Chapter 2

~Jerome~

       I stared at my textbook sitting out in front of me, my head wanting to give me a brutal headache just at the thought having to study again. I thought I was done with school when I graduated, but silly me decided to go to university.

       This was only my first day of classes and I was already considering dropping out forever.

       For the life of me, I couldn't figure out the question I was supposed to answer. I could always ask two experts for help, but they were currently working and I didn't want to interrupt them. That, and I was a stubborn person when it came to school work. I didn't like asking for help, even if I needed it.

       The front door to the clinic opened, so I looked away from my textbook to see who walked in. It was a young woman who seemed to be about my age, carrying a yorkie. She walked to the front desk and smiled at me. "Hi," she said. "I have an appointment for Princess here."

       I looked at the schedule on the computer to see exactly when Princess's appointment was. She was about ten minutes early, and both Grayson and Poppy were working on their current patient.

       "Alright, one of the vets will take you as soon as they can," I said, confirming on the computer that Princess was here for her appointment.

       "Great, thanks!" the owner said before sitting down on one of the seats.

       It wasn't long before Poppy came out of one of the clinic rooms with the current patient. As the owner came over to the front desk for the payment, Poppy walked over as well to see who was next.

       I pointed out who was next but before she could call her over, I said, "Quick question." I looked at my textbook. "Which leukocyte releases histamine during the inflammatory process? Whatever that means."

       "Well, what do you think inflammatory process is?" Poppy asked. "Think inflaming?"

       "Swelling?"

       "Yeah, basically. And what happens during the inflammatory process?"

       "Uh..." I thought for a bit, trying to review what my professor taught me and what I had written down before coming up with an answer. "Something about damaged cells leaking chemicals. Oh, wait, I think I got it. Is it basophil?"

       Poppy smiled. "Exactly. See, you know the stuff. You just have to break down the question sometimes if you don't understand."

       I smiled back at my future mother-in-law, and yes, I did think of her as my mother-in-law because I would no doubt marry Nolan one day. If I didn't, I would never marry anyone. "Thanks for the help. Are you sure it's okay if I study while working the front desk?"

       "Of course," Poppy said. "This is one of the best places for you to study your animal biology class since you can ask me or Grayson if you have any questions."

       Poppy called over the owner and Princess while I took the payment for the previous patient Poppy had. Once that patient left, I was free again to go back to studying.

       Though the moment I looked at my text book, I felt like dropping it on the floor and ignoring it for the time being. I wasn't actually going to drop out of university, though. I thought a lot about what I wanted to study, and the choice I made was one I didn't want to change.

       That didn't mean I wasn't going to break down crying every time I had to study.

       No other patients came in for a while, so I was able to study without having to stop to take care of the patient. The only time I had to stop was when Princess and her owner walked out and up to the counter to pay for the appointment.

       As I was getting the payment ready for the owner, she said, "I haven't seen you working here before and I've been coming to this clinic for years. Are you new?"

       "Sort of," I said. "My boyfriend works here and I'm just covering for him today." Nolan had been doing a lot better at working in the clinic, but he wanted to take a break for a week or two until he was settled into going back to school.

       And since I was now studying to become a vet, I thought it would be a good chance for me to start working in the clinic whenever I had the chance. Poppy and Grayson had offered me the opportunity a while ago, but I never really took it until now.

       "Oh," the owner said. "Well, that's nice of you."

       I didn't know if it was just my ego, but she sounded a bit disappointed now that she found out I had a boyfriend. I knew I was that attractive, but people shouldn't get their hopes up around me.

       No one had a chance against Nolan, after all. He was just the cutest person to ever roam the planet and I was extremely lucky that he chose me out of all people.

       Once the clinic closed, I helped Poppy and Grayson clean up before taking my text book and heading upstairs. Nolan seemed to be in a good mood because the moment he saw me, he got up from the dining table and walked over to me, throwing his arms around my neck and pressing his lips on mine.

       After he pulled away, he gave me a smile. "Hi."

       I couldn't help but smile back at him because of her beautiful and contagious his smile was. "Hi. You're in a good mood."

       Nolan nodded. "Yeah, I am. Thanks again for covering for me while I settle into school."

       "Of course," I said. "I actually like working there. I would debate quitting working at the grocery store just to work at the clinic, but I like the discount I get at the store."

       "I like the discount you get, too."

       I chuckled. "Of course you do. I'm starting to think you like my discount more than me."

       "What? Me? Nooooo, I would never."

       I just smiled at Nolan before leaning down and pressing my lips on his.

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i too would like jerome's discount. it's so sexy of him.

jk jk.