We arrive at Soldier Field around 1 p.m., and with his arm wrapped around my waist, Daniel leads me towards the parking lot. I’ve been tailgating before so this is not new to me. As we head towards the parking lot and see the lines of parked cars, tailgates open, and the hordes of people surrounding them, I feel at home. The air is filled with the aroma of portable grills packed with food, and the laughter and ribbing of Bears’ fans as they prepare for the game.
“You alright?” Daniel asks me, quirking an eyebrow as I look around, taking the whole experience in.
“I’m perfect, Superman,” I say with a grin.
“Superman? I like it,” he replies, kissing the side of my head. “I like that a lot.”
I can’t wipe the goofy grin off my face. This is almost comical. Makenna, the relationship phobe objectifier of men, actually enjoying a second date, and not wanting it to end anytime soon.
Well, that is until Daniel stops next to a white Dodge Pick-Up and I look straight into the blue eyes of Dr. Noah Taylor. My Noah.
Fuck!
Daniel, not noticing my body go stiff as a dead body in the snow, lifts his chin to his friends before introducing me. “Mac, this is Thomas, Cade, and Noah. They’re old college buddies of mine. And this is Mac,” he says with a huge grin.
Thomas steps forward first, offering me his outstretched hand for a handshake. I put my hand in his and he startles me when he lifts the back of my hand up to his mouth and kisses it softly. “Nice to meet you, Mac.”
“Watch it, Tom. She’s my date,” Daniel says in jest as I stifle a giggle.
“Just greeting the lady, Danny Boy. No need to get jealous,” he responds with a grin and a wink towards me.
I try not to meet Noah’s gaze, which hasn’t left me since we turned up. I can feel his eyes burning into me, though, so I burrow myself closer into Daniel’s side, earning a chuckle and a squeeze from him.
“They won’t bite, gorgeous,” he murmurs into my hair as he gently kisses my head.
“I’m not too sure about that,” I mutter. I think back to a few months ago when Noah got a bit carried away, leaving a hickey the size of Mt. Rushmore on my neck. I had to wear a turtleneck underneath my scrubs for a whole week to hide the thing.
I sneak a glance at Noah; he’s standing there with the biggest smirk on his face, gently nodding at me. I’ve known Noah for two years, so it’s safe to say we know each other fairly well, in and out of the on call room, so he knows that I don’t do strings. Hell, I usually don’t do second dates.
I gasp when I see him step forward. “Dan, my man. Long time no see!” he says, clapping Daniel on the back. “And Mac, haven’t seen you in a while.”
“You two know each other?”
“We work at the same hospital,” I say as cheerfully as I can.
Daniel smiles, “Wow, small world then, huh? And where have you been Taylor? Haven’t seen you around.”
“Out of town for a training course. Haven’t really seen anyone lately,” he says, clearly taking a dig at me.
“Nice work while you can get it then. You seeing anyone these days?” Daniel asks him, oblivious to the discomfort I’m feeling right now.
“Not right now. Still seeing that nurse from work I told you about. It’s a friend’s with benefits arrangement. It works well,” he says warmly.
I still can’t look at him, and I can feel my blood pressure starting to boil. Noah may be a friend and yes, we’ve screwed each other like rabbits off and on for the past two years, but to talk about it right here in front of my date, my Daniel. It’s infuriating.
“Sounds grand,” I say through gritted teeth.
“What’s that?” Daniel says as he turns away and starts talking to another one of the guys. I take the opportunity to give Noah a stare designed to rock his soul, but he just smiles his panty dropper grin back at me, riling me up even more.
I put my hand on Daniel’s chest, rising up on my toes to give him a soft kiss on those delicious lips of his. “Nothing, I’m going to go get a soda from the cart over there. Do you want anything?” I ask, wishing that a sink hole would turn up right now and swallow me...or Noah!
“I’m good. I’ll grab a beer from the cooler. You want me to come with?”
“It’s okay, I’m a big girl, Superman. I’ll be back,” I say over-enthusiastically as I give him one more peck on the check and wiggle out of his hold before turning on my heels and walking away from the group.
As soon as I’m out of sight, I pull my phone out to call Kate. This is our thing. Whenever one of us is freaking out or having issues, we call and vent. We let everything hang out, usually talking way too fast for the other person to even hear every word we say, but it works, every time. Lately it’s been me on the receiving end of these kind of calls from Kate, but now it’s my turn. This time I know she’s gonna laugh her head off at me. She’s always said that my little arrangements would come back and bite me in the ass.
“Hey, Mac. Shouldn’t you be on your date?” she asks as soon as she picks up the call.
“I am on my date. Just happens that Noah is here too!” I spit out quickly. I have a habit of talking fast when I’m worried or pissed off. Right now, I’m a mixture of both.
“WHAT? You’ve got to be shitting me! How does that work?” she questions. I can hear both shock and amusement in her voice. Of course, she finds this situation hilarious. Maybe I will too, once I’m home and drunk.
“Old college buddies supposedly, but get this. Dan asked Noah about his love life, and he said that he still has that arrangement with the nurse, but he hasn’t seen her in a few weeks. Seriously, Kate, I could have died. And he would’ve been turned into stone had he bothered to glance my way at that exact moment. The f**ker even kept a straight face.”
She’s full on laughing down the phone at my predicament. “Sorry, Mac, but you have to admit that this is kind of funny. So where are you now?”
“I said I was thirsty, so I left to go buy a soda. What are the f**king chances, Kate? I mean, really. Delicious Daniel and Dr. Noah knowing each other? Holy flying shitballs, Batman!”
“Okay, Mac, take a deep breath,” she says calmly, thankfully getting over her giggling fit as I follow her advice and breathe in and out. “Okay. You need to decide if you’re gonna stick this date out, or make a cowardly escape right now?”