With our drinks in hand, Ash and I find a small table out front.
“So…” His light brown hair is tucked behind his ears and he wears a playful smile that promises fun and flirting. I could probably use a little more of both in my life. “How’ve you been?”
“Fine.” I blow lightly on my coffee and then take a sip. An awkwardness that I don’t remember from the other night stretches out between us. “You?”
“Bored. Restless. I’m not used to sitting around so much.”
“Have the doctors said how long you’ll be out?” Medical talk, this I can do.
“Three more weeks minimum.” His mouth is tight at the corners.
“I’m sorry.”
His expression shifts and he veers us to another topic. “How’s the apartment hunting coming?”
“I’ve barely looked,” I tell him honestly, then add, “I’ll find something.”
“I know a couple girls who go to Whittaker. They live just off campus and one of them mentioned they were looking for a third roommate. If you want me to put you in contact with them, I’d be happy to.”
“Oh wow. Thank you, but I think I prefer to live alone.”
“Why? It’s so boring.”
I laugh. “I take it you live alone?”
“I had roommates until recently. Now my place feels so quiet and empty. I hate it.” There’s a whine to his voice that emphasizes just how much he hates it.
“I like the quiet. It’s hard with my schedule too. I’m sleeping while everyone else is up.”
“I never asked you the other night, what made you decide to be a nurse?” He rests his right hand on the table. His fingers are long and strong looking. His arms and chest are covered with a long-sleeved black shirt that stretches over his muscular frame. He’s built exactly like you’d expect for a professional athlete.
“My cousin was born with a heart defect and spent a few years of middle school in and out of hospitals. She’s fine now, but we were close, and I spent a lot of time visiting her when she was there. The experience stuck with me. It was different than I expected. The nurses were fun and happy. They played games with her and talked about pop culture and brought in books and magazines they thought she’d like. I don’t know, maybe it doesn’t sound like much, but they made all the difference in how she felt about missing school and time with friends. She keeps in contact with at least one still today.”
“That’s cool.” The way he smiles at me like I just said something far more exciting than I did makes my stomach flip.
“Did you always want to be a hockey player?”
“Not always. For a while I wanted to be a firefighter.”
“What made you change your mind?”
His smile gets shy, which is a very odd look for Ash Kelly, and I find myself leaning in, eager to hear his answer.
“I found out that not every firefighter gets their own Dalmatian. I was five and my kindergarten class went to the local fire station.” He places his right hand over his heart. “Like a knife to the chest.”
“The Dalmatian does really make the job.”
“Right? They didn’t have any dogs there. Major bummer.” He grins. “And for a very brief time I thought I was going to be a rock star.”
“Do you sing?”
“No.” He gives his head a brief shake. “But I spent one ear-piercing week trying to learn guitar.”
Laughter spills out of me at his admission. “A firefighter, a rock star, and a hockey player, huh?”
“I can’t imagine it any different now.”
“Me either.”
His mouth curves. “Nurse Bridget. I still can’t believe I had to get injured to find you again.”
I run my thumb along the back of my ring on my middle finger, twisting the gold band around absently. “I’m sorry.”
“It isn’t how I would have scripted it, but shit happens.” His gaze drops to my scrub top where my name badge hangs off the front pocket. “Being a nurse suits you.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“I’m learning.” After another sip of coffee, he asks, “Why’d you give up tennis?”
Why’d I do any number of the things I did over the past two years? Why’d I stop hanging out with friends or going home to see my family? Quitting tennis is just one more bad decision I made among many.
I go with, “It was hard to juggle it with school and work.”