Doris and Jenna were huddled together looking at a computer screen. The outpatient lab was due to open in a few minutes, so they were likely looking to see what was already scheduled for the day. Even without many prescheduled appointments, the day could become busy without warning.
“Hey, honey,” Doris replied once she looked up from the screen. “So far, we don’t have much scheduled before noon. Thesystem hasn’t updated yet, so I’m not sure if there are any walk-ins already waiting.”
Doris was one of Mallory’s favorite coworkers. She was kind to a fault. Her favorite way to greet people or say goodbye was with a hug. She wore her hair in shoulder-length waves and would never be caught walking around without makeup, which was the complete opposite of Mallory who was the definition of low maintenance. With an endless supply of energy, Doris preferred to know how her day was going to go, so she could prepare.
“The busier the better,” Mallory commented as she unzipped her sweatshirt and draped it over the chair by her computer. “Makes the day go faster.”
“Speak for yourself,” Jenna chimed in. “The days always drag. You’re just new and excited.”
Mallory sat down at her computer and logged in. “I’m not new anymore. And I’m definitely not excited.”
“Well, you better get excited because you get the first stick. Me and Doris both said, ‘Not it,’ before you got here.”
Mallory laughed to herself. Jenna was always trying to get her riled up. The three had become close in the few months they’d been working together. She hadn’t been sure about Jenna at first, but once they got used to each other, they found out they had a lot in common, aside from their living situations. Jenna was Mallory’s age but was at a different stage in her life. She was on her second marriage; finally living her happily ever after. Mallory wasn’t envious. She preferred to have the least amount of complications possible, and marriage was the biggest complication anyone could have.
“You say that as if you don’t always give me the first patient,” Mallory said lightly.
She didn’t mind getting the first person as long as her coffee had kicked in. She didn’t really mind either way, but the patients might not agree after dealing with her grumpy ass. She clickedinto the name of the first patient and printed off the order form and the labels before walking out to the waiting room to call the patient back.
“Christian Ramirez?” she read off the sheet before scanning the waiting room.
Across the waiting room, a man met her gaze as he got to his feet. He was tall, wearing navy blue uniform pants and a form fitting white t-shirt as if he had recently gotten off shift. She tried not to notice how snug the shirt fit across his chest. But she did notice.
After plastering on a professional smile, she greeted him. “Christian?”
“Yep,” he answered with a grin, showing off a pair of dimples and nearly perfect teeth. Not to mention those full lips. She silently thanked Jenna for her routine of giving the first patient to her.
“My name is Mallory, and I’ll be drawing your blood. Follow me back.”
Once they arrived at her station, she gestured for Christian to take a seat while she gathered what she needed to draw his blood. He appeared relaxed while he watched her and answered the questions confirming he was the correct patient.
“I take it you’ve done this before,” she commented as she placed the labels on the tubes and one onto the top of his lab order.
“Yeah. This is my last set of labs since the exposure three months ago.”
She had suspected something along the lines of bloodborne pathogen exposure based on the order and his uniform, but she wasn’t allowed to outright ask such questions if he didn’t bring it up. “Oh no. Needle stick?”
“I wish,” he said with a low chuckle. “A patient bit me.”
Taken by surprise, she swallowed hard before moving the conversation forward. “I was trying to decide if you worked Fire or EMS.”
His green eyes met her blue ones. “I’m an EMT.”
She reached for his arm and ignored the jolt of electricity she felt when she touched him. “I’m just going to tie the tourniquet.”
He watched in silence as she tied the orange piece of rubber a few inches above his elbow. Once it was tied, she put gloves on and cleaned the area on the inside of his elbow with an alcohol pad.
“How bad was the bite?” she asked casually.
“It hurt like hell,” he admitted. “But the worst part was worrying if I’d picked up anything from it. You hold my fate in your hands.”
Goosebumps spread across her body as she gripped his muscular forearm. She looked at the words tattooed in script stretching from his wrist to just shy of the underside of his elbow. The words were in Spanish, so she couldn’t read them.
“Only positive vibes. Manifest the negative test results you hope for,” she murmured. “Big pinch.”
He didn’t flinch when the needle penetrated his flesh and made its way into the vein. She glanced up to find his gaze on her face. She swallowed and looked back to the task at hand. She filled the tubes one at a time until they were all full, untying the tourniquet as the last one filled. Once the last tube was full, and she had set it with the others, she picked up a gauze four by four and folded it before pressing down while she removed the needle from his arm.
“All done,” she breathed as she placed a band-aid over the gauze. Her cheeks felt hot and all she could do was hope her face wasn’t extremely red.
