Chapter 21
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
ELLERY
“Ican’t believe you’re pregnant,” Adeline says to Bryce.
“I know. It’s crazy, when we said we were done with birth control, I thought it would take a while, but bam, one month and I’m pregnant.” She’s smiling, one I’ve never seen on her before. She’s beaming now that I look closely at her.
“And he or she won’t be far off in age from Clover.
If Damon has his way, I’ll bet he’s gonna try to knock me up tonight just so we can have babies close to the same age.
” Adeline laughs. “He likes the idea of all of us living on the same block for the rest of our lives and our kids growing up together.”
I choke on the last sip of my champagne, and they both look at me.
“I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to take over your night of celebration.” Bryce bites her lip like she’s worried.
“There’s nothing to celebrate. Yes, Cooper and I are a couple, but it doesn’t change anything.”
“You’re kidding. It changes everything.” Bryce’s mouth falls open. “How could you say that? Aren’t you excited?” Her brows draw down.
“Yes, and I’m happy. We’re happy.”
How do I tell my friends, who convinced me to make it happen and are invested in my relationship, that it’s all happening too fast?
I haven’t had a chance to just take a breath.
I’ve either seen Cooper or talked to him numerous times per day, every day.
He surprises me at work, he surprises me at my apartment, and he surprises me with plans when I’m exhausted after a shift.
But I don’t want to make him feel bad, and I really do want to spend time with him.
Bryce reaches over and touches my knee. “Elle?”
I shake my head and glance over at the guys who are involved in their own conversation and not paying us any attention. “No. I’m glad we crossed the line… it’s just that we’ve gone from being best friends to dating for five years overnight.”
Adeline leans back on the couch, giving me a look as if she feels bad for me. She was thrust into the same situation when she was pregnant and handled it fine, so I’m sure she doesn’t understand where I’m coming from.
Clover climbs into her mom’s lap and plays with her toy.
Do I want one of those? I think so. But I’m still making a name for myself at work.
“Probably because you’ve known one another for so long.
Like there’s no getting to know each other except in the bedroom,” Adeline says, and that makes sense.
“I mean, Damon and I got thrown into this, but we still had to get to know one another. Thankfully, it worked out, but in most cases, it doesn’t. ”
“I’m sure there’s a lot of friends to lovers who don’t make it the long haul either,” I say, and Bryce scoffs.
“Don’t do this, Elle,” she says, standing.
“What are you talking about?” I frown.
“Sabotage something good. Slow it down if you have to, but you’ll regret it if you lose him.”
What the fuck? Was I speaking a foreign language?
“Bryce?”
She sits down when I give her the look that we’re not finished here.
“I am not going to end this. I love him. I am happy. But I don’t want to plan my entire future right now.
I don’t want to look at houses or think about having a baby.
I want to know what it would’ve felt like ten years ago when I met Cooper.
If we wouldn’t have listened to all the bullshit about sex ruining our futures and our friendship, what would he have done to get me to like him?
What would I have done? I don’t want that to not be part of our story. ”
She stares at me. She’s always a harsh critic and probably doesn’t understand what I’m saying.
“I’m sure Adeline didn’t want to get to know Damon while six months pregnant.
You’re forgetting Elle, you did get to know him in small increments as you two became best friends.
And that’s what’s going to make it last. Don’t you see what a bonus that is and not a strike against you? ”
I look behind me at the guys surrounding the breakfast bar, eating, laughing, and having fun. Cooper looks like there’s nothing that could ruin his mood right now. He’s high on life because of us. As if he can read me, he turns my way and winks. Those dimples are going to be the death of me.
“I do. But…” I shake my head, not wanting to get into it, especially with him only a few feet away. “Just forget it, I’m not explaining it right.”
Bryce stands and goes to join the guys.
Adeline’s hand falls to my leg. “I get it. I do. I wished I could turn back time so many times. That I would’ve played harder to get.
If I did, would Damon have chased me?” She shrugs.
“Doubtful, but I’ll never really know. Then I realized it didn’t matter.
This little one brought us together, and that’s all that matters.
So, relax. All relationships go at different speeds.
No one is saying you need to be engaged, looking at houses or wedding dresses.
And Cooper loves you, so trust him with your worries. ”
I squeeze her hand on my leg. She doesn’t know Cooper though. If I tell him I want to slow down, he’ll be just like Bryce and think there’s something wrong. This is something I have to get over myself so that I don’t hurt him. And I will, I just need a little time.
Bryce comes back over, and Adeline shows us the pictures of the new house. It’s beautiful, with a small yard in the back for Clover. It’s not far from The Den but in a more family-friendly area of the city.
How can Damon take this all in stride? Up until two years ago, he was a womanizer, sleeping with women and never wanting a commitment.
And now he’s married with a kid, wanting another one, and buying a house in an area with zero nightlife.
Surely, if Damon can go from one to sixty in such a short time, I can too.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Wallace,” I say, sanitizing my hands and walking into the patient’s room.
There’s a man in there with a woman seated next to him on her phone. She tucks it away in her purse and gives me all her attention. “You’re Cooper Rice’s girlfriend,” she says. “The quarterback for—”
“Yes, I am.” I offer her a smile.
“I just saw you on my feed. You two make a cute couple.”
“Thank you.” I turn my attention to the patient. “What brings you in today, Mr. Hunt?”
“I hope your man plays a good game on Sunday. There’s a lot of predictions out there that you could either make or break his game. It happens all the time, they get a girlfriend, and their game goes to shit.”
I offer him a wane smile and push down my frustration.
“Well, I hope so too. So, Nurse Janet told me that you have some stomach pain. Can you tell me where?”
“Right here.” He points to his lower right side.
It’s in the area of his appendix. “I remember this one guy, I don’t even remember his name, but he was gonna be the next big player, his number had been called up like they say.
Got himself a girl, and it all went to shit.
I think he’s third string somewhere now, signing one-year contracts. ”
“And how long have you had the pain?” I ask, not wanting to continue this line of conversation.
“About a week.”
“I don’t know how you girls do it. I could never date someone like that. All the competition for his attention. The out-of-town games. That man is gorgeous and could get anyone even if they didn’t know who he was, which I’m sure they do.”
I move over to the computer to pull up his file, trying not to engage.
“Can you give me a number one through ten for how intense the pain is?” I’m pretty sure I could give him a number. I’ve been doing this long enough to know that a man in pain wouldn’t be sitting here gossiping about my relationship instead of complaining about how much pain he’s in.
“An eight. It’s gotten worse tonight,” he says.
I type it in. “I’m going to send you down for a CT scan of the abdomen. It’s late, so the results should come back within an hour or so. We’ll go from there. I’ll get your bloodwork going as well.” I go to leave, but the wife stops me.
“You keep that man on a leash if you want him to stick around,” she says, smiling like she’s just delivering me good advice.
I manage a small smile and leave the room.
As I’m writing out the orders for his tests, Alice comes along one side of me with Hayes on the other.
“So?” they both say in unison.
I groan. “Not today, please.”
“We’ve been waiting all week to work a shift with you. You have to fill us in,” Alice practically whines.
“Is he good in bed? I bet he is,” Hayes says. “Men with that kind of confidence always are.”
I turn to one and then the other. “I have to work.”
I would be talking to them about this, but after the Hunts’ opinions, I’m not really in the mood.
“Well, I say it’s about time. I love Cooper and I love you, so the two of you together is perfection.” Alice beams, sipping the coffee she grabbed from the gourmet place down the block.
“Yeah, and I did not like that Bradley guy. At the flu drive, he was a complete douche.” Hayes circles in his chair like he’s a kid.
“Let me guess, Dr. Wallace, or should I say Mr. Quarterback’s girl, is giving you the scoop.” I turn to see Dr. Murphy holding a cup of gourmet coffee in his hand—from the same place that Alice got hers from.
My gaze whips over to Alice, and she stares at me for a moment before my attention drops to her cup, and she follows my vision. She gets a sheepish look on her face.
“I am Dr. Murphy, and I was putting orders in for Mr. Hunt in room fourteen.” I finish typing and start to walk away.
Hayes continues to circle in his chair, getting Nurse Janet to give him a spin as she walks by.
Alice doesn’t follow me, and I don’t expect her to.
“I have a package!” Nurse Jennifer comes in the back from the intake desk. “It’s for… Dr. Wallace, soon to be Dr. Rice.” Her eyebrows waggle up and down.
I take the package out of her hands a little more aggressively than I should. “Sorry. And I’ll never be Dr. Rice, I’m keeping my name.” I start walking again, then turn back around. “And there’s no wedding. We’re dating, that’s all!” I say loud enough for everyone to hear.
All eyes turn to me.
“We can all read, Dr. Wallace.” Dr. Murphy turns around and heads down the hall.
I mangle the box open and find some chocolate from Cooper’s favorite place. I’m not sure when he ordered it, but he gets the emergency room a box every year, so I can’t fault him.
“This is why we love Cooper!” Hayes says, dropping his candy bar from the vending machine and diving into the box. “Bring on the peanut butter ones.”
“Leave the marshmallow ones for me.” Alice shoves Hayes out of the way.
“Jesus, you’re all gonna end up being patients.” Dr. Mendez comes over. “I love these chocolate balls.” She holds one up, and none of them says anything because, hell, it’s Dr. Mendez.
I smile and she walks away, then all three of us burst out laughing once the doors shut behind her.
Why does Cooper always have perfect timing? I’m upset because it’s like I’ve gone from being a doctor to just a girlfriend overnight. Patients are only here to ask me about being his girlfriend, and then I get delivered a box of candy, and I’m laughing with my coworkers. Damn him.