“Well, okay. But, can I at least wash it and give it back to you sometime, Hunt?” She unpinned his nametag from the scrubs top and handed it to him.
“It’s Elias, actually. Elias Hunt.” He stuck his hand out for Wren to shake. Then, he ran it through his hair and she was right about the naturalness of his messy hairstyle. “So… I can’t really ask you out.”
She blinked rapidly.Oh. Oh wow. Ouch.
“Okay. I wasn’t asking?—”
“Because it’s not professional. You’re kinda my patient right now.”
Yeah, great, just my luck.
“But. There’s this really cool place where I like to relax after work. And I know how much you’re into relaxation.”
Wren nodded like a bobble head. “Yeah, very much into relaxation.”
“It’s right in Lyons, so, if I were to see you there maybe tomorrow…” He shrugged a broad shoulder. “Or, there’s this other place that’s also really cool, and if you showed up there Fridaynight?—”
“Wow. Two whole cool places. What are they?”
Oh God, he smiled. An actual, full-blown, gorgeous smile.
“It’s up to you, depending on what you like. You know, because it’s not really a date, just a couple places that you might go to, and I might be there at the same time and want to check up on you if I happen to see you.”
She nodded. “Just to make sure I’m okay.”
“Just to make sure you’re okay, yeah, exactly.”
“Because you care about my health.”
“Just like any professional would care about your health after escaping a burning building, yeah.”
Nowshewas trying not to smile. “So, what are these cool places where I might accidentally run into you?”
“One is a coffee shop. Low key, very public, light of day, lots of caffeine.”
“Huh. Caffeine in a coffee shop. Who knew?”
He pursed his lips and nodded sagely. “They specialize in it, actually. And sometimes it gets crowded, so we might have to share a table or else I’d have to drink my coffee standing up and looking like a friendless dork.”
Her chest fluttered with laughter trying desperately to escape her twitching lips. She rolled her lips in and bit down on the bottom one, not trusting herself not to burst out laughing if she tried to speak.
Finally, she gained a modicum of control. “Well, we certainly wouldn’t want you looking like a friend…a friendless…dork.”Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh.
“You’d share a table with me?”
“I’d share a table with you, yes. As a sacrifice for your not-looking-dorkishness.”
Now his lips twitched as he watched her. “You’re a very kind person.”
“I am, yes. So, what about this other really cool place? Any caffeine there?”
“Not as much. It’s a bar. They have alcohol.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “Alcohol in a bar? You don’t say.”
“It’s true.Andthey have strips.”
Her eyes bulged. “Excuse me, you think you’re going to bump into me at a strip club?” She looked down at herself. “Sir, I think I’ve given you the wrong impression with my public nudity.”
