Chapter 19 – Max's Embrace
After Walter left, the clinic fell silent again.
Ethan leaned back in his chair, staring at the dim ceiling light, feeling completely drained.
He took a sip of coffee and his stomach immediately protested.
Outside, the rain-washed twilight sky darkened as streetlights flickered on one by one across the Brooklyn skyline.
A sudden wave of dizziness hit him; he massaged his temples and gave a bitter smile—this was his first time casting Prayer of Healing at full power. He'd known the spell was mana-intensive, but hadn't expected it to be this brutal. The sensation of being wrung completely dry was like having his soul vacuumed out, leaving only an empty husk running on autopilot.
He pushed himself up with effort and sighed. Though it wasn't closing time yet, he decided to shut down early.
"Screw it," he muttered to himself. "I'm heading to the Williamsburg Diner—I could really use one of Max's cupcakes right about now."
The Williamsburg Diner was as chaotic as ever: the sizzle of the grill, bursts of laughter, and Oleg's perpetually inappropriate commentary.
Caroline was excitedly chattering at Max: "Max, I just talked with those two guys at table two—and I know they're sophisticated because they're the only customers who ordered the 'Salted Caramel Ganache' and actually pronounced 'ganache' correctly instead of calling it 'ga-notch'!"
"They want to meet the chef who made these cupcakes. I told them you'd be right over."
"Not happening! They're bad news." Max wiped buttercream frosting off her hands, her expression guarded. "They're designer-clad vultures here to exploit and commodify everything I've built!"
Caroline said, "That's exactly how I felt when Paris and Nicky Hilton crashed my twenty-first birthday party."
Just then the customers at table two waved her over. "Did you make these cupcakes?"
Max put her hands on her hips defensively. "Yeah, what about it? If you've got complaints, make it quick—I'm busy."
The man smiled warmly. "We just wanted to say—these cupcakes are absolutely phenomenal!"
"I don't know who you are or where you trained, but your technique is seriously impressive!"
Max's expression transformed instantly, sweet as buttercream: "Oh, welcome to the neighborhood—I knew I'd like you guys."
Back in the kitchen area, Caroline asked, "So what did those designer vultures want?"
"Caroline, don't be so judgmental!" Max shot back. "Sure, they wear expensive clothes, but they've got taste. They called my cupcakes 'phenomenal'!"
Caroline rolled her eyes. "See? Plenty of people besides me think they're amazing. Can you finally accept that your cupcakes are actually incredible now?"
Max beamed. "Not just incredible—'phenomenal'!"
Oleg stuck his head through the service window. "Order up! Max!"
"Oleg, please address me by my proper title—'Duchess of Phenomenal Cupcakes'."
Oleg smirked. "Then please address me as—'Duke of Infinite Sexual Prowess'."
"I think 'Self-Pleasuring Court Jester' suits you way better," Max shot back.
When Ethan walked into the Williamsburg Diner, Max was zoning out in the kitchen while Caroline hustled between tables.
Caroline waved a hand in front of Max's face. "Max, quit fantasizing about your doctor! He'll show up eventually."
Max: "In my experience, men always arrive too early—except Ethan; he actually takes his time."
"Please, you already rated his bedroom performance as mediocre."
"By 'mediocre' I mainly meant he's lazy about foreplay."
Caroline made a face and went to deliver an order, then spotted Ethan through the window and rushed back to the kitchen.
Caroline: "Stop spacing out! He's here—outside right now."
Max stepped out of the kitchen and froze mid-stride.
"Jesus Christ, Doctor, did you just crawl out of a coffin or donate all your blood to the Red Cross?"
Ethan managed a weak grin. "It'd take at least four Maxes to drain me like this—one tank Max, one healer Max, and the other two better be DPS Max and support Max."
"What the hell are you babbling about?!" She frowned and pushed him into a booth. "Sit down and don't move; I'm getting you food."
Caroline came over, exchanged pleasantries with Ethan, then darted back into the kitchen and said seriously, "Max, you need to take him upstairs to the apartment."
"What?" Max blinked. "It's only seven o'clock; we're slammed."
"Doesn't matter." Caroline was dead serious. "He looks terrible—like he's about to collapse. I seriously doubt he can make it home on his own."
She added, "Don't worry, I can handle the dinner rush solo."
Max set a mug of hot chocolate and a plate of frosted cupcakes in front of him.
"Here, eat something sweet—it'll boost your mood and your blood sugar."
"Thanks, Max, you're amazing! You're definitely my main healer from now on."
He spoke distantly, eyes fixed on the steaming chocolate. "Wait, this isn't a health potion, isn't a mana potion—you just handed me a bottle of... coffee!"
"What the actual hell happened to you? Get attacked by a vampire? Alien abduction?" Max raised an eyebrow.
Ethan chuckled weakly: "Imagine a tank who pulled aggro on a raid boss, got stacked with every debuff in the game—and I kept him alive through all of it!"
"???" She asked no more questions, simply moved behind him and started kneading his shoulders gently.
"Your shoulders feel like concrete blocks—why is a doctor this tense?"
He didn't answer, only closed his eyes.
That warmth and steady pressure briefly pulled him out of his soul-depleted fog.
"Shit," Max muttered. "You seriously look like you're gonna die right here in my diner."
"Don't worry," he murmured. "When a priest dies, they resurrect at the graveyard."
"Graveyard my ass—resurrection my foot! You're a doctor, not a priest. You're completely delirious." She smacked his shoulder lightly. "Come upstairs to my apartment and sleep. Looking at you makes me want to call 911."
Max's cramped studio apartment was much quieter than the diner below.
Ethan collapsed onto her surprisingly comfortable bed, regaining a fragment of coherent thought.
He shifted onto his side; Max had intended to continue massaging his shoulders, but he simply leaned against her, forehead resting lightly against her collarbone.
That small movement made her freeze—yet she didn't push him away, only instinctively ran her fingers through his hair.
She could feel his warm breath against her skin.
Ethan lay quietly, listening to her heartbeat.
"I don't know what happened to you today," she whispered. "But if you die, I'm turning your clinic into a cupcake shop."
"Then save me a corner," he murmured drowsily. "Bury me near the display case, and I'll haunt the place until I respawn."
Max gave a soft laugh and said nothing more.
Her hand kept stroking his hair, and Ethan slowly drifted into unconsciousness.
---
Morning sunlight flooded through the window. When Ethan woke, Max was already gone—probably downstairs prepping for the breakfast shift.
He sat up slowly; the apartment was empty except for a plate of cupcakes on the nightstand—Max's breakfast offering.
He raised his hand experimentally; a faint golden shimmer flickered in his palm then quickly died out.
Sensing his severely depleted state and recalling his embarrassing behavior at the diner last night, Ethan couldn't help but facepalm: "This Holy Light is gonna kill me!"
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