Page 1 of Code Red Chemistry

Levi | Ten Days Ago

The familiar ring ofmy cell phone cuts through the rare silence of the firehouse kitchen. Alex’s name flashes on the screen, and for a split second, my hand hovers over the ignore button. But he’s been my best friend since the day we got detention for pulling that school’s fire alarm to avoid a seventh-grade math test, so ghosting him isn’t an option, even if some conversations feel as if I’m navigating a minefield.

“Hey, man,” I answer, wedging the phone between my ear and shoulder as I pour a cup of coffee strong enough to strip paint into a chipped mug. The pot’s been sitting on the burner since B-shift came on, but halfway through a double, I’ll take what I can get.

“Finally caught you! Hey, listen, Kristina’s throwing a dinner party two weeks from Friday—”

My stomach drops. I know where this is going and am already searching for an excuse. “Friday? Probably working. You know how it is—”

“You said you were off on Fridays, remember?” Alex cuts in, “I was going to set aside a couple of tickets for you for the game if we made the playoffs? You said you were free.”

Damn.I grip the counter, ignoring the way my pulse kicks. “What’s the occasion?”

“Zoe passed her boards.” The pride in his voice is unmistakable. “Man, can you believe my little sister’s a board-certified physician? Remember when she was just starting med school? Gosh, it feels like a million years ago.”

How could I forget? I remember everything about Zoe Meyer, which is exactly the problem.

“That’s… That’s great,” I manage, though my throat feels as if I’ve been breathing smoke without my mask. “Tell her congrats for me.”

Alex laughs. “Tell her yourself. You haven’t seen her in what, forever? It’s probably been since my wedding.”

My coffee cup freezes halfway to my lips. Five years, two months, and somewhere around thirteen days. Not that I’m counting. I clear my throat. “Yeah, something like that.”

“Then you definitely need to come. Seriously, you used to be at every family thing.”

Yeah, until I fell for your baby sister and fucked up everything.

“Just been busy,” I lie, the words tasting as bitter as the coffee. “The academy keeps asking me to help with training, and—”

“And nothing. You’re coming.” Alex’s tone brooks no argument. “Kristina’s ordering from that Italian place around the corner. Plus, Zoe’s been asking about you.”

Hell is likely to freeze over before that happens, but hope makes my heart stop dead in my chest. “She has?”

“Well, no,” Alex admits. “But I’m sure she’d love to see you. You two always got along great.”

I nearly choke on my coffee. If he had any idea what happened in that coat closet at his wedding… But he doesn’t, and if I haveanything to say about it, he sure as hell will never find out how close I came to telling Zoe I loved her that night.

But now, a single question burns bright. Is she single? But I swallow it back. If Zoe had a boyfriend—or worse, a fiancé—Alex would have mentioned it by now. Or, if not Alex, his wife Kristina, certainly. But honestly, I don’t think I could handle the answer if I’m wrong. Some things are better left in the dark, like whatever moment of insanity made me think falling for my best friend’s sister was a good idea.

“I’ll try to make it,” I say with a sigh, knowing full well I won’t. Just as I haven’t made it to any event over the past five years where there’s even a slim chance she’ll stop by. It’s better this way. Safer.

“You better. Plus, I need another guy here. Kristina asked Zoe if she had a date to bring, but, of course, she didn’t.”

“She didn’t?” I cringe at the eager tone in my voice, hoping he doesn’t pick up on it.

“Nope, you know Zoe, always focusing on her goals.” A voice sounds in the background, and there’s a rustling on his end. “But I’m not going to tell her I invited you. I know better than to get her hopes up that you might actually show.”

He knows me too well. “I said I’d try.”

“Two weeks from Friday at seven. Don’t make me come over and drag your ass here.”

After we hang up, I dump the rest of my coffee in the sink and brace my hands on the old laminate counter, head hanging. I’ve spent five years carefully crafting excuses. Five years strategically scheduling my shifts. Five years protecting my heart. It hasn’t been all that hard in a city of over eight million people. And avoiding one more dinner won’t be that hard. Even if it is to celebrate the one woman who made me want to stay.

Zoe | Present Day

Crisp champagne bubbles danceon my tongue as I close my eyes and savor my first sip of relief. Nothing could dampen my celebratory mood tonight. I’m officially Dr. Zoe Meyer, Board Certified Physician. The incessant pressure that’s crushed my shoulders for the past gazillion years has lifted like gray morning fog burning off the East River. It’s finally time to begin my life, which has been in a holding pattern until this moment.

We all passed our boards. And when I saywe,I mean everyone in my internal medicine cohort at Manhattan General, including my best friend, Libby. Tonight, no one’s talking patient charts or diagnostic dilemmas. Instead, after years of caffeine-fueled study sessions, endless morning rounds, and sleepless nights in cramped on-call rooms, we’re finally acting like late twenty-something New Yorkers on a night out.

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