Page 14 of Forever Offsides

I snap a picture and attach it.

Rhett: Wow. That’s amazing. You have stars. I didn’t expect that.

Me: Only at this time of night can you really see them.

Rhett: I have a view of the mountains. *Attaches picture*

Me: That’s so pretty.

Rhett: I won’t have it much longer.

Something hiccups in my chest. I don’t reply. I like texting with him, but beyond that is asking for trouble. He must get the hint because he presses on.

Rhett: I hope your trauma goes well. You honestly may have the coolest job ever. As long as you suck my dick in between.

Me: Har, har.

Rhett: In all seriousness, I think being a doctor is incredible. You save lives.

Me: You help young lives become better

Rhett: Not the same thing, but I try. Text me when you get home or when you wake up. I might be starting to get a little addicted to you. I want more of your brain in my texts.

My brain. Not my body. Not my pussy or tits. My brain. I shouldn’t love that. But I do. The helicopter blades whump through the air in the distance, and Bennett Lawson, chief of trauma surgery, along with Keegan Fritz Powell—because the patient is pregnant and she’s an OB—come in beside me.

Me: Get some sleep. I’ll text you at some point.

I try to leave it there. I try to let it go. But there’s no way. I text him when I get home. I text him when I should be sleeping. I even text him when I wake, and I don’t care if it makes me sound like a non-rhyming Cat in the Hat.

He texts me too. All the time. All kinds of questions that are fun and different, and nothing too serious or personal. He’s right. It’s become addictive.

And instinctively, I know it’s just the start.

One month later

Rhett: If you could pick one superpower to have, what would it be?

Me: It’s too cliché for me to say heal the sick, right?

Rhett: Yes. We’re talking traditional superpowers.

Me: Either teleporting or flying. I’m super lazy sometimes and impatient, and when I want to get somewhere, I just want to get there without the hassle. What about you?

Rhett: In theory, being able to read people’s minds, but that sounds horrible at the same time.

Me: Edward Cullen hated it.

Rhett: Who’s that?

Me: *Eye roll emoji* From Twilight.

Rhett: I was already an adult when those movies came out.

Me: *GIF of shirtless sparkly Edward*

Rhett: I don’t see the appeal.

Me: They were books first, but I’ll let it slide. You also didn’t actually answer.