After this afternoon with Brandon, it was harder than normal to let him go off my mind. I really tried due to my date with Donald, but the things he said and the way he reacted made it impossible for me to think about something else.

I even had to call Dolores for her to help me to get something else on my mind. I had mentioned Brandon before to Dolores, but since I had professional secrecy, there was really not much I could say to her...

As the clock was nearly seven, I looked myself in the mirror one last time to touch up my hair and makeup. I really hoped that I would manage to keep my focus this evening, because that was what Donald deserved.

I was wearing a black, tight maxi dress and my blonde hair was curled. Just when I was about to put my sparkling heels on, it knocked on the door. Perfect timing.

I opened the door up and met with Donald who was wearing a white shirt with black braces and suit pants. We hugged each other tightly and I felt the warmth from his body which made me feel safe.

His cologne made him smell wonderful and masculine with the scent of water mint, cedar tree and blue junipers.

He kissed my cheek before he looked at me with a big bright smile. I got a little shocked by his approach but decided to leave it out of the world.

We left my apartment and stepped inside his dark green Morris minor. Donald began to drive and immediately, he started to chit chat with me while the sound of the radio was heard in the background.

I already knew that this was going to be a great time, because Donald was an eccentric man.

But I was still afraid that something else would interrupt my mind during the date with him. And out of all people in the world, Donald was the last person who deserved a date that turned out unsuccessful.

During our time together, he really managed to make me think about something else for a while. We sat by our table at the restaurant,and drank our wine and ate delicious food. I really needed that after my first two rough weeks of work.

Donald was really good at keeping the conversations up, so there was not one single moment of awkwardness.

Even though he kept his toadeating comments coming, I tried my best to just smile and be thankful even though I thought it was a little bit too much for just the first date...

"I had a great time tonight," I said where I stood in the doorway to my apartment. Donald was standing in front of me and his beautiful dark skin was shimmering from the sun that was on its way down the horizon.

"Me too. I really enjoyed your company tonight. Maybe we can do it again some time?" He said with a careful but proud voice while he looked at me with a smile.

Donald was indeed my type, otherwise I wouldn't have gone out with him in the first place. But there was something inside of me that knew that he would want more than I would ever want with him, and I didn't want to hurt him.

"Yeah, of course!" My insecurity took over by the fact that I didn't dare to say no to him. I didn't want to make him disappointed in his proud moment.

"Okay then, I should get going. See you at work" He said before his arms surrounded me in a hug.

He winked at me and turned his back to head out the fresh summer night again.

As the clock was almost 11 pm, I decided to go to bed. I wasn't really the type who got to bed that early, but since my job took a lot of my energy at the moment, I thought it was for the best...

I woke up the next morning by the ringing of my annoying alarm clock. Even though I only had a couple of glasses of wine yesterday, I felt more tired than usual.

I yawned out loudly and stretched before I got out of bed to get ready for work.

Today was a free day for the patients, even if it wasn't Saturday or Sunday. It was necessary to have those days sometimes so that the patients could get used to fluctuations in their normal routines and schedules. It was a way for them to work with reality and even get some rest from every other days' sessions and appointments.

I knew that the biggest part of this shift would be to supervise the gathering room, to watch the patients while they played their games, painted or read books.

But for some of the patients, it was a big mental challenge and me and the other supervising nurses knew that there was quite a big risk that something could happen in the gathering room on days like this one.

I arrived at work and after I had changed, I took the elevator up and walked towards the gathering room immediately to start my supervising hours.

There were security guards standing in each corner and some of the patients were already awake and in full motion with their activities.

These days were indeed free for the patients, but it was not optional to attend the gathering room.

Every patient had to spend at least two hours in there to socialize or activate themselves in one way or another. That was a part of the medical schedule to help and work with the patients' different fears and difficulties.

I didn't know about how Brandon felt about the room yet, since I had only seen him read the book Lolita in his loneliness ever since he arrived.

He kept a distance from the other patients and they did the same towards him. I figured that I was not the only one here who had a fear of him, even the nurses took their distance.

He was followed by a personal guard every time he was in here, because of his risk of outrage, and that was a clear sign for the ambiance that he was dangerous.

I sat down in my ordinary place while I watched the people of different ages and appearances occupying themselves with their pursuits.

For every minute, the room got more crowded and now Janet and Mildred both sat beside me. We chit-chatted with each other while we kept our focus on the patients. We did not have a limitless number of patients in this area, but many enough to be supervised by only six nurses and three security guards...

After almost an hour of a calm and peaceful atmosphere, the door to the room opened up in a rough move, and the person I had been wondering about stepped inside.

He walked slowly through the room and his tall, dark and attractive appearance caught everyone's attention. I tried my best not to stare him out but his dramatic, slow-motion entrance couldn't keep me from doing anything else.

His dark, intense gaze moved over the room and when he reached the middle area, the brown piercing eyes of his got stuck into mine. I inhaled deeply and adjusted my position in the armchair out of reaction.

He creased his eyebrows and grabbed his bottom lip with his teeth. His eyes wouldn't let go of mine, and even if I wanted to look away myself, it was not possible.

I got a lump in my stomach, but by now I didn't know if it was out of fear or because of some other strange feeling of excitement and curiosity.

It was no news that my body reacted in a physical way when I was around him, and I always thought it was only because I was terrified of him.

But while I used my senses, I noticed that I didn't feel afraid at this moment at all. It was something completely different that I couldn't find an explaination to.

But it wasn't fear, of that I was certain.