“See?” She tossed the index card. “You’ll be fine. Stop worrying so damn much.” She grabbed her drink, taking a few sips. “How goes the love life?”
I scoffed. “What love life?”
“That good, huh?”
“Yeah. But you should be proud of me.Ryanreached out the other night out of nowhere after nearly a year of silence, wanting to know if I wanted to grab some drinks. And I saidno.”
Her brows rose as she looked at me. “Oh my God. Who are you?”
“I know,” I said. “I surprised even myself.”
She looked at me, her eyes narrowing skeptically. “Okay, but if you weren’t cramming for this exam…you totally would have said yes, wouldn’t you?”
“That’s not the point. The pointisI said no.”
“And how did he take being turned down for the first time?”
“Like thejackasshe is,” I scoffed. “I responded, apologized, and said that I couldn’t. He read my message, and the typing bubbles appeared and disappeared several times, but he sent nothing. Not until a good twenty minutes later, when he came back with, ‘What, are you seeing someone or something?’ I told him no, that I was busy. And he responded with ‘Whatever.’”
Marie snorted. “What a dick.” She took another sip of herdrink. “You know…you could always reach out to dimples again if you’re feeling slumpy.”
Dimples.Blake.
“I amnotreaching out to him.”
“Whocaresif he’s your brother’s friend? He was hot. Andyousaid he wasgreat.”
“And I stand by that. But I also stand by not reaching out. It was aone-time, impulsive thing. Plus, wasn’t ityouwho criticized me for always turning to the familiar?”
She chuckled. “I’d make an exception to my rule for dimples.”
“Okay, well, don’t. Because it’s not happening.”
“Have you seen him since?”
“Yeah, a few times, mainly because of the wedding and us both being in it. Once that’s over, I doubt I’ll see him at all.”
By the end of the week, Sunday finally rolled around, bringing a much-needed shift in pace. I was exhausted after days of nothing but work and studying, and with the 3P exam only a few days away, I was feeling on edge. I’d be glad when this and boards were over and I no longer had to deal with the stress of school. That night, though, I got a small break when I headed over to my mom’s for dinner.
Family dinners had been a little different the past couple of Sundays because we had a new addition to the table.Morgan. My brother actually brought a girl to dinner, and my mom couldn’t stop smiling because of it.
I liked Morgan—she was down-to-earth and funny, kept Wes on his toes, and didn’t put up with his bullshit. More importantly, she made him happy. I’dneverseen my brother like this, had never seen him look atanyonethe way he looked at her. It was fucking weird, but in the best way possible.
Seeing Wes like this, however, made me feel inadequate in ways I hated.
I, the ridiculous, hopeless romantic with too much heart, hadzerolove life. And my brother, the man who once declared he’dnevercomplicate his extraordinary bachelor life with a relationship, now had a steady girlfriend and was tripping over himself with permanent heart eyes.
The universe could be extremely cruel at times.
“Graduation is soon, yeah?” Morgan asked as she helped me clear the table after dinner.
“Yeah. I have my last exam on Wednesday. So long as I pass that, I graduate.”
“And that’s it? You’re all done after that?”
“Not quite. I have to take my board exam to get my certification.”
“Ah.” Morgan nodded. “And after that? Do you get to stay in the ER or will you go somewhere else?”
