“You texted at just the right time. I had just gotten out of the OR.” Ryan started making his way to the net, easily getting by Dhillon to make a basket. “Burn case.” Ryan was a trauma resident.
Dhillon got the ball. He was sweating and breathing hard. “Uh-huh.”
“We ended up sending the patient to the burn specialists, then plastics.”
“Uh-huh.” Dhillon’s mind suddenly filled with images of Riya getting burned. Then his sister.
“You’d think you’d be in a better mood after you got some.”
Dhillon stared at his friend.How the fuck does he know that?He threw the ball at Ryan.
Ryan caught it with ease. “Please. I’ve known you for, like, twenty-plus years. Eighty percent of our conversations are about sex and ninety-nine percent of those for you are about—Wait. No way.” Ryan’s eyes widened, and a sly grin fell across his face. “Riya!”
Dhillon shook his head. “No.”
“Liar!” Ryan grinned but then furrowed his brow. “You’d think you’d be happier.” Ryan took a shot and made the basket.
Dhillon absently picked up the bouncing ball, shrugging.
“Was it that bad?” Ryan was incredulous.
“No, moron. She was...” Amazing. Wonderful. He was supposed to be here to forget the images of Riya in bed with him, but leave it to Ryan to bring it all up. “It doesn’t matter. It was just a onetime thing.” He took a shot and missed.
“You finally get her, and you’re letting her go?” Ryan got the ball and held on to it.
“It’s not up to just me. You know how she is. No commitment.” Although, when he was with her, he hadn’t got those one-night-stand vibes from her at all. Until she woke up. When she realized what had happened. The look on her face—she had been appalled. “Besides, she’s a firefighter now. And I just can’t do that.”
“She’s a what?” Ryan squinted his eyes, as if doing so would make him hear better.
“A firefighter. Throw the ball.”
“Dude, that is so hot!” Ryan chuckled but did not throw the ball. “Literally.” He laughed at his own pun.
“Says the emergency trauma surgeon who thrives on adrenaline.”
“And sex.” Ryan aimed at the basket and took a shot. It hit the rim and bounced off. Dhillon lunged for it. “Don’t forget the sex.”
“Yeah, we know all about your revolving door. No need to shove it in my face.” Dhillon started dribbling the ball again, getting closer to the net.
“I barely have time for that revolving door anymore. Residency is a bitch.”
“Is it? Doing exciting cases, saving lives, all the women, is it too much for you?” Dhillon kept dribbling.
“Wait. Are you seriously telling me that you don’t think a woman firefighter is hot?” Ryan went on defense behind him, spreading his arms, trying to prevent Dhillon taking a shot.
Well, when he put it that way...there was definitely something sexy about her in the uniform. Or at least what was under that uniform. A memory flashed through his mind. “Not if it’s Riya.”
Ryan brought his arm around and stole the ball. But instead of dribbling it, he held on to it. “You’re an idiot, you know that? You get these beautiful women, and then you find something wrong with them. Every. Single. Time.”
“What?” Dhillon had no idea what Ryan was on about.
“What was wrong with Sharmila?”
“She left me.”
“You never even went after her.”
Quite frankly, he had been relieved. They’d only dated for six months before he’d decided he should ask her to marry him. “She said I was boring.”
