Chapter 2

CHAPTERTWO

IT WAS A breezy fall day in New Haven, Connecticut when Luca Davis stepped out of the Sterling Hall of Medicine building, his eyes glued to the paper he held in his hands. He skimmed through the instructions, flipped the page to get to the good stuff, and grinned when he saw the first word listed on the schedule.

“Heads up—” he heard someone yell out just before he jolted to a stop. Someone gripped his arms from behind, holding him back from slamming into the group of people headed up the stairs in his direction. When they passed, Luca turned around to see Silas, one of his classmates, shaking his head, a smirk on his face.

“You can’t be head of the class if you get trampled to death by a bunch of newbies. Or did you just wanna hand me that spot?”

Luca rolled his eyes and shrugged his backpack up his shoulder as he headed down the stairs, Silas walking alongside him. “That’s pretty cocky, considering you wanted to drop out last week.”

“I didn’t want to drop out. If I’m a doctor, I make Mom happy. If I’m a lawyer, then Dad’s on cloud fuckin’ nine. If they had their way, I’d be in med school and getting a law degree. Be glad your parents aren’t divorced.”

“Oh, I am. Very.” Luca smoothed out his schedule on his jeans, but before he could read it again, Silas snatched it from his hands.

“Your first rotation’s general surgery? Jesus, you really are the favorite.” He handed the schedule back to Luca, who frowned.

“What’s your first stop?”

Silas groaned. “Guess.”

“Well, you don’t look ecstatic, so I’m guessing not ob/gyn.”

“I’d never be so lucky. Pediatrics.”

Luca had to fight hard not to let his grin show. It wasn’t like there was a bad rotation, not really, but he couldn’t picture the big guy in a pediatric ward. His hand was bigger than a newborn.

Silas gave him a side-eye, saw the twitch of Luca’s lips, and sighed. “Yeah. Go ahead. Let it out. Poor Silas stuck in pediatrics.”

“Oh, I wasn’t thinking poor you. More like poor babies.”

“Fuck you, man.”

“Nah, but thanks.”

Silas arched an eyebrow. “What? I’m not your type?”

Luca looked his friend up and down, taking in his ripped jeans, crinkled shirt, and ball cap. “Let’s just say I like my guys a little more…put together.”

Silas looked himself over then shrugged. “Yeah, well, maybe when I’m not up to my eyeballs in college debt I’ll be able to accomplish that.”

Lucas screwed his nose up, shaking his head. “Yeah, I don’t think so. Not really your style.”

“Thanks, asshole.”

Luca chuckled. “Please, it’s not like I’m yours either. I was there last week when you took home Malibu Ken. Blond hair, muscles for days, tanned all over…”

“I wouldn’t know about all over.”

Luca side-eyed his friend.

“But from the waist down there were definitely no tan lines.”

Luca snorted and shoved him in the arm. “Exactly. So don’t try to tell me you don’t have a type. You zeroed in on surfer boy before he even knew what hit him.”

“Yeah, yeah. Well, the odds he wasn’t from around here were in my favor, and guess what? I was right. He rode the next wave—or should I say plane—out the following morning. No awkward run-ins for me.”

Luca grinned and turned his attention back to his new schedule. It was hectic, but nothing he couldn’t handle. He’d been studying his ass off for the chance to be placed in the general surgery rotation first, and now that it was here, he wasn’t about to screw it up. He needed to get back to his dorm and make sure he had everything he needed to start the new year out right. Third year was renowned for being the one that could make you or break you, and there was no way in hell he was going to let it break him. Not when he’d come this far.

“You going to the final bar crawl before our life is essentially taken away from us for the next year, or—” One look at Luca’s face and Silas nodded. “Yeah, okay, stupid question. You plan to sit back at your place and study your schedule and any and all possible procedures you may be asked to perform.” Silas let out a sigh and hiked his bag a little further up his shoulder. “You really should give yourself one more night of freedom, Luca.”

Luca aimed a crooked smile in his friend’s direction. “I’ll have plenty of time for that later.”

“When? On your fifty-fifth birthday? You’re going to be studying and working for the next bazillion years, my man.”

“I’m sure I’ll find some time. But until then, have a drink for me.”

“All right, but you’re missin’ out. Never know who you could meet to, uh, relieve some of that tension.”

“God, that’s the last thing I need. But have fun. Enjoy the hangover. And the babies.”

“Such an ass. Laterrr.” Silas winked as he backed away, throwing up his middle fingers before waving Luca off with a salute. As he disappeared into the crowd overflowing out of the sports pub, Luca stood there for a moment, watching the carefree way his classmates interacted, as though they didn’t feel the crushing weight of responsibility on their shoulders.

What would that be like? To be like Silas and not worry about the future? To not have that inherent sense of urgency and discipline that even Luca’s parents had questioned?

“Luca, why don’t you take a gap year and really think about what makes you happy? School will be there when you’re ready.” Or “You don’t need to worry about money. Just find someone you can build a life with.”

Someone like Silas would’ve been thrilled with Luca’s parents. Unlimited money, no obligations. A free ride to Yale.

And he was grateful, really he was. But he wanted to prove he was more than some trust fund kid who didn’t give anything back.

He looked down at the rotation schedule in his hand and headed back down the street, until all the loud voices at the pub faded and all he could hear was the occasional car driving by.

So eight weeks surgery, followed by emergency…

He glanced up as he made the turn toward his dorm on the outskirts of campus. Thank God he was able to afford one in a quiet spot without a roommate, or there was no way he’d ever get through med school.

Hmm… Neurology…internal medicine. No pediatrics in his immediate future, which made his lips twitch as he thought of Silas.

Maybe he shouldn’t be so smug, since he’d have that on rotation eventually, but things had definitely worked out in his favor.

Yes, today had been great already, and once he got to his room and prepared, he saw no reason why tomorrow wouldn’t be just as—