Page 96 of Forever Offsides

“Dude, what’s up with Yang?” Hirsh, a general surgery resident and all-around twat of a human, says as if I’m not standing five feet from him, charting.

“She doesn’t like it when people call her that to her face.”

“That’s exactly why I said it.”

See what I mean? Total twat.

“What do you mean, what’s up with her?” Jaime, a PACU nurse, questions.

“She’s been… nice today.”

“Has she?” she asks curiously, and now I can feel her staring into the back of my head. “How nice?”

“She let her intern use the bone saw on her BKA.” BKA means below-knee amputation, and this is a teaching hospital. If I want to be the best surgeon, I also have to be the best teacher and have the best team. That’s all that was.

“That hardly sounds extra nice. Just, you know, being a fourth year.”

“Thank you,” I call out.

“See what I mean!” Hirsh is practically jumping up and down and pointing at me like a buffoon. “She said thank you.”

I roll my eyes. “I always say thank you to the nurses. Only assholes don’t.”

“She’s right on that one too,” Jaime agrees.

“Fine. But she was singing during the surgery.”

Now everyone around us pauses. I glare over my shoulder at him. “I was not.”

“You were.” He’s emphatic. “They had on the Rolling Stones, and you were singing.”

I’m less than impressed with that. “Everyone sings along to the Rolling Stones. They’re the Rolling Stones. That’s like not singing along to The Beatles.”

“Dr. Reyes, are you having sex?”

“What?” I gasp in outrage, but because I’m a freaking fair-skinned redhead, I’m also blushing. Thanks, Dad, for these genes. “We’re in the middle of the PACU, Doctor. Patients are recovering here.”

“Oh shit.” He covers his mouth, laughing. “You totally are. Who is it? It can’t be someone who works here. Everyone is too afraid of you.”

I grunt and return to my computer.

“Is it that football dude? Your ex?”

“Don’t you have patients to see and try not to kill, Hirsh?”

“Nah. My intern will let me know if there’s anything I need to do.”

“And that’s why you’ll never rise above surgical mediocrity. How did you get into this program anyway?”

“I screwed my way to the top. You should try it.”

I snort a laugh. “Considering my mother is my boss and before her it was Dr. Limpdick, I’m all set. And I don’t need to screw to get ahead.” I give him a cheeky grin. “I’m already ahead. How old are you? Thirty?”

“Like every other fourth year,” he retorts. “We’re not all social freaks like you.”

“Wow, that was so sad. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised or expect better from you.”

I finish documenting the patient’s surgery and complete his medication orders so the ICU nurses don’t kill me, since that’s where Joe is going, at least for the night. He does have good taste in music though.