Standing By

Decoding and Creating

"Try checking with the surg department. See if you can get surg pants while these dry off," Linzi suggested.

"Can I sit in the mop bucket?" Austin whispered, making me cackle. "I'd love to have her try to dry me off."

"Shh," Rob advised quietly. " 'fore you get a sexual harassment suit slapped on you."

"Don't tell me you don't find either one of these chicks hot," I muttered, eyes never leaving the blonde as she disappeared into the lounge with Adam.

Chance finished wiping his arms, eyes immediately following the brunette, evidently named Linzi, as she worked with Mitch, wringing a sleeve out. Scott purposefully tried to assist, making sure to get in her way as much as possible. Kirstie threw her hands in the air and strode down the hall with most of the food.

"Guys!" she grumbled, disappearing into a room at the end of the hall.

"Well, the brunette is kinda... hot," Rob finally admitted.

"Kinda?" I snorted, watching her myself.

Austin eyed the mop bucket as though seriously considering it, only to have the janitor declare the job done and scoot the whole thing away.

"OK, OK, OK, she's really hot," Rob confessed, shamelessly watching Linzi as she took Mitch around the corner to help him find something else to wear.

Scott slunk over to us. "No fair. He's one hundred percent gay; it's all lost on him."

"Wasn't on me," Chance said with a wink. "Glad I helped Adam out of that bucket now."

"How wet did you get?" Rob asked, pawing at his sleeve.

"Just a little." Chance knocked his hand away, then glanced around the corner. "Not wet enough. And not in the right places."

We all snickered at that.

"They coming back?" I asked hopefully.

"Mitch and Adam'll have to," Scott pointed out, perfectly content to hang out and wait for a glimpse of the nurses again. We leaned against the wall, Austin slightly swinging a bag of tacos against the wall.

Mitch came back a minute later in a pink nurse's jacket looking pretty happy. "Where's our food?"

"Kirstie's got most of it." Scott nodded down the hall. "We were waiting for you."

"And hoping to see the nurses again,"Austin admitted.

Mitch giggled. "Soon as Adam fell in the bucket, I went for towels. Saw those two at the end of the hall, bypassing a scowling middle-aged nurse and two grey-haired nurses. Hell, I may be gay, but I ain't stupid."

"Suh-weet," I remarked.

"And how many of you are ready to jump in mop buckets now?" he teased.

Austin's, Scott's, and Chance's hands flew up, followed quickly by mine. Jenika may have screwed me over royally, but that sure didn't mean I was blind to attractive chicks. Slowly, Rob's hand snuck up too, him blushing a little.

"Brunette's, well... hot," he felt the need to explain.

"Wasted on a gay guy and a married man," Austin said sadly, shaking his head.

"All she did was find me her own jacket." Mitch shrugged, toying with a sparkly pin in the shape of a heart. He spread his arms apart. "Whataya think, is pink my color?"

"It's so you, Mitch!" Scott giggled.

A small wicked smile crept across Chance's face. "It is taking Adam an awfully long time to find a pair of pants in there."