“First-timers?” Mike asks after the waiter leaves.
Lindsey nods. “Yeah. The place just opened, didn’t it?”
“We were here for the soft opening,” Owen brags while twisting his gold pinky ring.
Whoop-de-doo. On a scale of things that turn me on, being invited to a bar’s soft opening is on par with waxing your chest. Men, hair is good. I don’t want a partner so smooth I’m worried he’s underage.
“Do you know the owners or something?” Lindsey asks, just trying to make conversation. I know she’s not impressed by their VIP status either.
“We’re in sales. Alcohol distribution, that sort of thing.”
I must look bored because Owen grins at me. “What about you two? What do you do for work?”
“Wait—let me guess,” Mike says, taking us in with narrowed eyes. “PR? You both majored in communications?”
Lindsey’s gaze locks with mine and we both fight back a laugh. “Nope. Guess again.”
“Bloggers. Fashion, but you dabble in lifestyle stuff too,” Owen says.
I make a sound like a game show buzzer. “Wrong again.”
“Teachers?”
Lindsey takes pity on them. “We’re doctors,” she reveals in a flat tone.
“No shit?”
They both rear back in shock. Women can be doctors? What century is this?!
“That’s awesome. You do checkups and stuff?”
“And stuff,” I say with a smile before reaching for my drink. I had the bartender water it down a lot because I don’t like drinking on nights when I have to be at the hospital early the next day, but now I realize it was a mistake. You know what would pair well with these guys? Shots. A lot of them. Something to drown out how incompatible we are.
Lindsey suddenly reaches to dig her phone out of her purse, though I didn’t hear it ring or vibrate. She holds it up to her ear and speaks loudly, enunciating every word so they can’t be misheard. “Hey baby!” For the record, she’s never once called a guy baby without it being a joke. “Yeah, we’re here. Are you guys on your way? Awesome. Can’t wait to see you.” Then she fakes ending the fake call.
“Boyfriend?” Owen asks.
Lindsey bites her lip and nods.
I’m seconds away from ruining her ploy. It wasn’t even very good acting. We should look these two men in the eyes and say point-blank, Hey, yeah, we thought you guys were cute, but then your personalities ruined that assumption. Can you please go away? Her plan does seem like the easier route though. We save their feelings while also getting rid of them. It’s a win-win.
The two guys vacate our table in a matter of seconds, not wanting to deal with an awkward confrontation with our imaginary boyfriends.
Lindsey’s shoulders slump when they leave. “WHY?! Why are they all so flawed?”
“You’ve got it wrong. Flawed is charming and sweet. We all have flaws. That was just thinly veiled sexism.”
She shivers. “Took me right back to my residency days.”
I get it. Lindsey went into a female-dominated specialty, but she still wasn’t immune to the struggles we all face. It’s hard being a female physician. Respect isn’t doled out to us the same way it is for our male counterparts. We have to carve out a space for ourselves, which is why, in our free time, we have no time for men like those two. In the words of Ariana Grande, Thank you, next.
“Want to just call it a night?” Lindsey asks, checking the time on her phone. It’s only a little past 8 PM, too early to head back—Connor would still be awake.
“No. I can’t go back to the townhouse yet.”
She tilts her head, studying me. “Why not?”
I grip my drink, trying to decide if I want to go down this road with Lindsey or not. She’ll find out soon enough. There’s no reason to keep it a secret.
“Because Connor moved in.”
Her jaw drops. “Connor as in Dr. Easton?”
“Yes.”
“As in Noah’s best friend?”
“Uh-huh.”
“As in the guy who makes up one half of the sexiest doctor duo in Boston?”
I wrinkle my nose, knowing what she’s referring to. I’ve heard enough women in the hospital talking about Noah that way. “Ew. That’s my brother, by the way.”
“Fine. Forget Noah—Connor is seriously, ridiculously hot.”
I groan. “Yes, okay? Yes. And now he’s living with me. Kind of. I mean, he’ll be in the main house and I’ll be in the guest house.”
Her brows rise in shock. “Wow. That’s…”
“It’s nothing.”
She assesses me coolly, testing me with her next question. “If it’s nothing, why can’t you go home?”
“Because like you just said…he’s really good-looking.”
“Yeah? So what? So are you.”
“I just mean…with Noah leaving this week…”
“Ah, now we’re getting to the truth.” A cunning smile paints her angelic features in a new, devilish light. “You’re worried something is going to happen between you two.”
My eyes widen in alarm. My hands flail. “No! Of course not. Connor doesn’t—he wouldn’t…I’m not…”
I can’t form a coherent sentence.
“Natalie,” she starts, her tone leaving no room for bullshit. “You’ve been stuck inside that hospital for too long. You’ve forgotten what it’s like in the real world. Men want you. We need a real night out so you can remember that.”
“I’m going out with the other surgery residents on Tuesday for a last hurrah. Want to come with?”
She shakes her head. “Hard pass. They’re all taken.”
“True.”
“That’s another one of your problems, by the way—you only hang out with guys who are already married or in serious relationships or gay. They don’t hit on you because they’re decent, but believe me, they want to.”
My face contorts in disgust. After five years of working with Richard, Luke, and Andreas, I don’t want to think about them like that.
She laughs and polishes off the rest of her drink. “Sounds like you’re in for a tough time. Believe me, I’d swap places with you if I could.”
“Lindsey.”
I can’t pursue this line of thinking. I’ve spent years purposefully avoiding this guaranteed route to heartache. If I let myself start hoping, if I open that door and start to believe something could potentially happen between us…
No. Absolutely not.
I take another sip of my drink and stand, killing the conversation.
When I get back to the townhouse, I slip through the main space as quiet as a mouse, relieved to find I’m the only one home. That relief dwindles quickly as I consider the fact that if Connor isn’t here, that means he’s out, maybe meeting another woman…maybe preparing to bring her back here. I scramble to the guest house, lock the door behind me, and immediately start getting ready for bed, trying to outrun that terrible scenario before it takes hold of me.
In the morning, relief hits me like a ten-pound weight. I get to go back to work today. I toss off my covers and scramble up and out of bed. I am the peppiest version of myself out on the city streets. I fight the urge to wave at every person I pass, knowing it won’t go over well this early. The sun isn’t even up yet. I resist the urge to leap into the air and tap my heels together like a leprechaun because I know it would only hurt my knee. I do say good morning to a newspaper salesman and I hold the door open for a woman heading out of my favorite indie coffee shop, Boston Beans. It’s right across from the hospital, and when time permits, I like to stop in and get a drink before I start my shift.