Page 7 of Cat's Outta the Bag

“Normally, I’d say yes, but I start a week of overnight shifts tonight, and it always goes better if I concentrate on hydrating.”

We both take a couple of minutes to peruse the menu, then place our orders with the server when they join us. While she's ordering, I take a moment to admire her. She's always so kind. I've heard her say thank you at least ten times since she arrived, and her smile it's never fake. She doesn't rush through her order but patiently watches as the server writes things down, only saying the next part once she's sure the server is ready. Not many people I know would be that patient, and I'm positive it makes her a good doctor.

Once our server departs, I ask, “So, if you have a string of overnight shifts coming up, why aren’t you sleeping right now?”

"Oh, well, I'm usually too keyed up about the overnights in the first place to really sleep during the day. And I kind of need that first overnight to get my body to sleep during the day. I let myself lay in bed all morning until I needed to get ready for lunch, so I try to take it easy. I hydrate and make sure I eat good meals. Even if I did sleep, the first couple of overnights are always an adjustment." She abruptly stops, as if she's suddenly self-conscious.

"Don't stop now; I've never been friends with a doctor, let alone an Emergency Medicine Specialist. Tell me more." I give her an encouraging smile and feel a thrill when she takes a deep breath, seemingly ready to give me all the details. I love hearing her talk.

"I could talk your ear off about E.R. Medicine, so stop me at any point."

An hour later, we're both in hysterics. "The poor kid had locked his jaw wide open. And not even for anything remotely salacious!" she blushes, realizing she just brought up sex. After a beat, she pushes on, and I can't help but smile. "This kid and his buddies were competing to see who could open their mouths the widest. Not for anything sexual; they were insistent. They wanted to prove how much food they could fit in their mouths. But because they were teenage boys, they figured opening their mouths as wide as possible and using a ruler to measure was the most logical way to do it."

She shakes her head, dabbing at the corners of her eyes. "And of course, this one ended up with lockjaw, which made them all panic. They were beside themselves by the time they came into the E.R., thinking his jaw was permanently stuck open and he'd have to get all his nourishment from a feeding tube. Honestly, I think I spent more time calming them down than I did actually treating the lockjaw. The best part?"

Her eyes twinkle, and I know whatever she says next will be good. "Once we had unlocked his jaw and gotten him comfortable. His friends played We Are the Champions on a phone and presented him with a makeshift trophy made up of blown-up gloves, tongue depressors, and other random supplies they'd charmed out of the floor nurses. THEN he accepted the trophy and even gave a little speech. By the end, everyone in the E.R. that day was clapping and cheering." We're laughing so loudly that we're getting dirty stares from fellow diners. But I honestly couldn't care less. We are having a blast.

We’re silent for a beat, finishing up our meals. She ended up loving the escargots as much as I do, which normally would be great, except we fought over who got to eat the last few. She won.

“I’ve been talking this whole time, and the point of this lunch was for me to ask questions about the behind-the-scenes life of a movie star.”

I shrug, making a gesture that says go ahead. “I’m an open book Alexis, shoot.”

She taps a perfect finger against her perfect chin, mock thinking of her first question. I guarantee you she has a whole list on her phone. Don’t ask me how I already know this about her, I just do.

“Ok, I got one. Why did you start acting?”

A wave of unease washes over me. How the hell did she manage to ask the one question I hate answering?

"Really? This is something you can Google to find out. Both my parents are actors. It's a family legacy. My sister's an actress too, but she's in the Indie scene." I tip my head from side to side, trying to ease the tension suddenly in my shoulders.

“Sure, that might be the public answer, but I want to know your answer. When did you first realize you wanted to follow in their footsteps? Did you do theater in school or just jump straight to the big screen?"

I sit back, contemplating what to say. I’ve never admitted to someone how I actually feel. It twists me up inside sometimes.

"Honestly? It wasn't ever really a choice. My parents always referred to us as an acting family. And as soon as my sister and I displayed promise, they were bringing us to auditions. My first job was actually on a T.V. show. It was canceled after the first season, but I showed enough talent that I landed my first movie role the next summer. Then my sister played a secondary character is this obscure indie film that I think ten people have watched, and the rest is history, I guess." I shrug, hoping she'll move on.

She chews her lip again, studying my face closely. "Hm, ok, I'll let you have that answer. But someday, I will get the real one out of you.” How the hell she can already pick up on my half-truths is beyond me. I might be in trouble.

She moves on to much easier questions, and we settle back into comfortable conversation. At one point, the dessert menu comes around, and we both order Tarte Tatin. She made it very clear that we were not sharing this time.

As we finally head out of the restaurant together, my hand naturally ends up at the small of her back, as if I’d done that a million times before. I open the door for us and lead her out.

I hand the valet my ticket, then reach out to do the same for Alexis. She looks at me with confusion. “Your valet ticket? You drove, right?"

She blushes, "Oh, um, no. I mean, yes! But, I parked up the street. I, uh, I've never had my car valet parked before." She presses her lips tightly together like she is trying to keep from saying anything else.

“No problem, Doc, I’ll walk you to your car.” I turn to the valet at the station, “I’ll be right back. Just want to make sure she gets safely to her car.” They nod and turn to help the next guests.

"Jason," why does my name on her lips make me hard? "You don't need to walk me to my car. It's literally right there; you can see it."

I shake my head, place my hand back on the small of her back again, and start walking to the little Honda Fit she pointed to. She rolls her eyes but keeps walking.

We get to her driver's side door and turn to face each other. I am consumed by the need to kiss her, even though we aren't there yet.

“Thank you for lunch. I had a lot of fun.” She smiles up at me, and I can’t help but smile back. “I’ll be craving escargot for the rest of the week now." She giggles as if that was the craziest thing.

A gust of wind picks up and blows some of her hair into her face. Without thinking, I tuck it back behind her ear, then let my hand run down her arm. Before either of us can say anything else, I see something out of the corner of my eye that catches my attention. Without turning too much, I get a better view and see that it's a paparazzi rapidly taking pictures of us. My blood is suddenly boiling.

---