Page 35 of Dash

Chapter 17

Liz

Jeanie had called out, and they needed someone to cover her patients for the night. Liz could use the extra hours. Who didn’t want to pay off their credit card debt faster? Though, getting to know PRK would’ve been more fun, good things come to those who wait.

At least, that’s what she told herself as she drove to the first house. Pulling up to it, she double checked the address in the file. There was nothing worse than showing up to the wrong house this late at night and disturbing people. Confirming that she was in the right place, she reached for her badge from the rearview mirror. Checking that she looked respectable and professional, she was ready to go. She grabbed her medical bag and got out of the car.

Taking a deep breath, she said a silent prayer that the agency had notified someone that there was a replacement coming for the evening. The last time she showed up to the wrong address a woman threw holy water at her. She pressed the bell and waited.

“Hi, I’m Liz Martin, I’m the nurse covering for Jean Sawyer.” Smiling, she held up her badge and credentials when the door opened.

Working as an independent contractor as a private duty nurse allowed Liz to set her own hours. She had an agency that connected her with patients. She and the other nurses worked together to cover one another for vacations and sick time. She preferred this arrangement to working in a hospital or a nursing home. The flexibility had allowed her to care for her grandmother until she passed away.

The mid-day shift suited her. It kept her mornings free for errands or let her sleep in if she stayed out late with Ane or whoever. It also made picking up extra shifts that much easier. If she hadn’t owed Jeanie for that time Liz and Ane went to London, Ontario for the weekend on a whim and Jeanie covered her patients that Friday afternoon, she might not have been so willing.

Thankfully, there were only three patients lined up for the night, so Liz wouldn’t be out too late, just late enough to spoil her plans with PRK. By the time she got home, she wouldn’t even be able to text him. Well, she could, but it would come off desperate. She didn’t need to come off desperate.

If anything, she would check in with Ane, and apologize for missing her scene. She always loved watching her rope work. That woman could hypnotize Liz with the way she tied, and she’d missed it. That, and she wanted to find out what her friend had thought of PRK.

As she checked the machine providing the twenty-four-hour feeding to the man in the bed, she shook her head in disgust at herself. Here she was, a twenty-eight-year-old woman acting like she was a sixteen-year-old child with a crush on the quarterback. Could she be anymore pathetic?

She couldn’t rely on her own instincts when it came to PRK. No, she had to go to her friend. She really needed to get her shit together. She was a strong, independent woman. She didn’t need no damn man. She just wanted one because she was afraid that the motor on her magic wand vibrator would burn out soon, and if that thing melted mid-use, she didn’t know how she’d explain that injury to a doctor.

After she’d finished with the final patient, she headed out of the house and got in her car. With her bag in the passenger seat, and the key in the ignition, the time lit up the dashboard display. She took her phone from her bag, and rested it against her chin as she considered her options.

She had one life to live, and if she didn’t take any chances, what was the point of living? Then again, there wasn’t a reason to rush anything. It was two o’clock in the morning. She didn’t know what PRK did for a living. He was in his thirties and probably had a manly job. He looked like the type of guy who worked with his hands, and those kinds of guys got up early.

Tapping her fingers against the back of her phone, she stared down the dark street at the pickup truck with the ladder attached to it. Morton’s General Contracting. She’d read it when she’d passed it an hour ago.

It was as though the truck taunted her, reminding her that people woke up earlier than she did. Perhaps the late hour had her viewing things too negatively. Straightening in her seat, she took a deep breath and refocused. Deciding to spin it more positively, she thought of the truck as a sign that she should in fact let the man sleep. Thinking of PRK, she wondered if he was grumpy when people woke him up.

Settling behind the wheel, she texted the one person she suspected would be awake.

Liz: Don’t suppose you’re up for waffles?

Thankfully, she waited mere seconds for the response.

Anemone: Carbs? I’m on the wrong side of 30 for waffles this late at night. I can do coffee.

Shaking her head, her thumbs flew over the screen to type her reply.

Liz: See you in 20.

Smiling, Liz shifted her car into gear and turned out on the street, heading toward one of the few places to get greasy food after midnight.

Pulling into a parking spot, she saw her friend’s Jetta two spaces away. Ane wasn’t in it, so she assumed she’d already gotten a table inside.

Texting that she’d arrived, she headed inside. Lingering at the hostess stand, Liz scanned the mostly empty booths. Purple dreadlocks weren’t common, so she figured finding Ane shouldn’t be too hard. It didn’t take long to spot her sitting in a back booth laughing with the guy she’d tied earlier at the play party.

Sauntering over, Liz waved once she stood at the table. “Hi.” The vinyl seat squeaked as she slid opposite them.

Still giggling with one another, Ane ran her fingers along the inky fade of his cropped hair. He was cute without his puppy attire and more relaxed in street clothes. Resting her head on his shoulder, Ane, also in casual wear and no longer in a kimono, turned toward Liz. “Way to cut and run mid-scene.” She pouted exaggeratedly. Her young partner did the same.

Knowing it was in jest, Liz tucked some hair behind her ear and took a deep breath. “I got called into work.”

“Is that what you’re calling him now?” Ane countered. “I thought it was some acronym for a motorcycle.” She lifted her coffee to take a sip.

“She did not leave our scene to get laid by some biker.” Ane’s friend feigned disgust. At least, Liz thought it was disgust. She didn’t really know him. She’d seen him around. Pupper something, she couldn’t remember his scene name.

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