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“Astoria, it’s alright,” Carlo states. “Sure, you can stay over at my place. There are two bedrooms, but the guest bedroom doesn’t have a bed in it. You can have my bed, though, and I’ll sleep on the couch.”
My cheeks heat. “I’m so sorry. I don’t mean to bother you.”
“Hey,” he says, his eyes meeting mine, “this is as much my problem as it is yours. We’re in this together, okay?”
I nod. “Yeah. Thank you.”
“So you can finish reading or whatever it is you’re doing and then we can go.”
“Alright.”
He leans back in his chair and pulls out his phone while I try to focus on the textbook in my hands. But I’m distracted. He’s too close and my eyes keep straying in his general direction. Eventually, I give up and get to my feet.
“Let’s just go,” I announce, moving to take off my lab coat.
Carlo doesn’t say a word as I gather my bag and other essentials. When I’m done, he gets to his feet. We’re about to walk out when someone barges in without knocking. Blue eyes widen in surprise.
“Sorry, Tori. I should have knocked,” Nora says apologetically as she looks from me to Carlo.
I sigh. “It’s fine. What’s up?”
Her eyes stray to Carlo. She offers him a small smile. “Hey, you probably don’t remember me, but we met a while ago. I gave you directions to Astoria’s office?”
Carlo’s tone is bland. “Sure. Nice to see you again.”
Nora turns to me again. She’s still in her nursing scrubs and there are dark shadows under her eyes. I’m guessing she had a shift in the ER and is exhausted. Nora’s the only true friend I’ve managed to make since I started working here. But we’re both so busy, we barely have time to talk.
“Wait, he’s really your boyfriend? I meant to ask but it’s been a crazy week,” she says.
I hesitate. I could tell her the truth. It would mean one less person to keep up this ruse around. But it’s risky, and I’m sure Carlo would disapprove.
“Yeah. I meant to tell you. Carlo and I started dating recently.”
There’s a flicker of hurt in Nora’s blue eyes. “Oh, how recent?”
“About three weeks ago. I’m really sorry, Nora. I should have told you but we’ve been…”
“Busy. Yeah, I know. Anyway, it’s nice to meet you, Tori’s boyfriend,” she says, facing Carlo. Her tone is a little unkind.
“Carlo,” he corrects. “And you are?”
“Nora. I’m Tori’s friend. I’m sure she’s mentioned me.”
There’s some animosity in their interaction, so I quickly butt in before things escalate. Nora’s confrontational and highly suspicious. I have no doubt she’ll start shooting question after question if I let her.
“We were just going to leave, Nora. What did you need?”
“I was going to ask for a ride home so we could talk but I’m guessing that’s out of the question,” she says, eyeing Carlo.
“Yeah, I’m sorry. We’ll talk tomorrow, I promise.”
“Okay. Bye, Tori.” She hugs me briefly before walking away.
“I don’t think she likes me very much,” Carlo notes.
“I wonder why,” I say dryly.
He smirks before placing a hand on my waist to lead me away. The touch is light and thrilling at the same time. I couldn’t remember the last time I wanted a guy’s touch, but Christian seems to be great at eliciting feelings I once thought dormant.
