"I like my girls just like I like my Honey..."
Honey Castillo has always played it safe, focusing on her studies and sorority duties, until fate brings All-Star, Amor Wilson, into her life as a patient, forcing her to choose between keeping her prof...
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Monday morning arrived with the harsh buzz of Honey's 5:15 AM alarm, though for once she'd already been awake, her mind replaying fragments of Saturday night's dance for what felt like the hundredth time. The memory of Amor's hand on her waist had become a phantom sensation that returned at random moments, making her lose her train of thought mid-sentence.
"Get it together, Honey," she muttered, tying her hair back into a neat bun as she studied her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Dark circles shadowed her eyes – the price of spending most of Sunday lying in bed, scrolling through her phone and debating whether to search for Amor online. She'd ultimately decided against it, telling herself that if they were meant to meet again, it would happen naturally. Still, every tall woman with cornrows she'd spotted on campus yesterday had made her heart skip a beat. Her phone buzzed, brining her back to reality, and it was a text from her younger sister, Parker.
Parky: Hon, can I spend the night this weekend?
She smiled beige agreeing. Her little sister, at 14, loved being around her and her friends and she felt like they were good influences on the younger girl.
The pre-dawn air was crisp as Honey made her way to her car, travel mug of coffee in one hand and clinical bag in the other. Her fig scrubs were freshly pressed, her white shoes spotless – small details that helped her feel more in control, more ready to face whatever the day might bring at Cedar-Sinai.
"There's our girl!" Mai called out as Honey approached the small group of nursing students gathered outside the hospital's staff entrance. "I still can't believe how amazing Saturday was."
"The decorations were gorgeous," Jessica added. "Those gold accents with the pink and green lighting? Pure genius."
Honey smiled, though her mind immediately went to how the lights had played across Amor's face as they danced. "Thanks, but it was a team effort. The whole chapter really came together. Plus the gold was Tayler's idea."
"Speaking of coming together," Mai wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, "who was that tall ass girl you was dancing with? Because damn."
Heat crept up Honey's neck. "Her name's Amor. She plays basketball."
"That's all you got?" Jessica pressed. "Because I saw the way she was looking at you, and that was not just a casual dance partner kind of look."
"I mean, we talked for a sec," Honey admitted as they badged into the building. "She was really easy to talk to, you know? But then she had to leave early because of practice, and we didn't exchange numbers or anything."
"Practice?" Mai frowned. "On a Sunday morning?"
"Girl I don't know. I didn't really bother to ask," Honey shrugged, missing the pointed look Mai and Jessica exchanged behind her back.
Their conversation was cut short by the arrival of their clinical instructor, Dr. Chen, whose brisk efficiency always commanded immediate attention. "Good morning, everyone. We've got a full schedule today. Martinez and Castillo, you'll be in orthopedics. Wong and Parker, emergency department..."
Honey followed her assigned partner, Carlos, to the orthopedics floor, her mind already shifting into clinical mode. This was her favorite rotation so far – she loved the mix of pre-op and post-op care, the focus on mobility and rehabilitation. There was something deeply satisfying about helping patients work their way back to independence.
"You seem different today," Carlos commented as they reviewed their patient assignments. "More... distracted?"
"What? No, I'm focused," Honey protested, though she'd just caught herself wondering if Amor had ever been treated in this department. Athletes must get injured sometimes, right? She shook her head, banishing the thought. "Just didn't sleep great."
The morning passed in a blur of vital signs, medication administration, and mobility assessments. Honey threw herself into each task, finding her rhythm in the familiar routines. But every so often, something would trigger a memory of Saturday night – a tall woman walking past the nurses' station, the faint sound of music from a patient's room, even the way one of her patients described their daughter.
During their lunch break, Honey found herself in the hospital cafeteria with Tayler, Mai, and Jessica, picking at a salad while her friends debated the merits of different specialties for their future careers.
"I'm telling you, emergency department is where it's at," Mai insisted. "Something new every day. Plus, you should see some of the professional athletes who come through. Last week, one of the Rams players came in with a sprained ankle, and—"
"Athletes?" Honey's head snapped up. "Do you get a lot of those?"
Mai's eyes narrowed knowingly. "Suddenly interested in sports medicine, Castillo?"
"Just... curious about different specialties," Honey mumbled, stabbing a cherry tomato with more force than necessary. "But Seeing Hot rams players doesn't sound like a con to me," she added trying to get her friends off of her scent.
"Uh-huh," Tayler smirked. "Nothing to do with a certain basketball player?"
"Nope," Honey protested, but she could feel her cheeks warming. "Besides, she probably has her own team doctors or whatever. Not that I'm thinking about that."
"Sure you're not," Mai chuckled. "Just like you haven't checked your phone twelve times this hour."
"I'm checking the time!"
"On a phone that's already open to Instagram?"
Honey groaned, dropping her head into her hands. "Is it that obvious?"
"Only to everyone with eyes," Mai patted her shoulder sympathetically. "But hey, maybe you'll run into her again. LA's not that big."
"Right," Jessica added with a strange emphasis that Honey missed entirely. "I'm sure she'll turn up when you least expect it."
The rest of the shift passed without incident, though Honey's thoughts continued to drift during quiet moments. By the time she left the hospital that evening, she'd managed to convince herself that she was being ridiculous. So what if she couldn't stop thinking about one dance with a pretty girl? It happened. People had crushes all the time. The flutter in her stomach whenever she remembered Amor's smile would fade eventually.
Still, as she drove home in the growing dusk, SZA's "Snooze" came on the radio, and Honey found herself smiling, remembering the way Amor had moved to the music, the way she'd laughed at Honey's stories about nursing school, the gentle teasing about the clipboard.
Her phone buzzed with a text from Tayler: *Girl, you're not going to BELIEVE what I just saw...*
Honey made a mental note to check it when she got home, unaware that her worlds were about to collide in ways she never could have imagined. For now, she was content to let the memory of Saturday night play one more time, like a favorite song on repeat, each replay revealing new details she hadn't noticed before.
After all, sometimes the best stories are the ones where you don't see the plot twist coming, even when it's right in front of you, wearing a knowing smile and telling you it "plays a little ball."
