She puts her hands on her hips and tilts her head at me, like I’m trying her patience. "Oh come on, it'll only take a second."
She swabs the back of my throat before I can complain again, then carries everything over to the counter to start the rapid tests. I watch her work while trying not to cough, and after a few minutes she looks back at me with a knowing smile.
"The flu test is positive."
"I knew it."
"You've probably got another three or four miserable days ahead of you," she says as she writes in my chart, "but you'll be fine."
I groan loud enough that somebody walking down the hallway probably hears me. "I hate everything."
"I noticed," she says, smiling as she finishes writing. "Now let's get you home before you infect anybody else." She tears a page off her prescription pad and hands it to me.
"Take this to the pharmacy, but honestly, the biggest treatment is rest, fluids, and staying away from everybody until you're not contagious."
"I can probably manage two out of three."
She looks up at me. "You can manage all three, unless you want to get the entire club sick."
Ooooo Mason would be so pissed at me. Before I can come up with another excuse, somebody knocks lightly on the door.
"Come in," Sophie calls.
The door swings open, and Scarlett pokes her head inside. The second she sees me sprawled across the exam table, she grins. "Well, there he is," she says as she walks into the room. "How's my favorite giant?"
I lift one hand and point accusingly at Sophie. "She keeps calling me dramatic."
Scarlett laughs as she comes to stand beside the table. "Because you are."
"I have influenza."
"You'll live," she says with a snort. "Unfortunately for the rest of us."
I sigh because nobody around here appreciates a man fighting for his life. "So..." I say after a second.
Scarlett immediately narrows her eyes. "So?" she asks.
"The girl out front."
"What girl?"
I clear my throat. "The receptionist."
Recognition flashes across her face, and then the biggest grin I've ever seen spreads across it. "Lucy?"
I nod. "Yeah."
She folds her arms. "What about her?"
I shrug one shoulder and try to sound like I'm just making conversation. "She seems... nice."
Scarlett stares at me for a long second before she starts smiling even harder. "Is that what we're calling it?"
"What?" I ask.
"You've known her for maybe ten minutes."
"So?" I rub the back of my neck. "I had a fever."
