The look he gave me shut me up before I could finish. He smacked my ass playfully on his way to the door.
“Keep playing with me, woman,” he said, slipping on his sneakers.
“Yeah, yeah. Goodnight, Cash.”
He leaned down for one last kiss, softer this time. A smile lingered on his lips when he pulled back.
“Night, Jas.”
* * *
I was dragging through my shift, barely functioning after Cash kept me up way past my bedtime. Monica caught me mid-yawn as I tried to power through the stack of charts in front of me.
“Rough night, boo?” she nudged me. “You’ve been staring at that paperwork for the past five minutes.”
I rubbed my eyes. Two cups of coffee—one with an extra shot of espresso—and I was still struggling to keep them open. “Yeah,” I yawned again, covering my mouth. “Your man’s brother stopped by last night, and?—”
Her eyes lit up. “Hold up! Money finally dropped off the dick?”
“You’re so damn loud,” I hissed, shaking my head. “But… sort of. It was after nearly midnight, and I was acting like I didn’t have a twelve-hour shift today,”
Monica screwed up her face. “Sort of? How that work? You either drop off all the dick or none.”
Before I could spill the rest of the tea, her eyes flicked past me, and she rolled them hard. I already knew who it was before Dr. Matthews cleared his throat and announced himself like he always did.
“Here this nigga go,” Monica muttered.
“Good afternoon, Dr. Matthews,” I said sweetly.
“Hey, Nurse Miller,” he replied, and quickly turned his full attention to Monica. “Uh, Nurse Pierce, I was wondering if you had a second to check on that patient in 204 with me.”
Monica didn’t even bother looking up. “I’m pretty sure their labs are already in the system, Dr. Matthews. You can check there.”
I pressed my lips together, trying not to laugh. This poor man wanted to talk to her so badly, but she refused to give him the time of day.
“Right,” he said, shifting awkwardly. “I figured I’d ask since you’re always on top of things.”
“Mhm,” she hummed, still typing away.
Seeing he was getting nowhere, Dr. Matthews sighed in defeat. “Alright, well… y’all have a good day.” He shuffled away, looking like a kicked puppy.
I burst out laughing as soon as he disappeared. “He likes you real bad.”
Monica sucked her teeth. “Please. He comes up here acting all innocent, but I got his tea from the phlebotomy girls—he’s a man whore.”
“Damn, for real?” I wasn’t shocked. Young, single doctors stayed sleeping with the nurses.
“Yeah. I don’t know why he’s all in my face. I don’t shit where I eat,” she said, giving me a knowing look.
“You don’t even work here full-time anymore. Be honest—it’s because of Jelani.”
“Tuh, no one’s worried about Lani.” She rolled her eyes.
I frowned. “Oh? I thought you were smitten?”
“Not important,” she said, brushing it off. “I wanna hear about your lil night cap.”
I snorted. “Chile, we need a girls’ night. I didn’t even tell you about the date.”
