Brain Games

22. Animosity

"Who's the guy?" Brad asks under his breath, looming over me as soon as we step out of a patient's room, Dr. Allen leading us to the next one. His hushed voice is calm but hard.

I've been trying my best to dodge him all during rounds, but with Jack preoccupying Dr. Allen with questions about the last case, Brad has found a way to swoop in and pry.

"What guy?" I play dumb, refusing to look at him.

A large, warm hand firmly but gently grasps my wrist, bringing it up to flash the ten digits scribbled in ink on my skin. I sneak a quick glance at his handsome face, any emotion smoothed over by an untranslatable mask.

"Oh." I pull my arm from his grip, trying to ignore the tingle left in its wake. "A friend."

"You blushed when he mentioned something about next week," he states.

I stop myself from blushing again at his keen observation. "So."

The strained silence between us conveys his displeasure.

"What's next week?" he asks, trying and failing to hide any interest.

"We're going to dinner," I state simply.

Again, the silence floating between us seems to speak volumes, but all it seems to be is a lot of gibberish.

We finish up rounds and Dr. Allen delegates what patients each of us is assigned to today. I grab my respective charts and get to work.

The morning thankfully flies by with minimal Brad run-ins. I immerse myself in my patients, busying myself to avoid him or thinking about him. When noon rolls around I almost work past my lunch break, but I decide better than to skip lunch, knowing my stomach will thank me later.

As usual, I sit in the back corner of the cafeteria to be left alone, my back to the patrons as I face the wall, but that logic fails me yet again, Ashlee finding me and taking a seat in the chair across from where I'm sitting.

"What's up, buttercup?" she chirps cheerfully, breaking the swirl of thoughts in my head—all of which are unfortunately about Brad. I knew I shouldn't have taken a break. Now my brain is free to wander.

"I have a date with Mateo," I blurt out, knowing Ashlee will hype me up to mask some of the sudden onset of unease I'm currently feeling about it.

Ashlee's eyes widen, an open mouth grin splitting her face. "Shut up! You changed your mind?" she asks excitedly. "Why?"

Why? Because I originally told him no because I was screwing Brad almost every other night, but now that he's gone and pissed me off by not telling me he's my neighbor I don't know if I can be within a five foot radius of him, let alone continue to have sex with him. Not to mention he's screwing other girls at the same time and that makes me feel dirty. But I can't tell you that.

Wait, is that why I'm going out with Mateo? Because I'm mad at Brad?

No. Mateo is nice, funny, and charming. Plus, as Ashlee has so eloquently put it before, boy is thick with three C's. Seriously, the guy must spend all his free time at the gym. I wouldn't be surprised if he could bench press me, or even a full grown male. Come to think of it, that's pretty hot. Really hot.

And that is why I'm going out with him.

I shrug. "I don't know... I guess I just came to my senses."

Ashlee grins. "Look at that, a neurosurgeon using her brain."

"Delilah's using her brain? Nice," Patrick comments, taking a seat next to Ashlee. He grabs his sandwich, taking a large bite. "And why is she using her brain?" he questions, mouth full.