“Hanna…” She drops her tone and glares at me threateningly.
I grind my teeth to fight the sense of shame and embarrassment I feel about the entire situation. When I can’tescape it, I throw the blanket back over my head as if that will stop the feelings from finding me.
“He’s my patient,” I mutter under my breath. With the thick comforter over my face, my words are muddled at best.
“What was that?” Rae asks, pulling the blanket back.
“I said he’s my patient!” I nearly shout, flipping the blanket back down with force to stare at her.
“No shit?” Her mouth falls open and her eyes go wide at my confession.
“More like ‘oh, shit,’” I reply before flinging the comforter back over my head.
“Wait, if my still half drunk brain remembers correctly, wasn’t he wearing a Charleston Fire Department shirt? Was that your fireman?” Her voice raises an octave as she starts to put the pieces together. “I told you firemen are the cutest ones!”
She shakes my arm over the blanket, now excited by the prospect of knowing what Miles looks like.
“Rae, stop shaking me. You’re going to make me barf,” I object, giving her a good hard shove after coming out from under the covers. “He’s not cute, he can’t be cute, he’s a patient. And a patient who I can tell needs a lot of help and I want to be able to give him that.”
“Yeah, a real special kind of help, I’m sure,” she leers at me and pumps her eyebrows with a smirk.
“Rae!”
“What?Sweetie, breathe. It was just a little light flirting while one of you was a tad inebriated. It’s not the end of the world.”
“I wouldn’t call it ‘light’…” my voice trails off and I unlock my phone to show her our text exchange. Her eyes go wide when she hits the bottom.
“Okay, so maybe it’s a little more than light but that’s okay. You were drunk; it’s really not that deep.”
“But he’s my?—”
“Patient, yes, I get that. Has anyone ever told you that maybe you take things a smidgetoo seriously?” She eyes me again.
“Has anyone ever told you you don’t take things seriously enough?” I toss back, giving her a contemptuous look.
We hold one another’s stare for another beat before she smiles at me.
“You know what will make this all better? Coffee. Come, come, let’s go smooth over your woes with something a little stronger than the sexy fireman from last night.”
When she rolls out of bed I throw a pillow in her direction which she deflects while laughing. She disappears out of my room to change and I stare at the ceiling contemplating her words. Maybe she’s right, maybe it isn’t that bad. I was drunk, not in my right mind. If I hadn’t been drinking Idefinitelywouldn’t have flirted like I did.
Right?
“Hanna, you better be out of bed before I come in there and drag you out! Mama needs her coffee!” Rae calls from the living room. As I sit up in bed and stand, I notice it sitting on my dresser, almost mocking me.
A simple, navy blue baseball hat with a fire company insignia stitched across the front. And along the back, the name ‘Adler’ is embroidered thick and strong just like its owner.
Half an hour later,Rae and I are walking into our favorite coffee shop of choice that’s a few blocksdown from my apartment. My hair is pulled back into a messy bun at the nape of my neck and I’ve thrown on my favorite pair of oversized overalls that used to be my dad’s. They swallow my hardly five foot three frame but on days where I’m feeling less than my best, they’re the comfort clothes I reach for. My signature circle wire frames are perched on my nose to help me see.
“One medium iced honey vanilla latte for Hanna,” the barista calls out, prompting me to step forward. Taking the drink between my lips, I sip the delicious liquid that makes me feel a little more myself. It’s been awhile since Rae and I had gone out like we did last night, causing my body to be a little slower to recover from all the alcohol I put into it.
“So, you gonna text the sexy fireman back or what?” Rae poses the question when I go to stand next to her while we wait for her drink.
“You gonna call your future husband or what?” I shoot back. “I remember how he slipped you his number last night.”
“Pshh, you need to leave that alone.” She waves a hand at me with an eye roll.
“You’re one to talk.” We pass an annoyed glance between us that only best friends can share.
