“Really? Aren’t you, like, always dealing with emergencies and stuff?”
“Sometimes.” Ryder smiled, squinting in the sun. “Sometimes it’s different every day, everyhour,and it’s exhausting. But other times it’s the same thing over and over. Not as tiring, but still taxing.”
“Yeah, but you’re saving lives.”
He shifted, sending a little wave to lap my ribs. “More like helping uninsured patients who use the ER as their primary care. But I guess I’ve saved a few.” He looked away from the sun. “Or helped, really. I’m still a resident.”
“Guess I never thought of it that way.”
“Yeah, man. Wish it was better for them, but it is what it is.” He looked at me, holding his hand up to block the sun. “Genuine emergencies are rare. A few a week. I do more good with uninsured folks than the hypochondriac regulars I see daily.”
“People go to the emergency room that often?”
Ryder nodded. “This one woman, overweight, in her seventies, is in every other week, if not more. But,” he scrunched his nose, “I don’t think she has many people in her life, so calling 911 after a weird poop lets her interact with other people.”
“Is weird poop your official medical assessment?” I chuckled.
He laughed. “Yes.” He laughed again. “The EMTs know her by name, too.”
“No shit. You’re fucking with me.”
“Swear to God,” he said.
I liked Ryder, but never thought he felt the same way. He wasn’t mean or rude. He just kinda ignored me. I always got the impression he’d forget I was there when we all hung out. It got better as we got older, but I wouldn’t say we were close. Orfriends. He was my best friend’s older brother, and not much more.
That wasn’t the case the last time we spoke one-on-one. We were at Miles’s surprise proposal and engagement party. I had been a little buzzed and overwhelmed, and I opened up to him about how hard it was to find someone and how much easier getting proposed to must be versus getting down on one knee. He was awesome and gave me advice on not waiting for someone to just show up, that I had to take an active role in my life. Advice I hadn’t taken. It was a nice memory. Even if I was embarrassed as all hell come the morning.
Outside of that, chatting on the pool’s built-in bench was maybe one of the longest one on one conversations we’d ever had. Definitely longer than any he’d had with the other guys. Not that I minded. It was weirdly nice. I’d spent so many years convinced he either hated me or thought so little of me it didn’t even amount to dislike. But feeling like a cool kid in his eyes for once was... yeah, I couldn’t describe it.
I felt that way even more so when he said, “You look good, bro. You’re really hitting the gym.”
My cheeks heated. More than anyone else, I craved Ryder’s approval in fitness. I was such a small, wimpy kid, and he was this awesome guy who consistently crushed it. I’d always wanted to impress him the way he had me.
“Thanks, man.” The bench was uncomfortable, and I shifted my weight. “You do too,” I said with burning cheeks. “Bulked up since last year.”
“Thanks, busted ass after the engagement party, but I wanted to look good down here. Figured we’d spend a lot of time shirtless.” He looked me up and down. “For real, though. Little Finny’s all grown up.” He squinted and smirked in the sun.
An awkward chuckle stumbled from my throat. I’d been all grown up for years at twenty-four. But I guess he didn’t think about me much.
“So are you, bro.” I made a show of evaluating him the way he had me. His body was impressive. Bulk without heft, like a professional athlete who had time to cut and hone. Nothing was too big on him, which made me ask, “When does a resident doctor find the time to go to the gym?”
“How does a resident doctor get time off to go to his brother’s stupid ass, multi-day, bachelor party, a several-hour flight away?” He chuckled to himself, lowering an arm off the side wall and into the water. “You see, other people have what’s called a social life. I do not.” He laughed. “And there’s a huge ass twenty-four-hour gym across the highway from the hospital. Always had a membership, just started forcing myself to go.”
“You don’t have a social life?” I hit his arm with the back of my hand. “Don’t believe that shit for a second.”
“It’s true. I see my buddies about once a quarter, and I eat and sleep at the hospital four days a week. Fucking brutal. But worth it. And legally necessary.”
“No fucking way.”
“Yes, fucking way.” He shifted and glanced at me. “What about you? You’re a busy man, too.”
“Not really. I barely see Miles anymore. Part of the reason I hit it so hard before coming down here was just being bored as shit.” I shrugged.
“Well, either way…” Ryder looked me up and down again. “It paid off.” His eyes lingered on my torso, half-submerged in the water, before crawling up to my pecs and slowly reaching my eyes. It was uncomfortable, and my stomach flipped, but not in a bad way.
Connor and Tyler jumped over us to do cannonballs, sending a micro-tsunami right in our faces. When theybreached, all smiles, Tyler told us to scoot over, while Connor bobbed in the water near us. Ryder shifted back to near silence while we chatted and joked. He got out of the pool not long after.
When we got out, it was almost time to get ready for dinner. Ryder got a head start to beat Miles to the shower. Connor had to wake Jason, his roommate, who had fallen asleep and would have a book-shaped square of untanned skin on his chest for the rest of the trip.
