Karmen
“Shut up.”
I shook my head and grabbed the next chart off of the cart.
“You didn’t.”
Honestly, I was in shock as much as she was, but I was also slightly offended that she was so surprised. “Pick your jaw up off the floor, Nikki, and try not to act like Nickel and me together is so crazy. You were the one who encouraged me to go out with him last night.”
She grabbed my arm and spun me around to look at her. “No! That’s not why I’m so shocked. I knew that man was head over heels in lust with you, I just didn’t know if you were going to actually do anything about it or get caught up in your head like you normally do.”
“Well, Nickel was good at keeping me from thinking.” I didn’t think about anything ‘til he left, and the weight of everything that had happened last night and early in the morning had come crashing down on me.
Not only did I have to deal with the fact that my quiet little world was blown to smithereens by Nickel, but I was also now worried about why my dad was trying to call me.
“So, when are you going to see him again?” Nikki asked eagerly.
I sighed deeply and tried to push all thoughts of my dad out of my head. There wasn’t much I could do about him while I was at work. Thankfully, I only worked a six-hour shift today, and it was already more than half over.
“Hello, earth to Karmen.” Nikki waved her hand in my face. “When are you going to see him again?”
“Um, I think he said he had some stuff to take care of today and he would come over when he was done.” Part of me hoped he would, but the other half of me wished he wouldn’t.
You know those tiny little boxes where I put my problems? Well, for the past four hours, I had been trying to shove Nickel into one, and it just wasn’t working. He pushed past every barrier and wall that I had built up around myself, and that was only after spending one night with him. I was terrified of what would happen when we spent more time together. He was liable to blow my whole world apart, and I wouldn’t be able to put it back together.
“Stop.”
I looked up from the floor and tilted my head. “Stop what?”
“Stop wrinkling your nose and trying to talk yourself out of being with Nickel.” She grabbed the chart out of my hand and walked into the empty room that we were prepping for a new resident. “You are one of the smartest people I know, Karmen, but that always isn’t good. You could talk yourself out of winning the lottery if you put your mind to it.”
“Nickel and the lottery are complete opposites.”
Nikki scoffed and dropped down onto the empty bed. “They are one in the same. Both things that are good for you and could change your life. Besides, I’m sure that man knows his way between the sheets.”
My cheeks heated at her words, and I subtly fanned myself. She was not wrong about that. Nickel had made me feel things that I didn’t think were possible last night, and I’m sure there was more he could show me. “I wouldn’t kick him out of bed,” I mumbled.
Nikki smiled slyly. “Just remember that whenever you start thinking of all the bullshit reasons to run.” She wiggled her eyebrows and jumped up. “Maybe you could hook me up with one of his buddies.”
I thought of the guys that I had met at Shake the Lake, and couldn’t picture Nikki with any of them. Hell, I couldn’t even picture myself with Nickel, but he seemed interested in me. “I only met some of them for a few minutes. I’m not sure any of them would work.”
She scoffed and wrinkled her brow. “Did they have names like Meat and Death? I don’t think I could handle introducing them to my grandma if that were the case. At least with Nickel’s name, it’s not horrible. Did he tell you what his real name was?”
I blinked slowly, not even realizing ‘til now that Nickel wasn’t even his name. At least, it might not be. I wasn’t sure who would actually name their kid Nickel, but there had been weirder names that I had heard. “Um, I don’t know his real name if he has one, and the guy's names were Slayer, Clash, and Wrecker.” Or was it Wrench? I was horrible at remembering names, especially strange and different ones.
“Hm, I think I’ll take Clash. Not sure if I could handle Slayer or Wrecker. Unless his name means he’s crazy in bed, then I might be okay with it,” she pondered.
I moved around the room, making sure everything was set up while Nikki rambled on about possible biker names she could manage dating.
“Yeah, I’m going to have to say that unless their name has some kick ass story behind it, I’m not going to be able to date a biker.”
A laugh bubbled from my lips, and I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room. “I’ll talk to Nickel about getting you just the right biker.”
Nikki threw her arm over my shoulder, and we pushed the cart down the hall to the front desk. “And that is why we are best friends. You get a biker, I get a biker, everyone gets a biker!” she yelled.
“I want peaches,” Marvin, one of the patients yelled from his room. “Screw a biker. Give me more peaches.”
Nikki and I busted out laughing with shouts of promised extra peaches for dinner for Marvin.
“This job never gets old,” Nikki mumbled.
“Ain’t that the truth,” I agreed.
“But honestly, no joke here. Enjoy that man, Karmen. You’re going to regret it if you let him go.” Nikki patted me on the shoulder and pushed the cart ahead of me.
I stopped in the middle of the hall and hung my head. I hoped to God I could shut my brain off and stop thinking of all of the things that could go wrong and just live in the moment. Hell, if I did it last night, I’m sure I could do it again.
Hopefully.
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