Page 53 of Confessions of a Virgin on a Dating App
“Have you ever noticed how hospital chairs are always the same color?”
“What?” I shook my head, the spontaneity of his odd question jolting my already frayed nerves.
He slid his phone into his pocket. “Every time I’ve ever visited a hospital, the chairs are always the same color. It’s like a…dull teal-green. I call it hospital green.”
My eyes flicked down at the cushion beneath my legs. He did have a point.
“Vomit green would be a better name for it.”
Devin chuckled. “Speaking of which, are you alright? You look sick, and not just from your period cramps.”
“I hate hospitals,” I muttered. Ever since I was a child, I’d never been a fan of visiting the doctor. And the fact that I was about to have my genitals poked and prodded was amplifying that dislike into cold, raw fear.
“Me too,” Devin sighed. “Have you ever been in an ER before?”
“No.”
“Well, let me give you the rundown. The first thing they always do is give you an IV.”
My face immediately paled, and Devin patted me on the back.
“Don’t like needles?”
“No. I hate them.”
“Funny enough, despite all this—” Devin gestured toward his tattoos and scars. “—I do too. But the IV means they won’t have to stick you again if they need to give you meds.”
“Alright.” My posture softened. I could handle one needle if it meant not dealing with multiple. “What’s next?”
“They’ll probably run some tests. CT scan, ultrasound, stuff like that. Until they figure out what’s wrong with you. And after that…well, it depends on what they find.”
I nodded, clasping my hands together to keep them from trembling. My legs were restless, and I bounced up and down on the tips of my toes as we waited. Devin, on the other hand, was completely still, lazily scrolling throughhis phone as if he were waiting at the DMV. It occurred to me that Devin knew much more about emergency rooms than I would expect from the average person. Then my eyes drifted back to his bare forearms, and a pang of sadness crept into my heart.
“You know, you don’t have to stay.” My shoulders slumped. “Cass can pick me up later.”
Devin looked up from his phone, giving me a suspicious glare. “You’re trembling like a chihuahua, and you want me to leave you here alone?”
I huffed, clenching the muscles in my arms.Crap. He’s right. I am shaking.
“I am not.”
To my surprise, he reached out and rubbed my shoulder. It made me want to both flinch away and sink into his touch, just like it had all night.
“You remember how I told you earlier that you’re the most stubborn person I know?”
“Uh… yes?”
I didn’t know where he was going with this.
“Well…” He cocked his head, a motion that I found adorable despite my situation. “You’re also a bad liar.”
I frowned. “I—”
“Avery Murphy?”
I snapped my mouth shut at the sound of my name.
Dread settled in my stomach like a rock as I stood up, fear thumping in my chest with every step I took toward the nurse. My nerves quelled slightly when I felt Devin’s presence at my backside. He walked just a few inches behind me, ready to assist if another wave of pain made me fall over.
