Page 14 of Devoted

“Fine. I’ll go.” Apparently I am.

Ethan chuckles. “I thought that might be enough to convince you.” We head to the bar with our empty beer bottles to return while ordering another round. Ethan stands beside me as we wait for our drinks and I inhale a deep breath of courage.

“Fuck. Why am I so nervous?” I laugh.

Ethan slaps me hard on the back. “Mister hot-shot-ER-doctor is nervous to talk to a girl? Shouldn’t you be more uneasy seeing blood and guts every day?”

“Nope. That stuff actually calms me.”

He shakes his head at me. “You’re a weird dude.”

I take a sip of my ice cold beer and then start to move. “Okay. Let’s do this.” My feet shuffle across the hardwood in what feels like slow motion as we close in on the table where the nurses are gathered. Jess’s eyes pop up from the flat top and find mine instantly, widening as she takes me in.

“Hey, ladies,” Ethan greets the group as I stand there, showcasing confidence on the outside, but borderline panicking on the inside. “We wanted to come over and say hi. You all know my cousin, Brooks?”

“Ethan! Brooks is your cousin? How did I not know this?” The head nurse, Alice, jumps from her seat and makes her way over to hug me. “This is the kind of thing I should know.” And it’s true, because I quickly figured out that Alice knows just about everything around the hospital.

“Sorry I didn’t lead with that on the first day,” I joke.

“Always with the sarcasm, Dr. Bennet.”

“Please, call me Brooks outside of the hospital.”

She pinches my cheek and then smacks it for good measure. “As you wish. Come, come! Take a seat! Join in on the party. It’s our ladies’ night, but you handsome men are always welcome.” I notice an empty chair next to Piper, who’s seated next to Jess. As my eyes veer to it, I can sense that Piper inadvertently reads my mind when she stands abruptly.

“Here, Brooks. I’ll just scooch over and you can sit here.” She hops from one stool to the other and then pats the one she vacated as Jess narrows her eyes at her friend.

“Is it okay that I sit here?” I ask Jess before she glances up at me and smooths flyaway hairs from her face. Seeing her this close just reminds me of how gorgeous she is, which makes my nervousness escalate as I take the seat.

“Well, seems you didn’t give me a choice either way.”

“I really was just asking to be polite. But don’t worry, I won’t use my manners any more if it makes you angry again.” Her sexy smirk is back as I tease her.

“Of course you can sit here, Brooks.” She reaches for her drink, which looks like a vodka and cranberry that’s almost empty.

“Can I get you a refill?”

She shakes her head. “It’s alright. I’m getting up soon anyway.”

“You’re leaving?” I feel my anticipation dissipate with her words.

“No—” she starts, but the sudden echo of the DJ’s voice over the loudspeaker causes us to both stall in our movements.

“It’s time for karaoke! Where’s Jess at? Jess! You out there, little lady?”

My head spins back to her as she smiles big and then brushes past me and the girls encourage her loudly before she makes her way to the stage.

“She’s singing karaoke?” I lean over and ask Piper as she claps wildly.

“Oh yeah. She does every night we come in here. She’s got an amazing voice, too.”

“Huh.” It takes a lot to surprise me, and I’d say each tidbit of information I learn about Jess is adding to my interest.

Piper twists on her stool to face me while the DJ and Jess have a private conversation across the bar, preparing for her performance. “Listen… this may be out of line, but here’s what I see. You like her and she likes you. She’s convinced you two shouldn’t become involved because we all work together and she’s had her heart broken a time or two, as has anyone. But if you’re serious about her, Brooks, show her. Because that girl up there,” she pauses and points in the direction of the stage, “that woman has so much to offer the right man. Sometimes she’s her own worst enemy, but most of the time, she’s just chosen the wrong guy. But don’t hurt her, or I’ll come after you. And I’ve survived a gunshot wound. I’m feisty, you understand?”

I can’t help but grin at this woman that is being so transparent for her friend because I know that Piper is right. And as I watch Jess sing the opening lines to Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benatar—swaying her hips and immersing herself in the song like no one else is watching—my stomach twists at the notion that I need to know her. I’m drawn to her, and it has to be for a reason, because that doesn’t happen to me.

Once Jess finishes her song, the bar erupts in cheers and clapping. She waves and then steps off the stage, making her way back over to the table.

---