I ended up on the wrong side of town in my miles long run and with side stitch after side stitch plaguing my abdomen and shin splints ricocheting needling pain up and down my legs I decided it was about time to stop.

I hadn't eaten anything all day besides an apple and small sandwich that I'd bought from a little cafe halfway through the day, and my run.

It was close to one in the afternoon since I'd started running around five A.M. and people were just starting to exit their homes and places of business for lunch.

I checked my phone that was previously superglued to my side with the tightness of the waistband of my leggings, realizing that I had about a million missed calls and text messages from Lucas asking me if I was alright.

And then a reminder that I had a meeting with my therapist that afternoon, and I was about to miss it.

I really needed to get my car back from the apartment.

I'd left it when I was packing up all of my stuff because it just reminded me of the family I was so close to starting with Nate.

I had even quit taking my birth control pills so my body would be ready to conceive a baby right after we got married, and thankfully we'd been using condoms before the wedding or I might have been with child...the thought both sickening and terrifying in the same breath.

Thanks to a ride sharing app, I made it to my appointment with only a few minutes to spare so I lingered around in the parking lot, luxury vehicles dotting each space lined in white paint.

Considering my bulging bank account for the ad writing I did, I was able to afford pretty expensive health care, thus a top rated therapist, although she didn't seem to be doing that much for me.

We were supposed to be tackling my anxiety and panic attacks, but lately it seemed like she was trying to pry into my childhood which was something that was off limits to everyone, even me.

A gorgeous silver Tesla pulled into a spot in the front row and out stepped the man I should've been thinking about all night but was instead plagued with nightmares and my past...and a certain roommate I didn't want to think about at all.

Rafael Rodriguez, a very influential and obviously rich man went to the same therapist that I did? Or at least his therapist/psychiatrist was in the same building as mine. That made more sense, considering I was the one with the appointment.

I quickly dashed into the building before he could spot me, disgusting and sweaty from at least a fifteen mile run for seven hours...broken up into walking breaks of course. It wasn't like I could run a marathon without stopping.

I was well aware of the odor I exuded, so I made a quick trip into the bathroom to dab a paper towel with soap under my arms, my hairline, and my chest underneath my shirt.

I rinsed my lightweight shirt with soap and water and dried it quickly under the hand dryer as well as my hair and when I was sure I didn't smell like a walking stick of sweat I dared my entrance into the office check in.

There he was, on the phone off to the side waiting for his appointment I assumed.

"Montgomery for two-thirty with Dr. Epperly," I told the nurse behind the glass and she checked me in, my eye still half to the side watching Rafael with an intensity I didn't know I had in me.

I thought I only had a slight indifference to him when it came to the night before, but seeing him in the daylight dressed as suave as he had been the night before, reflective aviators hiding his eyes giving him a mysterious feel, my heart was pounding a lot faster than I wanted to admit.

"Montgomery?"

I poked my head up at the nurse and followed her back, knowing that I had caught Rafael's attention but I pretended like I had never even spotted him.

"Lydia, nice to see you. How've you been since our visit two weeks ago? Any more panic attacks?"

I laughed a bit to myself, realizing I hadn't seen my doctor since before Nate betrayed me.

Her kind, dark brown eyes were the same, her skin still silky and pure ebony perfection. It was like nothing around me outside of my home life had changed except my insides...and my mental health.

I sat down in my designated seat, the cushion of the large modern looking recliner swallowing me in its squishy embrace.

"Boy, have we got a lot to talk about," I began, and her barely aging face scrunched up in preparation for the story I was about to spew.

***

An hour and some change later and I was wiping the tears streaming down my face.

"Thank you for that. I've been pushing everything down it was nice to let it all out and finally say out loud what happened. Hopefully now my nightmares will stop."

"Of course. Just let me know if you need those sleep aides and I'd be happy to prescribe them."

"Perfect, thank you again," I told her, thankful I hadn't put on makeup that morning or the mascara would've been clumped up and a nasty mess on my face at that point.

I'd tried to put up a fight with her but she was a damn good therapist and pulled it out of me within the first few minutes.

I liked calling her my therapist even though I knew she was a psychiatrist, able to prescribe medication for me but in the time she'd been my doctor she'd never had to give me any. It made me feel a little less unstable even though I knew how wrong it was to feel that way in the first place.

I'd been with her since the incident happened so long ago, and while she knew everything about my past, I'd only talked about it once and never again. I'd never spoken about the effect it had on me and my mental health, even though it was obvious she knew the the side effects it came with.

Suddenly, just like the scene from the club the night before, I ran into a hard body all strong muscle and sculpted skin and when I inhaled, an intrusive sultry scent invaded my nostrils, letting me in on the fact that he wore the most alluring cologne I'd ever smelled.

"Wow, deja vu."

"Two times in a row, are you following me or something?"

I laughed at his accusation, the deep husky timbre of his voice doing decadent things to the chills on my body.

"More like the other way around, this has been my doctor's office since I was fifteen."

His eyes quirked up in interest and I could tell he wanted to know my story but if even Reed and Amalia didn't know the truth I highly doubted this handsome stranger would be able to pull it out of me.

The truth was reserved for my family, my therapist and my demons, in that order.

"Well, that makes my acquisition of the building for commercial use somewhat of an ethics conflict then, would you agree?"

My eyes almost popped out of my head.

"You mean...you're not here for an appointment with the good doctor?"

I tired to mask my surprise with humor, but he could see right through me.

"No, an appointment with the owner of the building but I think I might just have to reschedule. There seems to be an...athlete in need of a change of clothes and shower?"

My cheeks flamed up and I knew he could sense my embarrassment.

"That obvious, huh?"

"I've been on quite a few marathon runs before but apparently none as...exhaustive as yours?"

We shared a laugh and the atmosphere between us was easy. He was teasing me for smelling like total shit but he didn't make me feel bad for it in the slightest.

"Do you have plans for the rest of the day?"

I pretended to think about it for exactly two milliseconds before smiling and shaking my head in response.

"Well, then what do you say I show you to my AirBnB and pick you up a change of clothes on the way there? You can get ready and I can take you out for something to eat."

"That actually sounds great. But are you sure you want to share a car with me after such an exhaustive run?"

His mouth morphed into an exquisite work of art, his smile almost blinding with how impeccably white his teeth were.

"I could think of nothing I would want to do more. Shall we?"

He extended his arm to me and I linked mine within his, not failing to notice every single woman in that waiting room staring at me in envy.

I was pretty sure I even saw one of them sneak a photo of him with her phone but I could've just been seeing things since I was so flabbergasted that someone as gorgeous and affluential as Rafael would want to go on a date with me looking and smelling like I did. At least I'd washed some of my previous stank off in the bathroom before.

"We shall."