I Want You

The More I Drink

The More I Drink

Ben knocked on Knox's door. "Door's open. Come in." Ben walked in and headed to the kitchen. "What's going on, man?" The older doctor held out his hand and Ben shook it. He held up the six-pack that he'd picked up from the liquor store. "Am I drinking, too? Or am I just the sounding board?"

"Both." He grabbed two beers out of the carton.

"So what are we drinking to?" Knox cracked open his bottle and asked his friend asked what was going on.

The younger man shook his head. "I wasn't even thinking about liking her until you said something."

"Liking who? What did I say? Wait... You listen to me now?"

Ben chuckled. "Bailey."

"You like Doctor Bailey?"

"That's not the point," Ben whispered. Knox cheered and clinked his bottle with Ben's. "Shut up."

"You know I was only kidding when I said that, right?"

"Yeah."

"You didn't like her when I said that."

"Well, then I had that surgery with her."

"Yeah?"

"And she's so different from any woman I've ever liked or been interested in."

"Thank God," Knox said under his breath. The men laughed. "I mean, I liked... Regina."

"You did not."

"No, I didn't and neither did Paige," Knox told him.

"But why do I have to like Bailey?"

"So you do like her?"

"I guess," he grumbled.

"Stop acting like it's the worst thing ever."

"But she—"

"Miranda."

"Right, Miranda is bull-headed and abrupt..." His voice trailed off.

"But?" Knox prodded. They both polished off their beers and grabbed another.

"But she's intriguing. Even when she's yelling at me or ignoring me or dismissing me. And she makes me work for it—something I've never really had to do. And the way she pored over those books looking for a solution had me mesmerized." Knox took a sip of his drink and didn't respond. Ben was glad that he didn't. He was having an epiphany. "I've never actually seen a surgeon care so much."

"Damn, man."

"What? What?" Knox went to the top of the refrigerator and pulled down chips. He got salsa from inside of it, offering a plate to Ben. "I know it sounds crazy."

"No, you don't sound crazy. It's just that I think she might be married. I think."

Ben slammed down his drink and stood up. "What?! What the hell, Knox! Shit! Why did you let me..." He waved a buzzed hand around. "Go on and on and on about her knowing she wasn't available?"

The older man was calm. "I was about to say that I think they're in the middle of a divorce."

"Divorce?" Knox nodded. "So, I still have a chance?" Ben sat back in his chair, cracking open another beer.

The man nodded again. "Do you want a chance?"

"Listen, I waited in the lobby for twenty extra minutes hoping to see her, wanting to walk her to her car." Going from desperation to anger to hopefulness was positively exhausting.

"Sounds like you got it bad."

"I just got out of something, why is my heart doing this?" He asked beneath his breath, more to himself than to his friend.

"It's the way they work."

"Yeah, I guess." He didn't speak for a long while he drank and sorted out his thoughts. He didn't hear Knox talking to him. Ben looked up to see his friend's lips moving. "Huh?"

"Do you want to stay for dinner?"

"Um, can I get a rain check?" Ben asked sincerely. For once, he wasn't trying to escape the visual of Knox's family. He just needed time to himself. Knox nodded, he understood. Ben smiled to himself. That was one of the reasons why he liked being friends with the older man. There were some things that he didn't have to say simply because the man just knew.

"Sure."

Ben put the rest of the beers into the fridge and walked toward the door. "Thanks for listening."

"Anytime."

In his car parked a few houses down, Ben sat for a half an hour. As he sobered up, he did some pondering: Did he want to pursue the surgeon? She didn't seem too fond of him, so it probably wouldn't go anywhere. But he did get a big win with the results of the test. But was he really into Miranda or would she just be a rebound from Regina? No, he liked her too much to do that. His heart jumped and his hands went to his head. They'd only had a few conversations, but in those minutes, he found someone he wanted to spend some actual time with.