Although, I still haven’t spoken to Warren’s girlfriend. Maybe she’s just shy.
The next few seconds are a flurry of activity. Ridge is putting on his shoes, Sydney is pulling on a jacket, Warren walks over to the girl who just shut the fridge…Bridgette…and tries to kiss her, but she pushes him away.
I glance over at Maggie, and she smiles at me. “Let me grab my sweater.” She walks back to her bedroom. I look around at the apartment and notice there are several doors leading to other rooms. Maggie mentioned how she and Ridge know each other, but I still don’t know the connection between everyone else.
“Are you all roommates?” I ask, looking around at the four of them. “Is that how you all know each other?”
Bridgette is in the middle of sipping from a bottle of water, but she perks up at my question, just as Maggie reappears from her bedroom with a sweater. “Oh, I’ll happily explain how we all know each other,” Bridgette says, screwing the cap on her water bottle.
Maggie says her name in what appears to be an attempt to stop Bridgette from speaking, but Bridgette ignores her.
“Warren and Ridge have been best friends for years,” Bridgette explains, pointing between Warren and Ridge with the water bottle. She then points it in Maggie’s direction. “Warren used to date Maggie, but they didn’t last very long before Ridge swooped in and claimed her.”
Wait. Both of these guys used to date Maggie?
“Maggie and Ridge dated for six years, but that ended when Sydney moved in last year. Now Sydney is dating Ridge, but she doesn’t actually live here with us anymore. Maggie does, though. Until her new apartment is ready, which is here in the same complex as both of her ex-boyfriends.” Bridgette looks at me. “And no, none of this is weird. At all. Especially right now as we all pretend we’re best friends and we spend the whole day doing best friend stuff together. Yay.”
Bridgette says the last word of that sentence with absolutely zero enthusiasm.
I guess I had her pegged wrong, too. She isn’t shy at all.
The next ten seconds are quiet. Quieter than any ten seconds have ever been. I glance at Maggie, and she has a look of horror on her face. Sydney glares at Bridgette, silently scolding her. Bridgette looks at Sydney and shrugs like she did nothing wrong.
Then my phone rings.
The interruption is an immediate excuse for everyone to scatter. Everyone but Maggie, who is watching me, waiting for my next move.
I pull my phone out of my pocket, knowing by the distinct ring that it’s Chrissy. She never calls unless it’s important. Long gone are the days when we called each other just to chat. I swipe my finger across the screen and then pull the phone to my ear as I point toward Maggie’s bedroom, letting her know I’m heading in there to take the call in private. I close the door partially as I walk into the room.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” Chrissy says, breathless. I can tell she’s rushing, probably pulling on her scrubs. “Got called in. Can I drop Justice off with you?”
I close my eyes. He’s almost twelve. We leave him alone on occasion, but not when I’m more than a block away. “I’m in Austin.” I squeeze the back of my neck. “It’ll take me an hour to get back.”
“Austin?” she says. “Oh. Okay. I would send him to Cody’s house for the day, but he woke up in the middle of the night with a stomach bug. Should I call my mom?”
I glance at Maggie’s bedroom door. “No. No, I’m on my way. I’ll pick him up and take him over to my place for the night.”
Chrissy thanks me and ends the call. I stare down at the phone, wondering how Maggie will take this. I sort of wish she’d heard the entire conversation so she doesn’t think I’m making up an excuse to get out of today after Bridgette’s spiel.
I slide the phone into my pocket and walk toward Maggie’s door. When I open it, she glances at me from the kitchen, where she’s talking with Sydney.
“Can we chat?” I point back toward her room to indicate I’d like to do it in private. She nods and then shares a quick glance with Sydney before walking back to her room. She closes the door once we’re both inside.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “Bridgette made it all seem so weird, but I swear—”
I hold up my hand, interrupting her. “Maggie, it’s fine. I know you wouldn’t have invited me here if you were still hung up on someone else.”
She looks relieved by my comment.
“My timing couldn’t be shittier,” I say. “But Chrissy, my ex-wife, just called. Justice is sick, and she got called in to work. I have to head back home.”
There isn’t a single shred of doubt in Maggie’s expression. Only concern. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just a stomach bug.”
She nods, but I can tell she’s somewhat disappointed that I’m leaving. So am I, though. I pull her to me to give her a hug goodbye. She molds to my chest, making it difficult to want to release her.
“Downfall of two doctors sharing a child,” I say. “You’re on call even on the weekends you aren’t on call.”
She pulls back and looks up at me. I slide my hands to her cheeks and bend down to give her a kiss. I can’t help but notice that our physical interaction is way ahead of our relationship. We aren’t even dating, but the way I hug her and kiss her and respond to her would indicate otherwise. It’s why I make sure our kiss goodbye is nothing more than a peck. The last thing I want to do is overwhelm her again. “Have fun today.”
She smiles. “I will. I hope Justice feels better soon.”
“Thank you. And send me some pictures of the caves. I’ll call you tonight after you’re back if it’s not too late.”
“I would like that,” she says. “Want me to walk you out?”
“I would like that.”
•••
One would think that a man who regularly slices through people’s chests wouldn’t be bothered by a little vomit.
Not the case with me.
I’m convinced Justice has vomited more today than he did the first five years of his life. Or maybe it just seems that way because he’s older and bigger and produces more vomit, but fuck, there was so much vomit. I can’t be happier that it’s over. For now. There can’t possibly be anything left in the poor kid to even puke up.
When I’m finished scrubbing the bathroom, showering, and checking on Justice, I finally settle into the couch to catch up on my conversation with Maggie. They returned from the caves a little over an hour ago, and she sent me a few pictures. I told her I’d FaceTime with her as soon as I got Justice to bed.
She answers almost immediately. The smile on her face disappoints me, but only because I’m not seeing it in person.
“How is Justice?”
I love that she asks this before we even say hello.
“Asleep. And empty. I think he’s expelled everything he’s eaten since January.”
She makes a face. “Poor kid.”
She’s lying on her bed, her hair spread out over the pillow. She’s holding the phone above her. It’s the same view I had of her earlier today as I was hovering over her, preparing to kiss her. I force the thought out of my head before she sees through me. “Was the trip as fun as your pictures made it seem?”
She nods. “It was. Well, mostly.” She pushes the hair away from her forehead to reveal a small bandage near her temple. “Warren thought it would be a good idea to hide from us and then scare us. I turned really fast, and me and Bridgette butted heads.” She laughs, smoothing her hair back in place. “Warren felt so bad, he bought us all dinner. I mean, it was Taco Bell, but still. Warren never pays for anything ever.”
I smile. I like that she seems to have had fun. Happiness looks really good on her. “You ready for the big move tomorrow?”
She nods, rolling onto her side as she lowers the phone. “I’m ready to have my own bathroom again.”
“I’d offer to come help, but Chrissy is on call until Monday. I should probably keep Justice at my place until he’s feeling better so there isn’t a lot of back and forth.”
The next few seconds are a flurry of activity. Ridge is putting on his shoes, Sydney is pulling on a jacket, Warren walks over to the girl who just shut the fridge…Bridgette…and tries to kiss her, but she pushes him away.
I glance over at Maggie, and she smiles at me. “Let me grab my sweater.” She walks back to her bedroom. I look around at the apartment and notice there are several doors leading to other rooms. Maggie mentioned how she and Ridge know each other, but I still don’t know the connection between everyone else.
“Are you all roommates?” I ask, looking around at the four of them. “Is that how you all know each other?”
Bridgette is in the middle of sipping from a bottle of water, but she perks up at my question, just as Maggie reappears from her bedroom with a sweater. “Oh, I’ll happily explain how we all know each other,” Bridgette says, screwing the cap on her water bottle.
Maggie says her name in what appears to be an attempt to stop Bridgette from speaking, but Bridgette ignores her.
“Warren and Ridge have been best friends for years,” Bridgette explains, pointing between Warren and Ridge with the water bottle. She then points it in Maggie’s direction. “Warren used to date Maggie, but they didn’t last very long before Ridge swooped in and claimed her.”
Wait. Both of these guys used to date Maggie?
“Maggie and Ridge dated for six years, but that ended when Sydney moved in last year. Now Sydney is dating Ridge, but she doesn’t actually live here with us anymore. Maggie does, though. Until her new apartment is ready, which is here in the same complex as both of her ex-boyfriends.” Bridgette looks at me. “And no, none of this is weird. At all. Especially right now as we all pretend we’re best friends and we spend the whole day doing best friend stuff together. Yay.”
Bridgette says the last word of that sentence with absolutely zero enthusiasm.
I guess I had her pegged wrong, too. She isn’t shy at all.
The next ten seconds are quiet. Quieter than any ten seconds have ever been. I glance at Maggie, and she has a look of horror on her face. Sydney glares at Bridgette, silently scolding her. Bridgette looks at Sydney and shrugs like she did nothing wrong.
Then my phone rings.
The interruption is an immediate excuse for everyone to scatter. Everyone but Maggie, who is watching me, waiting for my next move.
I pull my phone out of my pocket, knowing by the distinct ring that it’s Chrissy. She never calls unless it’s important. Long gone are the days when we called each other just to chat. I swipe my finger across the screen and then pull the phone to my ear as I point toward Maggie’s bedroom, letting her know I’m heading in there to take the call in private. I close the door partially as I walk into the room.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” Chrissy says, breathless. I can tell she’s rushing, probably pulling on her scrubs. “Got called in. Can I drop Justice off with you?”
I close my eyes. He’s almost twelve. We leave him alone on occasion, but not when I’m more than a block away. “I’m in Austin.” I squeeze the back of my neck. “It’ll take me an hour to get back.”
“Austin?” she says. “Oh. Okay. I would send him to Cody’s house for the day, but he woke up in the middle of the night with a stomach bug. Should I call my mom?”
I glance at Maggie’s bedroom door. “No. No, I’m on my way. I’ll pick him up and take him over to my place for the night.”
Chrissy thanks me and ends the call. I stare down at the phone, wondering how Maggie will take this. I sort of wish she’d heard the entire conversation so she doesn’t think I’m making up an excuse to get out of today after Bridgette’s spiel.
I slide the phone into my pocket and walk toward Maggie’s door. When I open it, she glances at me from the kitchen, where she’s talking with Sydney.
“Can we chat?” I point back toward her room to indicate I’d like to do it in private. She nods and then shares a quick glance with Sydney before walking back to her room. She closes the door once we’re both inside.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “Bridgette made it all seem so weird, but I swear—”
I hold up my hand, interrupting her. “Maggie, it’s fine. I know you wouldn’t have invited me here if you were still hung up on someone else.”
She looks relieved by my comment.
“My timing couldn’t be shittier,” I say. “But Chrissy, my ex-wife, just called. Justice is sick, and she got called in to work. I have to head back home.”
There isn’t a single shred of doubt in Maggie’s expression. Only concern. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just a stomach bug.”
She nods, but I can tell she’s somewhat disappointed that I’m leaving. So am I, though. I pull her to me to give her a hug goodbye. She molds to my chest, making it difficult to want to release her.
“Downfall of two doctors sharing a child,” I say. “You’re on call even on the weekends you aren’t on call.”
She pulls back and looks up at me. I slide my hands to her cheeks and bend down to give her a kiss. I can’t help but notice that our physical interaction is way ahead of our relationship. We aren’t even dating, but the way I hug her and kiss her and respond to her would indicate otherwise. It’s why I make sure our kiss goodbye is nothing more than a peck. The last thing I want to do is overwhelm her again. “Have fun today.”
She smiles. “I will. I hope Justice feels better soon.”
“Thank you. And send me some pictures of the caves. I’ll call you tonight after you’re back if it’s not too late.”
“I would like that,” she says. “Want me to walk you out?”
“I would like that.”
•••
One would think that a man who regularly slices through people’s chests wouldn’t be bothered by a little vomit.
Not the case with me.
I’m convinced Justice has vomited more today than he did the first five years of his life. Or maybe it just seems that way because he’s older and bigger and produces more vomit, but fuck, there was so much vomit. I can’t be happier that it’s over. For now. There can’t possibly be anything left in the poor kid to even puke up.
When I’m finished scrubbing the bathroom, showering, and checking on Justice, I finally settle into the couch to catch up on my conversation with Maggie. They returned from the caves a little over an hour ago, and she sent me a few pictures. I told her I’d FaceTime with her as soon as I got Justice to bed.
She answers almost immediately. The smile on her face disappoints me, but only because I’m not seeing it in person.
“How is Justice?”
I love that she asks this before we even say hello.
“Asleep. And empty. I think he’s expelled everything he’s eaten since January.”
She makes a face. “Poor kid.”
She’s lying on her bed, her hair spread out over the pillow. She’s holding the phone above her. It’s the same view I had of her earlier today as I was hovering over her, preparing to kiss her. I force the thought out of my head before she sees through me. “Was the trip as fun as your pictures made it seem?”
She nods. “It was. Well, mostly.” She pushes the hair away from her forehead to reveal a small bandage near her temple. “Warren thought it would be a good idea to hide from us and then scare us. I turned really fast, and me and Bridgette butted heads.” She laughs, smoothing her hair back in place. “Warren felt so bad, he bought us all dinner. I mean, it was Taco Bell, but still. Warren never pays for anything ever.”
I smile. I like that she seems to have had fun. Happiness looks really good on her. “You ready for the big move tomorrow?”
She nods, rolling onto her side as she lowers the phone. “I’m ready to have my own bathroom again.”
“I’d offer to come help, but Chrissy is on call until Monday. I should probably keep Justice at my place until he’s feeling better so there isn’t a lot of back and forth.”
