6. Emergency Bar Services

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

For being a Monday, EBS has a fairly steady crowd. It's a spacious bar with high ceilings, navy walls, and dark wood furnishings. The dim atmosphere gives it a very mellow, relaxing vibe. I can already tell this is a hot spot for hospital staff to come unwind.

"Push those two tables together," Ashlee instructs, gesturing at two empty tables.

Her cousin Patrick and another intern push both the tables together and arrange the chairs accordingly to fit the eleven of us that showed up.

Ashlee, with her arm still looped through mine, pulls me into a chair next to her. "They have the best burgers here," she informs me, and my stomach growls immediately. The only thing they fed us for lunch were these fancy sandwiches and side salads with an awful vinaigrette. 

"Great, I'm starving," I state.

"Patrick, two burgers and two beers, please," Ashlee orders, holding up two fingers, throwing her cousin an overly dramatic polite smile.

Patrick huffs, throwing her a look that says, Do I look like a waiter? Regardless, he throws her a halfhearted salute, turning and heading for the bar.

After ten minutes everyone is back to the table with beers and burgers, and the second Patrick sets my burger down in front of me I start drooling. I pick up the cheesy, greasy burger and refrain myself from inhaling the whole thing in one bite.

Holy shit, Ashlee was right. These burgers taste like they were made by God himself. Or herself. Whatever Ariana Grande said.

"I was right, huh?" Ashlee says with a knowing smirk.

I hum—more like moan—through a mouthful of burger in agreement.

Conversation flows surprisingly easy between tables, everyone getting along well, minus the occasional bickering between Ashlee and Patrick. I find myself enjoying the company, and I almost don't regret my decision to not bail and go home, until a familiar face walks through the door, a young, blonde nurse hanging on his arm.

Brad saunters up to the table, flashing everyone an easygoing smile, and everyone seems to swoon and welcome him with open arms. Everyone except for Ashlee, who elbows me in the ribs and flashes me a 'WTF' look.

I set down my burger, suddenly losing my appetite, and shrug. I wipe my greasy fingers on a napkin before picking up my beer bottle and taking a large swig.

Brad pulls out the last remaining chair across from me at the table and gestures for his nurse friend to sit down, cause her to flash him those googly eyes of hers again.

I take another swig of my beer, and another, annoyance swirling in the pit of my stomach. This was supposed to be a nice night out for first year residents only. A bonding moment, potentially, to get to know each other. Not a social event to bring your bimbo nurse fling to.

Brad lifts his rich brown eyes and they lock with mine from across the table. The corner of his mouth twitches before he bends down to whisper something into the nurse's ear, causing her to giggle.

I go to take another sip of my beer, draining the little remains of the bottle. Standing, I saunter up to the bar without any proclamation and ask the bartender for another beer. While the man behind the counter pulls off the cap I admire the altered neon EMS logo mounted on the center of the wall between the two large shelves of liquor. The logo is still a blue six pointed star with a white border but the usual Rod of Ascleplus in the center is replaced by a beer mug pouring out a river of beer.

Just as the bartender hands me my beer, a large body appears next to me and I don't have to turn to know who it is based on the obnoxiously delicious, cool, and clean scent.

Brad leans up against the bar on his forearm next to me, points to my beer and then holds up his index and middle finger, signaling to the bartender that he wants two beers.

Digging through my purse for some bills, I sneak a glance at him and the glow of the neon sign illuminates his face angelically. Before I can dig out the right amount of cash, the bartender returns with Brad's two beers, his eyes turning to me, waiting for me to pay.

A large, tan hand covers my fidgeting hands rummaging through my purse. I only lock eyes with Brad for a moment before he turns to the bartender, telling him to put my drink on his tab as he passes him a credit card.

"I can pay for my own drink," I spit, still frantically digging through my purse.

"I know," Brad says, unfazed, and before I can fork over my cash the bartender is already charging his card.

I huff in annoyance, walking back over to our table with my beer in hand as Brad waits for the man to run his card.

When I return to my seat Ashlee's eyes are on me like a hawk, observing me with a crease between her thin, dark brows. "What the hell is going on?" she whisper hisses in my ear.

"What do you mean?" I ask, taking a hefty gulp of beer.

"I thought you,"—she points to me—"and him,"—her finger trails to Brad, lazily following him as he makes his way back to the table. Her sentence trails off as she watches him hand the nurse a beer, their fingers brushing for too long of a time. Ashlee frowns, seemingly confused.

I watch as Brad glances around us, looking for another chair since he offered up blondie the last one at our table. Before he can manage a three foot radius, she grabs his wrist, and in one surprisingly swift movement, she stands and practically shoves him in the chair, taking a seat on his lap instead. Brad doesn't miss a beat, sitting up straight in the chair, his hand finding place on her waist to stabilize her. 

For the rest of the night it's basically The Brad and His Nurse Show, the two of them getting cozy with one another and flirting up a storm, not caring about the rest of us at the table. When they actually have the indecency to start making out, I take that as my cue to leave.

I gently elbow Ashlee in the side, interrupting her heated debate with Patrick, and some other collogues, over which medical show is more accurately depicted—ER, obviously—and let her know I'm heading out.

She frowns. "You sure? Come on, one more drink," she pleads with her brown eyes.

I shake my head, refraining from glancing at Brad, because one more drink is going to turn into five real quick if I sit here and watch this shit show go on. "I didn't get much sleep last night. I should probably head home," I reply lamely, but it's the truth. Hopefully the neighbors got whatever it was out of their system last night and I can sleep peacefully tonight.

Ashlee's disappointment morphs into understanding, and she stands up from her chair, giving me a hug. The gesture throws me a little off guard, but only a little. Already, I feel like I'm starting to form a connection with her and I have an inkling we're going to become fast friends.

When we pull apart she grabs her purse from the back of her chair and pulls out a pen, grabbing my hand. "Usually I only do this for guys," she says, scribbling a ten digit number down on my palm, "but text me when you get home safe."

"You give guys your number to make sure they get home safe?" I tease.

A wicked grin spreads across her face. "Oh no, honey, they come home with me anyways, so I don't have to make sure."

"Oh gross," Patrick groans, covering his ears. "I don't need to hear that."

I laugh, shaking my head.

Ashlee only grins at her cousin before turning back to me, her expression turning serious. "Seriously, though. You're a twenty something year old woman who just moved to New York City, alone, and it's late. Let me know when you make it home alright," she instructs, her expression and tone soft. "We gotta look out for each other."

I give her a tight lipped smile, an unexpected burst of appreciation blooming in my chest at the kind gesture. "Thanks, I will. Text me when you get home, too."

She gives me a smile. "This idiot is taking me home," she says, gesturing towards Patrick. "So hopefully I shouldn't have much to worry about. But still, I'll let you know."

I let out a small laugh. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."

Ashlee gives me another quick hug goodbye and I give a small wave to the table before leaving. As I grab my purse to leave, I feel a pair of rich brown eyes on me, and I'm helpless not to glance in Brad's direction. In the dim light of EBS, my eyes lock with his. It's brief, but he brings his beer to his lips, taking a swig, before nodding his head and tipping his bottle in my direction as a form of acknowledgment of my departure, the nurse still perched on his thigh.

Breaking eye contact, I sling my purse over my shoulder and walk out of the bar and into the warm summer night air. It's dark outside, but it's still early enough in the night where there are a number of people roaming the streets for me to feel safe. Taking in a deep breath, I trudge the seven blocks back to my apartment.

True to my word, I text Ashlee as soon as I get into my apartment let her know I made it home safe.

After texting her and saving her number in my phone, I change into my pajamas, wash my face, brush my teeth, and swap my contacts for my glasses. Once I'm finished with my bedtime routine, I flop into bed, snuggling into the pillows. I check the clock on my nightstand to see that it's only a few minutes past nine, and finally lying down in bed, I realize just how exhausted I am.

I fall asleep almost instantly, basking in the silence of my apartment.

In the middle of the night I'm woken up by a persistent banging against my wall, letting me know my neighbors are up and active. Again.

Rolling over, I blindly reach for my phone to see that its 11:32 p.m. and that Ashlee texted me back to let me know that she got home safe not too long ago.

After texting her a thumbs up emoji, I flop onto my back, shoving my pillow over my face. I scream into it, frustrated I won't be well rested for my second day of orientation, either.



Orientation stretches over the course of two weeks. In that time we learn all of the hospital policies, guidelines, and the computer systems. While most of our time is dedicated to training and administrative things, they do force us to spend some time together as interns with team building activities and exercises that led us to get to know one another and explore the city we'll be calling home for the next couple of years. Everyone I've met so far is nice enough but somehow I always end up getting Brad in my small groups, constantly reminding me that I'm going to be stuck with him, more specifically, for a number of years.

Regardless, I try my best not to focus on him and keep my head in the game, wanting to be more prepared than ever for July 1st.


You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net