NICOLE

"Helloo sister!" I hear Stefanie's cheerful voice on the other end of the line.

"So the shift is over?"

"It's over." She says and I can imagine her smile.

"How did you know?" Stephanie asked me.

"Well hearing your laugh means you're with Leo, am I right?"

"Well done to Nicole, you are right on the first try..."

"I knew it."

"Since you already know everything, then why are you calling me?"

"I know, but you don't know anything."

"What don't I know?"

"Well you don't know you missed over fifteen checkups to your dentist. Stephanie, this kind of behavior is really unacceptable."

"Hello, hello... Nicole I can't hear you well, hellooo, sister... hello."

"Don't pretend to be crazy Stephanie, I'm serious."

"I can't hear you!"

"Stephanie!!"

"For Goodness sake Nicole, today I finally caught some time to spend with my boyfriend, why are you making my life so hard now? Can't that wait a bit?"

"It can't, Stephanie, it can't because you've been postponing the meeting with my chair for over a year."

"That is not true."

"Is it?"

"No, I was there..."

"To save you time, I discovered your little game with Ana and your fake appointments."

"I do not know what you're talking about."

"Ohh, you don't know anything about how Ana made fake visits for you every time I was out of town, at a seminar, or anywhere outside this clinic."

"Well, what's weird about that, there are over five very good dentists in your polyclinic, and you're definitely a maxillofacial surgeon. You have had enough surgeries already so I didn't want to bother you with my examinations."

"Ahh, I really believe in that. Stephanie you would rather tear down the whole clinic than sit on any of those people's chairs."

"You mean they're bad, shame on you!"

"I mean I know you and you didn't set foot in my clinic when I wasn't there. And as for my workers, they're very good in what they do because if they weren't they wouldn't be working for me."

"I beg you... This was all her idea."

"Ana apologized for her actions, and if you don't draw yourself in my office today at exactly 5 pm, you'll make me fire my favorite dental assistant."

I laugh and look at Ana’s shocked expression. She walked into my office just as I was saying it.

"Nicole, don't even joke about it."

"Don't you "Nicole" me, but get ready to finish with it today."

"But sister..." She imitates a weeping tone.

"Nothing but Stephanie, realize that postponing your visit to the dentist can only make the situation worse. Then, I won't call you for a checkup that lasts less than five minutes but you'll have to come see me to fix them or get your teeth extracted, and we all know what you're like when anything is buzzing in your mouth. "

"Oh God, I don't want to come to that torture chamber."

"For the thousandth time, mirrors and a probe don't buzz sisters. It's just an ordinary mirror and an ordinary examination. Absolutely painless!!!"

"Nicole thanks for the offer, but I brush my teeth regularly."

"It has nothing to do with it. It's normal to brush your teeth three times a day, but in addition you have to come for an examination to spot the problem in time."

"What's the problem when I brush my teeth regularly?"

"Just because you wash them doesn't mean they can't get cavities."

"Then, why do I wash them if I have to go to that torture station every six months for an examination?"

"Because I said so, and now is the end of discussion with your older sister! Finish what you're doing and draw yourself in my office at 5 pm straight..."

"Oh my God, of all the professions in the world you just had to be a dentist."

"Stephanie, get serious. I have five-year-old patients who are more mature than you in terms of their oral health."

"Lie!!! You don't work with children. The children are too hard for you, so Miss Nicole has hired a pediatric dentist who takes care of 99% of the children who visit your clinic."

"Exactly, do you want me to ask him to examine you? I mean you'll still feel more comfortable if you're examined by a man who is a specialist for your age."

"That's funny ha ha ha Nicole. You don't love your own sister."

"You don't trust your own sister."

"Listen, I trust you to the maximum as a normal person, but not when you're dressed in that white coat and scrubs ..."

"You mean scrubs and coat similar to yours, like any other doctor on the planet."

"You know what I mean."

"Stephanie you're a health worker, you should be ashamed of your behavior."

"Why?"

"Because a doctor shouldn't act like that."

"And you, as a doctor, should know what a phobia is."

"I know as well as I know that normal people overcome the phobia of dentists before puberty."

"You can't help but be afraid of pain."

"Doctor, first thing, it's an imaginary, imaginary pain that people imagine in their head. 75% of it is not real. Like that story that we dentists want people to feel pain. A long time ago visits to the dentist were painful, but not today when medicine has advanced so much. "

"Well, it hurts me and I don't care about others."

"And what hurts you, you've only had your tooth filled twice in your entire life. Once as a child and once in college."

"And the extraction?!"

"Wow we surgically removed your wisdom tooth that was causing you problems for a few days, I bet you were dying of pain UNDER ANESTHESIA!"

"Well, it hurts..."

"Stephanie, don't make it up. You don't remember even which tooth that was."

"Look, sister, everything, and even if I wanted to, I can't come today."

"And why is that?"

"Because I'm with Leo."

"Bring him too."

"He can't and he's scared."

"Stephanie, Leo wasn't afraid of me with a face full of glass, and he was already coming to see me."

"Really?"

"Yes, ask him."

"I don't believe it, you're doing it behind my back."

"Stop the nonsense, Stephanie, then come when I told you."

"Can I do it another day?"

"No!"

"Please, please, sister..."

"Stephanie, you can't procrastinate anymore."

"I'll bring her to you Nicole next week, I promise." I hear Leo's deep voice on the phone.

"Is she really panicking that much?"

"You have no idea." He laughs.

"Okay Leo, but I both want to see you over the next week. Understood?!"

"Sure, boss, I mean Dr. Nicole."

"Come on, take care of my sister and have a good time. And there's no driving for you, Leo!"

"I know it very well, I understand. Don't worry."

"Okay."

I said goodbye to them and hung up, and Ana was still standing nervously in front of my desk.

"Tell me I'm not your favorite dental assistant?" She spoke to me when I finished the call.

"For God's sake, Ana, you know you are, but do you really think I'd fire you for that?"

"I don't know, you scared me. When you said that you sounded serious."

"I said that to scare Stephanie, don't worry you're safe."

"Thank you, I promise something like this will not happen again."

"It's okay Ana, I know how manipulating my little sister can be." We both laughed at that.

"But the doctor, you have a patient."

"I don't have Ana, I don't have anything scheduled for the next two hours, but that's why I have a bunch of paperwork to solve."

"And no, you misunderstood me. I meant you HAVE a patient."

"What? Can't you find someone to take it on, I'm dealing with paperwork over my head."

"No, all of them are busy almost the whole day."

"Okay fine, I'll finish this later."

"You won't regret it. He's very handsome."

"For God's sake, Ana, I don't look at my patients that way, and do I have to remind you that you're a married woman."

"Oh, don't worry I'm not looking at him for myself, and he's just asked you to treat him."

"I'm asking for some rest too, but no one cares. Where's the patient?" I asked as I was leaving the office, and Ana was smiling contentedly all the time.

"He's in your office, waiting for you."

As I walked towards the office on the first floor, where all the other offices were except my office, Ana got lost somewhere. It was weird for me because she always helps me, adds all the necessary instruments but I soon realized why she disappeared.

"Good afternoon, doctor." I heard a well-known voice when I entered the office.

"Max, what are you doing here?"

"Well, you told me I could drop by to look at this tooth I told you about."

I stared at him watching the smile on his lips as he looked at me. He wore a dark blue suit and a black coat in his hands, and his scent was felt even on the other side of the room. The white shirt expressed his black thick hair even more, from that scene I was refusing butterflies in my stomach.

"I don't remember telling you that."

"Well, maybe I misunderstood you, I can leave if you want." I couldn't say no to those most beautiful eyes.

"No need, I'll look at it when you're already there. Sit down." I pointed to the chair and he sat down.

"I see you're better today. Why did you start working so quickly?" He asked me as I washed my hands, and the scenes from that day came back to my memory.

His hand is firmly on my waist, the other walks for an hour to my neck for an hour and hides in my hair. His warm lips on mine, that sweet taste on his lips and such an intoxicating masculine scent.

"I have to work, there's no one to replace me."

"No other maxillofacial surgeon in New York can replace you?"

"It's probably someone in town, but I didn't even ask. I was thinking of my staff at the clinic, no one can replace me for more than a day, and hardly even that."

"I think you're doing this on purpose."

"What?"

"Nicole, the last few days have been really stressful for you, you need a break. You can't run away from it, you're just hurting yourself."

"I'm fine, everything is fine with my health."

"Are we going to pretend we don't remember that day on the roof of the hospital and everything that happened before that."

"Open your mouth." I ordered by drawing a dental light, he obeyed.

I hoped he wouldn't mention it again, I was inclined to show emotion in front of this man without even knowing why and how. I trusted him, in some inexplicable, strange way.

"This tooth." I touched the first lower molar, and he moaned.

"Wow, yeah."

"All the teeth are in pretty good condition, this one  already has a cavity Max, and the tooth next to it could soon start to hurt if you don't treat it."

"Hmm well, treat me."

Close those eyes and maybe even try, how do I work while they look at me so irresistibly?!

"Are you sure you want me to start treating your tooth, you probably know you're going to have to come at least two more times?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay, can we start now?"

"Yes, we can."

"I'll give you anesthesia first, and then we'll open the tooth that's hurting you to see if we can save it."

He nodded and I stepped away from him to prepare the anesthesia as Ana had deliberately not come to leave me alone with him.

"It's a nice office. Just you work in it?"

"Thank you, that's an advantage of owning a private clinic. I have the whole office just for myself and it's arranged just the way I've always wanted it. While the rest of my employees mostly share offices, everyone except the children's department which is special."

"Very nice." He said, looking me in the eye.

He said it so I wasn’t sure if he meant me or the office.

"Open your mouth." I was grateful to myself for putting on the mask, if I hadn't he would have a perfect look at my red cheeks now.

"You are going to feel a little pinch." I said as I injected anesthesia into his nerve. "Now we're going to wait a bit for the anesthesia to work."

"Great, I want to talk to you."

"About what?"

"About that day."

Oh my God!!

"Maximiliane, I have nothing to say. You were right. I had a hard time and it was hard for me with Stephanie, but in the end it all ended well. Thank you for being there with me that day."

"That's not all Nicole."

"Of course it is."

I started to get up, but his hand stopped me. He rose from his chair and stared deep into my eyes.

"What happened to you on the roof?"

"Nothing."

"Nicole." The grip on my arm became stronger and a tear poured out of my eye without me even being aware of it.

"Nicole, talk to me. I'll help you if I can."

"I don't need help, Max."

"Of course you do."

"No, just let me go please."

"I don't want to let you go. Please tell me what happened to you. You looked like..."

"It's like reliving something that happened a long time ago."

"The car crash of your parents?"

"Yes Max."

"Tell me about it."

"I have nothing to tell you."

"Nicole, I saw that fear in your eyes when it started to rain, I guess it was similar to the night you lost your parents."

I sat down on a chair and Max knelt in front of me holding my hand.

"Yes, it was raining and like on the day of the accident the road was through the woods. Only that day it was dark and the downpour was much heavier."

"Go on..." He encouraged me.

"I looked into my father's eyes in the rearview mirror and I could see the fear in his eyes, but despite that he continued to drive through the darkness and the storm. The road was deserted. There were no cars around until the red car crashed into us full speed. That's all I've remembered so far. "

"Did you remember something new?"

I nodded.

"What?"

"I remembered the moment the car hit us, I remembered jumping on Stephanie to protect her. The scream I heard, then I heard that day as if it was in me all that time. Scream, creak, noise and then nothing. "

"Did you faint?"

"Everyone thinks so but no, I didn't, at least not right away. I was awake and watching my parents dead, then I thought Stephanie was dead below me. Luckily, she just hit her head hard so she was in a coma for a few days, but I didn't know it at the time. I was trapped in a semi-lying position, I felt a sharp pain in my spine but it was nothing compared to the pain I felt in my heart Max. I called them, my parents, and no one answered me. The car driver who hit us was also dead on the spot, so there was no one to come to our aid. "

"Nicole take it easy, calm down." He wrapped his arms around my face, caressing me.

"I was trapped there for hours trying to call for help, but nothing. The downpour was falling so hard that it extinguished the fire that appeared on the other car, its pounding on the sheet metal of our crashed car was all I heard; cars and blood, lots of blood Max. "

He hugged me tightly and only then did I realize that my face was completely wet.

"I'm sorry, I made you remember that."

"It's not your fault, I don't have a problem remembering that anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"The scene is awful Max, but I've had one and the same nightmare for years. I keep waking up just before the accident in which my parents lose their lives. That day, that scene of the accident, the smell and the fear brought me back to the day it all happened to me and helped me remember everything.I don't dream of an accident anymore, now I know everything that happened and I'm somehow calmer.I know it's weird to say, but I always felt like I was missing something. Everyone was saying I fainted, and I knew deep down that I was awake and that fear and trauma had been deep inside me all this time. "

I stared into his beautiful eyes with those long lashes. I saw that he understood me and sympathized with me.

The law should forbid someone to be so beautiful!!

His lips merged with mine which eagerly accepted them. In his hands, I felt a peace I could not describe, but one thing was for sure I wanted him close to me.

"Hmm you're really good this whole half is numb."

"What?"

"From anesthesia."

"Sit down, Max." I mimicked my annoyed voice, barely keeping a smile on my lips.

The anesthesia started to work so I started drilling his tooth. Devoting myself to the maximum to what I was doing, avoiding looking him in the face so as not to get confused and open the wrong tooth.

"The root is more or less healthy Maximilian, we'll try to save the tooth."

I told him when I examined the inside of the tooth in detail, so I continued with the work. He was very calm, while his eyes burned like my heart near him.

"Almost, I put the medicine on your tooth, it's only temporary. In the next fifteen days you should come to finish it."

"Okay, I will."

"We'll work on a tooth next to it after that, if you want."

"Of course." He laughed.

I got up to write all the necessary information in the card and before I realized Maximilian was next to me. He put his hands on the table around me so that when I turned around I found myself exactly where I needed to be, in his arms.

"Max, what are you doing?"

"Nothing, I'm watching you."

"This is..."

I was a millimeter away from his lips as I stared into those eyes intoxicated by their depth.

At the sound of the door opening, we pulled away from each other. In front of the door of the office, Ana looked at us in amazement.

"I apologize... I'm going to leave you two alone again."

"Stop Ana. What's the matter?"

"I wanted to let you know that the surgery starts in ten minutes, should I help you get ready?"

"Ah, yes, the surgery, I forgot about it. No need Ana, come help me with this.

Ana walked slowly into the office, and discomfort could be felt in the air. She looked at me now, now at Max with a slight smile on her face. I knew she couldn't control herself.

I quickly wrote on a piece of paper what I was doing to Max, and when I needed to make an appointment, I gave her the paper and added it.

"Ana, I wrote everything there. Can you please open the card for Mr. Maximilian, and enter all the information in it, including today's treatment, and schedule a free appointment during that period, I stated here?"

"You don't have to worry, I'll make an appointment for Mr. Maximilian." The last part she said with a sneer.

I held out my hand to him as he shook my hand. he looked at me in that irresistible way of his own only he knew and it made me confused.

"I'm fine now, and I'll see you Max... I mean sir... at the next appointment."

Ana was already laughing with a full smile, and I was getting the color in my cheeks again.

"Of course, Doctor, I'm looking forward to it." He answered.

I left the office and hurried to the operating room.

I'm looking forward to it.

What does it mean? What kind of behavior is that and in front of Ana?

 I wrapped my hand around my burning cheeks and my heart was beating as hard as if I had just run a marathon.

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