I shrug. Shes a pistol all right. I wouldnt say I have her though.

Shane gives me an indecipherable look, possibly irritated, possibly amused, and its unsettling.

I know that the minute theyre out of our presence theyll be speculating about whether or not Shane and I *****. Probably wondering if shes the man or if we switch. And Darrell will probably flat out ask me first thing the next shift we work together.

So, what do you do for a living, Shane? Bob asks.

I do hair.

She does hair for the stars. I say, a piss-poor imitation of Robin Leach.

Shut up, she says, bristling under the attention.

Its true. You know that billboard of Madonna, on Sunset?

D! Shane says, annoyed like a cat being stroked the wrong way.

Yeah.

That was Shane.

For real? Bob says.

You did her hair for that? Darrell asks.

Yeah.

Wow. Im impressed. Shes hot. Ravi says it quite earnestly in his Punjabi accent, and its quite funny. He looks perplexed when we all burst out laughing.

“So, Darrell, it doesn’t matter who wins this thing, right, as long as it’s you or me?”

I hold my hand out, and he high-fives it. “Right. ER rules, baby!”

Personally I think Darrell should win it. He’s not a better nurse than me but he’s damn good, and he’s been here for the whole year. I tell him so.

“No, you should get it, I won last year.”

“No kidding? Did you really?”

“Yeah. I won’t win it again. I’m just here to support you. And see you in your lovely dress.”

“You’re an incorrigible flirt. Unfortunately for you, I don’t do boys.”

“You could hook him up with Alice,” Shane says.

“Hey, yeah, I could. Do you like blondes?”

“I like women, period. Blonde, brunette, skinny, fat, black white. It’s all good.”

“Amen,” Shane says wryly.

.

The awards presentation is boring as *****, but this is offset by the awesome dinner they serve during it.

Also relieving the boredom is the sensation of something moving slowly up my leg, from ankle to mid-calf. I glance at Shane, and she is smilng slightly, but not looking at me. I press back against the touch, and realize that she’s stroking my leg with her bare foot. She’s never done anything quite so demonstrative before and it pleases me insanely.