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I turn briefly to where Dr. Ryan and Meg are sitting. Both of them are watching, listening to our conversation. His eyes flicker up to mine and he holds his gaze, awaiting my response with the rest of the group. His pen is gripped tightly, knuckles white from the tension, thumb furiously clicking the end.
Other than his hand, he stays perfectly still.
Turning back to Kelly, I shrug my shoulders and force a smile. “Fine.” I sigh. “I can’t believe you’re cashing in your favor for this.”
Kelly claps her hands excitedly. “He saw you in some of my Facebook photos. He thinks you’re cute and he drives a nice car.”
“Oh, wow, a nice car,” I say with heavy sarcasm. “That doesn’t impress me. I’ve never been a fan of a pretty boy.” I’m old enough now that I expect a guy to have a job and some sort of mode of transportation, even if it’s a bike. “Wait, how old is he? He’s my age, right?”
“Yes, he’s your age. Possibly a year older. Okay, I will tell him you said yes. And that you’re so looking forward to this!” She squeals, pulling out her phone from the pocket of her scrub top. “He will pick you up next Friday at 7:15 PM”
I put my palm over her screen, making sure knows I’m serious. “Hell no. I’m meeting him at the restaurant. I don’t want him to know where I live.”
She grumbles at my stubbornness. “Okay, 7:15 at Quartino’s. Oh, my gosh! Lainey is going on a date!” She claps again, and I force my best fake smile for her.
Dr. Ryan gets up from the chair abruptly, causing it to roll backward and bump the desk behind him. “Must be nice to have a job that pays you to gossip.” He tosses his paper coffee cup into the garbage with a thud, the leftover liquid sloshing over the side. He storms off the unit without so much as a second look.
Kelly rolls her eyes. “What do you think of the new doctor?”
“Caveman,” Jenna murmurs as I tell Kelly that I don’t know.
“I’m still trying to figure him out.”
“Well, don’t waste your time. He’s an asshole, that’s a fact.”
Watching those broad shoulders flex under his white coat as he storms away, I find myself wishing what Kelly said was true.
She moves on with her shift, completely oblivious to the tension at the station, mostly between Jenna and me.
Jenna’s still eyeing me, waiting for me to confess my feelings or yell at her for being so blunt, but I won’t admit to either.
I feel a presence next to us, but we don’t break eye contact. Meg reaches between us to grab a dry-erase marker, gently squeezing herself into the small space to reach the whiteboard. She bends at the waist and starts scribbling.
“Lainey, you’re getting an admit. Suspected bowel obstruction, Dr. Ryan is admitting.”
“Perfect.” I deadpan.
“Thatisperfect! What a great team those two make.”
Meg looks up at Jenna, then at me, and steps back to see us both. “What the fuck did I miss?”
“Nothing.” I pluck the admit note from her hand. “Excuse me, I have work to do.”
~
I’ve just pulled back the linens on the bed, preparing the room for my admission when Dr. Ryan storms in. “Where’s our admit?”
He pauses in the doorway, hands propped up on his hips. He’s removed the coat, sporting just black scrubs, and giving me a first-hand view of his impressive body, one he’s kept hidden under a white coat this entire time. I’m so focused on his thick forearms that I almost miss his question.
“He got held up in imaging. Should be up in a few minutes.”
Dr. Ryan strolls to the window, hands still propped on his hips, shoulders pulled together with tension as he scans the landscape. The sun sits lower in the sky, a warning that the days are getting shorter, and winter is on the horizon.
I jot down my standard welcome message on the whiteboard, debating to wait in the hall for the patient and avoid the stuffiness in the room when Dr. Ryan speaks again.
“So, you’re going on a date …”
I nod to his back, forcing a small “yup” out of my throat.
