Page 48 of Doctor Enemy

And just like that, I’m sent on my way. It’s two more days until my first shift back at work, and even though it’s just a partial day, I’m excited about it.

I pull on all of my best animal head scrunchies, breaking out the special ones like the glittering pink dog, the unicorn, and the sparkling green dragon.

It’s not until I’ve been at work for an hour and am swinging into the doctors’ lounge that I realize I’ve escaped one very important aspect of being back at work.

I’m actually going to have to deal with my issues with Kurt.

Namely, because he’s at the coffee maker talking to Jackson.

They both look up at me when I come in. Jackson gives me a smile, and Kurt actually turns fully toward me to say, “Lori. Glad to see you feel good enough to come back to work.”

I can tell that he means it, too. A flush passes over my cheeks. I’m going to have to figure out what to say to him sooner or later. Shit.

An amused look crosses Jackson’s face. There’s no doubt that he can see the way that I’m blushing. “As though you didn’t sign off on it.”

“Doesn’t mean she couldn’t have changed her mind,” says Kurt. “Or that I’m not glad she’s feeling better.”

Cara makes her presence known over on the couch. She twists around, draping her arms over the back of it. The sight of her makes me smile. I definitely need someone to give me a warm welcome. “Yeah, welcome back, Lori! Olivia said that she was picking you up this morning.”

I haven’t even called the insurance company about getting my car fixed. It’s too stressful. Just the thought of getting behind the wheel again makes my palms go sweaty. I wipe them off on the sides of my pink scrub pants and nod.

“I couldn’t stay away from this place for long,” I tell them, with a huff of laughter. “Sitting around the house was driving me nuts.”

Kurt looks me over–really looks me over. It feels like he’s trying to see straight into my soul. Whatever he’s looking for must not be there though, because he nods at me, and at Jackson, and mutters something about needing to go check on something before heading out.

A frown curls over my face–and Jackson’s.

“Ridiculous,” mutters Jackson, shaking his head. I can tell that whatever Kurt just said, it’s really rubbing him the wrong way. “He’s a grown man, for fuck’s sake, and he’s going to skirt around things like this?”

Cara asks, “Ooh, that sounds juicy. What’s he skirting around?”

A flash of guilt flares up inside of me. I busy myself with the coffee maker, trying to get a cup brewing for myself.

“Me,” I admit. The word comes out almost mumbled.

“You? Extra juicy,” says Cara. “Did you guys get into another blow out?” And then, even more eagerly, “Jackson, you’re awful! Dirty details for something, and you weren’t even going to share them?”

The tips of my ears flush warm. I know that my blush has to be dreadful. But Jackson just takes a sip of his own coffee, shaking his head, and says, “I don’t know the details. I just know what Nate’s told me, and it’s purely guesswork.”

It’s clear that he’s only sticking around because he’s concerned about Kurt’s sudden departure from the room.

Both of their gazes fall on me.

I know that I could just turn and walk out of the lounge, and that would be the end of it. But I desperately need someone else’s opinion on this whole mess. Especially now that I’m back at work, and I’m going to be dealing with Kurt every day.

Once my coffee is brewed and my cup made up, I turn around and lean against the counter. “He asked me out.”

“He asked you out? On a date?” Jackson asks, brows raising so high they’ve practically shot into his hairline.

The disbelief in his voice is hard to miss. I forgot that he and Kurt have known each other for a long time. He’s probably well aware of how out of character this is for Kurt.

Cara is so interested in it that she even gets off the couch and moves to join us at the little makeshift coffee bar. She hops up onto the counter, perching on that instead. “I knew you were into him. It’s that ass, right?”

That ass. And the fact that he’s actually really sweet once you get past the whole tough guy front. Not to mention that he doesn’t drink nearly as much as I had originally thought that he did. But–

“I told him no.”

With a sound of understanding, Jackson says, “That would be why he’s sulking.”

---