All next week, I was swamped at work. I had been putting in 200% effort ever since my talk with Derek. Especially since I had requested days off to go back to California. Derek hadn't said anything negative nor positive about my work, but I figured no news is good news.
On Thursday, Jordan caught me coming into work.
"Hey. Let's do lunch today!" She said.
"I can't. Derek has a meeting with Dr. Samuels about a new patient that I'm going to be working with. I should be there." I declined.
"Oh. Do you normally go to those?" She asked.
"No, but I figured I better show I'm focused and dedicated and shit." I smiled at her.
She shook her head.
When lunch time rolled around, I went to meet Derek in his office.
"I'm ready for the meeting with Dr. Samuels whenever you are." I said.
"I don't need you to be there. It's a classic ankle repair." Derek answered.
"Nonetheless, I would like to go. I've been reading up on some new techniques. I would love to implement them." I said, firmly.
How was that for dedication?
"Dr. Samuels is old school. He's not going to want to hear anything new." Derek replied. "I would like to hear them. Take the rest of the day and come up with a rehab plan. We can go over it tomorrow." He finished.
"Of course. Thanks Derek."
"Thank you. Your hard work hasn't gone unnoticed." He said. I smiled and left. I grabbed my purse and headed for the nurses station.
"Guess who got a compliment, and the rest of the day off?!?" I said to Jordan.
"It's not me, so I'm going to take a wild guess and say you!" Jordan grinned.
"Still wanna do lunch?" I asked.
"Love to. Give me 10 minutes." Jordan answered.
I used that 10 minutes to freshen up and think of some questions to ask Jordan about her boyfriend. Not gonna lie, Sammy's warning was still a thought in my head. I know, it was stupid and super conceited of me, but I can't help the feeling that something wasn't adding up.
When she was ready, we went to a sushi place. After ordering and receiving our food, we ate and chatted.
"So, tell me more about Corey?" I said, as we dug into our food.
"Oh, he's awesome. We went to high school together. He's 24, a pharmacy tech. Really laidback. Great sense of humor. I really think y'all are going to get along great." She talked him up.
"Cool..." I said, taking a sip of my water. "So... does he get along with your boyfriend?"
"Sure. My boyfriend's always busy so we don't hang out all together a lot, but when we do, it's fun." She said quickly, before going back to her food. I couldn't tell if she was really hungry, or if she was avoiding the question. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and decided she was just hungry.
"What does your boyfriend do?" I asked her, when she paused.
"He's a doctor." She answered.
"What's his specialty?" I asked.
"Oh, he works at a clinic. So y'all all went out to the bar after the run?" Jordan asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah. It was so much fun. I wish you would have came. Your boyfriend's a doctor but wouldn't come out for a cancer charity event?" I questioned.
"He had to work."
"Oh, I thought you said it wasn't his thing?" I questioned.
"It wasn't, but he had to work in the morning anyway. That's the thing about Corey's schedule too. He works pharmacy hours so he doesn't always get weekends off. If you do hang out, you're going to have to work around his schedule." Jordan explained pausing briefly to take a breath "Let me show you a picture of him." She exclaimed.
I let her change the subject this time. I knew she was hiding something now. She was too eager to break her own rule to show me a picture of Corey. I decided to catch her off guard with more questions later. I looked at her phone. He was definitely cute. Brown short hair, brown eyes, and a kind smile. I gave Jordan permission to give him my number.
On the drive home from lunch, Trevor called me.
"Hey you! Becca finally uncuffed you?" I answered.
"I'm on my lunch break and we don't use handcuffs. We use rope." Trevor replied.
"Ummm....Gross. Don't wanna hear about your sex life." I said.
"Do you have a sex life we can talk about?" He teased. I blushed, thinking about Jake. I quickly pushed him out of my mind.
"Potentially. You know that girl from my work? Jordan, the nurse? She came to my housewarming?"
"Yeah..." Trevor said. I could hear the confusion in his voice.
"I think she's obsessed with me and loves me in a more than friends kinda way." I said, matter of factly.
Trevor laughed out loud. "Ok. Run that by me one more time. But slower. And tell me any intimate moments you two might have had. In many details..."
I laughed with him.
----------------------------------------------
"Sorry I'm late you guys." I said, as I sat down at the table with Rocky and Trevor. Trevor, Rocky and I haven't been out together, just the three of us, in forever. Trevor brought it up when we talked last and I blamed it on their significant others. Trevor remedied the situation by inviting just me and Rocky out to lunch on Saturday before we hung out with everyone at a bar that night. Derek called me though as I was getting back from grocery shopping Saturday afternoon. I was on call for the weekend so he told me my patient that had ankle surgery. He was experiencing swelling and discomfort that the pain medicine was helping with and was getting worried. I met my patient at the clinic, assessed his ankle and assured him a little discomfort was normal. I gave him ice and stim before sending him home. I rushed to meet up with for lunch with Trevor and Rocky, arriving 30 minutes late.
"That's ok. Got caught up with your girlfriend?" Trevor joked with me over the table.
"Shut up Trevor or you're gonna be wearing that beer." I threatened, picking up my menu. I was still trying to explore the city of Addison, so we went to BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse. It was amazing the amount of restaurants I haven't been to in Dallas. I probably eat out too much, but I felt like I have to try every restaurant at least once.
"See, this is why I don't hang out with y'all, just the three of us. I always end up babysitting." Rocky complained, rolling her eyes. She smiled, so I know it's all in good fun.We were catching up and studying the menu when my phone rang. I typically would ignore it but I was on call. When I picked it up, I was glad to see it was just Forrest.
"Hey, wuz up?" I answered, smiling and ignoring Trevor's disapproving look.
"I have your pictures... and I'm in your neck of the woods." He said.
"Awesome. Let me give you the address."
"Forrest is gonna drop by." I said, when I got off the phone.
"Forrest? Is that one of your gay neighbors?" Trevor asked.
"No! That's Patrick and Lamar. I met Forrest through work. He invited me to the mud run. He has my pictures and is in the area." I explained.
The waitress came to take our order.
"Can we just get appetizers for now? Forrest might have time to join us." I requested.
Rocky gave me a questioning glance, buy they both agreed and we ordered the appetizer combo that came with Spinach and Artichoke Dip, Mozzarella Sticks, Avocado Egg Rolls and Santa Fe Spring Rolls. Trevor also ordered us another round of beer too. I was drinking their Berry Burst Cider and Trevor tried Piranha Pale Ale. Rocky wasn't in the mood for beer, so she stuck with their handcrafted black cherry soda. The drinks arrived the same time Forrest showed up. I stood up to hug and greet him, before introducing him to Rocky and Trevor.
"Rocky is Brandon's girlfriend that didn't want to pay to play in mud. Trevor's the one that wanted to pay to see me fall face first in it." I explained to Forrest as we sat down.
He smiled at Rocky. "I understand. That's how the dinner afterwards came about; for people who want to donate and participate without the mud. Next year, make sure you come to that." He then handed Trevor a large envelope. "And these are almost as good as being there. Thank y'all both for the donations." He finished.
While Trevor and Rocky looked through the pictures, I turned to Forrest.
"Hungry?" I asked, offering him my menu.
"Always can eat. It's a constant struggle." He said, taking the menu from me.
I laughed. "We share that struggle."
We were deciding what we wanted to try when my phone beeped indicating a text. It was Derek checking up on the patient.
"Put your phone up!" Trevor said.
"Eat me. I'm on call." I replied.
"That's Jordan's job." Trevor joked.
Forrest choked on the beer he just received.
"Please excuse them. They have no home training." Rocky apologized.
"That was my boss. I don't need to give him a reason to lecture me again." I said, putting away my phone.
"No problem." Forrest said.
"Is your boss giving you a hard time?" Trevor asked.
"Nothing I can't handle. " I said.
"You sure?" Rocky questioned.
"Yes. Geez guys, I'm good." I smiled.
The waitress came back with the appetizers and we ordered our food. As we snacked, I told them about the patient I just took care of.
"It was just swelling. He freaked himself out reading all the aftercare paperwork. He thought he had an infection and he was going to need his foot amputated or something." I exaggerated.
They laughed. "Is he still icing it?" Forrest asked.
"Yeah, and taking anti-inflammatories. I bet you when he's resting, it's not elevated." I guessed.
"Yeah, that's why I love the cryo cuffs. Cold and compression. It's easier to rest elevated with it than a bag of ice. It helps the swelling tremendously." Forrest said.
"Ohmigosh. That's an amazing idea. He can take it home." I pulled out my phone to text Derek the idea. He agreed right away and said he was going to head to the clinic to loan it out to him. When I asked if he needed me in as well, he said no and that with my idea, hopefully we could both enjoy the rest of the weekend with no more concerns. "You scored me major brownie points with Derek. I knew there was a reason I'm keeping you around." I said, playfully.
"I'll keep being useful then." He flashed a grin at me.
"Are you a therapist too?" Trevor asked him.
"No. I'm an athletic trainer at a high school. One of Lily's patient is a student." He clarified.
"So he introduced you two?" Trevor asked.
"Kinda. Lily sent me a really nasty, bossy email warning me to back off and that Darren was her patient." Forrest explained.
"And that just made you think, my type of girl?" Trevor laughed.
"Exactly." Forrest laughed too.
