Page 22 of About Last Night

"She's a sweetheart, isn't she?" Steve asked. "I know she doesn't exactly stand out when she enters a room," he continued, causing Derek to raise his eyebrows. "You probably noticed she's kind of a nature girl."

The image of Janine in that very unnatural pink getup was seared on his brain. "Um, no, I didn't notice that," he said wryly, certain his sarcasm was lost on his hungover friend. Janine frowned and scratched her bare foot with her other foot.

Steve laughed, then lowered his voice in a conspiratorial tone. "But underneath those tent-like clothes, Janine has a nice bod."

"She sure does," Derek said without thinking, then coughed and added, "She sure does seem like a nice girl, I mean."

Her eyes widened and a hint of a smile warmed her lips. He wanted to shake his head to let her know he was only talking for Steve's sake, but once again, he didn't have the heart to hurt her feelings.

"You sound horrible, man. Do you have whatever is going around at the resort?"

"Maybe," Derek admitted.

"Well, do me a favor and don't touch any of my stuff."

Steve's casual guffaw irritated him. Derek surveyed Pinky's elfin frame, tempted to inform Steve just how much of his "stuff" he'd already touched.

"And do me another favor," Steve added. "Keep an eye on Janine for me, would you?"

Derek pursed his mouth. "That should be easy."

"If you know what room she's in, I'll call her myself," Steve said. "Or I'll check with the desk."

"Um, no." Derek rushed to stop him. "She's staying with..." He rolled his hand to indicate he needed help.

She put her fingers in her ears, then pinched together the fingers of her right hand and started punching the air.

"She's staying with the operator," he said, but Janine stopped, disgusted with his guess.

He splayed his hands, at a loss. She mouthed something emphatic several times before he covered the phone. "What?"

"I'm with the doctors, Einstein," she hissed. "This—" she repeated the motion "—is using a stethoscope, not a switchboard!"

He frowned, then uncovered the phone. "I mean, she's staying with the medics... on the slim chance she can help."

His words garnered another dark look from Janine, but Steve seemed convinced. "Oh. Will you see her?"

"I'd say that's a safe bet," Derek said.

"Just tell her to call me."

"You left your phone here," Derek said.

"Oh… right. She can call me at my parents'."

"Call you at your parents'," he parroted for her sake. "I'll let her know."

"Thanks. Hey, I'm sorry as hell you got caught in this mess, man. By all rights, it should be Jack holed up with the plague, eh?"

"Just one more reason to kick his ass when I see him," Derek grumbled, then said goodbye and hung up.

For a few seconds, neither he nor Janine spoke. Fatigue pulled at him. He rubbed his scratchy eyes.

"You really shouldn't do that."

He stopped. "Shouldn't do what?"

"Rub your eyes like that," she said. "You could scratch your corneas."

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