It was on the tip of Lauren’s tongue to say she’d seen one before Emma arrived. “I’m not sure.”
Emma rotated on her seat, tapping her chin as she went. “What am I looking for? What’s your type?”
“I don’t really have one.”
“That’s not helpful.” Emma paused. “Actually, maybe it is. Any guy is fair game?”
“Emma, what are you doing? I don’t want you to find me a guy.”
“Too bad.”
Lauren shook her head. “What about you? Has one even seen your newest additions, yet?”
“I got them for me, not for men.” Emma shimmied her shoulders, and Lauren couldn’t stop her eyes from dropping to the ample cleavage on display.
“So you say. But you sure were eager for me to bring my coffee shop guy to work a few weeks ago.”
What would Emma think if she knew that guy was Andrew? The “hot patient” who all the women in the clinic now fawned over? Anyone who had a hand in his care would remember him.
Emma waved a hand in the air and made a sound of dismissal. “I was kidding. Besides, I’m not the one who hasn’t gone on a date in two years. Gotta prioritize, here.”
Lauren grimaced. “You make me sound like such a loser. I’m focused on my career.”
“And now that you’re this close”—Emma held up her thumb and forefinger a centimeter apart—“to locking down a job here, it’s time to get back out there.”
“I haven’t gotten an offer yet,” Lauren reminded her. She went back to the original point. “Besides, I’m perfectly content with my life right now. I’m doing just fine on my own. What do I need a man for?”
“Do you really want me to answer that?” Emma said with a quirk of her brow. “There are several things I like to use a man for—”
“I get the idea,” Lauren interjected with a laugh. She wrapped one hand around her beer bottle. “I guess I just want to meet a nice guy, for once. I seem to be a magnet for jerks…guys who get by on charm and always get what they want. My first serious boyfriend cheated on me in college, and then in pharmacy school I dated a third-year medical student. Just when I thought things were going well he ghosted me out of nowhere. Found out later he started dating the daughter of the Chief of General Surgery, which happened to be the residency program he wanted to get into. Just once, I’d like to date a guy who’s honest, dependable, and kind. One who likes me for me, not for what he can get from me. You know?”
“Yeah. If only we could all be so lucky,” Emma said. “Until then, I’m gonna have my fun, and use guys for what they can give to me.” She waggled her eyebrows up and down.
Emma resumed her perusal of the room, and Lauren regarded her friend with envy. Lauren hadn’t had good luck in love, and as a result kept her guard up pretty high. Why can’t I be more like Emma? More carefree with men and the dating scene?
The truth was, she’d always taken relationships pretty seriously, even from the start. She didn’t understand Tinder or Bumble, had found that sex wasn’t something she could treat casually, and wanted a guy who supported her career aspirations. She’d spent a lot of time on her own growing up, feeling like an outsider even within her own family. Independence was a trait learned early, and except for her father’s willingness to pay her way through pharmacy school—she wasn’t an idiot to say no and rack up student loans if she didn’t have to—she’d put in the hard work to get where she was. She wasn’t the kind of woman who wanted to rely on a man to support her.
Or vice versa. She wanted a partnership.
It wasn’t that she thought there wasn’t someone out there for her…she just hadn’t had the time or energy to find him.
Some days it felt like an insurmountable task. Couldn’t fate intervene on her behalf—just this once—and drop the perfect guy into her life?
Was that really too much to ask?