Page 106 of Changing the Playbook
“For when I peel this dress off, and then?—”
“Get a room!” Maine shouts from somewhere to our left.
The spell breaks. I step back, praying the low lighting hides my flushed face. Mike looks perfectly composed except for his eyes, which promise things that make my knees weak.
“Want some air?” I manage.
“Lead the way.”
We weave through the crowd toward the balcony doors. I catch Maya’s knowing smirk and Maine’s theatrical eyebrow waggle but can’t bring myself to care. The cool air hits my overheated skin like a blessing.
“That was…”
“Mean?” Mike supplies. “Unfair? Cruel and unusual?”
“I was going to say unexpected.”
He grins. “You can’t wear a dress like that and expect me to behave.”
“This is a perfectly professional dress!”
“Sophie, you could wear scrubs and a hairnet and I’d still want to?—”
“Sophie?”
We spring apart as Keiko pokes her head out. “They’re about to do the raffle!”
“Right. Yes. Coming.”
She disappears, but the moment has shattered. Neither of us moves.
“Sophie?” Mike says.
“Yeah?”
“Keeping my hands to myself for the rest of the night is going to be hard.”
“What if I don’t want you to?”
His groan is satisfying. “You can’t say things like that when we have to go back.”
I laugh and slap his arm playfully. “Consider it payback for the dance floor.”
We return to find the raffle in full swing. Prizes include a year’s supply of compression socks (“The gift that keeps on giving!” the MC announces), surgical scissors (“For all your cutting needs!”), and various branded stress balls.
None of the nurses in my group wins anything, although Maine wins a blood pressure cuff and immediately attempts to check everyone’s vitals with enthusiasm but zero technique.
“Can we return him?” I bury my face in Mike’s shoulder. “Is there a receipt?”
“No returns, no exchanges. Though if you want to trade for Rook…”
“Rook just asked Maya if she wanted to ‘examine his iambic pentameter.’”
“That’s actually sophisticated for him. He must have prepared.”
The evening winds down with speeches about the noble calling of nursing. Mike stands beside me, his hand resting on my lower back, thumb tracing maddening circles he definitely knows are slowly driving me insane.
“Before we wrap up,” the MC announces, “let’s have one more dance!”
