Loving the Nurse by Piper Sullivan

Gus

“What a long day,” I said to no one in particular as I pulled the dirty, puke-covered scrubs from my locker and shoved them into my backpack to be washed when I got home, which would be soon thankfully. The day felt like three shifts rolled into one, especially after Antonio and Rosie’s visit. The little girl was as adorable as she always was, but Antonio, he was determined.

The question was why.

Why did he want to talk to me now that I’d given him the casual fling he wanted? It didn’t make any sense, and I spent most of my shift trying to suss out his motives, and I came up empty.

Worrying about Antonio wasn’t a productive use of my time. Getting home safely and quickly, that was how I planned to spend the next fifteen minutes before I fell into a deep sleep.

“Ah, there you are Gus!” Melanie popped her head in with the friendly smile she wore when she was about to ask a favor. “How’s it going?” Her gaze dropped from my face to my bag.

“Good. I’m getting ready to go home. What’s up, Mel?”

She stepped inside with a sigh. “Two of the ER nurses called in, down with the flu.”

“Again?” A few weeks ago a bug had taken out half the ER.

“Oh please,” Melanie rolled her eyes. “This is the Reardon Black Project flu. He’s performing tonight at the Pavilion and they think I don’t know it,” she snorted and shook her head. “Like I don’t want to see that handsome fella shake his tush while tickling those guitar strings.”

Her words brought a smile to my tired face. Melanie was a character, plain spoken and honest to a fault. “Why don’t you go?”

“Because someone has to run this place, don’t they? Besides, I have plans tonight. At home plans,” she clarified unnecessarily. “So, can you work tonight?”

I wanted to say no. I was exhausted and in no mood to socialize for another ten hours, but I couldn’t leave the ER short-handed. They needed help and I could provide it. My gift and my curse. “Yeah, I can.”

She perked up. “Thanks, Gus! I can always count on you.” Melanie meant the words to be a compliment, I knew that, but today they didn’t feel like one.

“That’s me, good ol’ reliable Gus.” Where had being steady and reliable gotten me in life? A good job and a wonderful circle of friends? Damn my stupid subconscious, who asked her anyway?

“That’s not a bad thing, Gus. Don’t let anyone make you feel otherwise.”

“Thanks, Mel.” I said the words even though I didn’t mean them, and changed into a pair of clean scrubs that were a size too small. Everywhere. A quick splash of cold water on my face woke me up and I found an elastic band to wrap around my thick hair. I was as ready as I would be for another double shift.

Cal worked the ER and I found him right out front, staring down at a chart. “Hey Gus, thanks for covering tonight. You’re my favorite fill in.” He flashed his patented smile but it did nothing to take the sting off his unintended slight.

I kept my bland smile in place and shrugged. “Story of my life.”

Cal’s smile disappeared and he reached out to me, a frown appeared when I stepped back. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

I held up a hand to stop his unnecessary apology. “I know. Don’t worry about it. Where do you need me?”

He still wore a horrified look that made me slightly uncomfortable, but I waited him out. I wouldn’t apologize for how I felt. “Um…”

“MVA, incoming! Internal injuries, lacerations and a broken leg.” Mel’s voice boomed and Cal and I got moving, him towards the ambulance bay while I went to prep what he would need in the OR.

The next few hours passed in a blur of emergency medical needs, from a drunken prank that resulted in a split open hand, several broken limbs that belonged to daredevil kids, and a domestic abuse case that resulted in broken ribs. I hated to see the way people were so casual about their safety. Hated to see them bloody and broken.

But it was the distraction I needed. The perfect bloody, broken mess to keep my mind on the patient in front of me, not a dark haired, dark eyed bad boy who was no good for me. I spent too many years trying to get a man to love me, and he’d chosen the bottle every single time.

I was done with that life.

Totally done.

“Nothing like an almost full moon to make a shift fly by.” Cal shook his head and let out a sigh as he stretched his back and neck. “Ready to hit the break room?”

I was ready to hit my pillow, but I still had five hours to go before that became a reality. “Nah, I already ate the lunch I brought earlier so I’m headed to the cafeteria. I’ll catch up with you after.”

He shook his head and reached for my arm. “Nope. We’re going to the break room.” He tugged me down the corridor until we stood in front of the blue door, and pushed it open with an odd flourish. The drab, utilitarian break room with a wide circular table in the middle looked like it had this morning, except for the food piled on the table.

“What’s all this?” The question was rhetorical because I knew the answer. I made this same char Siu a few weeks ago. The platter was decorated with more precision and everything was done much better than my efforts, but it was undeniable. “Cal, tell me you didn’t set this up.”

When I turned to Cal, he held his hands up defensively and shook his head. “All I did was mention to Antonio that you’d been roped into a double shift. This was all him.”

I didn’t believe that for a moment, but Antonio was his best friend and he wouldn’t speak ill of him. That was fine, I didn’t want him to. “I’m just going to have a salad. You and the rest of the ER department should enjoy it, though.” Not only did I not want to appreciate this gesture from Antonio, I had a fried chicken sandwich from Dad for lunch and I needed something healthy, something with vegetables.

Cal stood in front of the door with his arms folded across his chest, a scowl on his face. “Sit down and eat or I’ll lock us both in here for the next thirty minutes.” His brows arched in amusement. “That will get the hospital tags wagging which might lead Teddy to kick your ass. That might be kind of hot though, so I’m good either way.”

“Gross,” I groaned and dropped into one of the empty seats. “This is ridiculous.” The food smelled incredible, the sauce made my mouth water and I looked at the table with longing. Crispy pork with noodles, Asian slaw, dumplings and three different dipping sauces.

“Eat,” he ordered while he piled his plate high with food.

I made a plate of my own because Antonio was a damn good cook and it was no hardship to eat his food. I told myself it was a no-strings attached meal. Eating it didn’t obligate me to more. “So good.”

“He’s not a bad guy, you know.”

And here we go. Stuck in a room with his best friend to help plead his case. “I know that, and I never said he was.” I reached for a dumpling and took my time while Cal stared at me as he shoveled food in his face. “Antonio covets his bachelor status even more than you did, and I’m not looking to change that.”

Cal nodded and adjusted the chopsticks in his hand. “I did covet my status but once I realized how much Teddy meant to me, it wasn’t even a question of whether I’d change my status for her. It was a given.”

“That’s sweet.” Teddy was a lucky woman to have a man who loved her and wasn’t afraid to admit it.

“It’s also true.” He flashed a wide, knowing grin and his eyes softened at the mention of his woman.

“It’s clear to anyone with eyes that you love Teddy, but I’m not that woman for Antonio and I’m okay with that. But what I’m not okay with, is being his bit of fun while he finds that woman.”

“You think that’s what you are?”

I nodded. “I know I am. We had fun together, a lot of fun. But it was only fun.”

“I don’t know, Gus. I’ve known Antonio my whole life and he’s not the big gesture kind of guy, not even for Trishelle. This is a pretty big gesture.”

“Oh please.” I rolled my eyes. “Not too hard to figure out that the chubby girl would appreciate a meal cooked by a professional.”

“That’s not how he sees you, trust me.” Cal’s expression was intense, his defense of his best friend, unflinching. “You mean something to him, Gus.”

I tried to shrug off those words ,because warmth spread through my body the moment they hit my ears. I wanted to believe that, but it wasn’t the truth.

“I don’t, Cal. I’ve been here before and I know that I don’t. This is all because his ego is bruised because I walked away before he could.”