Lily's Playlist Pt. 15

All next week, I was swamped at work. I had been putting in 200% effort ever since my talk with Derek. Especially since I had requested days off to go back to California. Derek hadn't said anything negative nor positive about my work, but I figured no news is good news.

On Thursday, Jordan caught me coming into work.

"Hey. Let's do lunch today!" She said.

"I can't. Derek has a meeting with Dr. Samuels about a new patient that I'm going to be working with. I should be there." I declined.

"Oh. Do you normally go to those?" She asked.

"No, but I figured I better show I'm focused and dedicated and shit." I smiled at her.

She shook her head.

When lunch time rolled around, I went to meet Derek in his office.

"I'm ready for the meeting with Dr. Samuels whenever you are." I said.

"I don't need you to be there. It's a classic ankle repair." Derek answered.

"Nonetheless, I would like to go. I've been reading up on some new techniques. I would love to implement them." I said, firmly.

How was that for dedication?

"Dr. Samuels is old school. He's not going to want to hear anything new." Derek replied. "I would like to hear them. Take the rest of the day and come up with a rehab plan. We can go over it tomorrow." He finished.

"Of course. Thanks Derek."

"Thank you. Your hard work hasn't gone unnoticed." He said. I smiled and left. I grabbed my purse and headed for the nurses station.

"Guess who got a compliment, and the rest of the day off?!?" I said to Jordan.

"It's not me, so I'm going to take a wild guess and say you!" Jordan grinned.

"Still wanna do lunch?" I asked.

"Love to. Give me 10 minutes." Jordan answered.

I used that 10 minutes to freshen up and think of some questions to ask Jordan about her boyfriend. Not gonna lie, Sammy's warning was still a thought in my head. I know, it was stupid and super conceited of me, but I can't help the feeling that something wasn't adding up.

When she was ready, we went to a sushi place. After ordering and receiving our food, we ate and chatted.

"So, tell me more about Corey?" I said, as we dug into our food.

"Oh, he's awesome. We went to high school together. He's 24, a pharmacy tech. Really laidback. Great sense of humor. I really think y'all are going to get along great." She talked him up.

"Cool..." I said, taking a sip of my water. "So... does he get along with your boyfriend?"

"Sure. My boyfriend's always busy so we don't hang out all together a lot, but when we do, it's fun." She said quickly, before going back to her food. I couldn't tell if she was really hungry, or if she was avoiding the question. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and decided she was just hungry.

"What does your boyfriend do?" I asked her, when she paused.

"He's a doctor." She answered.

"What's his specialty?" I asked.

"Oh, he works at a clinic. So y'all all went out to the bar after the run?" Jordan asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah. It was so much fun. I wish you would have came. Your boyfriend's a doctor but wouldn't come out for a cancer charity event?" I questioned.

"He had to work."

"Oh, I thought you said it wasn't his thing?" I questioned.

"It wasn't, but he had to work in the morning anyway. That's the thing about Corey's schedule too. He works pharmacy hours so he doesn't always get weekends off. If you do hang out, you're going to have to work around his schedule." Jordan explained pausing briefly to take a breath "Let me show you a picture of him." She exclaimed.

I let her change the subject this time. I knew she was hiding something now. She was too eager to break her own rule to show me a picture of Corey. I decided to catch her off guard with more questions later. I looked at her phone. He was definitely cute. Brown short hair, brown eyes, and a kind smile. I gave Jordan permission to give him my number.

On the drive home from lunch, Trevor called me.

"Hey you! Becca finally uncuffed you?" I answered.

"I'm on my lunch break and we don't use handcuffs. We use rope." Trevor replied.

"Ummm....Gross. Don't wanna hear about your sex life." I said.

"Do you have a sex life we can talk about?" He teased. I blushed, thinking about Jake. I quickly pushed him out of my mind.

"Potentially. You know that girl from my work? Jordan, the nurse? She came to my housewarming?"

"Yeah..." Trevor said. I could hear the confusion in his voice.

"I think she's obsessed with me and loves me in a more than friends kinda way." I said, matter of factly.

Trevor laughed out loud. "Ok. Run that by me one more time. But slower. And tell me any intimate moments you two might have had. In many details..."

I laughed with him.

----------------------------------------------

"Sorry I'm late you guys." I said, as I sat down at the table with Rocky and Trevor. Trevor, Rocky and I haven't been out together, just the three of us, in forever. Trevor brought it up when we talked last and I blamed it on their significant others. Trevor remedied the situation by inviting just me and Rocky out to lunch on Saturday before we hung out with everyone at a bar that night. Derek called me though as I was getting back from grocery shopping Saturday afternoon. I was on call for the weekend so he told me my patient that had ankle surgery. He was experiencing swelling and discomfort that the pain medicine was helping with and was getting worried. I met my patient at the clinic, assessed his ankle and assured him a little discomfort was normal. I gave him ice and stim before sending him home. I rushed to meet up with for lunch with Trevor and Rocky, arriving 30 minutes late.

"That's ok. Got caught up with your girlfriend?" Trevor joked with me over the table.

"Shut up Trevor or you're gonna be wearing that beer." I threatened, picking up my menu. I was still trying to explore the city of Addison, so we went to BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse. It was amazing the amount of restaurants I haven't been to in Dallas. I probably eat out too much, but I felt like I have to try every restaurant at least once.

"See, this is why I don't hang out with y'all, just the three of us. I always end up babysitting." Rocky complained, rolling her eyes. She smiled, so I know it's all in good fun.We were catching up and studying the menu when my phone rang. I typically would ignore it but I was on call. When I picked it up, I was glad to see it was just Forrest.

"Hey, wuz up?" I answered, smiling and ignoring Trevor's disapproving look.

"I have your pictures... and I'm in your neck of the woods." He said.

"Awesome. Let me give you the address."

"Forrest is gonna drop by." I said, when I got off the phone.

"Forrest? Is that one of your gay neighbors?" Trevor asked.

"No! That's Patrick and Lamar. I met Forrest through work. He invited me to the mud run. He has my pictures and is in the area." I explained.

The waitress came to take our order.

"Can we just get appetizers for now? Forrest might have time to join us." I requested.

Rocky gave me a questioning glance, buy they both agreed and we ordered the appetizer combo that came with Spinach and Artichoke Dip, Mozzarella Sticks, Avocado Egg Rolls and Santa Fe Spring Rolls. Trevor also ordered us another round of beer too. I was drinking their Berry Burst Cider and Trevor tried Piranha Pale Ale. Rocky wasn't in the mood for beer, so she stuck with their handcrafted black cherry soda. The drinks arrived the same time Forrest showed up. I stood up to hug and greet him, before introducing him to Rocky and Trevor.

"Rocky is Brandon's girlfriend that didn't want to pay to play in mud. Trevor's the one that wanted to pay to see me fall face first in it." I explained to Forrest as we sat down.

He smiled at Rocky. "I understand. That's how the dinner afterwards came about; for people who want to donate and participate without the mud. Next year, make sure you come to that." He then handed Trevor a large envelope. "And these are almost as good as being there. Thank y'all both for the donations." He finished.

While Trevor and Rocky looked through the pictures, I turned to Forrest.

"Hungry?" I asked, offering him my menu.

"Always can eat. It's a constant struggle." He said, taking the menu from me.

I laughed. "We share that struggle."

We were deciding what we wanted to try when my phone beeped indicating a text. It was Derek checking up on the patient.

"Put your phone up!" Trevor said.

"Eat me. I'm on call." I replied.

"That's Jordan's job." Trevor joked.

Forrest choked on the beer he just received.

"Please excuse them. They have no home training." Rocky apologized.

"That was my boss. I don't need to give him a reason to lecture me again." I said, putting away my phone.

"No problem." Forrest said.

"Is your boss giving you a hard time?" Trevor asked.

"Nothing I can't handle. " I said.

"You sure?" Rocky questioned.

"Yes. Geez guys, I'm good." I smiled.

The waitress came back with the appetizers and we ordered our food. As we snacked, I told them about the patient I just took care of.

"It was just swelling. He freaked himself out reading all the aftercare paperwork. He thought he had an infection and he was going to need his foot amputated or something." I exaggerated.

They laughed. "Is he still icing it?" Forrest asked.

"Yeah, and taking anti-inflammatories. I bet you when he's resting, it's not elevated." I guessed.

"Yeah, that's why I love the cryo cuffs. Cold and compression. It's easier to rest elevated with it than a bag of ice. It helps the swelling tremendously." Forrest said.

"Ohmigosh. That's an amazing idea. He can take it home." I pulled out my phone to text Derek the idea. He agreed right away and said he was going to head to the clinic to loan it out to him. When I asked if he needed me in as well, he said no and that with my idea, hopefully we could both enjoy the rest of the weekend with no more concerns. "You scored me major brownie points with Derek. I knew there was a reason I'm keeping you around." I said, playfully.

"I'll keep being useful then." He flashed a grin at me.

"Are you a therapist too?" Trevor asked him.

"No. I'm an athletic trainer at a high school. One of Lily's patient is a student." He clarified.

"So he introduced you two?" Trevor asked.

"Kinda. Lily sent me a really nasty, bossy email warning me to back off and that Darren was her patient." Forrest explained.

"And that just made you think, my type of girl?" Trevor laughed.

"Exactly." Forrest laughed too.

"I didn't send it. Derek did!!!" I finally admitted. "Now you see why I wanna stay on his good side."

"Just let me know. I can round up a posse for you to straighten him out." Forrest joked.

"That's how y'all get down in Fort Worth?" I laughed.

"They don't call it funky town for nothin' " Forrest winked at me.

"So, have you and your fiancée set a date?" Rocky asked Forrest.

"She's still looking at locations but sometime next summer." Forrest answered.

"You're engaged? Congratulations." Trevor said, his tone weird.

"Thanks" When Forrest looked down to eat a spring roll, Trevor sent me a hard glare. I ignored him.

"How and when did you propose?" Rocky asked.

"Geez Rocky. Can he eat?" I asked her.

"Me and my boyfriend live together. I'm constantly thinking about the next step. I just want a guy's perspective of when he was ready to take that step." Rocky continued, ignoring me.

"My fiancée's family is real old fashioned. Living together wasn't an option until we got married, so that sped things along. We dated off and on through college but actually didn't get back together 'til a year ago. We got back together at my buddy's Memorial Day BBQ. It just felt right to propose at this year's Memorial Day BBQ." Forrest described.

"Y'all need a whole year to plan? Red, white and blue are the wedding colors and serve BBQ." Trevor smiled. I noticed his smile was a little tight.

"I thought the same thing. I figured we'd spend 6 months celebrating being engaged. Then 6 months planning. Didn't work out like that." Forrest replied.

Me and Rocky laughed.

"And just fyi, no one does wedding colors anymore. It's outdated. It's color palettes. Ours is going to be a neutral palette." Forrest added.

"What does that even mean?" I asked Forrest.

"Don't ask me. I said navy and white and got chased out the room." Forrest chuckled.

"It's different tones of beige, white, and cream. Very classy." Rocky explained. Something in her tone made me stare at her. There was a... yearning, I guess would be the best word, quality in her voice. It took me by surprise. Did she want Brandon to propose? Were they that serious?

"That sounds expensive." Trevor commented.

"Well, her parents are not only old fashion, but traditional so they're paying for it. Trade off is I have no opinion." Forrest sighed.

"Goes back to the golden rule: He who has the gold makes the rules." I commented.

Forrest laughed. "Did you just quote Jafar from Aladdin?"

"If I did, you knew where it was from." I grinned.

"Yeah, Disney was my childhood." Forrest admitted.

"Mine too! I still watch the classics to this day." I agreed, enthusiastically.

"We know. You have a Disney song on all your playlist." Trevor poked fun at me.

"Just childish." Rocky jeered.

"Hey, the music is awesome and the movies have valuable life lessons." I defended my love for all things Disney.

"Agreed. I always could relate to them." Forrest said.

"Top 3 favorites?" I asked him.

"Lion King, Tarzan, Toy Story. You?"

"Lion King for sure, Goofy Movie and it's a toss up between Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast." I replied.

"Yikes. Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast are problematic." Forrest shook his head

"And Tarzan is not? A white kid raised by a bunch of gorillas?" I challenged him.

"Nope, you're thinking too much into it. Besides, as my students would say, Phil Collins ate on the soundtrack." Forrest argued with a smile.

I cracked up laughing. " I will give you that, only because he left no crumbs on "You'll Be in My Heart"."

When the food came out, Trevor clapped. "Thank you. Now we can move on from the topic of Disney."

Rocky ordered Parmesan Crusted Chicken that came with white cheddar mashed potatoes and broccoli. Trevor got a Roast Beef Dip Sandwich with French fries. Forrest and I chose deep dish pizzas. He picked the BJ classic, the toppings included meatballs, pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, green bell peppers, black olives, onions and tomatoes. I tried the Great White, that had chicken, alfredo sauce, mushrooms, garlic, Parmesan cheese and tomatoes.

I split my pizza to share with Forrest.

"Thanks Lily. I would love some pizza too." Trevor said.

"Hell no. Forrest and I collaborated on our meal." I explained, as Forrest split his pizza with me.

"Well I wanna collaborate too." Trevor announced.

"Too late. You gotta do it when you order. I don't want any roast beef sandwich. I could get that at Quiznos" I informed him.

"Help yourself to some of mine." Forrest offered.

"No Forrest. You're making me look bad." I exclaimed.

Rocky laughed. "You are hogging a whole pizza Lily. Kinda looking bad all on your own."

"Don't let your former fat kid win." Forrest smiled at me.

"Fine." I grumbled. I took a slice of pizza and ate off all the mushrooms. When Forrest gave me a look, I said, "he doesn't even eat mushrooms."

Forrest chuckled and I handed the pizza over to Trevor.

"Thanks Lily." He said, with a half grin.

"Whatever. Gimme some fries!"

After we ate, Forrest and Trevor argued over who was paying. Forrest won when he pointed out that he crashed our lunch. Trevor just agreed to buy us drinks when we all went out tonight. I said goodbye to Forrest and headed to my car with a doggy bag of half my pizza. I blamed the appetizers and beer as to why I couldn't finish.

Trevor followed me to my car.

"Lily, What are you doing? That dude is practically married." Trevor accosted me.

"We're not allowed to be friends because he's engaged?" I huffed.

"I thought y'all were dating. Hell, I would still be thinking that if Rocky didn't bring up his fiancée." Trevor exclaimed.

"But they're not Trevor so calm down." Rocky butted in. "Lily is not dumb. She knows not to get involved with him. Can we go now please?"

"Fine. I'm gonna go pick up Becca. Meet y'all later." Trevor said, before he left. Rocky followed him. I climbed in my car and took off.

I went back to my apartment and got ready to go out. I showered and got dressed. When we moved in, Sammy gave me clothes that didn't fit her. One of them were black harem pants with slits up the side. She told me she was too short to wear them, but they would look great on me. When I first saw them, I was waiting for a chance to get rid of them. I was inspired to wear them tonight. I paired them with a black crop top that exposed my midriff and ankle booties. Booties and boots were the only shoes with a heel I could walk in.

I spent an hour on YouTube to create a side bubble ponytail. The end result was great. My make up featured dramatic lashes, black liner and soft pink lips. Satisfied with my finished look, I stood in the mirror in the den. I snapped what felt like 100 pictures of myself until I got one that I loved. I texted it to Forrest and wrote:

Me: A whole new world

I sent the photo, hoping he would get and appreciate my look that was inspired by Princess Jasmine.

He texted me back, immediately.

Forrest: A new fantastic point of view

I smiled as I recognized the next lyrics from the song "A Whole New World." I received another text.

Forrest: You look great. What are you up to tonight?

Me: Just hanging out with friends at a lounge in Dallas. No mechanical bulls, but should be fun if you wanna hang.

Forrest: That's Cool. Do you have snapchat?

Me: I don't. Should I?

Forrest: all the cool kids have it.

Me: Key word: Kids. I don't have parents to hide from.

He didn't respond before I left to head to Rocky's house.

"Oooo Lily, don't you look sexy!!!" Rocky said, as I walked into their house.

"You don't think it's too much?" I asked, giving a twirl so she could see the side slit.

"Those's pants are a lot of things... Too much is not one of them." Rocky smiled. "You look fantastic."

"So do y'all." I smiled at Rocky and Brandon. Rocky was wearing a blue sheer blouse and a black bandage skirt. Brandon wore dark denim blue jeans and a short sleeved, black military inspired button down.

I accepted a glass of wine from Rocky. I was designated driver for the night, so that one, plus one drink at the lounge, was all I was doing.

"Who's all coming tonight?" I asked Rocky and Brandon, glancing at Brandon.

"Trevor, Becca, Peyton, Chris and their friends are meeting us up there." Rocky answered.

"You didn't invite any of your friends Brandon? " I asked, casually.

"You mean Ethan? You know he's not a going out kinda guy." Brandon answered, just as nonchalantly. Ass. He knew I was talking about Jake.

"I know. I meant in general. "

"No. Did you invite any of your new friends?" Brandon asked me.

"No." I turned to Rocky. "Speaking of new friends, thanks so much for getting Trevor off my back about Forrest. We really are just friends. I don't know what Trevor's problem is." I changed the subject.

"Don't mention it." Rocky said, sipping her wine. "Besides, he doesn't know you're hooking up with Jake."

I almost spat out my wine. I gulped and turned to Brandon. "Fuck Brandon. Did you tell her about you freak dancing on that girl at the bar too!?!" I snapped.

"No, Fuck you Lily. I didn't tell her shit!!!" Brandon exclaimed.

I turned to Rocky.

She looked amused. "He didn't. You both just confirmed my suspicions. You were sneaking glances at Jake on Sunday like you were afraid he was going to disappear. Jake looked like someone kicked his puppy when you left that day."