Page 17 of Just My Type
“How do you have time for this? Don’t you spend, like, half your life at the hospital?”
I shrug because, for the first time in a really long time, I won’t be doing that for a while. “I graduate from residency in two weeks. Right after we get back from Vegas.”
“Wait, what?” Hannah’s face is surprised. “When you weretalking last night about how you were anxious about finishing residency, I didn’t realize you were finishing, like, momentarily. That’s a huge deal, Noah. How did I not know this was happening? Why isn’t this the thing your whole family is talking about?”
Fuck, I love the way my name sounds coming out of her mouth. “Everyone has been kind of preoccupied getting Vegas organized and planning Jordan and Jo’s wedding. Residency graduation really isn’t that big of a deal. It’s not a big ceremony or anything, and there are no caps and gowns. It’s mostly just a dinner with some speeches or whatever. I told my family they didn’t even need to come.”
“And how did they take that?”
I laugh, loving how she already knows my family so well. “Not well. They’ll obviously be there. All of them. But anyway, starting two weeks from tomorrow, I won’t be spending any time at the hospital until my new job starts in September. I took the rest of the summer off.”
“You can do that?”
“Yep. The hospital where I work has had an open position for an attending maxillofacial surgeon for like a year. Apparently, there’s a shortage of people crazy enough to go to dental school and then do a six-year residency to get an MD, and the right training, so they needed me enough for me to be able to negotiate a September start date. I wanted to be around for all the pre-wedding stuff and not have to worry about juggling my brother’s wedding and a new job.”
“Okay, so you’re, like, really smart.”
I grin, laying my shoulder against the back of the couch. “Nah, Gorgeous. I’m just really good at pulling teeth.”
Hannah laughs, and I love the sound of it. “Okay, well, cool that you have a summer off, but you really don’t have to spend your first real time off in six years showing me what it’s like to hang out with a non-asshole. I’m surrounded by non-asshole men. Your brothers. My dad. Your dad. My brother-in-law, Ben,who is absolutely the most green-flag man to ever exist.” She eyes me. “And I guess you’re a non-asshole too.”
I clutch my hand to my chest dramatically. “Han, I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t get used to it.”
I sit up and grab her hand. “Too late. I’m already used to it. Now you have to be nice to me all the time.”
The second the words are out of my mouth, Hannah’s face goes stony as she yanks her hand from mine. I can literally see her shrink into herself, her hands curling into fists, and her arms wrapping around her body. It would be fascinating if it didn’t concern me so much. “What happened just now?”
She shakes her head. “Nothing.”
I lean forward, touching her leg as gently as I can, relieved when she doesn’t pull away. “That wasn’t nothing, Han. You can talk to me. You can tell me anything. I promise to keep it safe.”
She closes her eyes at the word safe and takes a deep, shuddery breath. And without her saying anything, I get it. I don’t know all the details, but I’ve seen enough to know that it’s probably been a long time since Hannah has felt completely safe.
I really, really want to change that.
Hannah shakes her head, as if to clear it. “Sorry,” she mumbles.
I stroke a finger over her knee again. “You don’t ever have to apologize to me. Not for this. Not for anything. You don’t have to tell me anything, either, but if you want to, I promise I’m a really good listener.”
She slumps back against the couch, a look of defeat crossing her face. “Brett used to tell me all the time that I wasn’t nice enough. To him and to everyone else. And, like, I get it. I have a serious case of resting bitch face, and I speak fluent sarcasm. I’m terrible at sharing my feelings, and I know that comes across as bitchy and standoffish sometimes. But it’s just me. It’s really hard to be someone I’m not.”
God, I really should have punched that guy when I had thechance. “He made you feel like you had to change the core of you. Like who you are wasn’t good enough.”
“Yes,” Hannah breathes, voice full of relief. “That’s exactly it. I pretended for years to be someone I wasn’t. Happy and smiley all the time. Never saying what I really thought because that usually led to a fight. If I became anyone, it was someone who was really, really good at keeping the peace. It became so habitual that I didn’t even realize I was doing it. But I won’t do it again. Ever. I guess you telling me I had to be nice to you all the time, even though you were joking, was kind of a trigger for me. Sometimes I don’t feel like being nice.”
Her face flushes a little, like maybe this is the first time in a long time that she’s said exactly what’s on her mind. I hope she keeps doing it. “I like who you are, Gorgeous. I like every sarcastic bone in your body, and your face is perfect just the way it is. I love that your claws are always right there, just waiting to come out. Scratch me, baby. Anytime you want. I like it when you do. I promise I can take it.”
Hannah smiles a little, her eyes bouncing between mine, like she’s looking for something. I hope she finds it. “It turns out you’re a pretty good guy, Noah Wyles.”
“Good enough for you to let me hang with you this summer? Maybe what we both need is a little brain break. Let’s take it together.”
Hannah reaches over and grabs her coffee, taking the last sip. “Okay,” she says when she sets the glass back down.
I sit up straight. “Wait, seriously?”
“What would I get by lying in this moment?” Hannah asks dryly.
