Page 11 of Forever Offsides

“And if I did?” I challenge.

“But you don’t. You had an interview. That could turn into nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing. It was a lot of something I can’t discuss yet.”

She tries to wiggle out of my arms, and I roll us so I’m on top of her with my hands on either side of her head.

“The not living here thing isn’t a thing. It might be a few months until it happens, but it’ll happen. Next issue?”

“Listen, we just met⁠—”

“Did you have fun with me?” I cut her off.

She huffs an irritated breath. “Yes, I had fun with you, but⁠—”

“If I had been the loser you originally went out with and I asked to see you again for a second date, would you have said yes?”

“No. He was a loser.”

“Quinn, if it had been me you went out with instead of him, and I lived in Boston, and we had a great time like we did last night, and I asked you out again, would you have said yes? Answer me without being a brat.”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t looking to date anyone. My intern set up the date. I work a lot.”

I smirk. “I do too.”

“I work a lot of hours in a very competitive field, and I make no apologies for my ambition. I am the best resident in my program, and it’s not a position I’m willing to compromise.”

“Hold up.” I flop onto my side and prop myself up, but I keep myself glued to her side with one hand on her opposite hip so she doesn’t try to run off. “Why would you feel you have to compromise that in order to see me again?”

She rolls her eyes as if the answer is more than a little obvious. “Men don’t like a woman who prioritizes her job over them or works too many hours and isn’t at their beck and call.”

I can’t help how my lips bounce into a grin. “Baby girl, those were boys you were dealing with. A real man doesn’t expect a woman to do that for him.”

“Then you’re like the fucking unicorn of all men because even the doctors I’ve gone on a date or two with didn’t get it. It’s like I can see their wheels spinning, wondering if I’ll be too tired to suck their dicks, cook their meals, and tend to the children.”

I choke on a small laugh. “I cook. I like to cook. I’m even good at it. If memory serves, you sucked my dick last night in the shower, so clearly there was time for that, and my child is grown and doesn’t like it when even I try to take care of him. Plus, we just met. This feels like we’re skipping steps.”

She frowns. “I like knowing all the steps before I make an incision. I don’t like surprises, and I don’t like being blindsided.”

I roll us again so she gets a better sense of comfort and control, but I hold her on my hips so she’s straddling me.

“Listen, I’m not asking to marry you. I’m not asking for monogamy, I guess, though I will pretty fast if this thing hits where I think it will, since I do not like to share. We have a spark, and I don’t get those often, if ever, so I don’t want to let that go so fast. How about we start with you giving me your number because I’d like to call or text you or both?”

I get a dubious eyebrow. “My number? That’s it?”

“For now. As I said, I might not be back for a few months. But I will be back.”

She gnaws on the corner of her lip. “I don’t know.”

“Are you reluctant because you felt that spark too?”

She doesn’t answer, but I can tell that’s what it is. She’s trigger-shy, but I am too, so it all works.

“I’m asking for possibility and for you not to strike it down before it can form. That’s all. I work a lot too. Way too many hours, and the type of work I do requires a lot of travel. I don’t make excuses for it because that’s how it is. Women have trouble with that too. Trust me. I get it. But I like you. Either way, whether you give me your number or not, I don’t want you leaving before dawn. It’s not safe.”

She folds her arms over her chest.

“I have to be at the hospital by seven. I need a shower and to change, and I live on this side of town.”