Page 40 of Asystole

“It’s not supposed to look like that, is it?” he asks.

“Not so much. You didn’t cook a lot growing up, did you?” I ask, taking the spatula from him and turning off the burner.

“More like not at all. Neither did my parents. We had a chef.”

I turn to face him, my brows at my hairline.

“Fancy.”

“Necessary,” Chase corrects. “My parents are both workaholics. If it hadn’t been for Lou, I’d have grown up on cereal.”

“While you’re here, maybe I can teach you a thing or two. I love to cook,” I tell him. “Because of my schedule, I don’t get to do it the way I like to very often, but nothing’s better than pouring a drink and slowly watching a meal come together.”

“Yeah, that sounds nice,” Chase says before silence surrounds us, reminding me he had wanted to ask me something.

“So, what’s on your mind?” I ask, bracing for the worst. It seems I’ve gotten spoiled by him being here. Despite his connection to my past, Chase’s presence makes it bearable in a way it hasn’t been since I ran from it all.

“Well, apparently, Jackson’s girlfriend is pregnant, and when he found out I hadn’t been home because I’ve been staying with you…” Chase pauses as though he’s gearing up to say something that makes him nervous. “He sort of asked if I could make this a permanent thing, living here with you, I mean,” he says, just throwing it out there.

“You want to move in with me?” I ask in total shock.

“I mean, I want to keep my apartment, but he’s sort of ruined it for me anyway. I’ll pay half the rent and utilities and stuff. And I swear I will never leave my wet towels on the floor. Hell, we could even look for a bigger place together.” Chase says. “I guess I just want to know my options. Not having Jackson as a roommate would be seriously awesome, and I don’t know about you, but I feel like the past few days have been pretty easy and comfortable.”

Chase Matthews, the six-foot-three, jacked, redheaded physician whose daily uniform is a scrub top that strangles his biceps and has a plunging fucking neckline, and who loves bro cuddles, for God’s sake, wants to move in together.

What could go wrong?

“Yeah,” I hear myself say. “Having a roommate could be cool. I could do the house shit while you’re on call, and you could help me out during my on weeks.”

“Yeah?” Chase asks with a grin.

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

At this point, I’ve got nothing to lose… except the only friend I have.

Chapter 16

Chase

Ilove Christmas, and I hate it all at the same time. People tend to lose their minds over the holidays, and even though it’s only Christmas Eve, I feel like I’ve been triaging the weirdest emergencies all day.

By the time I get a chance to change into clean scrubs and wolf down a bag of chips, it’s four o’clock.

“Shiiiiit,” I groan.

I’m usually a glass-is-half-full type of person, but days like today feel like they’re trying their absolute hardest to beat me down. Grabbing my cell phone from my pocket, I dial Logan’s number, thankful he doesn’t start his on-week for two more days.

“Hey, Chase. Is everything okay?” he asks, clearly confused. We mostly stick to texting.

“Yeah, uh, no, actually. I’m running way behind, and I need a huge favor.”

“No problem,” he says, despite not knowing what I need. “How can I help?”

“Can you pick up the order I placed at Sunrise Canyon Café and meet me in the physician’s lounge in an hour?”

“Sure, man. See you then.”

“You’re the freaking best. Thank you!”