UGA Medical was one of the busiest hospitals for about one hundred miles in any direction. We had a helipad for emergencies, a renowned burn unit, and a labor floor that saw ten to twenty patients a day. Lordy, with all the procreating and screaming you’d think that would have made me smarten up, but no such luck. I was always one to learn things the hard way. Too bad this was one of them. Which reminded me I needed to look up some information, as I put things away in my locker and avoided any conversation with the other nurses I passed on my way to the break room.
“Woman, you have a fire under your ass?” Keegan asked, causing me to jump. I hadn’t seen her come in behind me.
I glanced back. “No, why?”
Bright blue eyes rolled in exaggeration. “You went racing past me like a child chasing the ice cream truck. Everything okay?”
“Mhmm. Just running late. Don’t need Connor lecturing me about professionalism again.”
Doctor Connor was the head of my floor, and hands down one of the strictest attending physicians I’ve come in contact with. The only reason I think he’s tolerated my lateness is because he has also been my dad’s golf partner for the better part of twenty years. He certainly doesn’t hold back just because of that though. Getting a chewing from him is as bad as sitting in front of your parents because you got less than a C on your report card and they want to tell you what the consequences are. I cringe every time.
“Oh, gotcha. He’s been especially ornery today. Michelle accidentally called for the anesthesiologist to go to the wrong room. Not the biggest deal in the world, but a charting nightmare. He’s threatening to send her to another class so she doesn’t make the mistake again.”
Jesus. “What a dick.” I rolled my eyes.
“You and I both know she won’t do it again. Not with him breathing down her neck now.”
“Nobody would.”
A small wave of nausea hit me out of the blue and I swallowed down a burp. Reaching up to hold on the door of my locker, I briefly closed my eyes and willed it away.
“Hey.” Keegan touched my shoulder. “You okay? You look a little green.”
My hand came up to my mouth and I let out a little cough, clearing my throat and ignoring my urge to hurl. “I’m good. I don’t think I got enough sleep last night. Going to be killer this week being on twelves.”
I could see a concerned expression cross her face. Keegan acted like a little mother to everyone. If I could keep this news from her, I would consider myself lucky. She reads me like a book. Squinting her eyes and tilting her head to the side, she regarded me.
“I don’t know.” Her hand brushed my cheek. “Looks like something else to me. How’s your head? Feeling feverish?”
I shook my head and took an infinitesimal step back. “Nope, I’m good.” Her hand dropped, slapping the side of her leg. “I stayed up watching episodes of Pretty Little Liars and eating licorice. I think I ended up getting five hours of shut eye.” I made up the lie so quick even I believed it.
“Ugh, that show is going to be the death of me. When is the next season starting? I feel like I’ve been waiting forever.”
My little drama queen friend. I smiled. I loved Keegan. I knew I should tell her what was going on with me, but I didn’t want to stress her out with the news. She was such a kind and caring person. I think that’s the exact reason she ended up with someone like Camden Brooks. She was the calming force to his intensity. With their recent nuptials, I wanted her to focus on the new life she was creating with her husband. Well, also because she would do the math and figure out that it all happened during her wedding night. Only one suspect could have gotten me in the sack that night and she knew how I felt about Dodger. Getting trashed on the day of her marriage wasn’t my most glorifying moment. Three sheets to the wind and practically dragging him by his neck tie into the pool house—that’s a hell of a visual.
I let out a loud exaggerated sigh, refusing to let myself think further about how I got into this situation. “It has been forever, hasn’t it?”
Leaning back against a breakroom table, she crossed her feet at her ankles. “You know, we could always have a girls’ night and do a marathon of that show or maybe even Game of Thrones. I’ve heard it’s crazy intense. I could get ice cream, and pizza, and we could veg all day with a pillow and blanket fort in front of the TV.”
As long as she was no longer asking me questions about my appearance or questioning how I was feeling, I’d roll with it. “That sounds like fun. You just tell me when we both have a free day on the schedule and we’ll do it.”
Keegan’s blue eyes glimmered. “Good. I miss my best friend.”
I gave her a tentative smile. “I miss you too.”
Turning around, I rummaged around in my bag and took out the typical nursing shoes: my Crocs, and slipped them on my feet and looked at the watch on my wrist. My shift had technically started but my charge nurse had seen me come in. No need for me to rush out and get this long day started just yet.
“How’s married life going? Everything you hoped and dreamed it would be?”
I didn’t have to look at her to see the smile lighting up her face. I could hear it.
“It’s amazing. Well, it’s not much different than how it was before. Still living together, still paying bills together, still going on dates together, but I get to walk around and call him husband. Which is pretty cool.”
I giggled and said with sarcasm, “Such a novelty.”
“Hush. Camden gets a kick out of me saying it.”
“That grumpy alpha male would.” I snickered.
Keegan laughed. “He really is. The other night, one of the members came up to me, asking me about the gym’s training and he nearly came out of his skin. He stormed over all huffy and puffy like he was going to kick the guy’s ass for even blinking in my direction. Lordy, that man can’t handle any form of testosterone in the same room unless they share the same DNA as him. And even then he barely tolerates it.”
I curled my lip. Mumbling under my breath I said, “Sounds like someone else I know.” Dodger was cut from the same cloth.
“Huh?” she asked, not able to hear me.
“Nothing.”
She stood upright, and pulled her long blonde hair out of the ponytail it had been in. Strands of golden locks wisped around her face. “All right, sunshine, I’m going to head home. I need to get some sleep before dinner tonight. Guess we are headed to Camden’s parents’ house. We haven’t been there much since the wedding.”
The thought of Donna and Paul made me slightly sad. I hadn’t been there at all since then either. “That’ll be nice.” I shut my locker and stepped toward her. Reaching out, I embraced her in a hug, already tired of the conversation and how it made me feel.
“Give me a call when you figure out that schedule okay? I miss my best friend.”