Page 8 of Moonshot

Edward turns toward the kitchen without a word, not quite as dramatic as his last exit.

Eve leans in, her beautiful brown eyes suddenly looking deadly serious. “If I smell so much as bad breath on my burger, I’m calling the News on Your Side reporter to get them to investigate this place.”

“Oh, lord.” I hoot. “You’re a mess.” I take another sip of my water. “So when do your clinical rotations start?”

“Very soon. I have my first one already scheduled in tidewater. They like us to do the first one close to the school for some reason. Who knows why. In case I get scared and want to come home to Mommy?” Eve again shrugs her shoulders and takes a sip of her wine.God, I miss wine.

“When would your ER rotation take place?”

“That one is next. Oh, I hope I can get it at your hospital, Ava. I’ve always dreamt of working in the ER there. When I volunteered as an EMT, I always liked the atmosphere at St. Luke’s. A lot of the other emergency rooms in town act like you’re a taxi service. They’d seem annoyed to have to take report from us about the patient. Like our care didn’t matter. It’s never like that at St. Luke’s.”

“So the emergency room is where you ultimately want to end up?”

“Well, I’m not making any commitments until I finish all of my rotations, but yeah. I’m pretty sure that’s where I want to be when I graduate. I’m hoping I can make some connections while I’m doing my clinical rotations to help secure a job once an opening presents itself.”

Edward returns with our food and silently slides it onto the table in front of us. And when I say, on the table, that’s about the gist of it. Our plates are deposited in the center of the table for us to retrieve. As if this is supposed to demonstrate his disdain for our still being here. Hell, it’s his tip on the line.

“Why, thanks, Ed,” Eve croons, pulling her man-sized sloppy burger in front of her tiny frame. She leans down as if she’s going to take a big bite while he’s still standing beside us but instead looks up at him and takes a loud, nasally whiff of her food.

I almost spit out my water. “Thank you,” I manage to get around my snort.

Again, I watch the runway spin as Edward whirls away from us and stalks back toward the bar.

“You’re killing me, E.”

“Ah, he can try that shit on someone else. So enough about me. What’s been going on with you?”

“Well…” I drawl, unable to keep from grinning.

“No! What? We’ve been here this whole damn time talking about PA school and fucking Edward!”

I quickly look about the restaurant to make sure ‘fucking Edward’ hasn’t heard her outburst before continuing. He’s stealthy in his arrival at our table, and I don’t need a cold pitcher of water dumped in my lap when he finally snaps. “I had a lunch date with the dreamiest guy, E. He’s beyond handsome. He’s… well, I don’t even really know how to describe him,” I say, clutching my hands under my chin, feeling like a Disney princess explaining her prince to small woodland creatures.

“Jesus, Ava. Well, you better try. I need deets,” she says before digging back into her messy burger.

“Okay, okay. He’s a sales rep that visits my clinic. He’s been coming there for about a year. He’s this mix of sexy bad boy on the outside and the sweetest guy you can imagine on the inside. He’s so kind and thoughtful-”

“Yeah, yeah… get back to the sexy bad boy on the outside part. What’s he look like?”

“He’s tall. He has smoldering brown eyes and dark hair. He’s got a smile made for a Colgate commercial and…”

“And what?”

“Well, when he first started coming to the office, he’d have to be present in the operating room in case there were any questions about the device he was selling. When he was scrubbing in one day, I was there to ask Dr. Stark about a patient and noticed the colorful tats on his arms. Gah! I’ve been fantasizing about seeing the entire art show ever since.”

“Hmm. That does sound enticing. So how did the date go?”

“It was quick but great. He took me to Luigi’s for lunch, but I couldn’t stay very long. You know my stupid boss. God forbid, I enjoy one long lunch break. But Michael ordered ahead so we could spend as much time together as possible, and I’d still have time to eat. He even drove me back to work and went back to pay and get the leftovers so I wouldn’t be late.”

She raises a brow at me while wiping her face. “Wow. Okay, maybe he is kind and thoughtful. You deserve that, Ava. But I really hope he gives you the sexy bad boy stuff even more than the good guy routine. I can’t wait for you to call and tell me someone’s finally rocked your world.”

“Uh, hmm.”

My eyes slowly creep upward toward the snickering expression on Edward’s face. Is he gloating that I’ve never gotten my world rocked? What is up with this guy?

“Is there anything else I can get you?” The asshole has the nerve to wink at me.What the hell?

“Just the check and some manners, please, Edward. Thank you,” Eve interrupts.

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