by Andria Large
“Ferris? What’s wrong?” he replies, sounding fully awake now.
“I broke my tooth and it’s fucking killing me. I can’t take it anymore. Is there anything you can do?” I practically whine.
“Of course! Meet me at my office in fifteen minutes, okay?” he says.
I sag in relief. “Great, thank you.”
“No problem. See you soon,” Ezra replies.
“Okay, bye,” I say and hang up.
I’m still dressed from earlier, so I grab my keys and walk out my front door, lock it up, then get in my car. I know exactly where Ezra’s office is just by looking at the address on the card, so I make my way over there, pulling up five minutes later. I get out of my car and go to sit on the front step while I wait for him to get here. I rest my aching jaw in my hand and close my eyes. My whole head fucking hurts now. I’ve never been in so much pain in my life.
Minutes later, I’m startled when I hear Ezra’s voice say, “Wow, you really are hurting, huh?”
My eyes shoot open and I look up at the gorgeous dentist, who is in a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt that is clinging to his muscled chest. He eyes me sympathetically. I can only nod since every time I move my jaw it hurts even more.
“Come on, let’s fix you up,” Ezra says and holds out his hand.
I take it and let him help me up. I can’t help but notice how soft his hands are. And I can’t help but wonder how they would feel running all over my body. I mentally shake myself. Now isn't exactly the best time to be thinking dirty thoughts; I don't need to have a boner while lying back in the dentist's chair.
“You could have called me on my cell phone, ya know,” Ezra says, peeking at me over his shoulder as he finds the right key on his key ring.
“Didn’t know if you silenced it at night or not,” I grunt.
“Gotcha. I don’t, by the way.”
“Good to know.”
Ezra unlocks the door and lets me walk in then locks it behind us. He turns on some lights in the waiting room and goes behind the front desk. He walks back over to me with a clipboard and pen.
“Fill this out real quick while I get a room set up,” he says.
I nod, taking the clipboard and pen. It’s a standard health history and insurance form. I fill out everything I can while waiting for Ezra to set up a room. He comes back about ten minutes later.
“Ready?” he asks, giving me a sympathetic look.
“Mmm hmm,” I hum as I try not to writhe in pain.
Ezra takes the clipboard from me and puts a hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Don’t worry, I’ll have the pain under control in a few minutes,” Ezra assures me.
I nod jerkily as Ezra leads me into one of the rooms. I take a seat on the big blue leather patient chair and look around. The tray is set up with all kinds of crazy looking tools. The little sink attached to the chair has a cup of water ready, and I can hear that the suction tool is already turned on.
The first thing Ezra does is put one of those blue bibs on me. Then he goes to the counter, washes his hands in the sink, and then puts on a pair of latex gloves. I watch him as he looks over the paper I filled out, which Ezra had placed on the counter when we walked in. Ezra nods to himself then grabs a facemask, hooking it over his ears, but tucking it down under his chin. I never thought one of those doctor facemasks could look sexy until right now.
“Any allergies I need to know about?” Ezra asks in his serious doctor tone that I find extremely attractive.
“No,” I manage to get out.
“Have you taken anything for the pain?”
“Just ibuprofen a couple of hours ago,” I reply.
“Alright, let’s take a look,” Ezra says.
He pulls up his swivel stool, sits down, and hits the paddle on the floor with his foot that reclines the seat. He grabs the spot light, turns it on, and points it at my mouth. He pulls his mask up to cover his nose and mouth before leaning in.
“Open,” he commands.
I squeeze my eyes shut as I open my mouth. I breathe heavily through my nose as I feel Ezra’s fingers in my mouth. I hear a clank of metal before feeling the cool steel of what I assume is the little mirror. The round flat head is pressing against my tongue and along the inside of my cheek.
“Wow, you really did a number,” Ezra muses. “The pulp is exposed; it’s no wonder you’re in so much pain.”
Ezra removes everything from my mouth. I open my eyes and look at Ezra in bewilderment.
“What the hell does that mean?” I snap.
Damn, the pain is really getting to me if I’m snapping at Ezra.
“You broke such a huge chunk of tooth off that the blood supply, and nerves inside your tooth, are exposed and extremely sensitive. You need to decide between a root canal and a crown, or I can pull it, and you’d need an implant.”
“What do you suggest?” I ask.
“I don’t do root canals. You’d have wait and go to an Endodontist for that. I can pull what’s left, which will relieve you of the pain, and then you would just have to see an oral surgeon to get the implant.”
“Pull it. Pull it right now,” I insist.
The corners of Ezra’s gorgeous eyes scrunch up, letting me know that he’s smiling behind that mask. “Okay, if you insist.” He chuckles.
“Oh, I insist. I can’t take another minute of this pain.” I choke.
“I understand. Okay, I gotta numb you up real good,” Ezra says and spins away to go through the drawers of the counter.
“Okay.”
+
EZRA
I ready the syringes I need to numb Ferris up. I hate seeing the guy in so much pain; it does weird things to my heart. I place the two needles on the tray and turn back to Ferris who is eyeing them up.
“Two?” He wheezes.
I nod. “Yes, that’s my standard for extracting a tooth.”
“I hate needles, especially in my mouth,” he mutters, swallowing hard.
“Yeah well, it’s better than feeling everything when I go to pull the tooth out,” I say, giving him a pointed look.
Ferris pales slightly. “Yeah, true.”
“I’ll go as fast as I can,” I promise.
I pick up the first needle and put it down by my leg to keep it out of sight.
“Close your eyes, and I’ll tell you when it’s coming,” I instruct.
Ferris complies by squeezing his eyes shut.
“Open.”
Ferris obediently opens his mouth and I put my thumb on the inside of Ferris’ right cheek and move it out of the way. “Little pinch,” I say and insert the needle.
Ferris groans in pain and I can see the tears sliding down his temples. That happens a lot to people. Their eyes tear uncontrollably when getting these needles in their mouth. I warn Ferris of the next one then once I’m finished, I hit the paddle on the floor to let Ferris sit up. We have to wait for the medicine to kick in before I can do anything. Ferris wipes at his eyes with the backs of his hands.
“Shit,” he mutters.
“So what were you eating when it happened?” I ask, tucking my mask under my chin again.
“A chicken wing. But I didn’t bite on anything hard, so I don’t know what happened.”
I shrug. “Sometimes it’s just the tooth. It was probably already cracked. I’m guessing you were out, going by your outfit.”
And it is a nice outfit. He's wearing snug fitting white jeans with a coral colored button down shirt tucked into his jeans. He has the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His look is finished off with a brown belt and tan boat shoes.
Ferris nods. “Yeah, I was at Keenan’s with my friend, Krista.”
“Cool,” I reply. “I haven’t been to Keenan’s in a long time.”
“Dude, you should come out with us one night.” He grins. “You need some fun in your life.”
I chuckle. “There is that word again, fun. Yeah, maybe I will.”
“I could be your wingman; the ladies love
us gay guys,” he offers, wagging his eyebrows.
I chuckle and bite back my gut reaction to tell him that I don't want to date women anymore. “Good to know,” is what I reply with instead.
I can tell when the medicine finally starts kicking in because he slowly relaxes.
“How do you feel?” I ask.
Ferris sighs and drops his head back, closing his eyes. “So much better. I could fucking kiss you right now.”
My stomach does a weird flip and I stiffen. My mind immediately conjures up an image of Ferris and me kissing, and holy fuck is it hot. I can feel the flush creeping up my neck. Ferris’ eyes land on my wide ones, a sparkle of mischief dancing in their lust-filled depths. "I mean, if you wanted me to, I could; that's all I'm saying," he says with a cocked eyebrow.
I realize that my heart is racing and my stomach is fluttering. Ferris’ words excite me like nothing ever has. I sneak a glance at Ferris’ full lips and wonder what they would feel like pressed against mine. Would they be soft and smooth, or hard and rough?
“Let me do a couple of tests to see how numb you are,” I say, needing to quickly change the subject.
I ignore Ferris' little snicker and start poking around. Determined that he's numb enough, I put my mask back in place and recline Ferris’ seat. He blows out a breath and drums his fingers on the arms of the chair.
“You okay?” I ask, placing my hand on his shoulder, fighting the urge to knead the muscle there. Dammit, what is he doing to me?
“Just nervous. I’ll be fine,” he answers, sending me a tight smile.
I nod and grab my extraction forceps. “Okay, listen, you’re gonna feel some pressure but that’s it.”
Ferris gives a curt nod. “Right.”
“Okay, let’s get that puppy outta there,” I say.
He harrumphs and opens his mouth. I grab the broken tooth and starts rocking it to separate it from the ligament holding it in the socket. It slowly starts to loosen. I stand to get better leverage. I can see in my peripheral that Ferris has a death grip on the arms of the chair and his eyes are as wide as saucers.
“Almost got it,” I grunt.
With a twist, the tooth comes loose.
“Don’t move,” I say quickly as I set the tooth and forceps on the tray then grab the water spray and the suction. I clean out the socket with the water and use the suction to catch the blood. I then grab a wad of gauze and place it over the empty socket.
“Bite down,” I instruct.
Ferris does as he’s told, his eyes still wide. His nostrils are flaring with the force of his breaths. I pull off my mask and remove my gloves. After tossing them in the trash, I step back over to Ferris and pat his chest.
“Are you okay?” I ask, brows furrowed in concern.
Ferris nods jerkily. “The noises freaked me out,” he says through clenched teeth.
“Yeah, it tends to be pretty loud in your ears. You’ll feel much better now, though. You may still be sore for a couple of days, but just take ibuprofen and that should take care of it. Leave the gauze in there for about an hour. Don’t drink anything hot, don’t drink anything through a straw, and don’t smoke. You don’t want to get dry socket, that’s very painful, too.”
“I don’t smoke,” Ferris replies.
I smile. “Good. Also, you’ll be numb for probably a good three hours, so don’t chew anything on that side. I’ll give you the number for a good oral surgeon on our way out. You should call him tomorrow.”
“Yes, Doctor,” Ferris teases with a decidedly naughty grin around the wad of gauze in his mouth.
I stifle the shudder that wants to run down my spine. Even with Ferris talking through clenched teeth, he somehow made those two words sound dirty as hell. And God help me, it turned me on big time.
Ferris waits as I clean up the room. As I said I would, I give him the card for the oral surgeon that I recommend. We walk out onto the front step and I lock the door. As soon as I turn, Ferris crashes into me, wrapping his strong arms around me. I’m shocked for all of a second before hugging him back. Shit, it feels good to be hugged.
“I can’t thank you enough, Ezra,” Ferris murmurs.
He lets me go and I immediately ache from the loss of contact.
“You’re welcome,” I say softly.
“I’ll call you when Krista and I go out again?” Ferris asks, eyebrow raised.
My heart does a little happy leap. I smile and nod. “Yeah. Definitely call me.”
He smiles brightly and I have to bite back a laugh because his smile is crooked from the one side of his face being numb. Ferris notices and rolls his eyes.
“I look ridiculous, don’t I?” He huffs.
I chuckle. “A little.”
Ferris gives me a playful shove. “Jerk, you’re supposed to lie to me!”
I bark out a laugh. “I’m a doctor! I don’t lie!”
Ferris laughs as best as he can while still biting down on the gauze in his mouth.
“Whatever. Go back to sleep. I’ll see you soon,” Ferris says, his eyes dancing with humor.
I nod. “Okay, goodnight, Ferris. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.”
“Okay, thanks. Night, Ezra.”
CHAPTER
FOUR+
EZRA
“Where are you going?” I hear Spencer ask from my bedroom door as I button up my shirt.
I glance over my shoulder at my son and my stomach suddenly rolls nervously. What am I nervous about? I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m just going out with a friend to have some much needed fun and adult time.
“I’m…uh…I’m going out with Ferris,” I respond.
Spencer’s dark eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. “What do you mean you’re going out with Ferris? Like on a date?” he squawks.
I whip around. “What? No! We’re just going out to a bar to hang out, have a few beers, relax…”
“Sounds like a date to me. Wouldn’t this be considered a second date? Because you did go out with him before,” Spencer muses with a small smirk then crosses his arms over his chest.
“It’s not a date,” I huff and roll my eyes. “We’re friends. Friends go out together, too, you know.”
“Who are you getting dressed up for then?”
“No one in particular." I shrug. “I want to look nice just in case.”
“In case of what?” Spencer questions with a frown.
“What is this? Twenty questions? In case I meet someone.” I sigh and tuck my black, button-down shirt into my dark jeans. I'll admit that I also want Ferris to find me attractive.
“Oh,” Spencer murmurs softly. “So you’re ready to start dating again?”
I look my son over; he still has his arms crossed, but now his shoulders are hunched, and he’s looking down at his shoes. Apparently, the thought of his dad dating again bothers him.
“Bud, you can’t expect me to remain single for the rest of my life. As you’ll learn, a man has needs. And honestly, I’m lonely, and I’m sick of it.”
Spencer nods sullenly.
“I will always, always, love mom, no one will ever replace her,” I say and go to stand in front of him. I take Spencer’s shoulders and give them a squeeze.
“Do you understand that?” I ask him.
He nods again.
“Good. And no one will ever replace you, either,” I say, ducking my head to catch his gaze. “Got it?”
Spencer smiles slightly. “Yeah.”
Little does he know that I don’t ever plan on dating a woman again. I want to finally explore my attraction to men.
“Alright. Now, I need to find my shoes,” I murmur and let him go so I can look in my closet.
“Ya know, I kinda like the idea of you and Ferris together,” Spencer tosses out.
My heart flutters madly as I turn around to give Spencer an incredulous look.
“What?”
“I like Ferris. I think he’d make a pretty cool step-dad.” He grins.
I bark out a laugh that I hope sounds real. “You do realize that I’m straight, right?” I’m going to hell for lying right to his face, but I’m not ready to tell him the truth yet.
“They have said that being gay may be hereditary, so I had to have gotten it from somewhere,” he says with a mischievous smile and gives me a pointed look.
Fuck, does he know? No way.
I scoff. “And who is ‘they’?”
“Scientists. There are studies about it.”
I roll my eyes and go back to searching for my nice shoes. “Well, I’ve never been attracted to any guys before.”
Liar, liar, pants on fire!
“Maybe you could give it a shot,” Spencer suggests.
“Spencer, it doesn’t work like that,” I mutter, finally finding my shoes. This conversation really needs to end.
I put them on and go to look in the full-length mirror that is on the wall next to my bed. I fix my hair and smooth my hands over my shirt. I have to admit, I look good for thirty-six. I work hard to keep my body sculpted and I do my best to eat right. My face hasn’t aged too much either. The only thing I’ve noticed is that the creases on the sides of my mouth and at the corners of my eyes have deepened slightly, but that’s it. The hair on my head doesn’t have any gray in it, and neither does my facial hair.
“I have to get going. No friends over while I’m not here, and if you go out, make sure you text me where you are going to be, and be home by eleven,” I say, giving Spencer a stern look.
“Can I just have one friend over?” Spencer asks.
“Who?”
“Jesse.”
“He’s the little blond kid you hang out with, right?”
“Yes and he’s not little; I’m just that tall,” Spencer scoffs.
I laugh. “Fine, you can have Jesse over, but no one else. Stay away from my beer.”
“Okay,” Spencer agrees with a chuckle.
“And make sure you keep the doors locked.”
“Dad, I’ll be fine. I’ll behave, don’t worry.”
I go and give him a kiss on the forehead. “Thank you.”
I leave Spencer and make my way to Keenan’s to meet up with Ferris and Krista. I walk the ten blocks there, knowing if I would have driven, parking would be atrocious. Plus, they are shore blocks, so they aren’t that long.
