Once they were seated and their food and drinks ordered, he said, “This was fun. I can’t tell you the last time I had a workout like that.”
“Me too,” she said. “I miss it. I love to get outdoors and just move. Not a lot of my friends back home were into it though. They’d rather shop, go to the movies, get drinks, spa days. Those are all fine, but I can only take so much of it.”
“There is nothing wrong with a spa day after a long workout,” he said.
“I shouldn’t be surprised that you are someone that gets seaweed wraps and so on.”
He almost coughed on the water he was sipping. “I meant massages. I’m not that high maintenance.”
“Says most men that are,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows.
“What about me shouts high maintenance?” he asked. “I’ve been hot and sweaty in front of you twice now in two days. You kicked my butt in racquetball and I was a good sport about it. You’ve seen me in scrubs, shorts, and T-shirts.”
She tilted her head to the side. “I guess you have a point. But that watch on your wrist is pretty high end.”
“A gift from my parents when I finished my residency.”
“Oh,” she said.
“What else?”
“Your car.”
“I like nice things, but that doesn’t mean I’m high maintenance.”
“Okay. You’ve got me there.”
“I didn’t expect you to give in so easily. I found it fun bantering with you. I almost think you do it on purpose to see if you can get a rise out of me. Like the one I had earlier.”
Yeah, he was pushing it saying that but why not? He wanted to see the fire leap into her eyes that she got his meaning on the type of rise he had.
And it did. Not the anger kind but arousal.
“I’ve been told I’ve got a temper. I don’t think so. Not unless I’m crossed,” she said.
He moved back when his burger was placed in front of him. She’d gotten the same thing. He liked that they seemed to share so much in common.
When she picked her burger up and bit in, he did the same, chewed and then said, “I don’t have much of a temper. At least I don’t think so. My brothers can get me riled, but that’s normal. For the most part I go with the flow.”
“I’m sure you can get riled at work if you feel something isn’t being done the way it should.”
“That’s a given. Patients come first. My job is the only thing I’ve ever really been intensely focused on. The only thing I’ve consistently put first in my life over my family.”
“At least your family is first. I guess that might be why you’re still single then.”
It wasn’t said sarcastically or even maliciously. She most likely didn’t mean any harm, but he was still a little tweaked. “So what is your reason for still being single then?”
She stopped eating and narrowed her eyes. “I deserve that question. I’ve tried at least. I’ve been in relationships. They didn’t work out.”
“Because you hate cheaters,” he said, starting to put things together. “Did your last boyfriend cheat on you?”
“This was going so well too,” she said, filling her mouth with fries. “I have a bad habit of doing that. Saying something and ticking someone off without meaning to. So I’m going to apologize.”
“Apology accepted,” he said and went back to eating. She still didn’t answer him, but he was going to let it go for now.
When the check came, he reached for it the same time she did. “I’ve got it,” he said.
“It’s not a date.”
“So? A friend can’t buy you lunch after you whipped his butt on the court today?”
She laughed and let go of the check. “Fine. I’ve got the next one.”
All he could do was laugh when she blushed. She probably didn’t realize she’d just opened the door wider to let him in for another time they could spend together.
14
More Gossip
“Did you do anything fun this weekend?”
Adriana looked at one of the nurses she’d worked with a lot lately. Jasmine was older than her, probably in her mid-forties but she was nice. She didn’t really pry too much but rather wanted to just chat to pass the time.
“I went on a hike Saturday until it poured on me, then on Sunday I played racquetball for a few hours.”
“I said fun,” Jasmine said, letting out a little shudder. “That’s more like work. Good grief, you young ones don’t know what it’s like. I thought most your age were all about bars and drinking.”
She snorted. “Not me. I mean I do and have in the past, but I’d rather spend my time doing some kind of activity.”
“I suppose I’ve heard a lot of your generation doing that. Being one with nature. Too many bugs for me.”
Normally she didn’t have these types of conversations, but she didn’t want to be lumped into the tree hugging granola-loving type either. “Racquetball has nothing to do with being one with nature. I like the outdoors as much as the indoors. I just like to do things. I’m not one for sitting around to binge watch TV unless I’m sick.”
“That’s probably why you are so tiny. Even under those scrubs it’s easy enough to see you’re pretty toned.”
“Thanks,” Adriana said, then went back to the computer to get ready for the OR and take her mind off of Wyatt. That was enough conversation for her. It was a step that she didn’t feel like Jasmine was going to grab a scalpel and stab her in the back with it like she’d felt so much at her last job when she didn’t want to talk about her personal life.
She checked the schedule today and Wyatt wasn’t in any of her surgeries unless there was a last minute
