Page 14 of Venus
“Appreciated,” she jests, poking me with the straw. “So, you looking for another hookup or what?”
I shake my head. “No!” I laugh out. “The exact opposite. I wanted to ask you on a date. A real one. Maybe one where I don’t get waterboarded mid-salad.” Sheraises a brow as if she doesn’t believe me. “I’m serious. Don’t get me wrong, that night was amazing and so is your body.” I take the straw from her and poke her in the chest. “But I want to know the secrets you have in here, not just those secret butterfly tattoos on your hip.”
“You’ve been holding out for weeks for a date with me when you don’t even know my name?”
I shrug. “You said you like Venus better.”
She sticks her straw and takes a sip of my own glass of water. She makes a dramatic sound like she’s just quenched the greatest thirst. “Alright Goldilocks. Diner. Dinner. Date.”
“You mean right now?” I ask.
Her food is ready and she unboxes a giant mound of cheese fries. She takes a plastic fork and points at them. “These don’t travel well and I don’t want to eat in my car.”
Even though the water Evelyn splashed on me was ice cold, I feel like it couldn’t be hotter in this diner. It must be her and the effect she has on me. I get nervous. She’s giving me this chance and I don’t want to fuck it up.
“So I got pooped on by a newborn yesterday,” she says, as if that’s a normal conversation to have at dinner, however run down the location might be. Maybe she’s testing me to see if I can handle the gross stories she has to tell, but I’m a paramedic, and I’ve seen some things, too.
“I feel like that’s a pretty normal occupational hazard,” I say.
She laughs between a bite. “Yeah, but it was the most interesting thing that happened to me this week.”
“Damn, and all I did was crawl into a burning building to rescue a puppy.”
Her eyes widen. “Wait, really? You saved the dog, right? Tell me you saved it.”
I smile. “Yeah, he was perfectly fine, just a little singed fur.” I nod toward her. “You like dogs?”
“Everyone likes dogs! I want a pittie so bad, but my apartment doesn’t allow dogs. As soon as I get a new place I’m hitting up the shelter though.”
“You strike me as a golden kind of girl. Why a pit?” I ask.
“Whynota pit? They’re adorable and they’re just misunderstood. I’ve never met one that wasn’t a total sweetheart.”
As she finishes her fries, she goes on a long tangent about rescuing dogs and how if she wasn’t a nurse she’d probably be a vet.
“So if you love animals so much, why’d you choose nursing instead? It seems like you’re really passionate about animals.”
She gives me an awkward smile that says the conversation is veering into territory that’s not mine to tread in. “It’s a long story.”
She inhales through her teeth and gathers her garbage. She stands to leave, but I’m not letting her sneak out so easily this time.
“Wait,” I protest, reaching for my phone and unlocking it for her. “Please, can I have your number?”
She looks at me like she’s ready to say no, but after a long pause, she picks up my phone from the table and types in her contact info. When she hands me my phone back, I see that she’s saved herself as ‘Venus’.
“That’s not your name!” I protest.
“You asked for my number, not my name.”
I huff but concede and stand with her. I lead her out of the diner and we say our goodbyes. Her exit isn’t nearly as abrupt as our first meeting, waving to me over her shoulder and then again when she drives off.
You’ve got her, champ. Don’t fuck it up.
Chapter 8 | Venus
The only sound in the delivery room is the rhythm of the fetal monitor and the tense breathing of a soon-to-be mother taking in as much air as she can between pushes.
“You’re doing great, mama,” I coo. “Just keep breathing and give me another good push.”
