“And open.”
The teen opened her mouth, and Miguel removed the suction. He stepped away to let Dr. Coker go over the results of his findings with the young lady. While they talked, Miguel got everything ready for the cleaning.
Once the appointment was finished, Miguel went back to the breakroom. That was their last patient for the day, so Miguel wanted to check his phone and get a quick sip of water before he started his closing duties. He got his water bottle from the fridge and his phone from his cubby. Tapping his phone awake, he saw the text envelope in the notification bar. Miguel tapped it and the screen rolled to a text from the guy he’d met the other night.
“Hi, it’s Paul from the Space Lounge.”
The message hadn’t come that long ago, so Miguel didn’t bother with the sorry I’m just getting this message routine in his answer. “Hi, Paul from the Space Lounge.” Miguel had barely taken a sip of his water when his phone vibrated with a reply.
“Let’s meet for coffee this evening.”
Miguel raised an eyebrow. “Wow. Don’t try to woo me or anything, Paul. Just get right to the point.”
Kendra walked into the room and caught the end of his muttering. “Are you talking to yourself?”
“Sort of. Talking at my phone and bemoaning the lost art of flirting.”
“What?”
He waved his phone at her. “Space Lounge guy texted me.”
“I told you he would,” Kendra said with a grin.
Miguel snorted. “He asked me out for coffee. On a Monday night. And in the driest way ever. He didn’t even use the coffee emoji.”
Kendra laughed. “Okay, so he’s a little dry. You should still go. Maybe he comes across better in person than he does through text.”
Miguel let his thumb hover over the phone. He might as well. It was just coffee. And Hector hadn’t said anything all weekend that might make him think that confusing, tension-filled moment meant something for them. Miguel cursed under his breath. He had to stop making the remote possibility that Hector would be romantically interested in him part of his decision-making process. Before he could talk himself out of it, Miguel typed “Yes” and hit send.
“Great. Seven o’clock. Let me know where you want to meet.”
Miguel typed in his answer.
“Okay, I’m going,” he said out loud to Kendra.
“Good. You’ll have fun. And even if you don’t, at least you’ll get a free Frappuccino out of it.”
Miguel laughed. “True.” He put his phone and water away and went up front to go over the patient schedule for Tuesday.
At home getting dressed, Miguel kept it casual with jeans and a purple, long-sleeved shirt. Once he was ready, he went out to the living room. He was checking the progress on his Uber when the front door opened. Hector came in with his duffle bag slung over his shoulder.
“Hey,” Hector greeted him with a tired smile.
“Hi. How was work?”
“Long and boring,” Hector answered as he went into his bedroom. “But I guess that’s a good thing. You want to watch a movie tonight?”
“Awww, I can’t.” Miguel spoke loud enough so Hector could hear him from where he stood. “This guy I met on Friday texted me and wants to go out for coffee.”
Hector didn’t respond for a few moments so Miguel opened Twitter and started scrolling down his timeline. Hector finally answered when he was back in the living room.
“On a date, huh? You want to go ahead and tell me where you’re meeting so I can be ready to come pick you up when you call?”
Miguel stopped messing with his phone and looked up at Hector with a frown. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Hector shrugged. “You’ve been involved with two guys these past few months. One hit you in the face, the other damn near broke your ankle.”
Completely taken aback, Miguel reacted the way he would if any random person was talking nonsense to him. He slapped one hand onto his hip and raised the other to hold a finger up. “Okay, first of all, I wasn’t involved with that guy at the bar”—he ticked off—”Second”—he popped another finger up—”I don’t need your shitty commentary on my life.”