Page 58 of Charmed, I'm Sure
“I’m sure. It’s not that many, and I don’t want to risk waking Aunt Evie or Maddie up. It’s fine, really. I’ve got it.”
Not that many? I was pretty sure there were at least thirty bags surrounding our feet, but I didn’t want to overstep her boundaries. So instead of arguing, I stepped into her space and cupped her cheek in my palm. “I know youcando it, sunshine. But that doesn’t mean you alwayshave to.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, her eyes darting between mine as the tension between us tugged tighter.
“For what?” My face moved toward hers on its own accord, inching ever closer like magnets drawn together.
“Tonight. The store, the picnic. Everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Magnolia.”
“I know, but Iwantto,” she echoed back my words, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Goodnight, sunshine.” I pressed my lips to her brow, letting them linger for a few seconds as her hands gripped my shirt at my waist.
When I pulled away, she whispered, “Goodnight, cowboy,” and let me go.
I watched her watch me leave through the rearview mirror until she was nothing more than a blip, then focused on getting home. I had work the following night, which meant I usually slept most of the day, but I needed to make sure I called Cindy first thing in the morning. My bid on the house had been accepted, and we were in the waiting gameof inspections and escrow and everything else that came with closing on a house. Six weeks. That’s how long Cindy said it would take for everything to line up and go through. I knew I needed to be patient and that the wait would be worth it in the long run. But I wanted to move in—not just because I was ready to have my own space and roots, but because, in myprofessionalopinion, there was no way in hell I would survive another cockblock. Between Halloween, the freaking cat, and those pesky mosquitos, my balls were no longer blue; they were purple.
I needed a cold shower… probably two.
15
Turtle Mochasippi with the works
Taylor
Isatinmycar in the hospital parking lot, taking a moment to breathe and gather my thoughts.Exhausteddidn’t even begin to describe how tired I felt, and it wasn’t because of work. I was accustomed to long hours, and I was only on day two of my stretch of three-twelves, so my schedule wasn’t crazy this week. Yet my mind refused to shut off when I finally had the chance to slow down for the day, spinning stories about how differently Wednesday night could have unfolded under different circumstances.
God, images of Magnolia smiling up at me while we danced played like a movie behind my eyelids. The sweet sounds she made when I kissed her echoed in my memory, the soundtrack to every quiet moment. Blowing out a resigned sigh, I hooked my badge on my scrub pocket and grabbed my phone. Magnolia was in Baton Rouge for the night for her catering gig, and I knew I probably wouldn’t see her until Sunday—at the earliest. But I missed her, so I pulled up our thread and sent her a quick text before heading inside.
Taylor
Good luck tonight, sunshine. Save me some leftovers. *winking emoji*
Magnolia
Those leftovers are paid for, cowboy. But thank you. I just hope everything runs smoothly.
I hope you have a quiet night at work. *smiley emoji*
I groaned at my screen as her text came through. Did I appreciate that she wanted me to have a nice night at work? Hell yes. Did she know I was a doctor and that the “q” word was forbidden in the medical field? Nope. It didn’t matter that it was just a text or that she had no clue; the word had been invoked, and now I was probably in for one hell of a night.
Friday nights in the emergency room usually went one of two ways: either it was busier than a beehive, or it was more dead than a corpse six feet under. Unfortunately, tonight turned out to be the former. When I walked in for my seven o’clock shift, chaos reigned. Code blues blared left and right; ambulance gurneys lined the walls in front of the nurses' station, their patients waiting for rooms to open up; doctors and nurses ran back and forth. I overheard our charge nurse saying that the waiting room had a wait time of over four hours.
I released all the air from my lungs as I dropped my belongings in the corner that would become my home for the next twelve hours, settling in for what was undoubtedly going to be a long night. And boy, was I right.
By the time I finally sat down to catch my breath, it was nearing ten o’clock, and I was starving. I would have given anything for some of whatever Magnolia was cooking tonight. With that thought in mind, I slipped behind the nurses' station to the break room to grab my Dr. Pepper from the fridge, inhale a protein bar, and check my phone. My eyes widened when I saw the little green bubble by my messages indicating ten unread messages, and a red bubble over the phone icon with a two.What in the hell?No one ever texted me while I was at work, let alone called unless it was an emergency. I clicked on the messages first and breathed a sigh of relief at the couple from my mom and Addy, but it was the six next to Magnolia’s name that drew my attention.
Magnolia
I got a flat. *face palm emoji*
There’s a wreck on I-10, and now I’m going to be late.
I swear, if the trip here is any indication of how this night is going to go, I’m screwed.
I know you’re working, but just to keep you updated on the fuckery happening tonight: I burnt my roux. ME! I burnt the roux.
