On the next weekend Sammy and I went shopping at the mall. I had no idea what I wanted to wear for my first day of work. I knew I wouldn't be doing any actual work with patients, just orientation. Thankfully, my uniform consists of a company issued polo and any bottoms except jeans, so I didn't have to shop for much, just shoes and maybe some comfortable black pants. I figured it wouldn't hurt to look for a nice outfit for my first day. First impressions, right?
"Oooo, Victoria Secret has a sale." Sammy exclaimed as we walked by the store.
"Work clothes Sammy." I reminded her as we passed it.
"Fine. Work clothes first." She replied as we went into H&M.
As always, we headed to the clearance rack first. Sammy was on a budget, and I just never was one to spend a ton of money on clothes. Before, it didn't really matter how much I spent on clothes: I felt fat in everything. I tended to stick with loose and comfortable. I still preferred comfort, but my cousin Bianca in California gave me lessons on how to dress my body better.
Sammy took this as her personal mission to pimp my wardrobe. She picked out khaki pants from the clearance rack before heading to the regular racks. I let her go crazy. Even H&M full price was better than many department stores. And I had to admit, I got caught up in her enthusiasm for shopping.
"So what's going on with you and Ethan?" Sammy asked me, holding up a red patterned, low cut, hi low maxi dress.
"Nothing.." I eyed the dress. "I have way too much boobage for that."
"Exactly! That 'nothing' would turn into something if you were wearing stuff like this around Ethan." She suggested, putting it in the pile.
"I can't even get him alone, even if I just wanted sex." I finished.
Ethan had been so busy lately. He didn't even come out with us last weekend after I invited him, knowing Megan had EJ. This weekend he had EJ, so hanging out would mean EJ too. While I adored my EJ time, I couldn't talk to Ethan about us with EJ around.
We headed to the dressing room so I could try on the items we picked out.
"Ethan is hot. I'm sure he can find time for hooking up. If he's not already..." Sammy hinted over the door dividing us.
That hurts. Even though it's not something I haven't thought about. I'm not naive enough to think he hasn't hooked up with anyone. The important thing is he isn't dating anyone. Rocky told me he hadn't brought any girls around recently and Brandon confirmed that.
I did my own investigation on Facebook. Plenty of girls showed up on his feed; friends that tagged him, female members of his parent's church asking when he was going to bring EJ to service, even some moms from EJ's school and activities liking his statuses. There was only one girl I knew of that he dated, but she was out of the picture a while ago.
"That's why I'm waiting to talk to him. I don't want it to be just sex. I want more." I said, slipping the red dress over my head, before stepping out of the dressing room
I turned away to look in the mirror. It did look good. The red and white looked amazing against my bronze skin. My legs looked long and shapely with the shorter hem in the front. My cleavage is visible, but not trashy; sexy, but not over the top.
"I love it. I can picture you wearing it as you tell all those other bitches to take a hike when you and Ethan get back together!" Sammy declared. I laughed at her craziness before trying on my next outfit.
Our trip to H&M was so successful, I didn't need to visit any other clothing stores. I ended up picking pinstripe pants and a blue linen sleeveless dress shirt for my first day of work. I went to Sketchers and got two new pairs of sneakers. At another shoe store, I found a really cute pair of nude wedges that were on sale. And I could walk in them perfectly! I blame my inability to walk in heels on my lack of mother figure. Sammy blames my lack of coordination. Whatever! On the way out, we did stop by Victoria Secret. Sammy talked me into buying as much as she did, with the allure of Ethan seeing me in them.
We stopped by Quiznos on the way home. I got a huge salad and Sammy got the roast beef sandwich.
"So how's it going at the bar?" I asked her, while we sat and ate.
"It's going." She sighed, breaking to take a sip of her drink. "The money is better being a lead bartender. But sometimes I wonder if it's worth it; especially since I'm expected to come in or stay late when one of the bartenders don't show up."
"Does that happen a lot?"
"A lot more with the new HR person. We have no say on who's getting hired, but I gotta deal with them screwing up. It is so frustrating."
"Have you ever thought of going back to school?" I asked. She was taking courses at a community college when we met.
"Sometimes, but the money is just too good. I love my apartment. Going to school would mean I would have to drop back down to a bartender. I don't wanna be struggling for years while taking classes." She responded.
"Not necessarily. It doesn't have to be a degree. Get certified in something. Trade schools are no more than 2 years. We could move in together, so you could step down." I suggested.
She lit up at that. "Really? You would do that for me?"
"Really Sammy. I need a place to stay. Why not move in together?"
"What about Rocky?"
"Rocky has Brandon. I feel like I'm intruding on their time. I'm just staying there till I get a paycheck so I could prove employment for an apartment." I explained.
"Ooo, that's perfect! I can look into us getting a two bedroom town home at my apartment complex. It'll be like 500 a month for both of us." Sammy said.
"Sounds like a plan. Get on it Roomy!"
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Monday was my first day of work. The morning reminded me of the first day of school; Getting all nervous and preparing for the day that turns out to be completely underwhelming. Nonetheless, I fretted over my make-up and hair, before deciding to go with simple with tinted moisturizer, mascara, brown eyeliner and gloss with my hair half up/half down. I paired the outfit I bought with low black pumps.
When I arrived at the clinic, I headed to the back to meet Ann, the human resources manager. She got me settled in the meeting room with new hire paperwork. I got to work on that while she got a computer up and running for me. When I was done, I got on the computer. I spent the first half of my day watching videos about company procedures and policies and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) training.
After that, I had a break for lunch. Ann then took me to the training center. It's massive and equipped with stretching/massage tables, stimulation machines, treadmills, stationary bikes, free weights, ellipticals, exercise balls and whirlpools. I met my immediate supervisor Derek, the senior physical therapist. He looks like he's in his early 30s, muscular built, with short red hair and freckles all over his skin. He was warm and friendly, and made me feel welcomed.
He took me on a tour. The center is busy, but he introduced me to some of my co-workers. I tried my best to match names to faces, but I know I'm going to be relying on ID badges for a while. Derek asked me about my previous work. I filled him in on my fellowship and he listened carefully. He informed me that since it's not a hospital, we're more laidback and less formal. Everyone goes by their first names and it's all about teamwork. We work closely with the surgeons' pre and post-surgery. We were assigned patients but because we all should be following the rehabilitation plan, we were expected to be able to work with any patient if needed. I whole heartedly agreed, excited about the prospect of a team.
He then took me over to the surgical side. He introduced me to the nurses and receptionists, letting me know they were good friends to have, considering they knew more of what was going on than anyone else. I met one of the orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Lee. He was brief, but polite. The other surgeon was out of the office so I didn't get to meet him. I left, honestly excited to come back Wednesday to work.
When I got home, I changed out of my work clothes. When Rocky made it home, she asked me how my day was. I told her the abbreviated version and about my plans to move in with Sammy. She was thoughtful for a moment, and I asked her if she was ok.
"Of course I'm fine. I knew you weren't going to be here forever. Quite frankly, I'm looking forward to getting naked with my man all over the house again."
I groaned while she smiled. "But seriously. Sammy? Are you sure you wanna do that? You were saying how off she was the other day."
"Yeah, but that was only about Trevor. We are cool. She's so excited."
"I bet she is."
My eyebrows rose at her tone. Rocky sighed. "Just be sure alright? I don't want you stuck in a situation because you signed a lease with her."
"I'll be fine. Besides, I'll only sign a year lease. That should be enough time for her to figure out what she wants to do. Who knows what can happen in a year..." I trailed off, thinking about where I wanna be: With Ethan. A smile crept to my face thinking about being with him, and his body, everyday...
"You're nasty!" Rocky interrupted my thoughts. I blushed. Before I can deny it, Brandon walked in the kitchen doorway.
"Who's nasty?" He smiled.
"Nobody-"
"Lily!" Rocky interrupted me. "She's thinking about how in a year she wants your brother to be beside her... on top of her, and under her too!" Rocky grinned, evilly.
Brandon laughed as he gave Rocky a hug from behind. "You forgot behind her." he added, grinding into her.
They both laughed as I felt my face get hot. I was sure I was bright red.
"That too!" Rocky laughed.
"Don't make him wait a year!" Brandon exclaimed. I put up a middle finger for both of them as I headed to my room.
"Wait, do you have plans for Memorial Day?" Brandon asked me.
