“You’re off work, Austin. Shift’s done. Get out of here,” Daisy says.
“I have to change,” I tell her, eyeballing her so she knows to cut it out.
“Then go change,” she says.
“Scarlett, how did your appointment go?”
“Dr. Lane said three more weeks.” Scarlett is obviously good at avoidance. You’d think we’d never met by the way she flips her wavy hair to the side so she doesn’t have to see me standing next to her.
“I’ll see ya around,” I say to Scarlett, purposely not addressing her. Not that I have to. She knows who I’m talking to.
Scarlet flips her hair back and looks at me as if she isn’t sure I said something. “Sorry, did you say bye? I just heard a weird buzzing noise. It sounded like you, so—”
“Yeah,” I tell her.
“Oh, well then, goodbye!” She purses her lips and grins before waving me away. It pisses me off, but I know it shouldn’t. She can be mad at me like I’m sure she is, but it isn’t exactly like she came here looking for me either. I mean, I know where she works, and I could have gone looking for her, but I chose not to for an important reason. In any case, there’s no way she doesn’t care. I was half of that kiss, and it wasn’t just any kiss.
I walk off toward the locker room and feel the steam shooting out of my ears by the time I open my locker.What am I doing? Maybe Daisy’s right, and I am a moron.
I take my shirt off and toss it into the laundry-pick-up bucket of dirty scrubs behind me before opening my bag to grab a clean shirt. Just as I drop my bag heavily to the ground, I hear the door to the locker room open. Whoever it is can stare at my back because I am not in the mood for chit-chat right now.
That plan might have worked for me if a cool hand didn’t just touch the center of my back, causing me to jump and spin around. “Dang it!” I was not expecting to see her behind me. “What in the hell are you doing back here?”
“Daisy told me it would be okay,” she says, keeping her voice to a soft whisper, which is odd because Scarlett doesn’t speak softly. Scarlett speaks affirmatively.
“Well, it ain’t okay.”
“Why didn’t you ask for my number?” She’s looking at me with these doleful eyes, making me feel like an asshat for not being the typical man and making all the moves. After the way she’s acted—being all tough and mighty—a woman who’s in control at all times, I wouldn’t have expected a question like that to come out of her.
“Why didn’t you ask for mine?” I reply.
“Because … I don’t like to chase men. It isn’t becoming,” she argues.
“Wait a minute now ... so, you don’t like to chase men, but you have no problem telling men what’s what and who’s who, and walking in on them naked in the staff-only room?”
“Don’t act like you know me so well. I know Brendan must have given you the rundown on the inner workings of my brain, but don’t think that’s a guideline you should go by with me.”
“First, Brendan didn’t say a whole lot about you that I hadn’t already figured out for myself. Second, while I like a good puzzle every now and again, it doesn’t mean I always have things or people figured out correctly the first time. I just kind of assumed you were the type to take the reins and giddy-on-up if you were interested.” None of what I just said is an actual reason why I didn’t ask for her number, though.
“I had a lot of time to think, Austin.”
“It’s been two weeks; it ain’t that long.”
“You’re right,” she agrees.
“I know I am.” Her gaze lazily skates down the center of my body and her breath shudders in response. I suppose it’s nice to know my body still has an effect on women. “So, what were you thinking about for those two whole weeks?”
“Whether or not I should stay in this weird little town,” she says.
“Good,” I tell her. “What’s your decision?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” she says.
“Well then, there’s nothing left here for you to see, perv.”
She scoffs and draws her head back with shock. “Did you just callmea perv?”
“You did just walk into the locker room without knocking.”
