She nods her head, a small grin playing at her lips. "If this Harley is as wonderful as you say she is—and you're an incredible person, so I'm sure she is—then there is no way she would ever cheat on her boyfriend. Therefore, if she tried to kiss you last night, then I'm about ninety-nine-point-nine percent certain that she doesn't have a boyfriend. So you need to pull your head out of your ass and get your girl before someone else realizes how amazing she is and snags her up!"
With that, Avery stands and tosses her plate in the trash. She walks to the door and then turns back to me. "And do me a favor, when you do get the girl...grovel like hell for pulling away from her last night, because I can't even imagine all the insecurities that must have caused."
Fuck. The look of embarrassment that washed over Harley's face last night pops into my head and I rub my hands over my face roughly, trying to get that image out of my mind.
What if Avery is right? What if Harley doesn't have a boyfriend and I was wrong? That would I've been wasting my time and worrying for no reason. All I know is that this has to end. I either need to know she's single and beg her to give me another chance, or I need to meet Max and see for myself that I really did fuck things up five years ago.
Tomorrow. I'm going to get through this shift and then this ends tomorrow.
"THANK GOD THIS DAY is over." Grabbing my stethoscope, I drop it in the bag with my scrubs. I always bring a change of clothes to change into before I go home. Tossing my bag on the table, I walk over to the coffee pot. It’s way too late in the evening for me to be drinking coffee, but I need something.
"I know, right?!" Avery says, shedding her lab coat. She looks completely exhausted and her eyes are still mildly puffy as though she’s been crying off and on throughout the day.
"You okay?" I ask, handing her a cup of coffee.
She grabs the mug and takes a few sips, her eyes trained downward. "I will be. It's just been a shit day and I really don't want to go home, and...hey—" She looks at me hopefully. "You wanna go grab a drink somewhere?"
Fuck. No. All I really want to do is go home and crash. Looking down at my watch, I see that it's ten o'clock. It's been a long day and I'm exhausted, but I can tell that Avery doesn't want to go home, probably because she'll spend the rest of the night thinking about that family.
"Sure," I answer. "Let's go have a drink."
"Great. Thank you," she sighs, patting my arm as she walks past me to drop her cup in the sink.
"But just one," I say, pulling my phone out of my pocket. "My friend, Levi, owns a bar a few blocks away. Let me call him and see if they're out."
I hit ‘send’ and Levi answers almost immediately.
"Hey! I was seeing if you were going to be at Blue tonight. I was thinking about coming out for a drink or two," I reply.
"I'm actually here now, you should come on up," he answers.
"Great. I'm just getting off my shift, and it’s been one hell of a day. Avery had an even worse day than I did, so I told her I would have a drink with her. Plus, she's been wanting to meet some people from around this area anyway." Avery smiles at me, mouthing that she is going to the bathroom to change before we leave, and I nod.
The line goes silent and for a second I wonder if the call was dropped, but then Levi starts talking again. "Ummm...are you sure that's a good idea?" he asks quietly, as though he's trying to avoid anyone overhearing him.
What the hell? "Why wouldn't it be a good idea? We're just friends. We work together, and she had a shitty day and asked if I'd go have a drink with her. Is that not okay?" I ask sharply.
"Yeah, you're right. It’s fine," he sighs.
"Okay. Good. You're really going to like her. We'll see you soon."
"Alright, man, see you soon," he says, ending the call. Slipping my phone in my pocket, I can't help but feel like something is off. I'm not sure what it is, but I have this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach that something unpleasant is about to happen.
"Are we all set? Is your friend at his bar?" Avery asks, pulling her bag up over her shoulder.
"All set." Reaching out, I open the door for her, shoving the uneasy feeling away, intent on getting Avery's mind off of what happened today. One drink, that’s it. Then, I'm getting a good night’s sleep and tomorrow I'm going to talk to Harley.
We decide to leave our cars and walk since it's only a couple of blocks. It's beautiful out this time of year. There's a light, cool breeze and I take a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air and being away from the hospital and this shitty-ass day.
"Wow!" she gasps when we walk in the door, her hand gripped to her chest and her eyes taking in her surroundings. "This place is fantastic." Levi's bar really is spectacular, even more so when the dance floor is littered with gorgeous people grinding their sexy-as-hell bodies together in rhythm with the music, like it is tonight.
I glance up to the third level, but I can't see Levi—it's too packed in here. Placing my hand at the small of Avery's back, I lead her to the bar, where a seat just opened up and I motion for her to take it. We order our drinks and when they're handed to us, I turn to face her, propping my elbow up on the bar. She tips her beer back, practically chugging half the bottle.
"God, that's good," she sighs, slamming her bottle down on the bar, eliciting the attention of a few nearby patrons. "I need about ten more and I think I'll be set."
I turn toward the bar, intent on ordering Avery another drink, and find myself face-to-face with a familiar set of blue eyes.
"We meet again."