Page 14 of Asystole

I’m afraid I’m not going to survive you.

Chase

Nah, before long you’ll be wondering how you ever survived WITHOUT me.

Logan

If you say so.

Chase

There’s a Thai place next door we can swing by afterward. Text me your address. I’ll pick you up.

Logan shoots me his address and follows it up with:

Logan

So this IS a date.

I laugh and type back quickly.

Chase

Just so you know, I don’t put out on the first date.

Logan

I’ll be sure to wear my good boxers next time then.

Chase

See you at 6:30

The winking emoji returns, but it feels right this time, and I refocus my attention on my dictation; my mood has drastically improved since making plans with Logan. I know I should catch up on chart reviews tonight. I know I need to review anatomy for the OR tomorrow. I know I should call Kendra, but none of those things fill my tank.

Grabbing a drink with Logan was the most fun I’ve had in a while, and ever since that night, I’ve been eager to do it again. Socialization and relaxing have definitely been missing from my life for far too long.

Since I’m rounding today, I’m responsible for the patients already on the floor, which means I’m not needed on the roof to help receive the patient being brought in on the chopper, even though I think watching the landing is cool as fuck…it’s arguably slightly less cool since I know Logan is at his place and not the one bringing the patient in.

My upbeat attitude carries me through the rest of my day of mandatory tasks, and even though it’s already getting dark when I leave the hospital, I’m still energized.

I’m in such a good mood that when Kendra calls, I answer with a smile—even though she can’t see it.

“Hey, sweetheart! How’s your day going?” I ask as I make my way toward my car.

“Fine, I guess,” she mumbles. “We had to send back a bunch of PR merchandise because they read the freaking color code wrong. Like, what’s the point in even including the color code if you’re just going to pick one at random?” she complains.

Still, my mood hangs on.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Were you able to get it fixed?” I ask, knowing it’s important to her.

“Yeah, I mean it was no big deal, just annoying, you know? It’d be like you ordering one medication and your patient taking something totally different.”

Yep, exactly the same thing, I think to myself.

“Anyway, I wanted to talk about Christmas.”

“Um, yeah, hang on one second. I’m going to switch the speaker in my car,” I tell her, unlocking my Wrangler and dumping all my shit inside before climbing into the driver’s seat.