There suddenly wasn’t a single doubt in my mind.
I nodded and dropped my voice. “Alright, Maverick…I’ll be your Goose.” I looked over my shoulder at Jake. “This one. He’s the one.”
Chapter 14
Holdingmy index cards in one hand and my plastic fork in the other, I shoved a bite of salad into my mouth as I thumbed the top card off to read the next.
I took my one-week study-free break and got right back into cramming. I had four weeks until my board exam, and I took my two shifts the week prior to it off to give myself even more uninterrupted time to prepare. I felt like this exam was my make-or-break-it, and my anxiety was through the roof.
Marie glanced over. “You’re stressing me out just watching you.”
“Wait, that’s not right.” I ignored her entirely as I dropped my cards and grabbed my notebook, flipping through it as my eyes darted between the index card and the pages. “Shit.” I plucked my pen out of my pocket before crossing out a line on the card and rewriting it.
“I’ll be glad when this is over so you can pay more attention to me during breaks,” Marie quipped.
I huffed out a laugh at that. “I’ll be all yours in four weeks.”
“I expect a message immediately upon seeing that ‘pass’ pop up on the screen so I know it’s over.”
“You’ll be the first to know.”
Just then, the breakroom door opened, and in walked Blake. He looked at me and Marie, nodding in acknowledgment with a small smile as he moved to the refrigerator.
As he bent over, I could see Marie out of the corner of my eye tilt her head, eyeing him up and down. I looked at her, swatting her arm and shooting her a look. She shrugged with a grin as if to say, “can you blame me?” Then she pointed, mouthing, “he’s got a nice ass.”
We both snapped to attention when we heard the refrigerator door close, and Blake paused when he turned, seeing the two of us sitting notably more stiffly.
He arched a dark brow. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, great,” we said in unison.
Because that wasn’t at all obvious.
While Blake turned to the microwave and placed a container inside, Marie cleared her throat. “Well…I should get back.” She stood, dumped her empty container into the garbage, and walked out, leaving me and Blake in the breakroom alone.
I’d worked with Blake every shift since he started—we had the same schedule. I liked working with him, though. He was efficient, and I enjoyed watching him interact with the patients. The other day, I was with him when he was suturing a laceration on a nine-year-old boy who fell in the park while rollerblading. The kid was scared, but Blake was so good at making him feel calm, talking to him while he sutured to try and keep him occupied on something other than the stitches he was getting. He had a way of making his patients feel at ease, regardless of the reason they were there.
It was in complete contrast to what he seemed to be dealing with himself.
I could tell he was concealing a lot. Even when he smiled, it never quite reached his eyes. He engaged with others like normal, but there seemed to be a sorrow that lurked in his laughter. Curiosity tugged at me, making me want to understand him more, even if I knew I probably shouldn’t dig.
I gathered my index cards and notebook, setting them aside so I could finish my salad while he grabbed his container from the microwave and sat at the table across from me. Whatever he was eating smelledamazing.
I peered over the table. “What is that?”
He looked at me, then at his container. “Just some pesto pasta from home.”
“You made it?”
“Yeah.” He chuckled. “I can be pretty self-sufficient when I want to be.”
“I guess so,” I said with a smile. Another bout of silence fell between us before I cleared my throat. “You excited about the wedding this weekend?”
“Yeah,” he replied with a nod.
“Are your parents going?”
He nodded again. “Yeah. I think they’re actually planning on carpooling with your mom.”
