“I’m just joking,” I told her.
“I know,” she said, leaning against my Jeep, looking pensive.
“You’re gonna ruin your white shorts, and I’m going to have to report you to Hunnie,” I said, trying to joke again. “By the way, you look nice. Too nice for having just worked behind the coffee bar.”
“Come on, Ben. Be nice. Maybe I treated you badly in high school, but it doesn’t warrant this.”
“Hey, I’m kidding again.” I took her hand in mine. “Obviously, I’m not doing a very good job of it.”
She looked down at the ground, refusing to meet my eyes.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Everything. I’m just trying to do my best and not doing even a little bit good.”
“I don’t want to take away the way you’re feeling, but you need to tell me more.” My thumb traced a path over hers—my way of asking her to level with me—and it seemed to stop her mood in its tracks.
Her expression relaxing, she sighed. “I’m sorry. My bad mojo got the best of me, but I’m cool now. And look at me, white shorts still white after a shift. I had to put them on because I need to do laundry.”
This reminded me of Pressman and the pink socks in the corner of her room. “Are you still as good at it?”
She playfully shoved my chest. “Why yes, I am, Mister Doctorpants.”
“Remember how upset you were over those socks?”
Murphy smiled at the memory. “Well, first I had to admit to you, of all people, that I’d never done laundry. Second, I had to call my parents and admit I’d forgotten to send out my laundry on time. And third, I had to borrow Chloe Curtain’s socks. Yuck.”
This made me laugh out loud. “So?”
“That’s gross, Ben. Feet have such germs.”
“You could have asked me to show you how to do laundry.”
“I know, because you knew how to do everything. Still do. Look at you, showing up and making me laugh. Operating on people and saving lives. Saving the environment too with your Yeti cup that you never forget. Which makes me think, are you really a doctor or just pretending? You seem to pop up all the time.”
Grinning, I pulled my hospital ID out of my back pocket and handed it to her.
“Benjamin Jones Rooney. I never knew.”
“My mom’s maiden name. She wanted to keep it in the family. She was an only child, and when she took my dad’s name, that was the end of the line.”
Murphy smirked at me as she handed my ID back. “I could call you Jonesy. Who knew?”
“My mom would like that, I’m sure.”
“Ha. But would she like me? I’m not doing too much. I’m nothing like Hunnie or you or Zara. I’m still trying to find my place.”
“We all start at a different time. I mean it. You were on one path, and now you’re on another.”
“We’ll see, since you seem to know it all.”
I ran a hand through my hair, noting I needed a cut, or a “trim” as my mom liked to say in disdain. She’d prefer I kept it neat and short, but I guessed this was my way of being me, especially in a sea of robots at Pressman. The habit stuck afterward.
With Murphy’s volatile mood, it felt like a bad time to tell her about the land. She was in a down place, and throwing my success in her face felt wrong. It’s not something I would ever do intentionally, so I skipped that little tidbit.
“I also happen to know of the greatest drive-in theater about an hour from here. So funky, it’s a must. We can make an adventure of it. Really experience Vermont on a scenic drive and all that.”
“See?” Murphy said with a grin. “There you go again. Perfect suggestion. It’s like you always know what to say.”
“How about, you look so gorgeous?” I blurted.
She scoffed. “I just worked at a coffee house. I hardly think that’s what you really think, and I’m not fishing for compliments, Jonesy.”
“Well, you look absolutely radiant, which is why I’m going to do this.”
Without hesitation, I leaned in, and my lips met hers for a closed-mouth kiss. Breathing in all that was Murphy, I took my time, savoring, promising . . . until she pulled back.
“I work here, remember?” she said.
Taking her hand in mine, I walked her down a hillside and backed her up against a tree. This was a small town and I was the doctor in the next town over, but I didn’t care. Pressing myself into her smaller body, my hardness met her softness, and I couldn’t keep from groaning. Our mouths moved together like we’d done this forever, and then she opened for my tongue.
We stayed like that for a while, grinding into each other, doing with our mouths what we’d like to do with the rest of our bodies, until my lips broke free and ghosted across her cheek, sucking on her ear before traveling down her neck. Her head fell back, and I couldn’t resist running my tongue down her smooth skin to her clavicle and back up.
“Christ, Murphy. You make me take the Lord’s name in vain. My mom wouldn’t be happy.”
Murphy ran her lips across my forehead. My messy hair must have been tickling her, but she didn’t seem to mind.
“You also make me want to drag down those prissy white shorts and see what’s underneath. Thong, bikini, whatever, I want to rip it off and devour you.”
“Ben!”
I stepped back slightly and placed a quick peck on her lips. “But I won’t, not now. Because we’re adults. Now, I can’t promise what may or may not happen at the drive-in.”
This earned me another fake punch.
“Kidding,” I said with a chuckle. “Sort of. Now, when are you off next? Since it might be a late night.”
“Friday. But what about you?”
“I’m used to little sleep, and I don’t operate on Fridays, so that’s perfect. I’ll pick you up Thursday around six?”
She nodded, straightening her tee shirt and smoothing
