LA: Loyalty Or Annilation

Chapter 14

Third Person POV

The restaurant wasn't what Kristal expected.

When Kenny called it a secret place, she'd imagined some pretentious hidden restaurant where the burgers cost thirty dollars because somebody sprinkled truffle salt on the fries.

Instead, he'd brought her to a small retro diner tucked away from the busiest parts of Los Angeles.

Red vinyl booths.

Black-and-white tile.

Old music playing quietly from a jukebox in the corner.

Milkshakes served in tall glasses with the extra still waiting inside the metal mixing cups.

And burgers that smelled so good Kristal had temporarily forgotten every reason she probably shouldn't be here.

She picked up the massive burger with both hands and took her first bite.

Her eyes widened.

She stopped chewing.

Kenny watched her from across the booth.

Kristal slowly lowered the burger.

"O."

His eyebrow lifted.

"M."

A smile tugged at his mouth.

"G!"

Several people looked over.

Kenny laughed.

"You weren't kidding about how delicious these burgers are! They're so juicy!"

"Yeah, and flavorful."

"YES!"

She immediately took another bite.

Kenny shook his head, chuckling as he reached for his own burger.

The transformation was almost fascinating.

At the clinic, Kristal was always moving with purpose. Checking charts. Helping patients. Talking with nurses. Handling one problem while already anticipating the next.

Tonight, she was sitting across from him with sauce threatening the corner of her mouth and absolute happiness on her face because somebody had made a damn good cheeseburger.

He liked this version of her.

Actually, he liked every version he'd seen so far.

That thought was dangerous.

Maya's warning came back to him.

Extremely slowly.

Message received.

Kristal reached for her vanilla milkshake and took a long sip.

Her eyes closed.

A sound of pure appreciation escaped her.

Kenny grinned.

"That good?"

She opened her eyes.

"Don't EVEN get me started on these milkshakes!"

"Oh, here we go."

"I'm serious."

She took another sip as if she needed confirmation.

"This vanilla shake literally has my toes curling and ready to fight a cow to produce more!"

Kenny's chocolate shake was already in his mouth.

Terrible timing.

"Pfffft—"

He jerked the glass away.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Kristal's eyes widened.

"Kenny!"

He grabbed a napkin, barely managing not to spray chocolate shake across the table.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Me? You're the one trying to fight livestock!"

That only made it worse.

Kenny bent forward, laughing so hard his shoulders shook.

Actual tears formed in his eyes.

"Stop!" Kristal laughed. "You're being dramatic!"

"You said—" He tried catching his breath. "You said you're ready to fight a f*****g cow!"

"For this milkshake? Absolutely."

Kenny lost it again.

People were staring now.

Neither cared.

It had been years since he'd laughed this hard.

Maybe ever.

His days were usually schedules, patients, lab results, paperwork, emergencies, difficult conversations and the constant responsibility that came with being the person everyone expected to have an answer.

This felt different.

Easy.

Refreshing.

Kristal giggled as she watched him struggle to recover.

It was quieter than her earlier laughter.

Soft.

Sweet.

Kenny slowly stopped laughing.

Because now he was staring.

Kristal noticed.

Her smile became uncertain.

"What?"

He leaned back against the booth.

"You know..."

"Hmmm?"

"I think the best part of this meal is the gorgeous woman I'm sharing it with."

Kristal froze.

Kenny's expression remained warm rather than teasing.

"My weariness from the day just floats away when I look at your beautiful smile."

Oh.

She wasn't prepared for that.

At all.

Heat rushed into her face so quickly she knew there was absolutely no hiding it.

She grabbed her milkshake.

Sip.

Just drink.

Maybe if she drank long enough, he'd forget he'd said it.

Kenny's smile deepened.

He definitely noticed.

Kristal suddenly found everything else in the diner fascinating.

The jukebox.

The counter.

The waitress.

The ketchup bottle.

Literally anything except Dr. Kenny Davidson's eyes.

Then she noticed something else.

Women.

Every.

Single.

Woman.

Okay, maybe not literally every woman, but enough.

A blonde sitting at the counter had looked over at least four times.

Two women sharing a booth nearby were whispering.

Their waitress had somehow checked on Kenny's drink three times despite the glass never reaching half-empty.

Kristal nearly laughed.

Apparently Dr. Davidson had a fan club.

Then she caught two men looking at her.

One quickly looked away when their eyes met.

The other smiled.

Kristal politely ignored him.

She wasn't interested.

Her attention returned to the man sitting across from her.

Kenny had rolled up his sleeves, exposing strong forearms while he casually stole one of her fries.

Kristal slapped his hand.

"Excuse you."

"Community property."

"We are not a community."

"Then consider it taxation."

"Put my fry back."

"I already touched it."

"I don't care."

He ate it.

Kristal gasped.

"Thief!"

"Doctor."

"Criminal."

"Still licensed."

She narrowed her eyes while he smiled innocently.

God, he was sexy.

The thought arrived without permission.

Actually—

Sex god.

Kristal nearly choked on her milkshake.

No.

Absolutely not.

She mentally slapped herself.

She was supposed to be enjoying one harmless meal, not mentally undressing the physician sitting across from her.

Still...

She couldn't deny that she was having fun.

Real fun.

Nobody had asked about Shawn.

Nobody was looking at her with pity.

Nobody expected her to explain why her engagement ring was gone.

Kenny had simply brought her somewhere good, fed her an irresponsibly delicious burger, nearly died laughing over a cow joke, and called her beautiful.

It felt nice.

Maybe too nice.

Her mind tried wandering toward what this could become.

She shut that down immediately.

One meal.

That was the agreement.

She could enjoy tonight without deciding tomorrow.

Kristal picked up another fry.

"What made you become a doctor?"

Kenny's expression shifted.

Not badly.

Just enough for her to notice that the question had landed somewhere deeper than casual conversation.

He set down his burger.

"My mother."

Kristal tilted her head.

"Your mom?"

He nodded.

"When I was twelve, she got sick."

The playfulness between them quieted naturally.

"Really sick. For a while, nobody could tell us exactly what was wrong."

Kristal's face softened.

"That must've been terrifying."

"It was."

He looked down at his chocolate shake, slowly turning the glass between his hands.

"I remember sitting beside her hospital bed and watching doctors come in and out. Some talked over her. Some barely looked at her. Everything was test results and terminology neither of us understood."

Then his expression warmed.

"Until one doctor came in and pulled up a chair."

Kristal listened.

"He explained everything to my mother like she was a person instead of a diagnosis. Then he explained it to me because he realized I was scared too."

Kenny smiled faintly at the memory.

"I decided that day I wanted to be that kind of doctor."

Kristal stared at him.

"And your mom?"

"Still alive."

"Oh, thank God."

"Healthy, loud, opinionated, and currently convinced that being her son gives her authority over every aspect of my adult life."

Kristal laughed.

"So basically a mom."

"Exactly."

"Does she still brag about you being a doctor?"

"To everyone."

He sighed dramatically.

"Cashiers. Neighbors. Random people at church. The woman could get pulled over for speeding and somehow work my medical degree into the conversation."

Kristal grinned.

"I already like her."

"Don't encourage her."

"Too late."

Kenny watched that smile return.

He'd meant what he'd said earlier.

The food was incredible.

The milkshakes were worth whatever war Kristal planned to wage against innocent cattle.

But the woman sitting across from him was easily the best part of his evening.

He wanted to know more.

Not about her broken engagement.

Not about whatever happened in room three.

About her.

"What about you?"

Kristal pointed at herself.

"Me?"

"What made you become a nurse?"

Her smile slowly changed.

"That's actually a long story."

Kenny picked up his milkshake and settled comfortably against the booth.

"We've got fries."

Kristal laughed.

"And milkshakes."

"And apparently access to a cow you're prepared to intimidate."

She kicked him lightly beneath the table.

"Shut up!"

Kenny laughed again.

Kristal looked at him across the table, smiling despite herself.

One meal.

That's all she'd agreed to.

But as she settled back into the booth and began telling Kenny her story, she found herself thinking something she hadn't expected.

Maybe one meal didn't have to feel dangerous.

Maybe sometimes...

It could simply be dinner.