You’re taking Janet

Going with your nurse to a drive-in theater might be a weird thing to do, but there’s got to be a reason why you’ve got her number, right? She’s a student at Stonewall too. That must make it okay. And if there was any doubt in your mind before you texted her, the instant affirmative response on her end put them to rest.

But when the Bentley pulls up to the curb, you begin to get second thoughts. Your family’s comfortably middle class, maybe even slightly wealthier than that, but this car… this car is no joke. You look down at your outfit, just a nice dress shirt and slacks, and you silently reprimand yourself for not dressing up more.

Then the tinted windows roll down, and Janet gives you a cheery wave. She is… not dressed the way you expected her to be. This might even be… good?

“Hop in!” she laughs, her warm smile cutting through all your overthinking and anxiety.

That breaks through your train of thought, and you unfreeze, getting into the car. You’re immediately struck by how nice everything is. Everything is wood, leather, and sleek, polished metal. Even without the lady in the driver’s seat, this car is elegance personified.

“Daaang,” you slowly nod, taking in your surroundings. “Nice ride.”

“Cool, isn’t it?” Janet smiles, setting off at a smooth cruise. “I’m so sooo sorry for showing up in my scrubs though. I thought I’d have time to change but then my shift ended late and I didn’t, like, want you to think I’d stand you up, so I came straight here from the hospital!”

“I don’t mind at all,” you smile back. “You’d look great in anything. Plus, your make-up game is always so on point.”

She rolls her eyes, as if that’s a given. For her, it probably is. Then, she perks up, startled by something.

“Ohmygod you’ve only ever seen me in my scrubs, right?” she says. You nod, though that’s a lie—you’ve stalked her Instagram, like any red-blooded man would. You’ve seen this hot nurse dressed casual, you’ve seen her in a dress, you’ve seen her in a bikini… “Okay we’re going to have to change that soon. I have got so much better in my wardrobe, I swear.”

“Looking forward to it,” you laugh. “But man, shift running late? That sounds rough. They do that to you lots?”

“From time to time,” Janet shrugs. The pretty little Asian babe thinks for a second, tilting her head to the side. “Today was… ugh… patient handover was, like, a godawful mess. The doc that was supposed to show up didn’t and I had to basically triage the problem myself.”

“Is that… legal?” you say. “Not that I doubt your skills, y’know, but just, as a patient I think I’d want the doctor there…”

“Oh no no no, wasn’t your doctor, don’t worry about it,” Janet laughs. “But yeah, the admin try to cut corners when they can and this… is kinda a gray area? Maybe in the darker corners of gray? Like sometimes some stupid-ass resident will come in and ask me for advice and then take all the credit for himself in front of the attending and I’m like, dude, seriously?”

“Wow, dick move,” you say.

“Yeah,” she says, shaking her head in disbelief. “And the patients! God some of them are so awful and entitled. It’s like, oh, you’re a pretty looking nurse, so you’re my **** because you have to take care of me, and I can tell you to do whatever I want. These people, they’ve all got their minds in the gutter!”

“First of all, that sounds terrible,” you say. “But second, if you’ve got any good stories, I’d be down to hear.”

“Okay, like just the other day, I was changing this old dude’s bedpans, which is gross enough on his own. And I wanted to get it done as fast as possible, but then I realized when I helped him roll off it that he was like, absolutely filthy down there. So I was there, staring at his dirty ass, thinking fuck I’ve got to wipe this shit now don’t I, and then he turns his fat neck over to me, catches me staring, and you know what he says? ‘Oh yeah, you like that ass? Bet you’d love to tap it.’ I ignore him, of course, and just wash the bedpan, deciding he’s not getting wiped down, but then I’ve got to roll him back onto the bedpan, and as I do, he starts moaning, and… ugh. Patients are just the worst.”

“Remind me to never work in healthcare,” you say, and Janet laughs, shaking her head.

“It comes with the territory.”

The two of you pull into the lot where the movie’s being shown. There’s already a pretty big thicket of cars, lots of people showing up to watch the film today. Janet gives you a quick look.

“Ahh shoot, sorry, I shouldn’t be dumping all of this on you. You didn’t come here to listen about my work problems.” Janet gives you big doe eyes as she speaks, her long lashes seeming to flutter as she blinks. She looks awfully hot, apologizing to you like that.

“You can vent to me,” you laugh. “It’s interesting, listening about this. I don’t really spend time in hospitals, except… oh man, I was your patient too, huh. I’ve probably got to apologize to you too.”

“No way,” Janet laughs, covering her mouth as she does so. “You were one of the best patients I’ve ever had. Not many guys can look good in a hospital gown. Most of them are just geriatric or bariatric or straight up crazy. Not so fun to deal with.”

“Sounds like they should be paying you more,” you say.

“I wish,” Janet says. “That would be nice.”

“You deserve it,” you nod, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder.

She gives you another sunny smile and then leans back against you, watching the opening credits to the movie play. You enjoy the feel of her pressed against you, her hair cascading over your shoulders, and she rests her hand on your knee.

“It must feel good to just relax after a long day’s work,” you say.

You begin to massage her shoulder, working on the surprisingly large knots that you find there.

“Yeah,” she says, and then: “Mmmh, that’s the spot. Gosh, your hands are so strong.”

You smile at her lazily, continuing to massage her, the two of you watching a cowboy stride onto the set, declaring that he’ll be the savior of this rundown town. The two of you lapse into a comfortable silence for a minute, just watching the film while you continue to work her shoulders, and then she turns to look at you.

“I need more of this in my life,” she says, and the look of confusion you return to her must register, because she goes on: “I mean, like, just these nice, quiet moments. Like you listening to me earlier. Or just sitting like this. Especially when you touch me like that...”

She lets out a little moan at that, just as you dig your fingers deeper into her shoulders, and you decide that that’s a sound that you’d like more of in your life, too.

“What’s stopping you from having it?” you ask.

“I don’t know,” she says, hemming and hawing a bit. “My boyfriend just… doesn’t get it, y’know? Like, we meet up after a long day’s work, and like bam, he wants to just fuck immediately, when… I don’t know, I kinda just want to wind down, have a bit of romance…”

“Yeah, I get that,” you say, a sinking feeling dropping in your stomach.

Of course she’s taken. You’ve had a ridiculous streak of luck with the girls that have caught your attention thus far, but of course there’s got to be one who’s solidly partnered. Janet’s solidly out of your league anyways. So maybe this isn’t the worst thing to happen. Still…

“But this romance thing, it’s not so hard to do, right?” she says, smiling at you mischievously. “You’ve managed to keep it in your pants this long. Maybe that’s all a guy needs to do to earn a little more, y’know?”

She leans closer to you, and you realize with a start just how close her lips are to yours. And that last sentence of hers… was that an invitation to start something? Do you even want to start something? Do you want her, or do you just want her as a friend? Shit, you need to make a choice…

Janet +10