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Thankfully, or not so thankfully - I’m really not sure at the moment - he seems more focused on giving me warnings about his car than about his face.
“Not tho thath,” he says, putting his hand on the dashboard as if he thinks he can physically slow the car down that way. Okay yes, I am speeding a little bit, but if he saw himself right now, I doubt he would be asking me to slow down. More than likely, all his little rules would go flying out the window. But I slow down a little, mainly because I don’t need him having a heart attack on top of an allergic reaction.
When we reach the ER, I scramble out quickly and practically drag him into the hospital. I have no idea how bad his reaction will be, and there’s no way he’s tanking on my watch. “Hey, guy with an allergic reaction here,” I call out as we enter. Derek shakes his head at me, and if his face didn’t already resemble a tomato, I have a feeling it would have at my outburst, but I am not deterred.
A nurse with a fierce expression hurries over, probably to tell me to quiet down and wait my turn as there are quite a few people in the ER already, but she takes one look at Derek and her posture changes. Her hand flies to her chest. “Oh my, do you know what you’re allergic to?”
Derek shakes his head. “I thidn’t know I had allerthies.”
She turns her attention to me. “Do you know what he’s allergic to?”
“Me?” The question emerges like a squeak and I shake my head. “We’re not together. We just work together. We had Thai food; that’s all I can tell you.”
Derek rolls his eyes at me, but the nurse just nods and leads him back to an exam room. There is no way I’m following them in there, so I grab a seat and pull out my phone.
“You’ll never believe where I am,” I tap into the group chat I share with my friends.
Charlie: “Where?” She’s probably between clients so I’m not surprised she is the first person to respond.
Me: “At the ER with Derek.”
Belle: “Did you break him?”
Me: “No, I’m not Charlie.” I’m not exactly out of shape. Curvy is definitely a shape though I’ll admit my cardio could use some work. I despise running and I’m fairly certain I’d be the one first eaten in a zombie apocalypse, but I consider that my contribution to humanity. I’ll go first, so someone who likes to run can live a little longer. Charlie, however, is like the Jillian Michaels at her gym. Not only does she run like fifty miles a month, but she works out with huge guys and tiny girls alike and leaves them all in a puddle of sweat at the end of an hour. Plus, I’m pretty sure she knows at least two ways to kill someone with her bare hands, even though I can’t prove it. I asked her once, but in truly Charlie fashion she said, “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.” So, she’s got me on that one. At least for now.
Charlie: “I’ve never broken anyone. Yet!” Then she adds emojis of muscles, a smile, and the devil.
Me: “Yet, being the operative word. Anyway, Derek and I were having lunch and then all of a sudden his lips and tongue were swollen and he broke out in a rash.”
Hannah: “Wait, you were having lunch with him? I thought this was a business partnership. When did lunches become a part of it?” Of course she pops in when I mention lunch. She’ll probably decide we’re dating now since we’ve eaten a meal together or actually two now.
Me: “When we had to eat. I told you guys we decided on a scavenger type app. People will visit these places and take pictures of random criteria we give them. Then they can post them to be entered into a monthly drawing.”
Belle: “That’s such a great idea. I wish I could do something like that for my business.” I picture her sighing and flipping her blonde hair as she says this.
Piper: “You don’t have a business. You have a social media presence which is not the same thing.”
Belle: “It’s as much work as a business. I think.”
Now, I’m picturing her pouting; I definitely know these women too well. I shake my head, wishing we were having this conversation in person so I could make them focus.
Me: “Yesterday, we did the Painted Plate and the studio place. Today, we went dancing, which was interesting to say the least.”
Belle: “You danced with him?” Even though it’s over text, I can almost see Belle’s eyes light up. “That’s so romantic. I should see if Jaxon will go dancing with me.”
I roll my eyes.
Me: “It was definitely not romantic. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a gnarly bruise on my foot. Anyway, we figured restaurants should be included since people have to eat. He wanted boring food and I wanted Thai food, and the eight ball said Thai, but now I feel kind of bad.” And I do. I mean my food was delicious, but I didn’t want him to have to go to the hospital.
Belle: “I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think. At least this way, he’ll know what he’s allergic to.”
Hannah: “Leave it to you to find the ray of sunshine in an allergic reaction. I just want to know if any other sparks were flying. You know ones and sevens work well together. He can be your stability and you push him to new experiences.”
Oh, I definitely did that. Pushed him to the new experience of a swollen tongue and a trip to the hospital. I’m sure he’s planning our wedding already.
Me: “No, there’s nothing like that. We are coworkers. That is all.”
But even as I type it, I think back to watching him paint. He was so different when he was focused on something. An almost boyish charm stole across his face and made him appear much more relaxed and not so stiff. He could be cute if he could be like that more often. And then there was that moment when he touched my chin. I wouldn’t necessarily call them sparks, but something coursed through my body.
