Page 68 of You're So Vine
“After it’s over it won’t be too early to go to a bar.”
* * *
I know Cam will feel bad about asking Nate for more time off, so I call my big bro while Cam’s in the shower.
“Multiple sclerosis?” says Nate. “Jesus, Ava.”
“Doc says it’s highly unlikely,” I reassure him, even though I’m the one that needs it. “He’s just being thorough. But it might be parasites. Three cheers for the little guys.”
“I’m guessing you’re not going to tell Dad,” Nate says.
“So he can stand over the MRI operator and tell them how to do their job? Sure!”
Nate’s voice shifts into professional mode. “You know, I shouldn’t really give Cam time off. After yesterday’s no-show.”
“Could also be tumors,” I say. “Or internal bleeding.”
I can practically hear Nate pinching the bridge of his nose. “Fine,” he says.
“We thought we’d go to The Silver Saddle after,” I say. “Want to join us?”
“The idea being that a few shots of tequila will kill any parasites?”
“You should have been a doctor,” I say. “That’s first-class medical advice.”
“I don’t usually go drinking on a Tuesday,” says Nate the self-disciplinarian. “But as it happens, Shelby’s catching up with her friends at the Saddle this evening, so…”
“See you at five with your line-dancing boots on,” I say, and end the call.
The Silver Saddle actually has a sign that says:Line dancers will be thrown out on their achy-breaky asses. But I never miss an opportunity to wind Nate up.
Cam comes back into the bedroom. I know he won’t like what I just did so I dive straight in for a confession to get it over with.
“I asked Nate to give you time off.”
Yup, he doesn’t like it, but I can see he accepts that it’s done.
“I’ll make up the hours,” he says.
“He’s also meeting us at The Silver Saddle after. Along with Shelby and her friends.”
Not thrilled about that, either.
“Which friends?”
“I did not ask. The usual, I guess?”
Shelby’s best friends in all the world are Chiara and Jordan. It’s like the witches of Eastwick only gigglier.
“Jackson?”
Damn. I forgot that Jackson and Danny aren’t leaving until the end of the week. Poor Cam. This whole day is now packed with things he truly hates: hospitals, socializing, and Shelby’s big brother.
“Maybe.” I screw up my face in apology. “Can I make it up to you with tequila sex afterwards?”
He doesn’t answer. Starts gathering clean clothes. He’s going to work. Leaving me.
“See you at the office at two thirty?” I sound so needy I almost gag.
