Page 8 of Silver Fox's Twin Surprise

A noticeable blush crept across her cheeks and she looked down at her cup. The pink tinted drink swirled around inside it as she tipped it back and forth, and I enjoyed the bit of embarrassment that hedged her in. Then she looked up and met my gaze with a serious expression so bold I felt taken off guard.

"You find me attractive?" Her tongue drew along her bottom lip, and I watched it. I wondered what the smoothie would taste like right off her lip.

"I thought that was obvious, and I’m sorry if it wasn't… Uh, would you like to have dinner with me sometime?"

I really put myself out there shooting my shot like this. I didn't know if she was even that interested in me. Watching me play basketball without my shirt on and joining me for a smoothie didn't mean she wanted to date me.

"Uh, well, we work together…" Her words lingered between us, and I remembered her saying something about relationships with coworkers getting messy, which I understood. But we weren't exactly working side by side.

"This is because of your not wanting to associate with coworkers off the clock?" If it never worked out, it wouldn’t be that hard to avoid each other at the hospital.

"Actually, no. I thought there was a no-fraternization policy at work?" She narrowed her eyes at me and sucked on her straw, and I bobbed one shoulder.

"I don't think it matters that much if we're not in the same department, but I get it. I'm not worried, but I understand if you're too uncomfortable." The wind was slowly fading from my sails, but her head shaking put a pause in that deflation.

"Alright, well, no. If you're not worried, I'm not worried. Just tell me when and where. I'd love to have dinner."

Rose beamed at me again, and finally, after weeks of back and forth, I had scored a date with her. I was interested to see where this went, even if it went nowhere. It'd been so long since I'dbeen on a date that I forgot what it felt like. It was a good feeling, and I hoped it lasted a while.

8

ROSE

Istood in front of the mirror Monday morning brushing my teeth as Alana walked in with her makeup bag. She'd been gone all weekend, which I'd forgotten about when I went out for my run Saturday morning. I came back to an empty apartment and remembered about her trip to see her mother for the weekend. She got in after I went to bed last night, and I hadn't even gotten a chance to tell her about what happened at the park.

"Morning," she grumbled as she plopped her bag on the bathroom counter. We always hot-swapped the bathroom because I had to be at work by eight and she woke at a quarter 'til to get ready for her own job.

"Good morning," I said cheerfully as I spat the toothpaste out of my mouth into the sink and turned the water on.

Alana reached for a towel in the cupboard behind me and set it on the top of the toilet before turning on the shower water. Then she looked back at me and said, "You are too happy for this time of day."

I chuckled at her as I rinsed my toothbrush then got a drink of water to rinse my mouth. "Maybe that's because I have a date coming up…" I grinned like an idiot and tapped the water out of my toothbrush on the edge of the sink.

"Shut up, no way." Her mood changed a little, but she still looked grumpy and tired. "Who? When?"

I put my toothbrush into the ceramic holder and leaned on the counter facing her. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for me to answer.

"Remember that cute doctor I told you about who jumped my car?" I remembered her words of warning about working with someone I was dating, but I had pushed those thoughts away. If Cole wasn't worried about it, why should I?

"Wait. He asked you out? When? You didn’t say anything to me on Friday." Alana yawned, and I caught a whiff of her morning breath and cringed.

"I was out for a run at the park Saturday morning when you left, and I bumped into him." I snickered at how that seemed to be our habit. I'd run into that man more times than was humanly possible. "And let me tell you, he is really frickin' hot when he's shirtless." I wagged my eyebrows and she shook her head at me. Her hair stuck up at odd angles and there was a rat's nest in the back. It looked like she hadn't slept well.

"Well, just be careful. Like I said, dating a coworker gets messy, hon. You don't want to shoot yourself in the foot when you just got the job." She didn't look enthused by my excitement, but I wasn't going to let her get me down.

"I'll be fine. We're in different departments, anyway." I backed up a few steps and grabbed the doorknob. "Oh, and I used all thehot water," I confessed and winced as I pulled the door shut after me, and she groaned loudly.

Snickering, I made my way to the front door where I used my phone to check the temperature outside. I opted for no jacket this morning and took my keys and wallet and headed out. The sun was warm this morning, and I thought about walking to work, but I knew how tired I'd be by the time I got off, so I climbed into my car and drove there.

When I walked onto the floor, a few other nurses were huddled around the nurses’ station talking. Typically, I'd have avoided anything to do with that clusterfuck, but this morning, I was in a really good mood and hoping to bump into Dr. Hastings. I meandered over to the group of Chatty Cathys in the hopes one of them might have seen him and could tell me where to "bump" into him again.

One of the nurses Cole had introduced me to was standing with them, so I smiled at her and she waved me over. "Hey, Rose, nice to see you again."

"Hey, Kiki, good morning. Have you seen Dr. Hastings this morning?" I wanted to keep it super casual. I didn't want any of them knowing there was something potentially going on between us for a lot of reasons, but mainly, I didn't want HR finding out and I hated gossip. Especially when it was about me.

"No, I haven't, but man, I'd like to." She snickered at me, and the other nurses mumbled their agreement as I grinned.

"I see Dr. Silver Fox has caught a few eyes?" I joked, and instantly, the women all brightened up and looked at me.

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