Page 10 of Devoted
“I guess we do. You know, it kind of makes sense now…”
“What does?” He asks with a tilt of his head.
“How you knew that I worked at a hospital.”
“Ah. Well, yeah. No one at a private practice would get off at seven in the morning or work an eighteen hour shift.” He places one hand in his pocket, then extracts a piece of cinnamon-flavored gum between his fingers. Staring at me while never blinking, he mischievously grins while extracting the gum from the wrapper and folding it into his mouth, chewing slowly while maintaining eye contact with me. As I watch his full lips move while his jaw travels up and down, I’m hypnotized by the smell of cinnamon and the movement of his mouth, wondering what talents he possesses with those lips and tongue.
Dear Lord, Jess. Get it together. You have a job to do.
“It’s nice to see a familiar face here though. Today’s my first day, obviously. And it seems we’ll be seeing a lot of each other now.” He flashes me a cocky smile before reaching for a patient chart and preparing to move. “See ya around, Jess.”
“Yeah. I’m sure we’ll bump into each other in a few. Don’t choke on your gum,” I reply, turning around before the blush in my cheeks becomes noticeable as his laughter fades away.
“Oh, my god! Jess!” Piper squeals, rolling over to me in her chair. “Damn, girl. He is hot! He’s got that Mark Sloan vibe going on,” she jokes, referencing one of the doctors from Grey’s Anatomy. Too bad he died on the show. The man was hardcore eye-candy.
“I told you. Jesus, Piper. This is bad. We work together. I definitely can’t start anything with him now, even if I got the chance.”
“I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself, Jess. I mean, there’s obviously a flirtatious attraction between the two of you. But who’s to say he would even go there... Just relax. I think you’re getting yourself worked up.”
“I am worked up, and all hot and bothered. Are your eyes working correctly? Did you not see how gorgeous he is? You do not see men like that every day,” I bark out sarcastically.
“I agree. But don’t let one hot doctor derail your intelligence. You’re seriously acting like a boy-crazy girl I don’t even recognize. Get yourself together, woman.”
I scoff and then try to relax. “You’re right. I’m a professional. And I’m a kick-ass nurse! I’m Jessalyn Harris. I will not let a man derail me from doing my job.” I straighten my spine, inhaling as much oxygen as I can muster, pretending that I’m taking in confidence with it.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’re perfectly capable of working alongside him. You’ll be fine.”
“Okay, I’m gonna go refill supplies in beds five through eight. See ya soon.” I turn on my heels and make my way towards the triage area to refill boxes of gloves, cotton balls, bandages, IV tubes, and pretty much anything else I can find.
I manage to avoid Brooks most of the morning except for a curious glance here and there. It’s like my body knows where he is, because the second he’s in the vicinity, tingles travel across my neck and shoulders, alerting me to his presence. I’ve never had this problem, even with Trent in nursing school. I was attracted to Trent, but not this instantaneously, like it occurred with Brooks. And even though I’m truly skeptical now that we’d ever date, there’s a part of me that can’t help fantasizing about what that would be like.
A few hours later, one of the EMTs comes barreling through the door with a suspected heart attack patient called in a few minutes ago when they were in route. “Sixty-one-year-old female, presenting with shortness of breath, nausea, sweating, and chest pain.”
“I’m fine,” the woman yells behind her oxygen mask, yanking it from her face as the bed rolls rapidly across the tile floor.
“You are NOT fine, Penny! You collapsed on the front lawn!” A pregnant woman comes up behind her gurney being rolled down the hallway, and then I realize I know her.
“Clara! What happened?” I ask as Penny’s bed is wheeled into one of the bays and the EMTs remove her from the gurney and place her on the bed.
“Ugh. I was outside getting ready to leave and then I saw Penny hunched over in her front yard. When I walked over to check on her, she was wheezing as she tried to breathe. I… I think she’s having a heart attack.” Clara’s entire demeanor is distressed, evident by the lines etched in her face and the way her hand rests over her own heart.
“Well, we will see what’s going on,” I assure her. “Catch up with you in a bit.”
“Thanks, Jess.”
I move further into the room and then start hooking up Penny to the monitors. “Do you know your name and date of birth?”
Penny rolls her eyes at me and then answers, “Penny Collins, born August 22, 1959.”
And then those tingles come back as I know undoubtedly who just entered the room. “Hello, Miss Collins. I’m Dr. Bennet. How are you feeling?” As I turn around, I see that Brooks is already standing beside Penny’s bed, doing his initial work-up.
“Like I’m having a damn heart attack. And it wasn’t even from a good orgasm, Doc! I was just trying to water the damn lawn!”
Brooks’ eyebrows lift as he takes in Penny’s bluntness. “Well, it’s probably a good thing it didn’t happen during sex, otherwise you’d probably be naked right now.” He’s joking with her as I move around to the other side of the bed, hooking up the monitors to her body.
“I have no shame, Doc.” She winks at him and then turns to face me. “You look familiar.”
“I’m Jess. I’m gonna be your nurse. I actually know Olivia, Clara, and Piper.”