You Make It Easy

Just A Friend.

"An hour."

He takes his hand away from me and sits up, "I do have to get going."

"Oh, don't let me hold you up."

We both stand up, "Thanks for hanging out with me."

"Any time. Let's do it again when you aren't tired."

"Right. Be better for the both of us."

He smiles, "I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, you too. Good luck tonight."

"Thanks."

I watch him go to his car. He's got this boyish grin on his face and I can't help but develop that same grin. I have no idea what I'm doing with him. But I like him enough to keep him around.

"How's your boy toy?" Bridget asks me, coming back with vials of blood, needing to be labeled.

"He's not my boy toy. We're just friends."

She laughs, "Yeah, right."

"We are. I haven't seen him in two weeks."

"Can you sign off on these? And you totally are something. Neither of you wants to say it though."

She hands me a form and I sign in, "We kissed once. That means nothing."

"What? You guys kissed! How have I not known about that?"

"Well, now you do. Don't say anything."

"I won't."

She slides her chair closer to me, "So how was it?" she asks quietly.

"We're not doing this."

"But we can."

"But we're not."

She sighs, "You're no fun. We're not done with the conversation. Would you be an angel and check on my guy in Exam Room 3? I have to run this stuff up to the lab."

I take the tablet from her, "Sure. What's wrong with him?"

"He's high on something. I'm waiting for the labs to come back. Some people found him in the park screaming at a tree. He still hasn't told me his name."

I want to laugh but I know I shouldn't, "Okay then. I'll go check on him."

"Thank you, you're the best."

I get up from my chair and walk to the exam room. I knock before entering, "Sir, I'm just here to check on you. Can I get your name? It's easier for us to track everyone down."

"Jimmy," he tells me.

"Okay. How are you feeling?"

"I want to leave."

"We can't let you leave until you've sobered up."

"I'm not drunk."

"I know. If you tell me what you've taken, I can get you out faster."

He's silent as I check his vitals, "The truth will come out via tox screen. We will know sooner or later."

He stays silent again. "Do you need anything else?"

"Yeah. Get me out of here," he says, sitting up and swinging his feet over the bed.

"Sir lay back down. You cannot leave yet. You are admitted into the ER and cannot leave."

"The hell I can."

He continues trying to get out of bed but I stand in front of him. "Can I take this out?" he asks, picking at the IV at the top of his hand.