Chapter 4
REID
"Fifty bucks, Garrison." Tony holds out his hand as we finish restocking the ambulance. "Pay up."
"Excuse me?" I slam the back doors shut and hop down, landing with a bounce that makes Tony wince. "I believe the count was fourteen. I said fifteen. You said twelve. By the laws of 'The Price is Right,' I am the victor. You underbid the chaos, my friend."
"Fourteen is closer to twelve than fifteen."
I give him a look that hopefully conveys how fucking stupid he is. "That is mathematically incorrect and morally bankrupt. Also, three of them also had food poisoning from the taco truck. I called the Radioactive Salsa. I want my money."
Tony sighs, digging into his wallet. "I hate you so much. Why the hell do I keep betting with you." He hands over a crumpled twenty and three tens.
"Pleasure doing business with you." I kiss the cash dramatically before stuffing it in my pocket. "This is going into the 'Reid Needs a Water Heater' fund."
We're parked outside the station, the morning sun just starting to hit the pavement. I should be dead on my feet. Fourteen patients, twelve hours, and enough adrenaline to kill a horse. But I'm not tired. I'm vibrating.
And it's not just the caffeine.
"That nurse was good tonight," Tony says, leaning against the rig. "Leanne?"
"Laine," I correct automatically. Beautiful, smiling Laine. "And yeah. She was... solid."
"Solid? Reid, you looked like a puppy who just found a new chew toy every time you walked into her bay."
"I did not."
"You did. You were wagging. I swear to god, if you had a tail, you would have knocked over the IV pole." Tony grins. "She handled the alien guy well, though. Didn't flinch when he lunged."
"She didn't," I agree, the image flashing back into my mind. The way she stood her ground. The way she looked at me afterward—not scared, just steady. "She's cool under pressure. I like that."
"So ask her out."
I pause, keys in hand. "She's probably got a boyfriend. Smart, pretty, handles psych patients without blinking? Someone definitely put a ring on that."
"I didn't see a ring."
"You were looking?" I don't like that. Which is stupid, since he's happily married.
"I'm a trained observer, Reid. It's my job." Tony claps me on the shoulder. "Ask her out. Worst she says is no, and you cry into your oatmeal."
"I don't cry into oatmeal. I cry into waffles. It’s more effective because of the pockets."
"Go." Tony shoves me toward my truck. "Before you talk yourself out of it."
"I don't know," I say, but I'm already thinking about it. About asking her out. About seeing if she's as easy to talk to over coffee as she was over hospital beds.
"What's the worst that could happen? She says no, you move on with your life."
The worst that could happen is that she says no and I have to keep bringing patients to her hospital and pretending I don't remember the way she smiled at me. Like I was someone worth smiling at.
Shit. The actual worst that could happen if I don't ask is that I spend the next however long wondering what if.
And after all the times I’ve been left with that question, all the times I wished I could go back and change things, I don’t know if I have it in me to wonder about her, too.
"Five bucks says she turns you down flat!
' Tony yells as he heads to his truck, leaving me standing in the station’s parking lot.
The sun's starting to come up, that gray pre-dawn light that makes everything look washed out.
My shift's over, I should go home, get some sleep. I have to be back on in a few hours.
Instead, I'm thinking about the fact that Laine's shift is over too.
"Easiest money I'll ever make," I yell back. The son of a bitch is reverse psychology-ing me, and I don't hate it. I get in my truck and sit there for a minute, engine off. This is stupid. I barely know her. We worked one crazy night together, that doesn't mean she wants to go out with me.
But Tony was right - I was checking back on patients all night. I've never done that before. Shit. What do I do. It's just a date. A pretty girl. Why the fuck does it feel like such a big deal.
I pull out my phone and call Blake.
"You're alive," Blake answers on the first ring. Background noise—dishes clinking. He’s emptying the dishwasher.
"I am alive. I am also fifty dollars richer. Tony has been vanquished."
"Congratulations. You can buy half a water heater part." Blake pauses. "You sound wired. How was the shift?"
"Fourteen patients. Full moon energy without the full moon. We had time travelers, Blake. A husband and wife team."
“Fuck. That’s a lot of tripped-out hippies."
"Yeah, well, one of them thought I was a dolphin and pet me. She almost grabbed my junk.” Okay, it’s funny now. Hell. It was funny in the moment. Really fucking inappropriate, especially in front of Laine. But she seemed to think it was hilarious.
Blake laughs. "Please tell me you have pictures."
"You wish. But listen, I need a reality check."
"Okay."
"There was this nurse. Laine."
"The one you were texting me about at 2 AM?"
"I didn't text you at 2 AM."
"You sent me a gif of a heart beating out of a chest. No context."
"That... might have happened." I rub my face.
"She's great, Blake. Smart. Funny. And she’s... real. Not a stick figure. She’s got these soft curves and wavy hair the color of dark honey.
She played along with the hallucinations and she didn't look at me like I was just some dumb taxi driver.
" To be fair, most of the nurses are amazing.
But there are always a few that seem to think my IQ is somewhere in the single digits.
You talk about Sponge Bob once and suddenly you're a joke.
"So what's the problem?"
"The problem is I'm sitting in the parking lot like a stalker instead of driving home. I want to ask her out, but I don't want to be 'that guy' who hits on nurses after a shift."
"Reid." Blake’s voice drops into that 'big brother' tone. "Do you like her?"
"Yeah. I think I do."
"Did she seem to like you?"
"She laughed at my jokes. And she didn't complain about my stench when I invaded her personal space." Yeah I carry extra pit stick in the rig, but we were flying so fast tonight, I know I had to be less than fresh.
"High bar."
"Shut up. She smiled a lot. The real smile, not the 'please go away' smile." I'm a lot. I know it. So I'm used to that smile.
"Then go talk to her," Blake says. "You're overthinking it. You always overthink it then talk yourself out of it."
"If she says no, I'm going to have to quit my job. I'll become a houseman, and you'll have to support me."
"You're a melodramatic fuck. I'm heading over to the bakery. I got a craving for those peach muffins. Ask the girl out, and I'll save you some. Chicken out, and they're all mine."
"You wouldn't dare." Those muffins are fucking epic. The tops are like mountain ranges.
Hehe. Big Muffins.
"Try me. Go ask her out, Reid."
"You're a bully."
"I'm a motivator. Go."
"Her shift ends at seven," I say.
"It's seven now."
"I know."
"So what are you doing sitting in a parking lot talking to me instead of figuring out how to ask her out?"
"Because I'm an idiot?"
"Yeah, probably. But you're an idiot who had a good night with a woman he likes, and that doesn't happen every day."
It doesn't. I can't remember the last time I met someone who made me want to stick around and keep talking.
Not since Tracy. That was a fucking shitshow.
But not all women are like her. They aren't. They can't be.
I have to believe one day I'll find someone who will stick, even through the dark moments. Until then, I connect with women who are light and fun. Then I’m good for a few weeks, maybe a month, before I get bored or they do.
But something about tonight felt different. She felt different.
"What if I'm reading this wrong?" I ask. "What if she was just being friendly?"
"Then you'll know. Look, worst case scenario, she says no and you come home, get some sleep, and move on with your life. Best case scenario..."
"Yeah?"
"Best case scenario, you take a woman you actually like out for coffee and see what happens."
I look in the direction of the hospital again. She's probably in the changeroom. Laine's probably tired, ready to go home.
Or maybe she's the kind of person who's up for coffee after a crazy night.
"You still there?" Blake asks.
"Yeah, I'm here."
"Go ask her out, Reid. Before you talk yourself out of it."
"Right." I take a deep breath. "Okay. I'm going to do it."
"Good. And Reid?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't overthink it. Just be yourself."
I hang up and sit there for another minute, then before I know it I’m in a different parking lot, staring at the hospital entrance. Blake's right. I'm overthinking this. Either she's interested or she's not, and sitting in my truck isn't going to change that.
I hop out of the truck and jog back toward the ER entrance. The morning shift is filtering in—fresh scrubs, coffee cups, looks of dread. I weave through them, heading for the break room.
Joyce is at the station with the day shift charge nurse, doing handoff.
"Forget something, Reid?" she asks, eyeing me.
"Just my dignity. And maybe a nurse." I lean on the counter. "Is Laine still here?"
Joyce’s tired face breaks into a grin. "Knew it. Break room. She’s stalling. Probably waiting for the traffic to die down. Or..." She raises an eyebrow. "...waiting for a certain medic to come back."
"You think?"
"Go." She points down the hall.
I walk down the hallway, heart doing a stupid little flutter in my chest. I knock on the break room door frame.
Laine is sitting at the table, staring at her phone. She’s out of her scrubs, wearing jeans and a soft-looking sweater. She looks tired, her hair messy in the best possible way.
She looks up, and her eyes go wide. "Reid?"
"I come in peace," I say, holding up my hands. "No aliens. No time travelers."
She smiles, and it hits me right in the chest. "Did you forget something?"
"Yeah." I step into the room. "I forgot to ask if you like pancakes."
Her head tilts a little to the side. "Pancakes?"
"There's a diner about five minutes from here. They make pancakes the size of hubcaps. It’s aggressive, honestly. They’re a choking hazard.
" I rock back on my heels, suddenly nervous.
"I was gonna go celebrate my victory over Tony, and I thought... maybe you’d want to help me eat them.
Since you were an accomplice to the madness. "
Laine looks at me, surprised. Then she sets her phone down.
"Hubcap pancakes?" she repeats.
"And bacon. I'm a growing boy, Laine. I need protein."
"You're asking me to breakfast? Now?"
"Unless you have to get back to your home planet?"
She laughs, a bright, genuine sound that chases away the last of the night's exhaustion. "No. My home planet can wait." She stands up, grabbing her bag. "I'd love to."
"Yes!" I pump a fist. "Tony owes me another five bucks."
"You bet on me?" She narrows her eyes, but she’s smiling.
"I bet on my charm," I correct, holding the door open for her. "And I always bet on a sure thing."
"You are terrible," she says, brushing past me.
"I am delightful," I counter, falling into step beside her. God she smells good. "Ask anyone."