Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm really sorry it took me so long to upload this. I decided that I wanted to end the story, and I wanted to make sure that I got the last chapter right. Please still leave me some reviews or next story requests! Thank you so much for reading my story.
Chapter 2
The next morning, when Emily got to the door of her office, Micah was leaning against the wall next to it. Seeing him, Emily gave him a polite smile, silently praying that he would go away. She wanted to see him, but she still wasn't completely recovered from the events of last night, and she wasn't sure she would be able to keep it together in his presence. Micah grinned at her and pushed himself off of the wall.
"Hey." He said softly.
"Hi." Micah reached out towards Emily and she flinched and looked away, unfortunately before realizing that Micah was just opening her office door for her. She looked up quickly, hoping that Micah hadn't noticed, but the frown on his face clearly expressed otherwise. She tried to catch his eye and offer an apologetic smile, but he had already turned his back to her, opening the door. He gestured into the room, and Emily stepped forward. Micah followed her and closed the door behind him.
"Micah I-"
"Emily? Do we need to talk about something?" Micah's brown eyes were brimming with emotion. Fear, pain, hurt, and worry, and Emily couldn't help herself; she flinched a second time. She felt so awful, making Micah feel all of these things. Suddenly, Emily knew that she had made a decision. She wasn't worried about Will's feelings the other night in the bar when she rejected him. She saw all of these same emotions but she didn't feel guilty for them, she didn't feel the same pain from hurting Will as she did from hurting Micah. At that moment Emily knew she needed to fight for him.
"Has something changed Emily? I know you were kind of scared yesterday, but I thought we were good."
"No, Micah! We're fine; I'm fine. I'm so sorry that I flinched." Emily walked towards Micah with her arms outstretched, but she felt uncomfortable about touching him while he was upset with her, so she wound up fiddling with her coat. "It's just, I—Will, ugh."
"Oh." said Micah. "I see."
"No.", Emily replied, beginning to panic because she could see that Micah was getting ready to leave. "You don't see. Will told me that he picked me last night. He looked me in the eye and told me that he loved me and I told him no, Micah. I've been waiting for him for four years, and now he's here, and I don't want him."
Micah's eyes lit up. "You don't want him?" He asked softly.
"No." Emily replied. "I want you."
"Good." Micah stepped forward in the small space and placed his hands on Emily's waist, resting his forehead against hers. Emily's breath caught in her throat and Micah's warm breath touced her face.
"I probably shouldn't kiss you huh?" Micah whispered against her lips. "You know, since we're at work and all." Micah laughed as Emily let out a little groan in frustration. Pulling away from her, he looked into her eyes.
"Tell you what Emily. 8:00 tonight. I'll pick you up at your apartment, and we'll go out to dinner. What do you think of that?" Emily only nodded in reply, her hands lightly resting on top of her lips and her face flushed completely red.
"It's a date!" said Micah, his boyish grin returning as he turned on his heels and left the room.
At exactly 7:59 P.M., there was a knock on Emily's door. With her heart pounding swiftly against her chest, she grabbed her purse and practically ran to the front door.
"Too fast, Emily, to fast." She could hear Tyra chiding her in her head. Thinking of Tyra reminded her to leave a note for her best friend. Emily quickly grabbed an empty envelope and jotted down a quick message explaining that she was out, and that Tyra shouldn't wait up for her. Then, Emily turned and opened the door, coming face to face with an expectant Micah.
Micah was wearing a dark pair of jeans, and a black pair of Oxfords. Over his lean shoulders hung a black jacket with a black long sleeved shirt underneath. Emily realized she was staring and blushed, breaking their eye contact.
"You look beautiful, Emily." Micah reached out his arm to her, and she took, smiling up at him.
"Where are we going?" Emily inquired.
"I was hoping I could keep it a surprise." Micah said, smiling mischievously. In response to Emily's almost immediate frown, Micah quickly added, "I know how you feel about surprises, but I did a lot of research and I'm ninety-nine percent sure that you will like this one. If not, I promise I will never surprise you ever again."
Emily stared Micah down, hoping that if she could just hold the glare long enough, he would give in. Unfortunately for her, Micah had long ago mastered the please forgive me, puppy-dog eyes, and she couldn't help but laugh.
"Ah, what the hell!" exclaimed Emily, throwing her hands up in the air. "Surprise me."
On the other side of town, far away from the hospital, Micah pulled into a parking lot in a little strip mall. They were obviously in a sketchier part of town, but it was clear from his ease that Micah had been there many times before. There were many establishments in the strip mall; a Laundromat, a tailor's, and a spa were sandwiched between a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant, and a small sushi bar.
Emily squinted at Micah, trying to decide whether or not he looked like a sushi guy, or a Mexican guy. Micah was staring ahead at the strip mall, a blank expression on his face. Micah's face looked rounder from the side, subsequently making him look younger. There was a thin line of stubble along Micah's jaw, and Emily briefly wondered if it would feel prickly under her skin.
"You won't be able to guess." Said Micah turning his head towards Emily, his boyish grin once again returning.
"What?!" said Emily, blushing furiously and praying to God that he she hadn't spoken her last thought out loud.
"You won't be able to figure out which place I brought us to." He replied. "I didn't bring us to one or the other, I brought us to both. You kind of get to pick what we are having for dinner. That's the surprise."
Emily turned and looked out of the windshield. "Um... sushi." She decided.
"Sushi it is!" said Micah, throwing his car door open and hopping out. Emily opened her own door and followed Micah into the restaurant.
The building was definitely as small on the inside as it looked on the outside. There was a small section of tables near the door. The only windows were also near the front of the building, but they were up so high that hardly any light could come in. Farther back there was a bar, and beyond that was the kitchen. Micah ushered Emily over the bar, and they took their seats. The young woman near the cash register approached them.
"Dr. Barnes!" she called out, clearly please to see Micah. "Who are you here with tonight?" She raised her eyes at Emily, looking her up and down.
"This is Emily." said Micah, putting his hand on the small of Emily's back as a blush crept into her cheeks. "Emily, this is my friend Rachel. Her family owns this place, and I used to come her and eat all the time with Dr. Albagetti."
"Hi." Emily said, smiling shyly and shaking Rachel's hand.
"It's nice to meet you." said Rachel. "What can I get you two?"
Micah and Emily ordered, and Rachel walked back into the kitchen to give the chef their orders. After a few minutes she returned with their food.
"You used to come here with Dr. Albagetti?" asked Emily. "But this place is like so far away from the hospital."
"Yea, but, this is where we grew up Emily." In response to Emily's astonished face, Micah nodded. "Jamie and I grew up together. We've always wanted to be doctors; to help people. Jamie's family was messed up, and my dad, well he wasn't around. It was tough for us as kids. We have always wanted to remember where we come from and why we are doing what we do."
"Wow." was all Emily could think of to say.
Micah turned his head to Emily with a questioning look on his face. "Well, why did you become a doctor?" He asked.
"I like helping people. And-". She added softly, "I thought that I would be good at it." Emily turned away from Micah and ran her hands through her hair.
"Hey." Micah said kindly, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You are a great doctor. In fact, you are one of the best that I have ever seen."
Emily looked up at Micah through the hair that had fallen down over face. She felt his hand leave her shoulder as he brought it up to push her hair back. They smiled at each other for a moment before Micah sat up and said, "Let's eat!"
The rest of the meal was spent in pleasant conversation, each telling the other anecdotes from their childhood or med school. When they were finished eating, the bill was paid, and they walked back to the car. The ride back to Emily's apartment was spent in silence; listening to radio and watching the world roll by. When the arrived at Emily's apartment, Micah walked her to the door.
"I had a really nice time, Micah."
"Me too." He was smiling and then he was closer, and his lips were on hers and they were soft and they were warm. He tasted like dinner, but also like something else. Emily's body burned like fire as he put his hands on her waist, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. All too soon, he pulled away.
"Goodnight Emily."
"Goodnight." She replied casting a forlorn look down the hallway after him, already missing his touch. However unknown the future was for Emily, she knew without a doubt that Micah was in it.
