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“I’m sorry you had to wait, Mr. Barrett. What brings you to the emergency room today?”
“I think I have food poisoning.”
“Oh, no. What’s going on?” she asks as her fingernails speedily dance, clickity clack, over the keyboard.
“I don’t know. I was fine this morning. I didn’t sleep well, so I wasn’t hungry. But a buddy at work had brought in some barbecue. I’m almost certain that’s it.”I’m going to kill George.
“Have you thrown up?”
“No. Not yet. It’s mostly pain. But occasionally it feels like I could.” It seems I’ve caught a second wind since the symptoms from earlier have ceased. Hell, this ER visit is probably going to be like when you take your car to the shop, and you can’t get it to make that darn noise anymore. I should’ve stayed home and ridden this thing out. Out of the blue, I’m overcome with an enormous sense of guilt at wasting their time when they’re so busy. “I should go. I feel bad taking up a bed when you have so many sick people here.”
“Don’t be silly. You don’t strike me as someone who’d be here unless they were worried something was wrong. Let us check a few things out. Hopefully, we get you feeling better, and you can be on your way.”
“Okay. Yes. Thank you.”
Jillian washes her hands before striding over to my bedside. I must be getting delirious, because it’s as if she’s walking toward me in slow motion. Like one of those scenes in the movies where the starlet makes a big entrance, the wind blowing through her hair. The closer she gets, the more concerned I grow for the way my body is responding to her. And trust me, this gown isn’t going to hide shit.
I’ve been around plenty of beautiful women in my life, and built enough of a force field to prevent getting too close. I thought I was resistant to their feminine charms.
But this girl…
As she puts the stethoscope to my back, I inhale the freshest scent. I can’t put my finger on it. “Take some deep breaths for me.”
What is that?It doesn’t smell of flowers. Is it her body wash? Or does she naturally smell like that? I lean into her and sniff again, trying to get a better sense of the source when she pulls back from me with a look of alarm on her face.
I chuckle self-consciously, having been caught in the act. “I was trying to figure out what perfume you’re wearing.”
“Oh.” She giggles. “I’m not wearing any.”
Good lord. If this is the way she smells all the time, I’d want to lick her from head to toe. Hell, I wouldn’t mind doing that anyway. But the added seduction of her aroma will make it that much more decadent.
I wonder if she tastes as good as she smells.
“It’s my butt.”
My eyes fly open, and I nearly choke on a cough. “I’m sorry. What?”
“I was running late to the little huddle we have before our shift starts and plopped myself into a chair without looking. Apparently, someone left a big glob of blueberry cobbler in the seat.” She shakes her head, a few light brown strands falling loose from her ponytail. “At least my scrubs are blue.”
An older nurse with short hair and a scowl pokes her head into the room. “Jillian, can you come and take report from the paramedics? They need to mark back in service. They’ve been waiting with the patient next door for a long time.”
“Yes, of course. Do I need to come right now? I’m trying to get Mr. Barrett checked in.”
“It’ll only take a few minutes. They really need to get back out there.”
Jillian turns to me with an apologetic look.
Lifting my hand to encourage her to do what she needs and not worry about me, I say, “Go go. I understand.”
“I’ll be right back.” She darts out of the room and I reach for my things, retrieving my phone.Crap. It’s after one o’clock. Wereally need to get this show on the road. After checking my email and texts, I lie back on the stretcher as another searing jolt of pain causes me to double over.
“Uh oh.”
I look up as Jillian returns to my side. “It’s okay. It doesn’t happen too often. But when it does, it’s pretty bad.”
“Is it here?” She presses down on the lower right side of my stomach, and I nearly come off of the bed. “I’m worried this could be your appendix,” she says with a look of concern.
“What? No.”
