it you like Dirty Dancing?” he asks with a devilish grin.
“What?” I ask sheepishly.
“I’m talking about the movie, not the activity.”
“Oh, yes, it’s one of my favorites from that era.”
“That’s interesting.”
“Why is my movie selection so interesting?”
“Nobody puts Baby in a corner and yet here you are, in the corner, sulking over some loser.”
I take another sip of my drink to bury what I really want to say in response to that. How dare he judge me? Who does this guy think he is? I have the right to sulk in peace. He’s been doing and saying whatever he wants to all night, and I’m sick of it.
“So what do you do besides fight grown men for fun?” I ask, taking a much deserved potshot at him. “You know for an actual living.”
He gives me an incredulous look rather than an offended one, and it’s the oddest reaction. I can’t make heads or tails of him, but that’s nothing new. I think the universe can agree that men are a complete enigma to me, and no matter how attractive the man in question may be, I’m determined to keep it that way.
Becoming the best pediatrician I can be for my patients is the only relationship goal I’m seeking from this day forward.
It’s the only one that I can trust.
Seven
ADRIENNE
“I’m in between gigs right now,” he answers somberly.
“That’s too bad,” I say, giving myself a high five in my head. I pegged this guy correctly from the beginning. “What kind of work are you looking for?”
“I’m just going to take it easy for a while.”
He pats his arm to indicate the reason why.
“Oh, of course, the fight injury.”
Classic disability hustle. He’ll probably file a claim or maybe even sue the man he was scuffling with.
“Did you at least win?” I ask, feigning concern.
“Nah, I didn’t.”
“That’s too bad.”
“Yeah, it was.” He shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “The chairs are kind of small in here.”
“It’s an old bar,” I explain. “They’ve had these chairs since the eighties when people didn’t weigh as much.” I laugh. “My dad used to go to this bar on Friday nights after work.”
“Do you ever come here with him?”
“I came with him twice after he retired,” I recollect fondly. “He passed away six years ago.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
He stares quietly at me for a moment, then changes the subject.
“Sunrises or sunsets?”
“Huh?” I crack a smile.
“A little game of this or that. We drink after each answer.”
“That sounds a little dangerous.”
“The goal is for you to obliterate the douchebag, right?”
“Right.”
“This will get you there really fast.”
Normally, I wouldn’t take part in such a juvenile drinking game. Normally, I wouldn’t be out a bar like this at all. I’d be at home studying for the board certification exam while Troy watched something on television. It was a dependable, comfortable existence, but now everything’s been turned upside down.
“I’m game.”
Anything to forget this day.
“Sunrises or sunsets?” He repeats.
“Sunsets,” I answer.
“Drink,” he orders. “Now think about the most amazing sunset you’ve ever seen.”
I take a sip of my margarita and think about the red and purple hued sunset I witnessed while on a Hawaiian vacation. It’s the most expensive gift my mom ever gave me for graduating from medical school.
“Salty or sweet?”
“Sweet.”
“Good, now think about the last deliciously sweet thing you’ve eaten.”
“This margarita?” I lick some sugar off of the rim of the glass.
“Uh, no, not that,” he says gruffly. “Something that made you squint your eyes shut because it was so good.”
I think about the tin of brownies a patient’s mom brought to the clinic. They were decadent and downright sinful, and I dreamed about those little chewy chocolate squares of heaven long after the entire office devoured them.
The stranger smiles.
“Now drink.”
He pushes one of his shots towards me.
“Have this one. The server is bringing us some more.”
I hesitate for a moment. I don’t really like the taste of straight liquor, but he made a point earlier. If I drink too many of these margaritas, I won’t be able to eat for ten days and I’ve got to go back to work in two.
“What is it?” I ask, killing time.
“It’s tequila, the same alcohol that’s in your drinks.”
“Okay.”
I hold my nose and start slowly start sipping on the clear liquor.
“We’ll be here all night at this rate,” my new drinking buddy chuckles. “Throw it back.”
“Ugh, all right. I bet you were a bully in school.”
“I didn’t have to bully people to get them to do my bidding.”
I bet he didn’t.
After I finish the