Warning: Buck is on a date with another guy, but don't worry. It doesn't last long.
Chapter 4
Buck sighed. He wasn't sure why he thought this was a good idea. His shitty luck with dates seemed to continue even though it had been a long time since he went on a date.
The guy was good-looking enough, but he sure was full of himself. All he talked about was how much he worked out and the guys he screwed. Buck wasn't sure why this guy thought that would be appealing to him. Why would he want to hear about how he had sex with three different guys a week.
Maybe he should stop using Grindr. The app seemed to only cater to guys looking for sex instead of meaningful connections.
He knew the reason why he opened up the app for the first time in months, though. It was because he felt drawn to a certain parent of one of his patients, and he knew that was trouble waiting to happen. He never got involved with any of the parents he met, and he wasn't about to break his self-imposed rule. No matter how sexy Eddie Diaz was.
And because someone up there found it incredibly funny to mess with him for chuckles, he saw a familiar person enter the bar with what looked to be most of his teammates. Only his captain was missing. Buck sighed. How was he ever going to forget about Eddie Diaz when he kept popping up?
Buck tried to smile at his date, but he kept looking to wear Eddie and the others sat in a circle booth. His date, so self-obsessed, didn't even notice that he had none of Buck's attention.
The door to the restaurant/bar opened and another familiar figure walked. Buck's smile turned genuine when Karen Wilson saw him and hurried over.
"Buck, it's so nice to see you. And a surprise," Karen warmly greeted.
Buck cut a glance at the idiot that was still talking about having beach sex during spring break in Miami Beach, Florida. He rolled his eyes and stood, not caring if he was thought of as rude.
"It's nice to see you, Karen." He looked and saw Eddie and Henrietta, he assumed, walking over to them.
"Hey, Buck," Eddie smiled, his eyes soft, and he looked genuinely happy to see Buck there.
Buck did his best to not read too much into that. "Hi, and you must be Henrietta. It's so nice to finally meet Denny's other mom."
Henrietta had a wide smile on her face. "Please, just call me Hen. It's nice to finally meet you. It's not very often that a child enjoys going to his doctor for a checkup. You should be proud of yourself."
"I try my best, and I'm glad my patients love me so much."
Karen touched his arm. "How have you been?"
His mind flashed back to the last time they saw each other. It was when Denny had gotten his flu shot. The night before, he had talked to his parents for the first time in ages, and it went about as well as it usually did. He hadn't been his normal sunshiney self and Karen had picked up on it immediately. While Denny sat in the waiting room, Karen had pulled him aside and asked if he was okay.
He had been vague but admitted to having issues with his parents. She offered to be a listening ear, but he did his best to keep his personal and professional lives separate.
Karen nodded but had told him she was available if he changed his mind and wanted someone to talk to. He thanked her but didn't think he would be changing his stance on mixing his two lives together.
He shook his head, clearing the memory. "I've been fine."
Karen nodded, but there was still some worry in her eyes.
Buck turned back to Eddie and Hen and was about to open his mouth when his date stood up and inserted himself, quite arrogantly, into the conversation. "I'm Scott, Buck's date."
Eddie's eyes narrowed. "And how long have you known Buck?" he carefully asked.
Buck tilted his head, wondering what Eddie's problem was. But afraid of what Scott was going to say, he answered, "It's just a first date." He didn't say 'and the last one' no matter how much he wanted to.
"How about the two of you join us?" Hen asked.
Buck was going to say 'no.' Although he wouldn't mind spending more time with Eddie, he knew he was in dangerous territory. He didn't break his rule for Karen; he shouldn't break it for Eddie.
"Sure, let's go," Scott answered for him.
Buck shot him a glare. What was his angle? He sighed and followed the group to the booth. He ended up squeezed between Eddie and Scott in the booth and felt like a trapped sardine.
He swallowed nervously. He tried not to notice how muscular Eddie's thigh felt through his pants or how nice it felt pressed against his own thigh. "Scott, Buck," Eddie began, "this is Chimney. Chimney, this is Evan Buckley, or Buck as he prefers to be called. He is both Chris' and Denny's pediatrician. And Scott is his date."
Chimney snapped his gum. "Nice to meet ya, Scott. Buck."
"I'm going to assume Chimney is a nickname," Buck said.
"Yep."
"It's pretty obvious why I have my nickname. How did you get yours?"
"I've been working with the guy for nearly a year, and I haven't even heard the story yet," Eddie said with a laugh.
Buck arched an eyebrow. "Must be pretty embarrassing."
Chimney smirked. "It is, and I'll never tell. And everyone that knows about it has been sworn to secrecy."
Eddie chuckled. "One of these days, I'll get the truth out of you."
"You can try," Chimney sing-songed.
Buck stiffened when Scott put his arm around him in an almost possessive manner, his hands playing with Buck's hair. He didn't like it, but he didn't want to make a big deal out of it either. The last thing he wanted to do is cause a scene.
Karen must have noticed his discomfort. He felt her foot taps is. 'You okay?' she mouthed.
He grimaced.
She glared at Scott. She was pretty mild-mannered, but he had a feeling he did not want to see her mad.
Buck discreetly shrugged off Scott's arm and hoped he wanted to avoid a scene as much as Buck did.
Scott shot him a look. "I'm going up to get a whiskey." He left without offering to get anyone anything.
"He's charming," Karen muttered.
Buck smiled. "It's the first date. A little tip to those not in committed relationships. If you want to date, stay away from the dating apps."
Chimney nodded. "Noted."
"You have got to be kidding me," Eddie grumbled, his eyes glued to the bar.
Buck turned in his seat and saw Scott hitting on the male bartender, his fingers playing with the guy's shirt. It looked like he wasn't going to have to make excuses about why Scott couldn't come up to his loft.
Eddie looked at Buck. "Are you okay?"
"Fine," Buck answered with a shrug.
Eddie was quiet the rest of the night as Buck got to know Chimney and Hen. Scott never came back to the table. Good riddance.
Buck found he really liked these people. He just wished two of them weren't parents of his patients. When it got to be around 11 pm, he stood up. "I should get home."
"Did you drive here? Or did you come with Scott?"
Buck groaned. He had wanted to meet Scott here, but Scott insisted on picking him up like a real date. And Buck's arguments about why that was a bad idea were ignored. He should have known then that Scott wasn't worth his time. And now Scott was gone with his hookup. And so was his ride. "Uh, I came with Scott. The only thing he was good for was a ride, and he couldn't even do that."
"Come on, let me give you a ride home," Eddie offered.
This was such a bad idea. "I can call an Uber. I don't want to put you out."
Eddie smirked. "You didn't ask. I offered. Just like you offered to make a house call when Chris was sick and wouldn't let me give you the copay you deserved."
Buck could have tried to argue—he loved arguing—but he was tired. And Eddie driving him home would be faster than him having to wait for an Uber. And cheaper. "Fine."
They walked out to Eddie's truck. He unlocked the door for them, and Buck opened the door, slid into the passenger seat, and closed the door behind him.
Eddie got into the driver's seat. He turned on the GPS. "Just give me the address. It will be easier than you having to give me the directions."
Buck rattled it off.
Eddie began driving. At first, it was a comfortable silence, but it didn't last long. Usually, Buck was the one that couldn't keep silent, hating the quiet. For once, it was someone else breaking it.
"You're not going to see Scott again?" Eddie asked.
Buck shot him a look like he was crazy. "He ditched me for another guy. In what universe would I go on another date with him?"
"Just making sure. You deserve so much better."
Warmth enveloped Buck at those sincere words. "I do?"
"Of course. I'm not even sure what made you go out with such a guy," Eddie muttered petulantly.
"Well, I haven't dated in a while, and I wanted to get back out in the dating game. I met him on Grindr. He seemed nice, but I should have known better. Grindr is mostly used for hook-ups."
"Is that what you wanted? A hook-up?" Eddie asked.
"No, of course not. That's what I used to like doing, but I'm out of that phase in my life. I want a relationship. I want to meet someone I can come home to. Someone I can have a family with. I did Grindr because it's hard for me to meet people. I work long hours. Even on the weekend, I sometimes get calls and I go to houses of kids that are sick. Grindr seemed like the surefire way to meet someone, but then I usually meet a certain type of person, and I forgot about that aspect."
Eddie's eyes softened. "This might be hypocritical because I benefited from it, but have you ever considered stopping the house calls? So you have some free time?
Buck laughed. "I have, but I hate not helping someone in need, so I can never seem to go through with it."
"You could go into practice with another doctor. Maybe share the load with a doctor that has a similar philosophy."
Buck turned in his seat so he could watch Eddie as he drove as the GPS spoke the directions in its monotonous voice. "You seem awfully worried about my personal life."
"Maybe I'm out of bounds, and it's none of my business, but you deserve better than that asshole and other assholes you might go out with if you continue using Grindr."
"I'll keep that in mind, but enough about my dating life. Let's talk about yours. Put the spotlight on you. I'm going to assume that you're not with Christopher's mom since she wasn't at the house when Christopher got sick."
"She passed away. Hit by a car last year."
Buck felt awful for bringing it up now. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. I need to learn to keep my big mouth shut."
"It's fine. I was kind of prying into your life after all. We were separated for a couple of years, with me in Texas and her in California. We briefly got back together last year before she asked for a divorce. And the next day is when she was hit by a car."
"And I thought I had bad luck with relationships."
Eddie smirked. "I'm not one for meaningless hook-ups either. If I'm seeing someone, it's because the feelings are there, and there can possibly be a future. I've never had a one-night stand. Not even when I was younger when one-night stands were the norm."
"But you're not seeing anyone right now?"
"I work long hours too, and when I'm not working, I want to spend my time with Chris. Unless, of course, he's at school. So, I have trouble meeting people too. And anyone I do meet would need to understand Chris is my number one priority."
"As it should be," Buck agreed just as they pulled up to Buck's loft. He blinked. He hadn't been paying attention and hadn't realized where they were. "Thanks for the ride."
Eddie nodded. "Yeah."
They stared at each other for a moment.
"I should probably go," Buck whispered.
"Yeah," Eddie agreed.
Buck leaned forward, his face moving closer to Eddie's. Eddie leaned forward. Their lips inched forward. They moved closer and closer. And just when they were about to touch, Eddie accidentally put his arm on the horn, causing a screeching honk to erupt from the truck.
Buck and Eddie jumped away from each other as if scalded by hot water.
"I need to go," Buck said in a rush, opening the door, sliding out, and closing it quickly. He practically ran to the door of his loft, going in without looking back once. Only when he was inside the lobby, did he stop and breathe. 'That did not almost happen. I did not almost kiss Eddie Diaz.'
