Just a Little Flirt

by Renita Pizzitola

  Brinley’s face lit up, the possibility of me riding off into the sunset with Cade not extinguished quite yet—in her mind at least.

  I tossed my soda can into the trash. My gaze flicked to Ryder. “Thanks a lot. I thought I’d have you on my side on this one.”

  Ryder grinned, glanced at Brinley, then back at me. “Really?”

  But how could I forget? Mr. One-Night found Mrs. Forever. “Good point.” I turned to Mason. “Whatever. Wager’s on. Six weeks. No work guys.”

  “And no guys at work,” he added.

  “Done.” I walked past him to the living room. “I can’t wait to drink away your money.”

  He laughed. “Ha, I should just go ahead and make plans for this weekend. One all-expenses-paid night of drinking, coming up.”

  “Don’t hold your breath.” I sank onto the couch and grabbed the remote. “I probably won’t even see Cade again all week, and I’m not interested in married doctors or cocky residents. There’s zero temptation.”

  —

  Over the next few days, I’d acclimated to working in the Child Life room and when the next week rolled around, they let us fly solo. We were expected to interact with the children in a positive way and basically be an extra set of hands. Which meant delivering toys to patient rooms, decorating hallways and cleaning up. And sterilizing. Lots of sterilizing.

  Occasionally we’d be asked to shadow a Child Life specialist if they were working with a specific child or in a situation where we could benefit from observation, but for the most part we were given freedom to move around the room. And I seemed to have found my rhythm.

  Working with kids came naturally, and I loved everything about my job. Even the other interns weren’t that bad. Lindsey was pretty quiet, but I’d also worked with Tyler, and found him to be pretty easygoing. Of course, I had yet to work with Claudia and Blake. But, for now, my first two weeks came to a successful end. Which also meant, my wager went well. I hadn’t seen Cade, probably due to the change in my shift time, not that it mattered. Anyway, the more I thought about him, the more I realized I’d worked him up in my mind. He was just a regular guy with a cool job. Nice arms, but average looks. He wasn’t that tempting.

  Tyler swung open the door to his locker. “So you going tonight?”

  “Where?” I turned the ringer up on my phone and checked for messages.

  “To Spike’s.” He glanced at me. “You were right there when Amy invited us.”

  “Oh yeah, um, not sure.” Apparently the Child Life aides hung out on Thursday nights, and while a game of volleyball could be fun, the pints of beer could be disastrous for my carefully carved work image.

  “Come on, everyone’s going. Think of it as work bonding at its best.”

  “Draft beer does bond people.” I laughed. “But I’m not up for drinking tonight.” God, did I really just turn down drinking? Of course, I was always up for drinking…just not with coworkers. When it came to alcohol, moderation had never been my strong point. But, really, fun should never be moderated.

  “Then go for the volleyball. They reserved a court and everything. And if you don’t play, just grab a burger or something.” He shrugged. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”

  It would be fun. I just wasn’t sure how bonded I wanted to get with these people. But if all the interns went but me, could that hurt me down the road? Maybe I could go and not drink? Which didn’t sound nearly as fun, but…“Okay, I’ll go. I’ll meet you there after I run home and change.”

  “Cool. See you.”

  When I got home, I slipped out of my scrubs into a pair of shorts and a tank top. It was sand volleyball so I just slipped on some flip-flops and pulled my hair into a ponytail, then headed over to Spike’s.

  Lindsey arrived at the same time, so we walked in together. She looked kind of nervous, or antsy, like this was completely out of her comfort zone but she was putting in a genuine effort to make friends.

  “Do you play volleyball?” I asked.

  She laughed. “No. I lack coordination. Just figured I’d hang out for a bit.”

  “That’s cool. They have good fries, so, you know, you can always stuff your face with yummy food if the game sucks. That’s my plan, anyway.”

  Her laugh came out more like a nervous titter. “I’ve never been here.” She turned her head side to side, eyes wide, zooming in on an especially loud table of guys.

  “It’s fun. Good atmosphere.” My words were meant to reassure and sound enthusiastic; hopefully it worked. Lindsey didn’t seem sold on this little outing. Which for some reason made me feel vested in her experience. If this was a baby step toward being more social, I wanted the effort to pan out. And something about her reminded me of Brinley.

  I pointed outside. “There’s Oscar and Amy.”

  We made our way through the bar to the back patio.

  Seeing coworkers outside of the hospital, and no longer in scrubs, tripped me out. They looked normal. Like friends out for a good time. They sat at a long table near one of the courts, each with a pint of beer, laughing with another girl.

  “You made it.” Amy held up her beer in celebration. “Have a seat.” She gestured to the bench.

  Oscar greeted us, then introduced us to the other girl, who worked as the weekend and PRN Child Life aide.

  Amy paused with her beer almost to her mouth. “Feel free to order, we’re just waiting for our turn on the court. We have a few minutes.”

  “Are you both playing?” Oscar asked.

  “I’ll play,” I said, skimming the menu.

  Lindsey shook her head. “I’m not very good.”

  There was a low chuckle across the table. “Neither are we,” Amy admitted.

  “There’s Tyler and Blake.” Amy pointed to the other interns as they entered. “And Claudia.”

  Did they all ride together? I hadn’t realized they’d buddied up. Then again, maybe they just ran into each other in the parking lot like Lindsey and I had.

  Two more guys strolled up, carrying beers.

  “Where’d y’all disappear to?” Amy asked.

  “We ran into some friends at the bar,” the shorter one said.

  Amy introduced him as her fiancé, the other guy as his best friend.

  We’d quickly grown from cozy group to large party, and Lindsey squirmed a little next to me, her hair shield slowly making its reappearance.

  “Oh look, the court is open.” Amy turned to the group. “Anyone want to warm up while we wait for the rest of our team?”

  Oscar raised his glass. “I’m going to finish my beer. Be there in a second.”

  Since I was regretfully not partaking, I headed to the court with everyone else. Oscar hung back with Lindsey, which eased some of my worries over her.

  We tossed the ball back and forth, taking turns serving and warming up, while we waited for the rest of the group.

  “So how should we divide into teams?” Amy asked.

  “Guys against girls?” Blake offered.

  “Too many guys. We can’t split evenly. Cade’s bringing his roommate.”

  Cade? The ball flew past me.

  “Oh look, and there they are.” Amy pointed behind me.

  As I reached for the ball, I attempted a casual glance back.

  Sure enough there walked Cade with some other guy alongside him. He hadn’t noticed me, so I looked away and tossed the ball to Amy.

  Cade greeted Oscar and Lindsey at the table then made his way to the court. He seemed to know Amy’s fiancé, and greeted him with a very typical guy handshake including the ceremonious clap on the back. Then his gaze drifted over the rest of the crowd, along with a polite hello-nod, before landing on me. His mouth hitched into a smile as his eyes dropped down, and then made their way back up.

  He walked over to me with a grin. “Almost didn’t recognize you out of scrubs.”

  “Yeah.” I adjusted my ponytail. “As much as I love the paper bag look…” I shrugged. Why had I said that? God, I had a way with words.
Which in reality, when it came to guys, I usually did…so why did this one turn me into the bumbling girl?

  Cade smiled. “I think I like this look better.” He turned to talk with someone else, while I just stood there replaying his comment.

  Okay. I took it all back. I hadn’t worked him up this week; I’d worked him down. He was glorious. Drool-worthy. Why-aren’t-you-naked-in-my-bed hot. Nice arms, solid body, gorgeous eyes, perfect teeth. Fuck. He was too much. And was Claudia flirting with him? Dammit. With a bit of effort, I could resist him, but how could I watch him with someone else? Someone like her. Totally unworthy with her trite little laugh. And did she just toss her hair? That was so my move. And the eyelashes? If this weren’t a work function, I’d show—

  “Hi, I’m Sean.”

  My gaze yanked to the guy who’d walked up with Cade. He stood next to me, holding his hand out.

  “Fallon.” I forced a smile and shook his hand.

  He wasn’t quite as tall or as built as Cade but definitely still attractive. The best part: He wasn’t from work. And we weren’t at work. Maybe he could serve as a distraction.

  “Nice to meet you.” He smiled. “Want a beer or anything?” He flagged a waitress who passed by.

  “No thanks.”

  “Sean,” Cade called, his gaze locked on the two of us, “get me one.”

  Okay, so he wasn’t watching us. He’d just wanted a beer. Whatever.

  Oscar strolled up and gestured to Lindsey, pulling me away from my mental torture. “I convinced Lindsey to play. Now we can even out our teams.”

  Lindsey smiled and I smiled back. It had to have taken a ton of courage for her to join.

  “Let’s divide up. Then we can rotate if we want,” Amy said. “Like if we discover the interns are secretly ex-players and we are at a huge disadvantage, or something. Since we really come for beer and burgers and basically all suck.”

  I laughed and assured them I was no pro either.

  Amy divided us up, trying to keep an equal number of guys and girls on each team. Cade ended up on the opposing team. Which I wasn’t really complaining about considering he’d just removed his shirt and I had an excellent view. As expected, those amazing fucking arms led to a sexy-as-all-hell chest and abs. Cut. Delicious. I-need-to-lick-them abs. Why, why, why was the most insanely fuckable guy I’d seen in months someone from work? Who knew landing this internship would result in loads of sexual frustration?

  The ball flew by, almost nailing me on the head. Thankfully Oscar was next to me in seconds, bumping it over the net.

  Cade leapt up, his khaki shorts dipping low as he slammed his fist into the ball. It torpedoed past me.

  Shit. Game face. I had to focus or I’d end up with a broken nose.

  For a bunch of people who claimed to suck at volleyball, the game was pretty intense, and I worked up one hell of a sweat. It was also fun, and my team kicked ass. We lost by several points but we played a damn good game.

  After calling the game, we headed to the table, laughing and high-fiving like lifelong friends. Someone stuck a beer in my hand and I took a big gulp.

  “Thanks.” I wiped my mouth.

  “No problem,” Sean said with a smile.

  We’d played on the same team, so it didn’t come across as flirtatious…until I realized his attention was solely focused on me. I wanted him to serve as a distraction, but not actually become one.

  “You even old enough to be drinking?” he asked with a smirk.

  “According to my ID, yes.” I leaned in. “But between you and me, you just provided alcohol to a minor.” I handed the beer—which I wasn’t even supposed to be drinking—back to him. “But it can be our secret.”

  “It’s yours. Drink up.” He tilted his chin. “You played a good game.”

  “I played. Wouldn’t call it good.”

  I attempted to set the beer down again but he urged me to keep it.

  “Can’t I buy a teammate a beer?”

  Now I was just annoyed. It was hard enough to stay sober while everyone else partied, I didn’t need the added pressure.

  Cade walked up.

  I smiled and said, “Hey. Your roommate just bought you a beer.” I placed the pint glass in his hand, eager to get the liquid temptation out of my hand before I said to hell with it and chugged the damn thing.

  Cade stared at the beer then Sean. “I was gonna get the next round.”

  Sean glanced at me and shrugged. “I was feeling generous.”

  Cade looked between the two of us. “Oh.”

  A waitress walked by and I asked for a water.

  Cade set down the beer and tugged his shirt back on.

  Not only was I not drinking, now I’d lost my amazing view. This night was slowly going downhill.

  “So I didn’t see you at the hospital again this week. Were you scheduled?” Cade picked up the glass and sat on the edge of the table.

  Had he been looking for me? “Yeah, but my shifts were all earlier.” The waitress handed me my water. “Are you there every day?”

  Cade rubbed the back of his head. “Uh, not usually. I go a few days a week, depending on my work schedule. Will you be there tomorrow?”

  “No. I have Fridays off. My online summer class has a Friday lab.” As much as I’d wanted the summer off, I needed some hours to qualify for financial aid. The only reason my parents even allowed me to stay for the summer was the internship, and their financial help wasn’t enough to cover my apartment. Another reason I hoped this turned into a paid position. I needed money. Bad.

  “Oh. So what time will you be there Monday?” he asked.

  I looked down to hide my smile. “Um, I think I’m scheduled at one.”

  “Want to have lunch before your shift?”

  Sean’s mouth twitched up and he mumbled something about getting food. Then slapped his roommate on the back and took off. Well, at least he seemed to respect the guy code. Too bad Cade and I weren’t headed anywhere. Sean really didn’t need to stand down.

  “I’m not sure if I, um, will be there in time for lunch.” I met Cade’s gaze, and he smiled. “But I can try to get there early.” What? Why did I say that? It was his smile. Those damn lips.

  “Okay, meet me in the atrium when you get there. If you have time for lunch, we can eat; if not, we’ll grab coffee or something.”

  “Cool.” I stared at the ground then glanced up and his mouth hitched into another one of those gorgeous smiles.

  A waiter saved me from further torture when he appeared to take our food orders.

  We’d settled around the long picnic-style table. Everyone seemed comfortable kicking back and enjoying beers, chatting casually. But it was harder for me, since this night left me in a weird state of social limbo. Work friends but leisurely setting.

  So, instead, I just listened and observed. It helped me analyze who everyone really was too. And ultimately, I’d found my initial assumptions were pretty damn on-point. Including Cade. He was so hot with his golden boy looks. But he was also genuinely nice. Definitely not my type.

  After eating, no one seemed to have plans to leave. They were enjoying conversation and drinks too much. But it was time for me to make an exit. I made up some excuse about having homework before lab the next day, tossed enough money to cover my food including tip onto the table, then stood.

  “I have to get going, but you guys enjoy the rest of your night. And thanks for inviting me.” I smiled at everyone while forcing my gaze not to immediately seek out Cade.

  “Me too.” Lindsey popped up next to me, looking happy to finally have an out. She also placed some cash on the table then mumbled a quick thanks and goodbye.

  Just before turning to leave, I caved and looked at Cade.

  He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. One hand was wrapped around his pint glass as he watched me. His dark eyes were lighter in the natural light, but still intensely sexy. His mouth hitched into a smile.

  With a quick return smile, I w
aved ʼbye and spun to leave.

  Lindsey’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “I can’t believe I actually played volleyball.” She grinned. “It was kind of fun.”

  “It was a lot of fun. And everyone was really cool to hang with.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t even know what to talk about.” She gnawed on her bottom lip.

  “Sometimes it’s just fun to hang out. And maybe once you get to know them better, the talking will come easier.”

  She released her lip and sighed. “You’re right.”

  We stepped outside.

  “Thanks for hanging out with me tonight.”

  “No problem.” I smiled, happy her evening out had been worth the effort. “See you next week. Oh, and by the way, your hair looks really cute like that.”

  She ran her hand over her ponytail. She’d pulled it up at some point during the game, exposing the face she tended to keep hidden. “Oh, thanks.” A smile lit her face, revealing a dimple near her left eye, right on the apple of her cheek. She really was a cute girl.

  With one last wave, I walked to my car, which I’d parked along the side nearest the court. Just as I slid in, I caught a glance of everyone still settled around the table. But only one person mattered. Cade, whose gaze was locked on me.

  Damn. That good boy was nothing but trouble.

  Chapter 5

  Friday morning I woke up from having the hottest sex dream ever—starring none other than Cade. The shirtless visual from volleyball was apparently more than my brain could handle. The dream left me worked up, and dying to know if the real thing would live up to it. All of which was no good. Time to get back on track and avoid proving Mason right. A good one-night stand should do the trick.

  After lab, I texted my friends Leena and Mel, informing them we were all going out. Though happy to have Brinley’s company, I needed to arm myself with single friends tonight. Leena had briefly dated Mason, but when that didn’t work out, she set out to find a new guy, making her exactly the kind of girl I needed by my side.

  The dress Brinley wore brushed her thighs as she leaned against my door frame. “Ryder and some of his friends are going to meet us there later.”

  “That’s cool.” I smeared on lip gloss. “Which friends?”