georgia
At the tailend of a twenty-hour shift, I scrubbed my eyes with the heel of my hands, leaning against the counter of the nurse’s station in a rare moment of reprieve. I was ready to go home, get undressed and soak in a hot bath. I was ready to enjoy a glass of wine, and once the water and wine soaked in, I would be ready for bed.
“ER just transferred someone into a bed in room 341,” Dakota said as she slid an intake folder toward me and tucked it under my elbow. I took another two seconds to enjoy my moment of rest before opening my eyes and flipping the file open. I groaned immediately, and my sister laughed.
“Thought you’d like the present.”
“You’re going to hell.”
“Not any time soon, so I might as well enjoy my time here.” Dakota laughed again as she walked around the counter and sat at the computer to input some more information while I stared at the intake forms. I didn’t need to know why he was here—I could guess. Mostly, I was just staring at the name, thinking one thing.
He’s back.
Sucking in a sharp breath, my nostrils flared before I closed the file and dropped it on top of the keyboard Dakota was typing on. Grabbing my phone off the counter, I tucked it into my pocket as I headed toward room 341.
He was already in bed, staring at the TV and flipping through channels, looking for something to kill time.
“Hunter Stanton. Long time, no see.”
“Ah, my favorite nurse. You know, I keep coming back for you.” His attention shifted dramatically, going so far as to click the TV off for good measure.
“So you tell me every time.” Grabbing the blood pressure cuff, I pulled it open. At the velcro sound, Hunter obediently held out his arm and watched me with unnerving scrutiny as I closed the cuff. If it wasn’t detrimental to the reading, I had half a mind to squeeze the cuff shut uncomfortably just to make him squirm.
“How have you been?” He broke the silence, flashing me a smile. “I’ve been better, clearly, but I was told today might be the day.”
“Oh?” I asked, feigning interest. “Yes. Today might be the day I transfer to another hospital to avoid you. You’re probably right.”
He laughed, leaning his head back as the cuff filled with air, and took his reading. “Nah, today might be the day I get my liver.”
“Well, thatisgood news. No more extended hospital stays, only check-ins to ensure you’re not rejecting the organ, and finally, my prayers are answered.”
“You’re religious?”
“Only when you’re on my floor. Please, God, send him away. I beg you.” I mocked, undoing the cuff and writing down the reading for him. He laughed again and smiled, the expression warming me in a way that made me uncomfortable.
“One day, you’ll admit you secretly love me.”
“I doubt that, but right now, you’re still a dying man, so it would be cruel of me to crush your dreams.”
“Too true.” He said as he sat up again. “And as a dying man, I have only one request—”
“No,” I said before he could voice the question he asked every time he was here. And every time, I gave him the same answer because it was ethically wrong, he was a pain in the ass, and no matter how cute he might be, he was simply too young for me.
“Ah, damn.” He sighed, feigning hurt. “I’ll wear you down one day, Georgia.” He winked and turned his attention back to the TV.
“It’s three in the morning. Shouldn’t you try and sleep?”
“Best TV is on at this time.”
“Infomercials are on at this time.”
“Precisely,” he said agreeably, stopping on a channel to “ooh” playfully before glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. “I already have this one,” he admitted as he changed the channel to the next infomercial. “It doesn’t hit all the right places, if you know what I mean.” He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively, turning the heat in my belly to a full boil.
“Mm,” I agreed, unsure of what else to say because generally, any kind of response was encouragement.
“Later, during my sponge bath, will you hit the right place for me?” And there it was.
Pursing my lips together in a tight smile, I grabbed the clipboard with his information and shoved it back in its slot on the wall. I busied myself checking his IV, making sure the dosage was right and looking over the monitor to note anything unusual before risking looking at him again.