Page 37 of Scrubbing In
Smirking, I tie off the suture.
“Oh god, I shouldn’t have said anything. I literally saw your ego suck up all the air in the room.”
Side-eyeing her as I take the liquid bandage from her outstretched hand, I apply it to the closed incision. “Hell yes, I’m going to be cocky about that. She’s making me work for every single small smile and inch I gain, and I’m fucking loving it!”
“Okay,” is her pensive response.
My head jerks up. She’s become suddenly still, head tilted to the side. “Okay? Okay what?”
“You might deserve her.” Charlie says this so seriously I pause as we are pulling the drapes off the patient.
“Charlie, I don’t deserve her. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep trying. And if I’m lucky enough to make her mine, I will do anything to keep her.”
Pushing my shoulder, she laughs. “The ortho bro is getting sappy!”
“Fuck off!”
“Ohh! That was rude!” she mockingly exclaims.
Pulling my gown off inside out, I ball it up and throw it in the trash. “As if I believe that indignation!” I dryly quip back.
Standing at the back table, she looks over her shoulder at me. “But in all seriousness, Julian, keep it up.”
With a nod and smile, I grab my badge, phone, and watch from the back desk. I head out to update the family with a contentment warming my chest. I may have won Charlie over to my side where Leena is concerned, but I also think we may have just started a friendship of our own.
Since I worked lateinto the night, I slept at the hospital, but that didn’t stop me from leaving after a quick shower to pick up Leena’s coffee from Grind House. It’s still dark when I return, but I’m pretty sure I just pulled into the parking lot behind her Jeep. Thankfully, it's still early, because I drive a little faster than I should to get into the physicians’ lot and out of my vehicle in time to catch her walking in with a tote and large tumbler.
“Leena,” I holler.
Her head pops up from rummaging around in her bag, and she stops when she sees it’s me. “Julian?”
Jogging over, I swipe the large bag off her shoulder and onto mine.
“Hey, what are you doing? My badge is in there and I need it to get in the building,” she says, reaching for it.
Angling away from her, I hand her the cup I’m carrying. “I can let us in the building.”
Looking from the cup to the bag and back to the cup, she says in a resigned huff, “But I still have to clock in,Doctor.”
Placing my hand at the small of her back, I gently nudge her towards the building and lean down to whisper in her ear. “Baby, you know, I think it's actually romantic when you sass me, right?”
I laugh as she takes a sip with a harrumph instead of responding to me, then move my hand to her opposite hip and squeeze. Damn, she is so much smaller than me.I love it.
“Someone could see,” she scolds me as she wiggles away.
Sighing because she’s right, I let her move ahead of me. She gets her distance and I get to admire her ass and toned legs in athletic shorts. Now I’m sighing for a whole other reason.
Down boy!I chide my dick’s reckless stirring.
Letting us into the building, I hold her bag open as she digs for her badge and swipes it. She pulls a set of scrubs from the cabinet by the time clock. Looking over her shoulder with a lift of her brows, her eyes trail over my body. “Do you want a new set since you’ve been outside?”
Glancing down at my scrubs, I know she’s right. I’ll need to change so I do not contaminate the contained OR unit.
“Thank you,” I say with a grateful smile.
Our fingers brush as I grab the new pair of scrubs she holds out. The usual zing of electricity I feel whenever we touch shoots up my arm. My eyes remain riveted to her delicate fingers rubbing over mine, caressing up the back of my hand, dancing over my wrist. Slowly, softly, teasingly.
I groan as that zap of electricity travels to my dick. “Baby, you’re going to need to stop.”
