Allie's hand tightened around my own as I pushed open the door to the kitchens. Marge was already bellowing orders and the chefs scurried around, desperately carrying them out to spare themselves from her wrath.
Even with the chaos of the morning meal prep, Marge spotted us hovering by the door within a few seconds of entering.
"I'm scared," Allie whispered as Marge walked over.
"Marge is loud but she's nice when you get to know her. You'll do amazing." I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before Marge got to us.
The big head chef's eyes flicked between us and then she gave a sharp nod of approval. "Nick tells me you're a good cook?"
"Uh, I don't know," Allie said in a small voice. "I-I haven't had many people taste my meals, so I'm not sure."
Marge's eyes softened fractionally and she said, "Well, let's see, shall we? I've got a lot of work that needs doing and the more help, the better. We'll see how things go today and then set you up with payroll. Nick can pick you up once he's finished work - our shifts normally match up."
I gave Allie's hand another encouraging squeeze and then left for my shift. Bernie and I worked separately for the morning. He was cleaning one of the wards on fourth and I was assigned the staff room.
The nightshift staff were handing over to the dayshift as I entered with my head down. I made myself as small as possible and went about my work, avoiding eye contact. A few of the nurses were gossiping and I was drawn into their conversation when I heard Charlie's name mentioned.
"Charlie Dylan?" one of the older nurses said. "He's trouble if I ever saw it. Mummy and Daddy have money so he thinks he can get away with anything."
"But he's so charming," a younger nurse gushed.
"That's because you look good in scrubs. Trust me, you'd be better off avoiding the likes of him. I've already heard some unsavoury things about that whole group of interns. They'll try it on with any girl with a pair of tits and a pussy."
The younger nurses laughed. "But you have both of those!" the younger nurse said, still laughing.
"Honey, my boobs hang far too low and my pussy belongs to my husband. Snakes like Charlie take one look at me and know I'd chew them up if they tried it. Trust me, find yourself a man who looks at you like a diamond, not a cheap meal."
There it was, outlined in stark clarity: someone so easily taken in by his charm versus someone able to see past it. I had no doubt which camp Allie would fit into but I made a mental note to warn her. The thought of Charlie seeing her already gave me anxiety, not necessarily from jealousy but fear of how disgusting he could be.
My mind was distracted for most of the day after that. Half of it I spent reminiscing about my night with Allie. I'd never experienced that level of pleasure before and I was pretty sure she'd enjoyed it too. I tried not to think about it too much, I'm sure Bernie would be able to read the dreamy expressions on my face if I did.
The other half of the day I spent worrying about Charlie. He was everything that I wasn't and, although I didn't want to be like him in any way, shape, or form, I hated the fact that he was able to get inside my head about Allie without doing anything yet.
I had lunch with Bernie and visited Allie in the kitchens but she was too busy with Marge so I left her to it. Bernie and I spent the afternoon cleaning two of the wards on the top floor. As we mopped the floor, Bernie said, "Marge is impressed with your girl already."
A short burst of happiness shot through me when he called Allie 'my girl' and I resisted the urge to smile. "How do you know? We've been working all day."
Bernie tapped his nose. "Ah, Marge and I keep in contact for certain things around the hospital. She's almost been here as long as me and we enjoy gossiping, helps to pass the time."
"I'd never take you for a gossiper," I said, leaning on my mop and looking at him. "So, what did she say?"
He shrugged with a smile. "Quite a lot, not that I'm going to tell you. I've got a healthy fear of Marge and that rolling pin. I will tell you this: Allie definitely has a job and Marge has taken her under her wing already, which is a first."
"I knew she would smash it!" I said, unable to contain my enthusiasm. It was the nicest feeling, to feel happy for someone else's success. It wasn't something I'd ever had the opportunity to experience before. I went back to mopping with a big smile on my face. Mopping had never been more fun.
As the end of the day drew near, Bernie could see I was anxious to get to Allie. We were finishing up and he chuckled. "Nick, I'll finish up here. Go and meet your girl."
"Was I that obvious?" I asked guiltily. "I don't mind staying, we've only got a little more."
"Nick, you've been checking the clock every couple of minutes. You're right, we only have a little more to do. Go, I'll finish up."
I grinned. "Thanks, Bernie!"
I patted his shoulder and he responded with a chuckle and shake of his head.
It took a great deal of willpower not to run through the corridors. I settled on a powerwalk that took me to the Cleaner's Closet in record time. I grabbed my things, wrote a quick thank you note, stuck it to Bernie's locker, and then rushed to the kitchens. As I was nearing them, I heard a group of interns behind me, so I quickened my steps to distance myself.
Allie was just coming out when I got there. Her face lit up when she saw me and she jumped into me, giving me a big hug and kiss on the cheek. "It was amazing! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"I want to hear all about it," I said, taking her hand and pulling her toward the exit. "But let's get out of here first."
She frowned slightly but let me guide her swiftly from the building. "Uh, is everything OK?" she asked as we turned from the entrance and entered the park.
"Yeah, sorry," I said, checking behind us. "Do you remember me telling you about Charlie?"
"The one I'm going to kick in the balls?"
I laughed. "Yeah, that one. I just didn't want him or the interns to see you and make your life difficult. I heard them in the corridor when I was coming down to see you, so I thought I'd make a quick escape."
Allie's smile faded. "Are you embarrassed about me?"
"What!? No!" I said a little louder than I expected. I lowered my voice. "No, I just overheard the nurses talking about him and the interns today and I wanted to warn you about them before you see them. Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel like that."
Allie pulled my arm over her shoulder so we were walking very much like a couple. I loved it. She looked up at me and said, "Thank you for warning me, but you didn't need to, Marge already took care of that. I know the type of people they are and it's sweet that you worried about me but you don't need to."
"But... they'll be really nice to make you think-"
"I know," she said, cutting me off. "I know exactly what they'll do. But, do you remember what I said I hated more than anything in this world? Bullies! And they sound like the biggest bunch of assholes."
I felt slightly reassured, though I wasn't completely rid of my concerns. "OK, sorry. I just really want things to go well for you, and I don't want anyone ruining it, that's all."
Allie stopped and turned me to face her so I was forced to look into those vivid blue eyes. "As long as they don't come between us, I don't really care about anything else. I'm going to run across them at some point, but you and Marge have warned me and I'm not going to let them ruin my shot at happiness."
I smiled and on a whim, decided to kiss her. To my immense delight, she returned my kiss with equal enthusiasm. We parted shyly and I quickly looked around, unable to believe that I had just kissed her in the park, where anyone could have seen.
Allie beamed and took my hand again. My chest feeling oddly inflated, I said, "OK, now to talk about happier things. Tell me about your first day!"
"Yes!" Allie burst excitedly. She spent the rest of the walk back to the flat telling me all about her day and how much fun she'd had. Marge had offered her a job in the kitchens at the end of her shift and said she'd work with Bernie to ensure our schedules matched up until she was comfortable getting to and from the hospital. Her joy was infectious and by the time we reached the flat, I was practically floating with her.
When we got inside, Allie was all business. She kissed me again and said, "OK, go and shower, I'll start food."
I shook my head. "You've been cooking all day, the last thing you need is to do more cooking. Why don't you grab a shower, make yourself comfortable, and I'll cook something for us?"
Allie pushed me toward the bathroom. I could have easily stopped her but I let her have her fun. "Nope!" she said. "I told you I was going to treat you so good for everything you've done for me and I meant it. Besides, cooking for us is different from cooking stuff in the hospital. I really do enjoy it. Have a nice, relaxing shower and you can watch the food when I shower."
I let her push me into the bathroom and close the door with a wink. It was amazing to have a shower knowing that my closest friend was in the kitchen and I was once again going to spend the night with her. I washed and then saw my blade and shaving foam on the sink. I looked between them and the hair surrounding my cock. I didn't have a huge amount, but I'd seen on porn that everyone seemed to be shaved. I wasn't sure why, but I reasoned that maybe it was nicer for the women, rather than a hairy mess.
I wondered if we'd do anything again and if Allie would prefer it if I'd shaved. I knew that she shaved... would she expect me to as well? Making a quick decision, I decided to go for it. I wasn't sure whether anything would happen again but if it did, I wanted to be prepared.
It was a stressful experience, taking a blade to my most treasured and sensitive area. I applied liberal amounts of shaving foam and had to adopt some positions that a gymnast would have been proud of, but by the time I'd finished, I was completely smooth. It looked and felt very different and I understood why pornstars felt the need to do it too.
When I emerged from the bathroom, Allie was placing a pasta bake into the oven. "I was going to check on you! You take longer in the shower than me!"
I didn't know what to say and my newly shaven privates felt strange in my boxers so I apologised and walked to the oven. "OK, what do I need to do?"
Alie hugged me from behind. "Mmm, you smell good! You don't need to do anything other than make sure the oven doesn't set on fire."
I spun in her arms and hugged her. "But you said I needed to watch the food?"
