you 😂

Alex: I'm flattered that she already wants to know me 😌

Rian: but I know that it's still too soon, you can meet them whenever you please babe

Alex: thanks 😘

The bell rings, and I turn my phone off while the teacher is preparing something for class. I see Savannah hurriedly come into the class before the teacher shuts the door, and she crashes in the desk next to me.

"You okay?" I ask through a laugh.

"I woke up late, and I nearly missed the bus. My hair looks like absolute shit, and I don't even think that my outfit matches." She says and takes a large breath.

"Good morning! Please take out the homework from Friday, and I'll come around to check it." Mrs. Sennett says, and everyone pulls out their binders in perfect synchronization.

"We had homework?" I whisper to Savannah.

"Yeah, it was over that rational functions shit." She says, and she hands her paper to me.

My handwriting is rushed, and very sloppy, but I somehow manage to write everything down just before Mrs. Sennett reaches my desk. I thank Savannah, and she gives me a thumbs up. Throughout all of my classes I check my phone for anything from Rian, and I don't see a text from him, just notifications from my social media accounts. Xiu, Savannah and I all sit together at lunch like usual, and the two of them are eager to know what happened with Rian and I.

"So...how was your date with Dr. Sexy?" Xiu asks before smirking at me.

"It was amazing! Better than I thought it would go." I admit, and cheeky grin tugs at my lip.

"Aww! That's so cute!" Savannah squeals.

"Were you nervous? What'd you wear? Where'd he take you? Was it romantic?" Xiu asks, and I laugh at how excited she is.

"I was nervous, but then Rian just-, he just made that go away. I-," I say, and I get interrupted by their school girl giggling.

"Goals! That's so cute, I can't even!" Xiu cheers.

"I wore this really cute dress, and I wasn't sure if it was too much. He came over and told me how beautiful I looked. We went to a sushi restaurant, and it was just-," I let out a sigh. "Perfect."

"I'm happy for you, Alex." Savannah says, and she smiles at me.

"Where's Rian? The hospital? We should all go together." Xiu asks.

"Sacramento. He's with his parents right now, he took days off of work at the hospital. He'll be back on either Thursday or Friday." I explain.

"Why's he in Sacramento?" Savannah asks curiously.

"He recently found out that his dad has cancer, and he went to visit them." I say in melancholy.

"That's horrible," Savannah says before she shakes her head. "Tell him that I hope everything goes well."

I'm surprised at Savannah's concern for Rian, and I feel some jealousy run through me for a split second before I just smile convincingly at her.

Why would she care?

He's my boyfriend, not hers.

Alex, stop. She just wants to send condolences.

Sometimes I wish I could remove that personality trait from myself. I need to learn not to get so jealous, especially over things that I have no right to be jealous over. I shake the slight jealousy out of my body, and continue to enjoy my lunch.

"So...what'd you find out about him?" Xiu asks, longing for more information.

"Well, he is expecting to receive his degree really soon. His favorite color is black, and he likes the Divergent series. He-"

"What? He can't like that! He's a doctor!" Savannah exclaims, and I furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

"What, just because he's a doctor he can't like those books?" I ask, waiting for her explanation.

"Probably because mostly teenagers read those books, not adults, at least I don't think adults read YA novels." She says.

"That's another thing I learned about him; he's a huge fan of literature. Besides YA books, he likes to read medical literature." I inform her.

"How old is he? We never found that out about him." Xiu asks.

"Guess," I say, wanting to hear the ridiculous age numbers they come up with.

"Thirty?" Savannah asks, and I shake my head.

"Lower than that," I smirk.

"Twenty-seven." Xiu guesses, and I shake my head.

"Lower!" I exclaim.

"Twenty-five?" Xiu guesses again.

"You're so close!"

"Twenty-four?" Savannah says hesitantly, and I nod.

"He's twenty-four? That's a lot younger than I thought!" Savannah asks in disbelief, and she gasps.

"Anything else about him?" Xiu asks through a mouth full of salad.

"He said that he's quite fond of The Weeknd, and a lot of other popular artists from today. He has two siblings, and he's the middle child. He dislocated his elbow when he was fifteen, and he still has the scar. His favorite foods are sushi, ribs, and his mom's homemade macaroni salad, and he wants to get a tattoo to commemorate his parents someday. There's so much more that we talked about, but I don't want to talk your ear off about it." I say, trying to hide my grin that comes when I think about Rian.

At the end of the day, as I'm driving home, my phone starts to ring loudly. I try to keep my eyes on the road, and take one hand off of the steering wheel to reach for it. As soon as it's in my grasp, I smile at the caller ID.

~~~

I walk downstairs into the kitchen, and I look into the fridge for something to eat. I hear footsteps approaching, and I turn and see my mother walking towards me. I instantly smile at her, and she does the same.

"Rian, there you are. I was just about to start making some lunch. Come and help me." She says, and I smile at her.

"I'd love to, Momma. What're you making?" I ask, following her to the pantry.

"My macaroni salad." She says while looking for something.

"Yes!" I cheer, and she smiles up at me.

She's struggling to reach for the box, and I grab it for her and hand it to her. She's always been a little woman, and once I hit puberty, it became even more evident just how short she is because everyone else towers over her.

"Thanks, honey." She says sweetly.

She starts to boil a pot of water on the stove and she pours the whole box into the pot, and she stirs it around. I take my phone out of my pocket, and I decide to call Alex because I haven't heard her voice in a while.

"Hello?" I say, and my mom looks over at me.

"Hey Rian, what're you doing?" She asks.

"I'm in the kitchen with my mother, about to help her cook lunch. What about you?"

"I just got out of school, and I'm driving back home." She says, and a smile instantly forms on my face.

Home.

"Rian, who's that?" My mom asks interestedly.

"It's Alex. Do you want to speak to her?" I say to my mom, and I hear Alex gasp through the phone.

"Of course!" My mom squeals, and I put the phone on speaker.

"Hello?" Alex says again.

"You must be Alexandrianna! I'm Rian's mother, it's nice to meet you." My mother says happily.

"Nice to meet you." Alex says, sounding bashful.

"Rian talks so well about you, and you sound like a lovely girl. We can't wait for the day that we meet you in person." My mother says politely, and my cheeks heat up.

"I can't wait to meet all of you. You all sound great, pleasant people to be around." She says.

"Why thank you. So, Alexandrianna, how's your day been going?" My mother asks.

"Pretty good, pretty decent. This morning Rian was texting me, and he told me how you already wanted to meet me. I'm flattered, Mrs. Peterson."

"Of course! I can tell how happy you make him, and please, call me Emmanuelle. If you'd like."

"Rian told me everything that's going on with your husband, and I just want you to know that I'm praying for you all. I hope everything works out." Alex says, and I hear her sigh.

"That means a lot, Alexandrianna."

"Call me Alex. Y'know-, I lost my dad a while ago, and he meant the world to me. Rian told me how much his father means to him, and I hope that he'll be okay. I wouldn't wish that kind of pain or loss on anyone, especially yourself and Rian." Alex explains sadly, and I want to jump through the phone and hold her in my arms.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Thank you for your prayers and condolences, it means a lot." My mother says.

"Absolutely, I'll do anything to help." Alex says.

I grin, and Alex and my mother say goodbye to each other. After we hang up, my mom smiles at me.

"Son," she says proudly.

"Yes Momma?" I ask.

My mothers gorgeous eyes gleam, and it's like we're communicating with the expressions in our eyes.

"Alexandrianna, she's the one. I like her."

Is she the one?

It feels like it.

I've fallen hard for Alex, my patient, and I don't want to get up.