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Callan isn’t a grumpy dude.
He’s just too serious for his own good sometimes, and I know he’s tense about everything at the moment, so getting him to think about anything other than Mrs. Bible and Katy’s guardianship is a good thing. And while I’m working on getting him not to think about all the serious stuff, I’m forcing myself to do the same.
I told him I wanted to take it slow, and he seemed okay with that. Which tells me he’s on the same page as I am. There will be no confusion or misunderstandings between us, which I like.
I didn’t lie when I told him I didn’t want to fall in love again right now, and I didn’t lie when I said I didn’t want a boyfriend. But I listened to him, and he was right. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. I can have him, and I can have this. Even if it’s tricky at the moment.
Let’s face it, though, I’d be a fool to walk away from a man like Callan, even if our timing isn’t ideal.
So for now, I’m a professional student and hospital scut puppy by day and a naughty bedfellow by night, and somewhere in between, I’m walking the tightrope of being his girlfriend, his fake fiancée, or someone he hardly knows.
As I walk along the stunning campus headed toward my classroom, I am officially back in student mode. I’m feeling good, and it’s not all because of the sex or the morning teasing. I nailed my case study. In September, I’m going to start my second-year clerkships. Everything I’ve been building toward my entire life is upon me, and I’m ready for it.
“Dude!” Murphy comes flying at me just as I enter the building. “Where were you all night? I texted like a million times.”
I swallow the oh shit, in the back of my throat and say, “Sorry. I had my phone on silent and missed them.”
“Whatever.” She waves me off. “That case study was a nightmare. What did you diagnose it as? I said histoplasmosis.”
My face scrunches up. “What? Where did you get that one from? Isn’t that regional? And come with a cough?”
Murphy looks like she swallowed a bug. “Does it? I Googled the symptoms, and that was one thing that came up.”
My eyebrows hit my hairline. “YouGoogledit?”
“Well, yeah,” she hems a bit sheepishly. “But I wasn’t the only one, and I thought a fungal infection would be spot on given the symptoms.”
My mouth pinches to the side. “Oh, that’s actually a good call, and I didn’t consider a potential fungal infection.” Why didn’t I consider a potential fungal infection? Probably because that’s insanely rare in a young, otherwise healthy child, but still.
“What did you come up with then?” Murphy presses just as we reach our classroom.
I throw her a side-eye. “I said Crohn’s disease.”
Murphy blinks about ten thousand times at me as we walk into the classroom and take our seats, a little closer to the front of the room now.
“That’s… specific. Crohn’s disease?” She’s confused, but also slightly aggravated. “No one else came up with that, and the group chat was going nuts with it last night. Where could you have picked that one up?” She stares me down and something about her stare makes me uneasy.
“I don’t go in the group chat anymore since Patrick is still in there.”
“Yeah, and you didn’t text me back either. I got it. Where did you come up with that diagnosis?”
I set my bag down on the table and pull out my laptop, opening the screen. Her voice has an edge I don’t quite get other than maybe she’s just frustrated with this case study. “What did the group come up with?”
“Some said it was appendicitis, others enterovirus, food poisoning, parasite, or sarcoidosis. No one else said Crohn’s.” She winces at me. “The kid had like zero diarrhea or any blood in their stool.”
I shrug. “Her family history was very strong for it, and she had other symptoms. Plus, Crohn’s doesn’t always present that way.”
“We’ll see what Dr. Hottie says.”
“You mean Dr. Hottie McSterious,” I correct since that’s the name I gave him and therefore, it’s the only one that should be used.
She laughs sharply. “Is that what you call him at work?”
No. Only in the bedroom.
I scrunch my nose. “Definitely not. I hardly see him at work.”
Callan enters the room, and all the rustling immediately stops. Everyone is anxious about their case studies and from what Murphy said, they should be.
