"You know, that might actually work." I nodded, but when I looked back up at him, I realized that any pretense of studying was likely to be abandoned if we were in a room alone together. I could feel the magnetic pull of his body, and a memory of his lips pressed against mine flashed before my eyes causing me to look away.
"Uh huh, sure it would," Cam said as if he'd just read my mind. "Well, at the very least I could take you to dinner to help keep up your strength."
"I'd like that." I smiled.
"How about tomorrow night?" he asked as the guys from the squad signaled that it was time to get back to the station. "I'll pick you up around seven?"
"Sounds good!" I called as he ran for the door. It was only after he'd left that I wondered where he was taking me.
"Got a date with the firefighter, do you?" Leslie asked with a smile. "He's a hottie."
"Do you all conspire to make that same joke?" I laughed as Leslie laughed with me. I looked around and wondered where Liz had wandered off. I told Leslie I was going to go look for Liz, and she nodded as she updated more patient charts.
#
It took twenty minutes of searching to finally find Liz. She was standing outside the pharmacy, staring at the poster covered with a diverse group of people, presumably employees, which announced Chicago General would soon be part of a larger network of hospitals throughout the area.
"Liz, are you okay?" I asked as I put my hand on her shoulder and turned her around.
"Yeah, fine. Why?" she said in a brisk voice. "Just learning about the changes coming to Chicago General."
"I see," I said. "We've missed you down in the ER. Want to come back with me?"
"Yeah, sure." She nodded as I took her arm and led her back to the department. I wanted to ask her what was going on, but I knew her well enough to know that she wasn't going to give me any answers until she was good and ready.
"Hey, Cam came in a little while ago and asked me out," I said, trying to find a topic that we could discuss, hoping it would draw her out of whatever funk she was in.
"Did he, now?" she replied as we walked into the ER, then suddenly she was back to normal. "I hope you told him he needs to take you someplace good, not to another of those dive bars he and his coworkers seem to like."
"Liz! That's rude!" I laughed as she gently punched my upper arm and winked at me.
"You've got enough condoms, right?" she asked with a knowing grin.
"Elizabeth Banks!" I half-gasped, half-laughed.
"Oh, don't be an old spoil sport," she said. "We've had the talk, now it's time for you to get some action!"
Something about Liz's nonchal
ant tone set me off, and I laughed until the tears rolled down my cheeks. She stood looking at me, shaking her head as she watched my complete meltdown, and that made me laugh even harder. When it was over, Liz offered me some water and then said, "But seriously, condoms."
That set off another wave of laugher and it wasn't until Leslie came over to find out what was going on that I was able to stop and catch my breath.
"I have no idea what's got her so hysterical." Liz shrugged as we cleaned up Exam 2. "Something random just set her off."
"Alex, do you think that overnight shifts are a little too much for you to handle?" Leslie asked. "Maybe you aren't cut out for late shifts."
"There's a lot that's a little too much for her to handle," Liz muttered under her breath. "But it ain't overnight shifts, I'll tell you that."
This sent me into a new fit of laughter and made Leslie giggle too. Liz continued sweeping the floor as she looked at both of us and shook her head sadly. For the rest of the night, anytime Liz look at me and said, "But seriously," I broke down in laughter.
On the walk home, Liz chattered about exams and the hope that Violet would fail all of hers, but nothing was said about what had happened outside of the pharmacy. I worried about her, but decided that if she needed something, she'd ask. It was Liz, after all, and she knew she could ask me for anything.
Chapter Thirteen
Cam
"All right, girl, here goes nothing," I said to Tesla as I pocketed my wallet and grabbed my keys. "I don't know how this is gonna go, but one thing is for sure: I won't forget about you."