by Parker, Ali
Rylen dipped his head to the side, studying his friend’s audience. “I’m going to guess that he’s either telling jokes or regaling them with tales about the lighter side of working in a hospital.”
“There’s a lighter side to working in a hospital?” I supposed every job had serious moments and funny moments. I’d just never considered that there would be any funny moments in a hospital.
Rylen perked up, his hands coming together before one of them swept toward two empty logs nearby. “Oh, there’s a lighter side to it all right. We have to do something to stay sane. It’s a ton of stress working in the operating room, so to even it out, we also try to have a ton of fun. If you want to have a drink with me, I’ll tell you all about it.”
I glanced back at Jenna, who was now in a conversation with the girl from before and three other people. She looked over to me at the same time, catching my eye. I could barely make out her wink and the quick thumbs-up she gave me.
Evidently, it was okay with her that I was speaking to someone else. “Sure. One drink. It couldn’t hurt, right?”
For the next twenty minutes or so, Rylen had me in stitches detailing pranks they played on one another and questions they’d been asked. I was laughing so hard at one point that there were tears rolling down my cheeks.
When Rylen’s phone rang and interrupted his latest story, he took one look at who was calling before all traces of humor vanished from his expression. “I have to go. That was the hospital. They know I’m with Edgar and that it’s our night off, so if they’re calling, something must be up.”
He sighed heavily, shoving a hand into his pocket to pull out his wallet. Opening it, he extracted a black business card with white writing on it. “If you ever need someone to hang out with, I’m free every now and then. Have you got a pen?”
I reached into the small purse sitting beside me feet and handed my pen over. Rylen scribbled a number on the back of the card. “That’s my cell.”
“Okay, I also have a phone in my purse that I could have programmed your number in.”
He smiled, shrugging as he handed over the card and my pen. “This makes it more likely that you won’t forget. Who still carries around business cards, right?”
I took both items, immediately noticing that the card felt heavier than a normal one and that the writing was embossed on it. Nice.
Call me silly, but I do love proper stationery. It made Rylen ten times hotter somehow to know that he had it. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”
Chapter 7
Rylen
The call I got from the hospital, which pulled me away from Olive, turned out to be fucking nothing. Just a nurse looking for Edgar to ask about a dosage. She ended up finding it in the patient’s file before I even managed to pull him away from his adoring audience.
After we’d both ensured that the new nurse had administered the patient’s medication in the correct dose, I gave her a hard lecture about using the emergency line for something like that. Then Edgar promised retaliation in the form of initiation pranks now that he’d realized there was a newbie on staff.
It had taken a few minutes for both of our heartbeats to go back to normal, given that we’d immediately assumed that one of our patients was coding and we were being called back. Before I’d even reached Edgar, I’d already calculated how much time I would have to wait after my two beers to go into surgery.
By the time all that was done, I had tried to go back to Olive, but she was already gone. I’d kept my eyes open for her all night but hadn’t seen her again, so I left. It hadn’t kept me from thinking about her, though.
Our conversation might not have lasted for hours, but I’d gotten to know the beautiful stranger from the hospital and was a little surprised to find that I actually liked her. Not liked her, liked her, but liked her enough to want to spend some more time with her before I could ascertain whether I liked her, liked her.
Walking away from her before she’d come after me, I’d been debating with myself over whether I was being a pussy by not just going up to her. By the time I’d determined that I was and turned back to go to her, she was standing right there behind me, reaching out to me as if she’d just been about to grab my arm.
The time I’d spent with her at the party had been by far the most enjoyable part of the evening. It was safe to say that there was something about her that drew me to her. At first it had only been her looks, to be honest, but it was more than that now.
My thoughts about Olive were interrupted by a call from Edgar. “Please don’t tell me you’re calling about another party. I’m not going. I can’t. I only got home at one this fucking morning.”
“That’s where you went so early?” Edgar asked, disbelief ringing from his tone. “Dude, I thought you’d met someone and went home with her. Poor you, going home by yourself that early.”
“Early?” I scoffed, shaking my head even though he couldn’t see me. I was still lying in bed, one arm hooked behind my head as I stared out of my window and thought about Olive.
The ocean could be seen in the distance, but the morning light was still muted. “One isn’t early to go home on a night out, it’s the next day for fuck’s sake. Now, however, is early to be calling someone who was on call all week. I told you, I’m not going to another party.”
“Wasn’t going to ask you to one.” The loud sound of an engine revving on his end of the line had me pulling the phone away from my ear until I heard it fade out. “You hear that? I bought a new fishing boat and I want you to come on her maiden voyage with me.”
“Do you have experience skippering a boat on the sea?” I twisted onto my side, squinting my eyes in what I knew would be a futile attempt to see the ocean better. “It doesn’t look too tumultuous today, but that can change in a heartbeat.”
“It won’t.” Edgar revved the engine again. “Come on, come out with me. If you do, I’ll never mention it to anyone how early you ducked out of the party.”
I rolled my eyes. “Like I give a shit about what you tell anyone.”
“Fine, but just come. Please?”
Sighing, I closed my eyes and considered it for a second. “Okay, I’ll be there. Which dock do you want to meet at?”
He gave me all the details and then hung up, promising to pick me up in his boat in an hour. I showered, still not really sure why I’d agreed. When I’d told Olive that I had free time every once in a while, I hadn’t been kidding.
Being free this whole weekend was a rarity for me. I’d been planning on spending a lot of it at home, catching up on sleep and some reading I wanted to do surrounding a new technique. Instead, I had gone partying with Edgar and was now going boating for the day.
Give yourself a break, my mother’s voice whispered from the back of my mind. I exhaled slowly, nodding my agreement with the imaginary voice. I’d vowed that once I made it, I would start living my life a little again. That was all I was doing, trying to regain a bit of life outside of the hospital.
When I got to the dock to see an old-ass boat with Edgar grinning on its deck, his one leg up on the edge like a fucking pirate captain, I started rethinking my decision. “What the fuck is this?”
“It’s my fishing boat,” he announced proudly, sweeping his hand from bow to stern. “Isn’t she a beaut?”
“Sure,” I said, taking my first tentative step onto the deck. “You’re going to need to replace the cleats, though.”
“Cleats?” Edgar frowned, raising his hand to scratch his chin. “What is that?”
“It’s the metal fittings to which the rope can be fastened.” I lifted an eyebrow, cocking my head to the side and seriously wishing I had stayed in fucking bed. “Edgar, why did you buy a boat if you don’t even know the terminology?”
“I know how to steer it.” He grinned. “The old-timer I bought it from taught me. Who needs to know terms if you know how to handle it?”
“Everybody,” I muttered, but I didn’t want to burst his bubble. He seemed so ha
ppy and proud that I bit down the rest of my questions and focused on finding a seat instead.
A few minutes later, we were underway and headed out to sea. I sent up a silent prayer that wanting to have a life outside the hospital didn’t land me in one, and then turned my attention to Edgar.
“If one in the morning is so early to leave, what time did you get home?”
He smirked, lifting both eyebrows. “Who said I went home?”
“You’re wearing different clothes.” I pointed a finger and motioned to his outfit. “You definitely weren’t wearing that last night.”
Edgar was in a pair of navy shorts and a white shirt with bright red anchors printed on it. His socks were red, too, causing the combination between them and his white shoes to hurt my eyes.
He laughed, putting out his arms and turning in a slow circle. “I know. I look sexy, right? I bought the clothes this morning after picking up the boat.”
“You only picked up the boat this morning?”
Nodding, he grinned. “Not a bad morning for a guy who hasn’t slept.”
Ah, fuck. I’m totally landing up in the hospital as the patient and not the surgeon. “You could have told me that before I came out with you.”
“But you wouldn’t have come if I had.”
“Fair point.” I breathed out a steadying breath through my mouth before sucking in another through my nose. I wasn’t afraid. I actually knew a decent amount about boats since I worked briefly in a shipyard when I was younger, but I wasn’t in the mood to repair shit today. “You were telling me about your night?”
“Oh, yeah. You met Sasha, right? Total babe. I’m sure you remember her. Anyway, I went home with her.”
“Yeah, I remember her.” She was a nice enough girl, but she wasn’t a babe by any stretch of the imagination. “She’s not that pretty, dude. I’m about ninety percent sure that you just didn’t want to sleep alone.”
The more I thought about it, the more I was becoming convinced that Edgar chased a different girl most every night just so his bed wouldn’t be empty. It wasn’t something either of us had brought up yet, but I was planning on doing it sometime.
He didn’t even reply to my comment, which gave me the sneaky suspicion he agreed with me. “How was your night?”
“I also met a girl, but I didn’t go home with her.”
“Why not?” He frowned, as if not going home with someone you met was entirely inconceivable. “Didn’t you like her?”
“I did like her, which is why I wasn’t trying to get into her pants. I’m not sure anything is going to happen there, but there’s something different about her. It just didn’t seem like the right thing to do.”
Also, Olive wasn’t someone I just wanted to fuck. I didn’t know why, since I couldn’t remember ever being as attracted to someone physically as I was to her. I wanted her so damn much it was almost fucking painful, but I got the feeling if I tried anything with her right off the bat, she would run. I didn’t want that to happen.
“Dude.” Edgar rolled his eyes. “Getting into her pants is always the right thing to do.”
He shut off the engine, leaving us to drift in silence for a little while before we started readying our fishing rods. It actually ended up being a nice morning until it became time to leave.
Edgar tried to get the boat started, but the engine wouldn’t turn over. “Fuck.”
“Nice purchase, bro.” I tried to hold back my laughter, but I couldn’t. “When did you say you went to pick it up?”
“This morning,” he grumbled. He pulled out his phone and called the boat’s former owner. The other man did most of the talking while Edgar fiddled with some wires jutting out below the throttle.
A minute later, the engine spluttered back to life and Edgar hung up with the owner, grinning wide. “Got it.”
I laughed again, but my head was shaking the whole time. “Yeah, I’m proud of you. Get us back to shore before it dies again, will you?”
Chapter 8
Olive
The morning after the beach party, I headed over to Heidi and Will’s house. Being out with Jenna had been fun, but I needed to get in some time with at least half of my besties. Of course, I was also dying to see little Adam.
Wanting to give them some time to settle in with him at home, I hadn’t gone by their place after they brought him home from the hospital yet. Heidi, Valerie, and I spoke every day, but when Heidi told me that I really was welcome to pop in this weekend and that she didn’t understand why I was keeping my distance, I was beyond relieved that I’d get to see one of them in person.
It was overcast outside, the sun leaving dappled spots on the sidewalk as I walked. Looking up at the sky, I realized that I might be walking home in the rain later. I had been looking forward to the walk, though, so I didn’t go back for my car.
If it really started coming down, I was sure I would be able to convince Will to give me a ride home. Rain also wasn’t the end of the world. It was just a little water.
I’d donned my light jacket that I’d had on last night when I realized it was cool and overcast, having left it hanging on the hook in the entrance hall after getting home from the party. I slung it across my shoulders when I left the house, hugging it around my body as I made my way down the street.
Will grinned when he opened the door for me, little Adam wrapped in a sunshine-yellow blanket in his arms. “Come on in, Olive. Heidi hasn’t been able to stop talking about how you were coming by today. She’ll be right down.”
Heidi and Will lived in a nice house in the same area as the house I’d inherited from my mom. It was an expensive neighborhood, but I didn’t question how he had afforded buying the place on the salary he made as an electrician.
Everybody knew there were dodgy dealings in his past. Frankly, I didn’t want the details. I had come to love Will for who he was now, for how well he treated my friend, and from the sounds of things, how incredible he was with my godson.
“Hey, Will.” I gave him a sideways hug, careful not to wake the sleeping baby by crushing him with my body. “How’s fatherhood treating you?”
“So fucking well,” he raved, jumping into how he couldn’t believe how much he loved having a child. “It’s so much less intimidating than I thought it would be, you know? If everybody knew this, we’d be struggling with a way more overpopulated planet than we already are.”
I followed him into their living room, marveling once more at the modern, beautiful finishes and the gorgeous view of the backyard and pool from the wide windows in their kitchen. It was an open plan to the living area, showcasing a large dining room with a solid wood table off to the other side of it.
One day, I would find out how the hell Will had afforded this place. For today, however, I was only happy to be there to see my friends.
“Please excuse Will, babe.” Heidi’s voice carried from the top of the stairs a second before the girl herself appeared on them. “He’s been watching a lot of documentaries on humanitarian crises with me while we’ve been home, thus the comments regarding the overpopulated planet.”
Will gave her a deadpan look. “Who was crying about the fact that the damn planet is overpopulated in the first place?”
“It was the hormones.” Heidi shrugged, but winked at me. “My Olive! How are you?”
When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she opened her arms and walked over to envelop me in a huge hug. Heidi smelled like baby powder, her flowery shampoo, and something else I didn’t recognize and wasn’t sure I wanted to, but somehow, she still smelled like her. And that was the closest I ever came to really smelling home. When I was with one of my girls.
I accepted her hug, lifting one hand to cup the back of her dark hair. “I’m good. God, it’s great to see you. How are you holding up?”
“We’re okay,” she said as she released me, her green eyes sparkling. “It’s good to see you too. Why haven’t you been here yet?”
She nudged me in the shoulder befor
e pulling in for another hug. It was only when the hug was done that she led me to the couches to grab a seat. I asked Will for a water when he handed Adam over to me and offered to get us drinks, keeping my voice barely above a whisper when I finally answered her question.
“I told you, I wanted to give you guys some space to settle. I’m sure you haven’t wanted someone around all the time.”
Heidi rocked her head from side to side, but Will piped up from the kitchen. “Thanks, Olive. That was really considerate of you. Also, you don’t have to whisper just because Adam’s sleeping. Don’t yell, but we’re trying not to get him used to sleeping only in absolute silence.”
I looked down at the beautiful sloping eyelashes that were impossibly long to belong to a baby, but I guessed he had gotten them from his daddy. “But he’s so cute when he’s sleeping.” I glanced at my friend.
“He’s cute all the time.” Heidi smiled at the bundle in my arms, then looked back up at me. “Will’s right, though. We read an article about how you can mess up their sleeping patterns now if you only get them used to absolute silence. They also sleep better when there’s white noise, so we’ve been trying to incorporate that. We bought a machine and everything.”
“A white noise machine?” I frowned. “Is that really a thing? Wouldn’t the ocean or even a fan or the hum of air-conditioning be white noise?”
Heidi nodded. “It’s really a thing. Those things are white noise, but the machine has other options too. Crickets, you name it. It’s pretty cool.”
I noticed how she wasn’t moving gingerly anymore and was practically beaming. “You look like you’re all healed and aren’t at all sleep-deprived, how is that possible?”
“I healed really well, thank God. As for the sleep-deprivation, Adam sleeps really well for a newborn. I still have to wake up to feed him every couple of hours, but Will’s an angel about taking him when he’s at home so I can catch some sleep.”