26. Highest of Highs

Johanna

“ W hat’s your plan tonight?” Jo asked May as they grabbed their purses and headed towards the exit of the breakroom.

May shrugged. “Not really sure. Maybe some Netflix. Perhaps a little wine. You know me, just living the exciting life that everyone would cherish.” She laughed as they stepped out of the breakroom. “And you?”

Jo knew what she wanted to be doing. She wanted to have Ali over and perhaps partake in dessert all night long.” She bit down on her lip, practically laughing at the mere thought that had easily come racing across her mind. Instead, she nonchalantly shrugged.

“Probably the same.”

May snickered. “So, you’re not going out with you know who? Or staying in with you know who?”

Jo playfully pushed her towards the elevator and May laughed. Jo felt her cheeks flush, but she couldn’t dare think that maybe someone from the hospital would overhear them and start getting crazy ideas of their own. Well, maybe it wouldn’t be so crazy. But it wouldn’t be good if someone overheard them. Couldn’t have the whole hospital talking.

May pressed the elevator button and they waited. They silently waited for the elevator to make its way to them. When the doors opened, Jo jumped back as she saw Ali.

“Hey, Ali. We were just talking about you,” May said.

Ali grinned. “Is that so?” She cast a glance to Jo.

Jo shrugged. “I don’t think your name was uttered once.”

Ali snickered. “Well, I’m glad I caught you both. Nolan’s boyfriend, Brody, is in town this weekend. We’re going out to a club for drinking and dancing. If you two are free, we’d like to have you join us.”

Jo looked over to May. “I’m free. What about you, May? Or are you too intrigued with your Netflix and wine tonight?”

“Nope. Sounds like fun. I wouldn’t miss tonight for anything.” There was a twinkle in her eye, which had Jo shaking her head as she turned to Ali.

“Great! I’ll text you the place, Jo. See you both there any time after eight.” She winked, which Jo quickly noticed. She looked over her shoulder and watched Ali walking away from them, her eyes quickly dropping down to Ali’s ass.

“Not a bad sight, huh?” May looked over her shoulder, her whisper brushing against Jo’s ear. Jo whirled around and glared at her, which had May laughing. “Just pointing out the obvious.” May shrugged and stepped on the elevator. “Are you coming?”

“Maybe I’ll wait for the next one,” Jo teased, before stepping into the elevator. As the doors closed, Jo leaned back against the wall.

“You two make a lovely couple,” May replied .

Jo looked over to her and shook her head. “The elevator could have ears, you know?”

May rolled her eyes. “What would they truly do if you guys came out as a couple? I’m sure they just use that as a scare tactic. At some point, you need to do what you need to do, and I think that you know what that is.”

Jo closed her eyes, and an image of Ali underneath her started to dance around her mind. It would be nice to believe that they could be a normal couple one day, not having to hide behind closed doors, just to show how much they cared for one another. But, for now, it felt like a fantasy that she would never be able to play out.

The doors opened, and the conversation stalled until they got outside. “Don’t you think that I don’t want that? I would love to be able to be out in the open and show people that I’m with her, but we have to be careful about it. I don’t want to rock any boats, especially when I’m feeling that everything is going well here at CAPMed. I have to be strategic about who I let into the know about how I feel about her. That’s why I appreciate that you are keeping this little secret.”

“You mean your dirty little secret,” May teased.

Jo smirked and shrugged. Both Ali and Jo knew they were crossing lines every time they went into the on-call room together. But Jo couldn’t picture giving that up so easily. And from the way Ali seemed to get into every interaction, she couldn’t, either.

“Get in the car,” May replied. “I’ll take you home, and you can get dressed, and then we’ll run to my place.”

That worked for Jo. They were at her apartment, and she was rummaging through her closet, less than twenty minutes later. She held up each item in front of her, then looked to May for a thumbs up or down. A few times May was indecisive, but then Jo took a look and shook her head. She wanted something with sex appeal but also didn’t look like she was trying too hard.

Eventually, she landed on a red cami, with a black see-through shirt and some slim jeans that were cut in all the right places. She turned and modeled the look to May. May looked to Maverick as she petted behind his ears. “What do you think, boy?”

He wagged his tail and started to pant, and May laughed, eagerly nodding. They were all in consensus. “Great!” Jo finished her hair, then kissed Maverick on the forehead, and they were off to do the same at May’s place.

“Now that I have about five minutes,” May teased. “Good thing I don’t have anyone to impress.”

“I’m not trying to impress anyone,” Jo argued. But that wasn’t entirely true. She wouldn’t have stood in front of her closet for any other person in her life, but Ali. And that said a lot because Jo wasn’t typically that type of woman. Still, this time, she wanted to show appeal and hope that Ali would like what she saw.

At May’s place, Jo sat with Iggy and waited as May reached into her closet and pulled out two outfits. “What you see is what you get,” she said, before laughing.

“I highly doubt that. I have seen you outside of work before, and you’re always so stylish.”

“Well, don’t want to out-style you,” May replied before winking. “I’m kidding. Nothing ever could. But I’m good with either of these choices. You pick.”

They settled on the one on the right, and May quickly changed. They didn’t leave the apartment until fifteen minutes past eight.

“Just remember, it’s better to arrive a few minutes late, so it doesn’t look like you’re trying to impress someone. ”

Jo rolled her eyes. As many times as she tried to say she wasn’t trying to impress anyone, they both knew the truth, so why fight it?

The club’s parking lot was crowded, with no spots available near the entrance. “We’re going to have to do some walking.” She had never been there before. It was forty-five minutes further than their typical club, but it seemed to be popular if the number of cars were any indication. They finally found a spot and then quickly walked towards the front of the club. Once inside, Jo looked around. It was a crush of people. “Will we ever find them?” she asked.

“You look that way and I’ll look this way,” May pointed and Jo looked off in the opposite direction. That’s when she saw her. She was dancing with Nolan and another guy on one side of her and a woman on the other side. The woman was laughing with her, and Jo’s breath caught. “Did you find them?” May asked from behind her.

“Yeah, I did,” Jo mumbled.

At that moment, Ali turned and spotted them. “Jo!” she called, escaping the woman, and hurrying towards them.

Jo turned around. “Let’s get out of here,” Jo mumbled.

“Jo?” May replied.

Jo felt her chest caving in, and she wanted to crawl into a hole. She couldn’t escape fast enough.

She escaped the crowded club and took in a big breath of fresh air. “Jo?” Ali burst out the front door. “Where are you going?”

“As far away from here as I can,” Jo breathlessly exclaimed .

“What’s wrong?” Ali asked, reaching for her arm. Jo spun around and stared at her.

“What’s wrong? Are you kidding me? Do you think I’m that stupid? Or perhaps you want me to be made a fool.” She took in a breath and shook her head. “Or maybe I am someone you can just get your kicks with and isn’t anything serious. Am I a fool for thinking that you wanted something serious, or did you want to make me the fool tonight? Which is it, Ali?”

Ali frowned. “I’m honestly confused right now. What’s wrong, Jo? I wanted you to come out tonight so we could have some genuine fun, and I thought if we came this far out and in a crowded place, we’d have fewer chances of running into someone. I wanted this to be our night. Sure, I invited the guys and thought May would come, because hell they all know about us. I’m not saying that I don’t want anything serious, Jo. I never said that. I never would. Hell, I’m falling in love with you, and you’re all I ever really think about.”

Jo’s jaw dropped. “Then why…” She took in another breath. “Why are you out dancing with another woman if that’s the case?”

Ali frowned. “Dancing with another woman?” She then tossed her head back and laughed. “In case you didn’t see how crowded it is in there, you have to practically be on top of the person next to you. Sophie is one of the waitresses here. I know her from here, that’s all. Tonight was her night off, but she’s waiting for her husband.”

Jo gasped. “But I saw her laughing, and she was so close to you and…” Ali reached out for Jo’s hand and moved in closer.

“I’m here because of you, Jo. She was telling me about a joke that her five-year-old niece told her. I was laughing out of courtesy and frankly only thinking about when you were going to get here. ”

Jo swallowed, staring deep into Ali’s eyes. “Really?”

“Jo, you have to believe me, and you have to know that I don’t openly speak about my feelings, but I mean everything I’m saying, and I am falling in love with you. Hell, you might even say I’m in love.” Jo opened her mouth, but Ali placed a finger on her lips. “You don’t have to say anything. I’m just speaking from my heart. Now, can we go inside already? There’s a dance floor that is calling our names.”

Jo nodded, and Ali clutched Jo’s hand in her own as they entered the club. May was out in the middle dancing with Nolan and Brody. Before Jo could get introduced, Ali pulled her into her arms. Jo opened her mouth, and Ali kissed her. It was a heartwarming kiss that nearly buckled Jo’s knees. Ali’s words were dancing in her mind, and she wanted to shout them from the rooftop, but Ali stopped her. Maybe it wasn’t the right time, but she knew what lay heavy in her heart.

They danced to three slow songs interspersed with fast songs, which the five of them danced together to. They didn’t stop once to take a breather. When the waitress approached the dance floor, they each grabbed a beer but kept on dancing.

“By the way,” Ali replied, leaning in to whisper something against her ear. “You’re looking exceptionally hot tonight.”

Jo grinned and looked over Ali’s outfit, nodded with satisfaction. “You, too.” She grabbed Ali’s hand and twirled her around, which caused Ali to release a laugh. Ali then pulled her closer, and they made out as if no one could see them. After they kissed, bringing another song to a close, Ali leaned into her.

“Do you wanna get out of here? I could take you home.”

Jo nodded, and she turned to May. “Do you mind?” she mouthed.

May rolled her eyes and pushed her away. They all said their goodbyes and Ali grabbed Jo’s hand and they left the club. Ali pulled her closer and Jo felt like everything was finally in place.

“Can I tell you something?” Jo replied, turning to her when they reached Ali’s car.

“Absolutely!”

“I’m falling in love with you.” She smirked. “In fact, you could say that I might just be in love with you.”

Ali’s eyes widened. “Well, now that we’re in agreement.” She leaned in and kissed Jo, as Jo’s heart raced with anticipation. It was the best night of her life in such a long time, and she didn’t want excitement like that to ever end.