"Oliver!" Kyra called in surprise when she noticed him standing a few feet away from the couch.
He was still wearing a suit and he looked tired. It is obvious that he came directly from the hospital. But it is already late at night so, did he work till now?
It made Kyra happy and guilty at the same time.
Here, she was thinking that he is avoiding her on purpose but it seems like he is really busy and worn out. She felt relieved that he didn't do this on purpose and it made her guilty for overthinking.
"Kyra." Oliver called back, with a pleasant smile.
His eyes filled with warmth instinctively and, even his voice turned as gentle as snow.
Kyra lips curved up into a full blown smile, hearing his voice, Her eyes lighting up with pure bliss when they met his warm eyes. Her bad mood was thrown out of the window, just like this.
Patting the place behind her, she made a gesture signalling him to sit.
Oliver smiled in response and sat down, pleased that she was happy to see him. His exhaustion evaporated into thin air seeing her beautiful smile.
Just a few minutes back, both of them were in a bad mood. But, after seeing each other, it just took one eighty turn.
"Research paper?", he asked, noticing that Kyra is reading research papers related to neurology. Though he wanted to talk about something else other than work, he simply didn't know what else to talk about.
He didn't contact her in these two days even after knowing that she is not well. It made him guilty. And, for the hundredth time, he scolded himself for letting Daniel's words influence him.
But what can he do? His past makes him overthink.
"Yes. I am working on research.", Kyra said, taking a look at the notes she prepared. .
"Research?", Oliver asked in surprise. He is not aware that Kyra is into research as well. He thought she loved doing surgeries more. It seems like there is so much to learn about her.
"Yes. My friend back in London is working on this. I was helping him before coming here, so I still have some part of my work left," Kyra explained.
"Impressive.", Oliver said. But his mind was elsewhere.
To be more precise, his thoughts have stopped right at 'him'.
Daniel's words reverberated in his mind. 'She has a huge man following, bro. And, she has so many friends who feel the same as you. I can understand why you are swayed by her. Seems like you are not the exception as well.'
'So, is this friend she spoke of, feels the same too? And, she is so nice to him that she is even helping him while she is sick. So, is he special to her?', he thought.
"Wanna see what I am working on?"Kyra asked, giving her iPad to him, making Oliver cut his thoughts short.
Oliver took the iPad from her hand and moved a little close to her as he took a look at the research paper on her screen.
"What a coincidence. I am working on this as well. My new research that just started is on the same topic.", Oliver said, taking a detailed look.
"Really?"Kyra asked, surprised and excited, moving an inch closer to him to look into the iPad. They are now sitting so close to each other that their shoulders are brushing with each other.
"Yes. You can come and take a look if you want. And, if you are interested, you can assist me in that as well.", Oliver told her.
The excitement and passion in her eyes instantly melted his heart that he couldn't resist it.
"I can?", Kyra asked in surprise.
Oliver laughed, his eyes twinkling like stars under moon light.
"Of course. Only if you are interested, but. No pressure.", He said.
"I am interested!! It's an honor to work with you! Why would I let a precious opportunity like this slip?"Kyra responded, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Oliver didn't know why but he felt happy seeing her excited like this.
Maybe, she is so passionate about her work and he was only overthinking, assuming that her 'male friend' is special to her.
'Then, you are not special to her as well. You are her idol, that's it. Nothing much', a voice inside his head said.
"I am free this week, so I am thinking about working on this. Could you help me? I still have so much to research and your previous papers on this topic are really good,", Kyra said after some time, her voice a little hesitant.
In these past two days when Oliver didn't contact her, she felt as if a part of her life was missing.
She missed talking to him, seeing him and spending time like this. All day, she would wait for him to contact her.
It made her realize that she might actually like him more than she thought.
When she told about this to her best friend Sofia and her favorite brother, Ryan, they suggested she take initiative if she really wanted to give her feelings a shot.
But, Kyra was hesitant. Making new relationships scare her, especially the ones that could affect her drastically. She was already hurt twice by the people she loved and trusted.
She didn't want the history to repeat but at the same time, she couldn't bring herself to control her feelings and emotions that are connected to Oliver.
She knows that she would regret it if she cower like this. Moreover, she is trying to break through her trauma and it looks like this is the right chance for her.
After taking all these into consideration, she decided to take an initiative to get to know Oliver better.
She was reluctant but after talking to Oliver now, she knew that she would surely enjoy the process of getting to know him better, no matter if their relationship progressed or not.
He is worth the risk.