The Attending's Side-Piece Diary

My queensize bed collapsed last night. I bought a new one online but totally forgot to select the assembly service. I accidentally fired off a text to my ex.

Fifteen minutes later, he showed up. After he finished putting it together, he told me to test it out to see if it was sturdy.

I took a single step closer, and his arm hooked around my waist, hauling me straight onto his lap. "You didn't call me over here just to build this.

You wanted to test it out with me, right?" The air in the room instantly froze, and I could only hear the rapid thudding of my own heartbeat.

My cheeks burned hot. "You've got the wrong idea," I said. "Another guy broke my bed last night." Chapter 1 The bed collapsed right in the middle of things last night.

I picked out a new queensize bed online. It arrived the very next day. The massive shipping boxes took up half my bedroom.

I stared at my phone screen, my jaw tight. [Dear customer, you did not select the assembly service option.] I bought it in way too much of a rush.

It was getting dark now, and there was no way I could book a handyman.

I forwarded the screenshot of the customer service chat to the main culprit from last night. [Can you come back and put this bed together?] I snapped a photo of the wrecked bedroom and hit send.

The typing indicator flashed for a long time before he finally replied. [You're asking me to do this?] Why the hell wouldn't I ask him?

He was the one who broke it yesterday. [Get it put together early, and you can come sleep in it.] Two minutes later, my phone buzzed. [Be there in fifteen.] The time flew by, and the doorbell rang three sharp times.

I padded over and opened the door, barefoot and still wearing my lace slip dress.

Silas stood in the doorway, his gaze slowly dragging over me. "You're wearing that to greet your ex?" I blinked, my fingers gripping the edge of the door.

Why was my ex standing here? Silas and I had been broken up for a year. I sent the message to the wrong guy.

It was all because both of them used solid black profile pictures. "How much junk did you pile on that bed to just snap the frame like that?" Silas asked casually as he ripped open the cardboard boxes. "Just… a lot of clothes, I guess." I made a snap decision to keep the real reason to myself.

Trying to explain a broken bed to an ex was way too weird. The AC was blasting cold air, but building a queensize bed from scratch was heavy labor. Sweat beaded on Silas's skin.

My eyes drifted over his back. His damp shirt clung to him, tracing the hard lines of his broad shoulders and lean waist. I took a sip of water and forced my gaze away.

Silas's face was flawless. But I dumped him because in bed, he was like a machine that only operated strictly by the manual.

It was always in the dark, no rough talk, and no pulsepounding loss of control. He wouldn't even let me call him "Dr. Silas." It was just too suffocating.

Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore. I broke up with him right after we finished. Silas sat on the edge of the mattress, his hands buttoning up his shirt.

He stayed silent for a moment and didn't even turn his head to look at me. "Are you serious?" "I'm serious." That was it. That was the whole breakup.

He was the kind of guy who couldn't even make a breakup dramatic. "It's done." His voice snapped me back to reality. His musclecorded arms braced against the mattress.

Somehow, there was zero contradiction seeing this powerful, dominant body doing domestic chores.

Silas sat on the bed, bracing his hands on the edge as he bounced his weight up and down. The new frame let out a series of squeaks that sounded too suggestive.

He tilted his head slightly, a faint smirk lifting the corner of his mouth, and patted the empty space next to him. "Test it out. See if it holds up." Was he out of his mind?

I hesitated, then lowered myself onto the mattress next to him. Bracing myself, I forced my body to bounce up and down three or four times, copying his movements.

I could feel Silas's eyes locked onto me. My cheeks rapidly heated up, and I could only stare dead at the edge of the mattress. What the hell was wrong with me?

Testing out a bed with my ex? "How exactly am I supposed to test this?" I started to stand up, fully intending to kick him out.

A hard arm hooked around my waist, refusing to let go. I fell straight backward, landing perfectly between his slightly parted thighs.

His warm breath ghosted right into my ear, stirring a faint, electric shiver down my spine. "You didn't call me over here just to build this.

You wanted to test it out with me, right?" I hadn't misunderstood him at all. Silas had definitely changed; he knew exactly how to seduce someone now.

Even right in this second, I could feel the very obvious, hard shift in his body directly beneath me. The heat rushed furiously to my face. "You've got the wrong idea.

Another guy broke my bed last night." I had just sent the text to the wrong contact. Silas ignored my words, the tip of his nose brushing lightly against the hollow of my neck.

Chapter 2 "You said if I got it put together early, I could come sleep in it… Are we getting back together?" My breath hitched. Get back together with him?

If he hadn't suddenly shown up at my door, the thought genuinely wouldn't have crossed my mind. But if I had to say whether I wanted to… the idea had only just sparked a second ago.

Silas hooked his arms under my legs, pulling me flush against him so I was straddling his lap sideways.

He lowered his head, his cool lips pressing against my forehead, trailing down to my cheek, my jawline, and the sensitive skin of my neck.

My mind clouded over, my fingertips twisting tightly into the fabric of his shirt. I had to admit, Silas's kissing skills had leveled up immensely.

The phone resting beside us buzzed, an inappropriately timed interruption. A message popped up on the screen. [Babe, is the new bed ready?

I'm coming over to check.] [I won't be so rough tonight.] With one arm still looped around Silas's neck, I grabbed my phone and fired back a text. [Not ready.

Don't come over.] Don't ruin this for me. I locked the screen, only to realize the man beneath me had frozen.

Silas's brow furrowed sharply, and the tight grip of his hands on my waist loosened.

I leaned in, trying to capture his lips again. "Who is he?" He pressed two fingers against my forehead, holding me back. "How exactly did your bed collapse?" I threw my hands up, deciding to just tell the truth. "Just a younger guy.

He was way too reckless getting into bed, and it just ended up like this." The shower ran loudly in the bathroom.

Silas had pushed me away and gone in to shower, taking a long time before he finally walked out.

He stood by the floortoceiling windows on the balcony, nothing but a white towel slung low on his hips, waiting for his clothes to finish in the dryer. "Are you leaving?" I lost the thread of his logic again.

Wasn't he just about to hook up with me a minute ago?

Silas lifted his gaze. "What do you think?" His jawline was pulled painfully tight, and a freezing chill radiated from his eyes. But who the hell offended him?

I hesitated for a long moment, then looked down at my phone. "I'll Venmo you some money then. Thanks for the hard work today." Cole's voice call suddenly rang through.

I answered it casually. "Yeah, fine, you can come over tonight. Yeah, it's all set." I hung up.

I didn't even notice when Silas had moved, but he was standing directly in front of me now, his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. "How can you be this kind of woman?" "What kind of woman am I?" "I just finished building your bed, I don't even have my clothes on yet, and you're already telling someone else to come over?" I glanced at the countdown timer on the dryer. "It takes him half an hour to get here.

You'll be gone in fifteen minutes tops.

You won't even cross paths." Silas's gaze was locked onto me, his lips pressed into a perfectly straight, hard line before he let out a harsh scoff. Then it clicked.

Did he want something to happen between us, but felt interrupted by an outsider? Or did he think I wasn't being aggressive enough, ruining his mood?

After all, Silas was notoriously conservative when it came to that kind of thing. I cleared my throat. "I'll just make up an excuse and tell him not to come back tonight.

How does that sound?" I was giving his ego a massive stroke here. The dryer let out a sharp ding. Silas's face went rigid.

He hurriedly shoved his arms into his shirt and looked down as he yanked on his pants. "Let me tell you something, Stella.

You've got the wrong guy." I crossed my arms, my nails digging lightly into my skin. "I don't know where this sudden virginmartyr complex came from." Silas choked on his words.

A dark shadow crossed his rigid features. He ripped the front door open, stepping out, only to abruptly freeze in his tracks.

Cole, who was just raising his hand to knock, clearly stiffened in shock. "Professor Silas?

What are you doing here?" "Cole?" Silas's brow furrowed. "You two know each other?" I asked. "Stella, I just started my internship, remember?

Professor Silas is my supervising attending." Silas was a doctor. Cole was a med student. I genuinely never considered the possibility that Silas was Cole's mentor.

Silas snapped his head back to look at me, then turned his icy glare back to Cole. "So, you live with her?" "Yeah.

It's close to the hospital, so the commute is super easy." Chapter 3 Silas's jaw clenched so hard a muscle feathered in his cheek.

He used to live in this exact apartment, right up until I kicked his ass out.

Cole's eyes darted between Silas and me. "Professor Silas, why are you here?" Silas didn't say a word, his chest rising and falling in a slow, tense rhythm. "He came to build the bed," I chimed in for him. "It's all finished." Silas's jawline was pulled dead tight.

He spun on his heel and strode out of the apartment without even looking back.

Cole's mouth fell open slightly, his feet frozen in place. "Stella, you called the youngest attending in the whole hospital over here… to build a bed?" "He practically begged to do it." I rubbed my temples.

Cole looked down and let out a heavy sigh. "Did my supervisor just walk off in my slippers?" A pair of men's leather dress shoes sat perfectly aligned by the door.

I pulled out my phone to text Silas, only to find the asshole had actually blocked me. Cole set down a can of wet food. A second later, Mimi crept out from her hiding spot.

Yesterday, the cat had dragged some bug onto the mattress, and Cole spent the entire night jumping around trying to catch it, eventually stomping right through the bed frame.

Cole rubbed the back of his neck. I kept a straight face. "It's coming out of your security deposit." Later that night, I tossed and turned, wide awake.

A sudden yell echoed from the bathroom. "Holy shit, the water is freezing!" Cole shouted. Silas must have taken a cold shower this afternoon.

Knowing Silas had me blocked, I decided to fire off a chaotic text to his empty chat. [So Dr. Silas handles things manually by himself and just leaves me hanging?

You're a real piece of work.] I jammed my thumb against the screen to hit send. Delivered. My breath caught in my throat. My thumb hammered the screen to unsend it.

The guy had actually unblocked me. Did he see it?

My fingers hovered over the keyboard as I scrambled to cover my tracks. [Just wanted to tell you that you left your shoes at my place.] Silas's replies popped up in rapid succession. [I saw it.] [I'm not coming over.] [Don't send me things like that in the middle of the night.] [Cole is my student.] He still saw it.

Was this his postnut clarity talking? His jaw was clamped tight right now. And so what if Cole was his intern?

Cole just finished his shower, carrying a fresh cheese pizza and some beers he ordered, calling me out to the living room for a latenight snack.

I shot Silas one last text. [Got it. Cole is calling me, can't talk anymore.] Both my hands were busy grabbing greasy pizza slices, so I couldn't reply anyway.

By the time we finished eating, it was almost eleven. That was when I finally saw the message Silas had sent two hours ago. [I'm an amateur at building things.

The bed was just put together, so it might not be safe.] Silas was such a great mentor, caring so much about whether Cole lived or died. I typed back. [Just saw this.

I'll tell him to be careful.] The screen flashed to Typing… He was typing for a really long time. I stared at the screen, genuinely waiting for his response.

Out of nowhere, an incoming FaceTime call from Silas popped up. I was in the bathroom, washing my hands at the sink. My face reflected on the screen.

My cheeks were flushed hot from the alcohol, and my lips looked slightly swollen. I hurriedly twisted the faucet off.

Silas was staring straight through the screen at me, his gaze razorsharp, glinting with a dangerous edge. "He used you for two hours… Can you even handle anymore?

Come out and see me for round two?" I glanced at the time. It was almost midnight.

Going out for latenight food with my ex? "No thanks, I'm stuffed." Silas was sitting in a single armchair.

He tilted his neck back, his fingers dragging roughly through his hair. "Stuffed? You're unbelievable.

You really just treat me like a tool." His phone seemed to be propped up on a coffee table. The camera angle was pointed upwards, cutting off his face.

It only framed his powerful thighs, the pale skin of his wrists, his slightly raised chin, and the sharp line of his Adam's apple. What kind of twisted angle was this?

It looked exactly like I was kneeling right in front of him.

Chapter 4 I tuned out his words and just silently took a screenshot. "Stella, who are you FaceTiming?" Cole walked past the doorway, his eyes locking onto my phone screen. "Nobody." I slammed the end call button, my fingers digging hard into the edge of the phone.

Living with a younger guy meant I had to keep strict boundaries, just in case he got any weird ideas about paying his rent in trade.

Cole leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed and an amused glint in his eyes. "I saw you take that screenshot.

Stella… you should get a real boyfriend instead of cybersexing with some cam guy." I flicked the water off my hands. "He's not a cam guy.

He's…" He's your attending, you disrespectful brat. Cole raised an eyebrow. "Your boyfriend?" "No. Just a friend." I brushed past him.

Cole tilted his head, making way for me. "What kind of friend?" he asked, completely filterless. "The kind where you FaceTime the crotch instead of the face?" "Could you be any more vulgar?" If it wasn't for his sister, I would have kicked him out on the spot.

His sister was my direct boss. "Just be careful, Stella. Don't let anyone record you…" Cole looked me up and down with a heavy, suggestive gaze.

What exactly did he think I was doing? Was his brain just filled with pure smut?

He suddenly stepped entirely too close, blinking innocently. "If you ever need something, you should just come to me.

I'm young, clean, and totally free." "Hard pass." I had zero interest in my boss's little brother.

Even if I did need something, I already had someone else in mind. [Your student just walked in on me. I'm back in my room now.

Still want to FaceTime?] I laid on my stomach on the bed and shot the text to Silas. [Did you guys… fight because of me?] [Fight over what? You're overthinking it.

He didn't even recognize you.] [Oh.] The conversation hit a dead end. Silas didn't reply to a single text after that. I glared at my phone, my teeth grinding together.

Within a few days, Cole's schedule became insane. He was getting off shift at 2:00 AM every night.

I subtly probed him, "Is Professor Silas always this busy too?" "The old man is a single workaholic.

He breathes down my neck all day like he's got some personal vendetta against me." Cole was so exhausted he was bordering on paranoid delusions.

Knowing Silas and I were friends, he begged me to put in a good word for him. I texted Silas. [Dr.

Silas, it's one thing if you're a workaholic, but can't you let your student get off work early?] Silas's reply was ice cold. [It's just work.] Two minutes later, another message popped up. [I'm not picking on him.] I didn't actually care about standing up for Cole; I just wanted an excuse to talk to him. [I know you're not that kind of guy.] [Silas: …] He literally sent back an ellipsis.

Half a month later, I went to the hospital for an appointment. My hormones were out of whack.

The female doctor asked me about my frequency of sexual activity over the last three months.

I rubbed my temples in defeat. "I made out with someone half a month ago… does that count?" Obviously, it didn't count.

She tactfully suggested that getting laid would clear the issue right up. I stood in the hospital elevator, sinking deep into thought. Who the hell was I supposed to sleep with?

The elevator doors slowly slid open. A massive crowd of doctors flooded in, shoving me all the way into the back corner.

Silas stood right at the front of the interns in his pristine white coat. His jaw was locked tight, his spine straight, radiating an aura of authority.

Cole was standing right behind him, his eyes squeezed shut as he yawned. Compared to Silas's polished, elite energy, Cole didn't even register on the radar.

My gaze cut through the crowd and landed straight on Silas's flawless side profile. Talk about perfect timing. Chapter 5 He definitely wanted it last time. I fired off a text. [Dr.

Silas, that thing we didn't finish last time… can we pick up where we left off?] Silas glanced down at his screen. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his thumb hit the lock button.

He shot a quick look over his shoulder, acting exactly like a guy caught doing something dirty. Working Silas was undeniably cute. My playful streak flared up. [Dr.

Silas, my body feels a little off.

Should I come to the hospital for a checkup?] Silas glanced down, then smoothly took two steps to the side, putting more distance between himself and Cole. [Where does it hurt?] I kept my eyes pinned on him, a smirk playing on my lips as I typed. [Everywhere.] [I want an appointment with Dr.

Silas.] [Can you give me a thorough, insideandout examination?] [Sometimes the doctor knows exactly where it hurts better than the patient.] Silas let out a stiff cough, turning his body slightly sideways and clutching his phone flat against his chest. [Stella, have some selfrespect.] [No matter how bad it hurts, don't look for me.

Have Cole take a look at you.] What a total nerd. I was talking about getting into bed, and he was actually talking about a medical checkup? How did I ever agree to date him?

Oh, right. I chased him. That made total sense. [But I only want Dr. Silas to examine me.] Silas's fingers suddenly stalled.

He shot a stealthy glance toward Cole, then whipped his eyes back front.

The whole movement was so smooth it looked less like he was sneaking a peek and more like he was just aggressively glaring at the kid.

Cole suddenly jerked his head up. "Professor Silas, is something wrong?" The usually untouchable Professor Silas's shoulders jerked inward, his phone nearly slipping right out of his grip. "What?

I didn't do anything." Cole stared at him blankly. Silas quickly spun around and typed furiously. [I'm at work. Stop texting me.

I'm begging you.] A little sexting had the man totally rattled. [Dr. Silas, I'm right here in the elevator.] [I'm not scared. What are you freaking out about?] Silas was tall.

He faked a casual stretch, turning slightly—and his eyes locked right onto me. I threw him a blatant wink.

He practically snapped his neck turning back around, looking like a thief caught redhanded. The entire group of doctors shuffled out of the elevator a floor later.

I stayed on, riding it all the way down to the B2 parking garage.

The second the doors slid open, a hand clamped irontight around my wrist, dragging me straight into the dimly lit stairwell.

My entire body was cast in the man's tall shadow. "Stella, what exactly are you trying to pull?" His voice dropped an octave, rough and low.

I straightened my spine and tilted my chin up to meet his gaze. "I want to hook up with you. Is that a problem?" Silas stared down at me, his eyes dead flat. "Yes." "Fine.

Forget it then." If the ex wouldn't put out, I wasn't going to beg. I pivoted on my heel and stepped back toward the light. "Wait." I froze and looked over my shoulder.

He was still standing in the dark, leaning back against the concrete wall, his fingers digging deeply into his temples. "Is there zero room for negotiation here?

If people find out about this kind of arrangement, how am I supposed to show my face?

How am I supposed to be a respectable mentor?" His hand dragged over his face, his chest heaving with visible frustration. "First, you need to kick that guy out of your apartment." My brow furrowed, totally lost. "Why?" Silas locked eyes with me, the temperature in his voice plummeting. "Don't tell me you were planning to do this with me in the same place you live with Cole?" Something about his logic felt completely twisted.

But right now, he clearly needed me to throw him a bone. I blinked. "Obviously not.

I was just going to book a hotel room." Silas stared at me in dead silence, the weight of his gaze making my skin crawl. "So I'm only worth a hotel room?" I couldn't follow his brain at all.

Silas was already slamming his palm against the elevator call button. He was heading back to his shift.

I hesitated before asking, "So… once I book the room, should I text you the address?" He lifted his eyes, glaring at me with absolute frost. "Don't bother.

I'm not that cheap." Chapter 6 The elevator doors slid shut. I stood frozen in place for a long time. What exactly did that mean? We could have easily negotiated.

I could have just booked a fivestar hotel. I pulled up Silas's contact to ask him to elaborate on the whole "cheap" comment, only to find he had blocked me again. Psycho.

Who constantly blocks their ex like this? Cole actually got off work on time today. "A total miracle.

Professor Silas finally decided to act like a human and let me come home to my girlfriend," Cole said.

I crouched on the balcony, scratching Mimi behind the ears. "You have a girlfriend?" "Nope. But I fabricated a whole relationship status on my first day of the internship.

Otherwise, I'd be the prime target for grunt work." "Aren't you worried about sabotaging your dating life?" The TV droned on in the living room.

Cole sprawled out on the couch, his eyes closed as he spewed absolute nonsense. "What's more important, dating or staying alive?

I told all my coworkers that if I kept working this much overtime, she'd definitely dump me, or cheat on me behind my back." "You really carved out a niche playing the ultimate victim, didn't you?" Silence.

Cole was already dead asleep. I tossed a throw blanket over him, sank into the armchair, and scrolled through my phone. Out of nowhere, a post from Silas popped up on my feed.

It was a faceless picture of his abs. A sharpknuckled hand gripped the hem of a dark shirt, pulling it up just enough to expose the hard, ridged lines of his core.

I doubletapped to like it. A second later, something clicked in my brain, and I instantly removed the like. There were zero other likes on a thirst trap of this caliber.

It was glaringly obvious this post was set to be visible only to me. I seriously suspected this man was mentally ill. He refused to actually hook up.

His account kept blocking and unblocking me. This whole game of playing hardtoget was endless.

I hit the screen hard and typed. [Drop the hypocritical act.] Less than three seconds later, the post vanished. He deleted it.

I could practically hear a fragile ego shattering through the screen. My stomach twisted with guilt. [Sorry.] [Silas: It has nothing to do with you. I posted it by mistake.

I just realized and deleted it.] [Silas: I let Cole get off work. Don't contact me anymore.

This really isn't a good idea.] He always hated backdoor deals and pulling strings at work. [I won't do it again.] [I just mentioned it casually before.] [And by the way, that picture was actually really good.] [Silas: That's not what you just said.] I sent back a meme of a confused cat standing on its hind legs.

My phone started vibrating. An incoming call from Silas. "Is Cole next to you?" His voice was tight, strung completely tense.

I picked up my water glass from the coffee table, glancing over at Cole on the couch. "Yeah, he's dead asleep. I'm just on my phone.

What do you want to say?" Heavy silence hung on the other end of the line.

Through the faint, crackling static, every single word Silas forced out sounded laced with pure shame. "You said the picture was good… do you want to FaceTime?" Did those words seriously just come out of his mouth?

I choked, coughing out a mouthful of water. Cole shifted on the couch, startled awake. He mumbled, asking what I was doing. I quickly waved him off and said it was nothing.

Thankfully, Silas didn't make a single sound. I sneaked back into my bedroom like a thief. I crawled into bed and whispered into the receiver. "Yeah.

Let's FaceTime." His dark eyes locked onto mine through the screen. He lowered his head and gave a rough, quiet, "Yeah." He angled the camera straight down at his core.

His hands gripped the hem of his tshirt, yanking it up and over his head.

His body was incredibly sculpted, his skin a stark, cool white that made the heavy flush spreading across his chest look dark.

My hand clamped hard over my mouth to smother a shriek. Before, I couldn't even beg him to leave the lights on. Now, my ex was unhinged.

Chapter 7 I couldn't see Silas's face, but his voice carried a faint, rough tremor. "Tell me what you want to see. Just ask. Whatever you want." I swallowed hard.

You really shouldn't push your luck. Stella, have some decency.

The words caught in my throat, tumbling over each other before I finally blurted them out. "Can you take the pants off?" Okay, fine. I'd be a better woman in my next life.

The hard lines of his body visibly locked up on the screen.

His hands hovered at his waistline, his fingertips digging slightly into his skin, hesitating before making any downward movement. "The boxers… are staying on." His voice sounded tight, almost aggrieved.

That was definitely his absolute bottom line. "Uhhuh, they can stay on." I thoroughly enjoyed the show Silas was putting on for me.

The sharp Vline of his waist and his narrow hips were ridiculously hot. He was wearing dark blue—his taste was flawless as always.

Silas's voice cracked with pure humiliation. "Stella, can you stop staring at just one spot?" That was when I finally realized—my hyperfocused, burning gaze had already brought a very visible, aggressive shift under that dark blue fabric.

I coughed, my face burning. "Sorry." "It's fine," he dragged out in a low, ragged rasp. "I volunteered for this." I could see the rigid tension bleeding out of his posture, leaving him looking hollowed out. "How about we make it fair?

I'll show you mine