Chapter 6

He looked at the small package he had in his hand and unwrapped it. Claire was in front of him, hopping up and down with impatience. As he was going out the box from the gift paper, a smile drew on his face.

"How did you… Where did you…" He was speechless. She smiled proudly. She had managed to surprise him. Even more than she had imagined. "Claire, this is too much…"

She smiled at him. "No… When I saw it, I just knew it was made for you… It reminded me of…"

He cut her. "Of our conversation in the MRI room…"

She nodded, pinching her lips, as she did every time she was happy and tried not to be too demonstrative.

"He really is my favorite."

"I know."

He placed the Star Trek McCoy figurine on the table right behind him cautiously. It was probably one of the most intimate gifts he had been offered for decades. He came back closer to her. She was admiring the new basket pair he had given to her. The one she was dreaming of for months but didn't buy because nobody put so much money for shoes.

"Thank you Claire, really."

"No thank you to you, Neil. It's really a beautiful gift. One of the most beautiful since a long time to be fair…"

Once again, silence surrounded them. They were looking at each other in the eyes. Neither of them dared to move, fearing to break this moment. This idiotic smile on their faces. Just the two of them and nobody else. And she knew it was the moment to do so or she could regret it all her life. She put on her tiptoes and dropped a brief kiss on Neil's lips. A second later, she hated her to have done so.

"Ohhh, so sorry, I shouldn't have… I'm..."

Before she could end her sentence, he kissed her back. This time, it was deeper, more passionate, wilder. She allowed his urging tongue to enter her month. She let him show her the way. She loved being led from time to time. Especially when she was losing all her marks as it was the case right now. He grabbed her face in his hands. He didn't want her to go away. She placed her arms around his neck. It felt so natural to be there.

The kiss lasted. As if neither of them wanted the other to go away. As if they had waited for so long that they needed to be sure this moment was really happening. As if they wanted this special moment never ended. At one point, they had to separate, their lungs asking for new oxygen. What to say? What to do? Claire bit her lower lip. Neil gave her a faint smile. Both shy. Both happy.

"I'm glad we…" She couldn't find her words. Her heartbeat was racing like hell.

"Me too… I may have dreamt about this moment for a while… But I didn't want to because…"

"Because you're my boss… I know… At least we know how it feels when we…"

"Kiss…" Neil was feeling all fluffy saying this word aloud.

"Yeah…" She blushed.

They remained silent for a while but they didn't want to leave this balcony where they shared so much history. Neil took a deep breath and looked at Claire in the eyes. He cleared his voice.

"I'd like to take you on an official date, two months from now… When you'll be graduated… When they will see us as equals here… Because I've always seen you this way… For a long time to be honest… But the hierarchy and the old mentality haunted the corridors of this hospital see things otherwise…." He was twisting his hands while talking. Stuttering on words. "Would you agree?"

He was anxious she might say no. After all, anything was possible. He was himself lost in his own feelings. And tonight, it was the first time, he let them out.

"I'd love to…" She giggled nervously. She hadn't felt like this since Josh Taylor asked her out in high school.

"So I will…" He grabbed her hand and pressed it. "Just not now… Two months seems like a whole year…"

"I know but … It's worth it, right?"

"For sure." He chuckled.

"I see you tomorrow, then… I wouldn't people say we stay here for too long and start gossiping again…"

She let her hand go from him and she already missed his warmth. He closed his fist to still feel her presence in his hand. "Already miss you…"

"Me too…" She lowered her eyes and smiled. This idiotic smile remained stuck on her face till she felt asleep this day, and the day which followed…

He looked at her walking away. He was already thinking about tomorrow morning when she will enter his office to talk a new medical case. About two months ago when he could officially called her his girlfriend…