Part 2Tied to You: The Delivery Mix-Up with My Dentist Crush

My neighbor's name was Arthur Hayes, a dentist at a top-tier hospital in our district.

My crush on him originated from a brutally intense cavity filling.

I had bad eating habits. Whenever I ate something delicious, I'd subconsciously bite down hard. One careless chomp on a bone fragment chipped my tooth. It hurt so much I couldn't sleep all night, my cheek swelling up like a small hill. At the crack of dawn, I scrambled to the nearest hospital and registered.

Clutching my swollen cheek, I opened the door to the clinic. One look up completely overturned my perception of the medical profession.

He looked very unprofessional, because he was simply way too handsome.

Fair skin, perfectly proportioned features, soft hair falling smoothly to his brow bone. He wore gold-rimmed glasses resting on a high-bridged nose, and his lips were full and an alluring shade.

"Please, have a seat."

His clear, soothing voice pulled my thoughts back. I sat in the dental chair in front of him, obediently opening my mouth, leaving myself at his mercy.

He briefly asked about my symptoms, then pinched my chin and meticulously examined me for a long time with his cold tools.

I only understood "needs a filling," "requires a root canal," and "might need to come in a few more times."

Then, in a daze, I found myself lying back on the cold dental chair.

"Pinch me if it hurts."

He placed my hand on his leg.

"Tilt your head up.

"Relax.

"Open wide, don't bite down..."

His deep, gentle voice worked better than hypnosis. It was like I was under a spell, acting completely obedient. Whatever he said, I did.

That was until an indescribable, aching, numbing pain spread through my mouth. I couldn't help but pinch his thigh muscle hard. The texture was firm and elastic. A series of inappropriate images began popping into my head.

Like that thirsty TikTok video of the muscle guy I scrolled past before bed last night.

Tears spilling out from the pain flowed down my mouth and were sucked away clean by his suction tube.

"Bear with it for a second.

"A little pressure and pain at first is normal, it'll be over soon."

The cold instruments brought a weird sensation, and the fear of the unknown tortured me. Only by staring at his eyes and brows could I alleviate a fraction of my anxiety.

Luckily, he worked fast. After it was over, I sat dumbly on the edge of the chair. Arthur went over post-care instructions while scheduling my next root canal appointment.

When I left, he said.

"...Pinch a little lighter next time."

I was speechless.

The second time I came, I recorded an audio clip on my phone.

"Dr. Hayes, it hurts!"

Every time it hurt, I just pressed play on the recording.

My voice echoed in the small clinic room.

"Dr. Hayes, it hurts!

"Dr. Hayes...

"Dr. Hayes, it hurts so much!"

The young nurse beside us was bursting with joy, laughing so hard she bent over and couldn't stand straight for a while.

Arthur's face turned red all the way to the tips of his ears.

He kept saying, "Okay, I'll be gentler. Hang in there, it'll be over soon."

But his hand movements didn't pause for a single second because of my audio clip.

It wasn't until I looked at him with teary eyes that he let me rest for a few minutes.

Then it was a new round of torture.

After the filling was done this time, we had no reason to meet and chat anymore.

Even though I missed him, the painful memories of that dental chair were truly terrifying, always managing to nip my burgeoning crush in the bud.

However, our next meeting didn't take long. The flu hit hard, and the apartment complex organized a pop-up vaccination drive in the lobby. Arthur was the doctor assigned to our building.

I came down late and was at the very end of the line. It wasn't until I got my shot and he took off his protective gear that I recognized him.

"What a coincidence, Dr. Hayes!"

"I've been dealing with you for days, and you're just now recognizing me?"

"Huh? You recognized me the past two days?"

"I recognized your teeth."

I laughed awkwardly.

Chalk it up to him being unromantic, and me being overly sentimental.

We chatted as we walked, only realizing we were walking the same path when we reached our front doors.

"You live here too?

"Looks like we're neighbors."

Being close to the water gets you the moonlight first. Wasn't this a godsend?

I, Penny Parker, am indeed destined to feast on the best!

Since then, I would find excuses to bother Dr. Hayes, making him cute bento boxes, asking him out to try new restaurants or watch movies.

The fact that he never refused made me feel pretty good about myself. I had even thought of our future kids' names.

Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes.

I believed our relationship was just one step away from the goal line.

Now that this incident happened, if I didn't handle it well, wouldn't all this time spent chasing him be for nothing?