“Time to go home, Dr. Kennedy.”
Nurse Dinah tapped her watch just as Dr. Hinton entered the ER, rubbing his gut and looking like he wanted to be anywhere else but there.
“Too many burgers?” Cassie asked.
He nodded. “Burgers. Cake. Hot dogs. Chips and dip. And soda, of course, because, well… here.” He gestured around the ER then covered his mouth like he might be sick. “My metabolism isn’t as bulletproof as it once was.”
“Amen to that,” Dinah said. “Getting old sucks.”
Cassie rubbed Dinah’s shoulder. “Pah, you’re not old.”
“Old enough to be your mom, child,” she said and winked. “Now get out of here and get some rest so you’re fresh for tomorrow’s dire and dying.”
Cassie smiled and gave Dinah a hug before leaving. She’d gladly have taken Dinah as her mom. Dinah was always talking about her children and grandchildren as if their existence powered the sun. What would it be like to have that kind of relationship?
She went into the doctor’s lounge to change and thought about her mom and how her date was going. If she knew her mom at all, she’d already be testing out the springs on her date’s mattress. She shuddered at the thought and quickly redressed.
She made her way through the quiet back corridor and headed into the steady warmth of the Vegas evening heat. The fog of hundreds of spent fireworks hung in the air. It somehow made her hungry and reminded her that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast over sixteen hours ago. A little exercise and a bowl of Singapore noodles sounded like the perfect end to the day, though it’d be the start of tomorrow by the time she got home.
As she walked to her car, she pulled her phone from her bag to place her pick-up order. A text from an unknown number had come in.Taryn?The thrill of anticipation made her wait until she’d gotten into her car and locked the doors before opening the message.
Hey, Cassie. It’s Taryn. We met at Infinite last night. I’m hungry—are you free for dinner?
She was hungry too, but there was no way she was going to meet up with someone now. Cassie checked the time to see Taryn had sent it four hours ago. It was too late anyway, and she was due back at the hospital in less than eight hours. She quickly placed her food order, fixed her phone to the dash and started the car, trying to temper her immediate desire to call. There was no doubt that Taryn would still be up. No one came to Vegas for early nights and cocoa.
Cassie joined the steady flow of traffic to head home. Excitement fluttered in her stomach like a horde of butterflies. She’d played it so cool at the club, but that wasn’t really her style. If she liked someone enough to sleep with them, she let them know and she took them home. No games. Simple. And simple had worked well for her. She got her itch scratched, and her loneliness would recede into the shadows for a while. But Taryn hadn’t scratched an itch as much as caused a different one; one which Cassie wanted to explore for however long Taryn might be in town. She just had to hope that Rachel was wrong, and Taryn was here for more than a moment.
At the stop light, she hit call and relaxed back in her seat. Taryn probably wouldn’t hear it over the music in whatever club, casino, or show she was in, but the call would register, and she’d know that Cassie was hungry too.
“Hi.”
Taryn sounded surprised, and as Cassie had predicted, loud music thumped steadily in the background. “Hi. I just finished work and saw your text. I thought I may as well call.”
“I’m glad you did. Uh, I guess it’s a little late for dinner?”
Cassie liked the hopeful sound in Taryn’s voice. “As it happens, I do have to eat, but no, I can’t come for dinner tonight. Have I missed your window of opportunity? Are you heading home tomorrow?”
“No,” Taryn said quickly. “It looks like I’m going to be in town for a while.”
“Ah, so there’s no rush for dinner then?” The light changed, and Cassie took a left so she could pick up her noodles from Chang’s.
“I didn’t say that.”
The background music hitched up a few decibels before receding again. “Sounds like you’re at a club. Call me Monday.”
“No, no. I mean, yes, I’m at a club, but I can still talk. If you want.”
Cassie hadn’t expected the sweet hesitancy from a woman like Taryn. She’d been slick and polished, and she was the kind of red-hot lesbian who would never have to go home alone. Surely she’d be on the prowl tonight; a possible dinner date with Cassie hadn’t been a promise of exclusivity by any means. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I want to. Let me find a quiet spot, and I’ll call you back—on video.”
Cassie angled her rear-view mirror to inspect herself. She looked surprisingly good after a twelve-hour shift. “Give me fifteen minutes to get home.”
“Okay.”
Taryn ended the call, and Cassie pulled up outside her favorite carry-out place. Yan waved through the window and held up her bag of food before making his way out to her car. She dropped the window. “You’re a superstar, Yan,” she said, taking the bag and giving him a twenty-dollar tip.
“You spoil me, Cassie.”
