Page 15 of The Doctor's No-Strings Deal

The bar itself was nice, not a dive bar at all. It had a rustic feel, like a log cabin with warm lighting and natural woodgrain everywhere. There were booths around the perimeter, up against the walls, and round tables over what appeared to be a dance floor. The dance floor was likely only used when there was live music and warmer weather, but it was a chilly fall night with no special events other than some medical students celebrating completing their first month of residency.

The four of them slid into a booth with Amy and Keith on one side and Megan and Kayla on the other. Megan sat on the outside and waved down a server. They each ordered their preferred drinks. Megan ordered an old fashioned and a plate of nachos for the table.

When their server brought the food and drinks, she glanced around the place but didn’t see anyone else she recognized. “I thought you said Dr. Sourpuss was going to be here.”

Amy shrugged. “I’m sure he’s around. But let’s not let him ruin the night, shall we? Or will he be making it a hell of a lot better for you?” She waggled her eyebrows.

“He’d make me feel better if he smiled more and stopped saying mean things,” Megan said. “Why does everything have to be soserious with him? It’s like he thinks he’ll fail everything if he laughs too much.”

“It’s just his family, I bet,” Kayla said, her mouth still full of chips. “The pressure must be insane.”

“Well, I don’t care.” Megan took another sip of her drink. “He doesn’t have to take it out on the rest of us. We’ve never done anything to him, and he’s making our residency really unpleasant.”

“Speak for yourself,” Amy said. “The rest of us are having a grand old time watching you two go at it. We’ve got a pool going on how long you’ll last.”

“What do you meanhow long I’ll last?”

Keith clarified. “How long you’ll last before you sleep with him.”

Megan’s mouth fell open. “Excuse me?” She was mortified. Was her attraction to Charlie really so obvious? No. It couldn’t be. She worked so hard to keep from blushing every time he entered the room. There was no chance she’d given herself away so easily. But then, even Kayla was covering her mouth to hide her giggle. “Kayla? Are you in on this too?”

Kayla flushed and stuffed her mouth with more nachos, probably to avoid having to answer the question.

“Et tu, Brute?” Megan added, giving her a stern look. But it was all in good fun, and she knew it as well as any of them. She couldn’t help laughing regardless of how mortified she was. There was no denying how it looked, and Charlie’s being a perfect ten wasn’t helping matters.

They ate and laughed, and Megan finished her first drink. She’d spent so much time studying in medical school that she hadn’thad a single drink in years. Apparently, she’d lost her ability to handle any alcohol whatsoever, because she began to feel like she’d just had three or four shots of vodka on an empty stomach.

Megan was just starting to relax — maybe a little too much if she was entirely honest — when she spotted a familiar face at the bar. It was Charlie… having the gall to just stand there and order a drink without even coming over to say hello. This was even worse than his usual bad attitude. At least he would scowl at her from time to time in the hospital. Now he wasn’t even going to look at her.

She stood and swayed on her feet. Kayla tugged at her sleeve. “Hey, you might want to sit down.”

“No, lemme just…” Megan said, slurring her words already. “Lemme go over there and talk to him. He can’t be treating us like this.”

“I don’t think you really want to do that,” Kayla said.

“Sure I do! He can’t just pretend we don’t exist. We work together every damn day, and he’s gonna treat us like strangers? It’s rude!”

“Yeah, but you’re a little drunk, don’t you think?” Kayla was being cautious, but Keith and Amy were egging Megan on silently, and Megan had already made up her mind.

“I’m just gonna say a couple things. I need another drink anyway.” She tugged her sleeve out of Kayla’s hand and made her way toward the bar, toward Charlie, probably toward her doom. “It’s gonna be fine,” she muttered to herself. “Just a couple things.”

Once at the bar, she tried to slide into a seat in a dignified manner, but she slipped out the other side and finally gave up completely. She held up a hand to the bartender and ordered her second drink, which got Charlie’s attention. He leaned casually on the counter, seated comfortably on his own stool. Megan felt momentarily jealous that he could do so with all the grace she lacked.

The bartender brought him his drink, which was something sophisticated, Megan assumed, even though she didn’t recognize it at all. Charlie took it in hand and turned to Megan. “Are you feeling okay, Bright? You don’t look well.”

Megan spat out a laugh. “I’m feeling better than you feel, Dr. Sourpuss.”

“You’re drunk,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Please, I’ve only had one drink.”

“Then you’re a lightweight.”

She waved his observations away. “Don’t be ridiculous. Listen.” She leaned closer to him as the bartender set her second drink in front of her. “Listen. Listen.”

Charlie rolled his gorgeous blue eyes. “I’m listening.”

“Right.” Megan paused, unsure exactly why it was she had even begun this conversation. Then she remembered. “Oh, yeah! I have a bean to pick with you.”

---