by Aiden Bates
Rick showed no awareness of the tension between Carter and Riley. "I got a call from the ER. Apparently you three got into some heroics while you were out goofing around on the canoes, huh?"
Carter refused to blush, or to bow in front of Riley. He kept his head up, defiant to the last as always. "You can't really expect us to just turn away when there's a drowning kid, Rick."
"Nah, not really." Rick laughed. "But I can guarantee you that the hashtag doctor bae is already trending, and they ain't talking about the guy in the pink Speedos."
Allen drew himself up to his full height, but his easy smile showed that he didn't take offense. "I like my pink Speedos, thank you very much."
Now Carter did blush. "Doctor Bae? Really?" He shook his head. "I have no idea how to respond to that."
Riley snorted. "You missed the organized games while you were out on your little jaunt, Dr. Idoni." He narrowed his blue eyes and crossed his arms across his chest.
Carter refused to let this jackass get under his skin. "And here was me all hoping that you'd be my partner in the three-legged race, too." He turned away. "I'm going to go get changed. I'm feeling entitled to a shirt."
He walked toward the changing facility, conscious of Riley's eyes on his back.
***
Finn understood why his eyes consistently turned to Carter Idoni, whenever they were in company together. Idoni was an unattached omega, which was unusual enough in an omega of his age. He always smelled a little bit like wood smoke, which appealed to Finn for reasons that he couldn't quite explain, and he was objectively handsome. Finn's own instincts reminded him that it had been a while, and he could ignore those instincts easily once he recognized what was happening.
He paid closer attention to Idoni than he would to any other man, ever, because Idoni was trouble. It wasn't his omega nature that made him trouble, because Finn could ignore that. No, it was Idoni's firebrand personality. Carter Idoni had made it clear as day that he would fight any attempts by Finn to assert his authority over the obstetrics department, and Finn couldn't allow that to stand.
It didn't help that Carter Idoni was a bona fide hero in the community, apparently. First he'd made the news for disarming an apparently psychotic gunman in the ER, and saving the baby besides. Finn had been there for that. He'd held that newborn baby girl in his arms, and he would never forget that. He'd never tell anyone, even Idoni—or maybe especially Idoni—that he'd set up a fund for the little girl, to help pay for her necessities and eventually for her education should she choose college.
Then he'd sneaked off with a couple of other omegas and gone off to play hero again during the hospital picnic. Oh sure, that other guy, the lung doctor, he'd been the one to actually save the kid. It had been Idoni that had spotted him in the water, Idoni who'd pulled him up onto the deck, Idoni who'd been filmed dealing with the parents.
Idoni who'd been caught on camera in nothing but a pair of plain black board shorts, standing there and showing his slender, sculpted body for all the world to see.
Could Finn actually be attracted to the firebrand that locals called Doctor Bae?
He didn't want to think it was possible. Idoni was a pain in his ass, and an obstacle to everything that Finn was trying to accomplish at Silver Oak. Of course, the body wanted what the body wanted. Finn was a man, and an alpha; he had urges. Some would call them needs.
Some of what he felt for Idoni, though, went beyond what he would call urges. He wanted to run his tongue along all of that toned, bronzed flesh, sure. He also wanted to wrap his head around what had happened between Carter and Tom, Finn's real estate lawyer. He wanted to know why Idoni had good relationships with so many people at the hospital, but resisted the picnic so strongly.
Finn had started looking into Idoni's background because he wanted to find ways to get under his skin and either bring him to heel or chase him out of Silver Oak. Now he found that it had become habit. He wanted to understand Idoni for Idoni's own sake, and that went beyond the desire to see that beautiful man turn his head and bare his neck to him.
The thought alone jolted Finn out of his reverie. He never thought about partners beyond the moment. That just wasn't him. He didn't have time for a spouse, or to start a family. Families drained money, they didn't make it. What was it about Carter Idoni that had him thinking about relationships? Hell, if the guy had gone this long without getting married himself, he probably wasn't all that enthusiastic about the prospect either.
He looked at his calendar. He needed to understand what made Idoni tick. It was an itch in his brain by now, and he needed to scratch it if he was going to have any peace. He tapped a pen against his monitor for a second, and then created a meeting invite. He sent Idoni an invite to play golf with him at Bellevue over the upcoming weekend. He didn't think that Idoni was a member, so the chance to play at Bellevue would probably excite him.
The response that came back a few hours later—not an acceptance, not a refusal, but just a response—was a surprise. Did you mean to send this to someone else?
Did Idoni think Finn was that incompetent, or was he just that surprised that Finn would invite him to something social?
Finn typed out his response, fingers flying across the keyboard. Not a mistake. We should talk out our differences.
Idoni's response came back still an hour later. He accepted the invite, with a caveat. I don't actually play golf, but we can talk if you think it will be beneficial.
Finn scoffed. Idoni was clearly trying to hustle him or something like it. Doctors played golf. It was something they all did.
He tried not to get excited for their golf meeting. It was just a meeting, for crying out loud. It wasn't a date. He couldn't expect any fun out of it. He should expect that his companion would thwart any attempt at fun just for the pleasure of being perverse. Still, the promise of a beautiful day out on the links with a handsome omega was just too promising to pass up.
He headed out to Bellevue in his convertible, the trunk loaded with his golf clubs because that was exactly what the trunk could hold. Once he got there, he re-combed his wind-blown hair and walked up to the front entrance. There, lounging against the front column with a cup of coffee in his hand, was Carter Idoni.
Idoni gave him a lackadaisical smile. He looked good. He looked amazing, dressed in a black polo shirt and black slacks. He would continue to look amazing when said black shirt and slacks got covered in pollen and sweat, as they surely would out on the links. "Morning, boss."
Finn gaped. Idoni looked delicious. Finn wanted to eat him up. He blurted the first words he could think of to hide his reaction. "Where are your clubs?"
Idoni chuckled. There was so much bound up in that chuckle. Finn wasn't going to pretend that there wasn't amusement there, but there was also wry humor and self-deprecation. That grin on his face, and the twinkle in his chestnut brown eyes, softened everything. "So when I told you that I don't golf, you thought…"
Finn set his bag down. "I honestly thought that you just meant that you didn't golf often, or maybe you were trying to set expectations low."
Idoni threw his head back and laughed. "After all the back and forth we've done, do you really think I'm not honest enough to tell you that I suck at something if that's the case? I was hoping that they'd rent clubs to people trying the sport for the first time."
"I don't know if they do that, to be honest." Finn shook his head. "I don't think a course like this gets a lot of beginners. We can share, I guess. Just don't break mine in a fit of frustration or anything. I'll teach you what you need to know."
They headed inside, and Finn signed them both into the club. The door attendant was too professional to show that he recognized Dr. Idoni. A teen-aged daughter of one of the other members suffered from no such inhibitions, and she insisted on getting a selfie with "Doctor Bae." Idoni agreed, showing grace and class, although he squirmed as soon as the girl was out of sight. "That keeps happening."
"Well, maybe if you didn't go stag
ing heroics without your shirt on, you'd have a little more privacy." Finn raised an eyebrow at the omega.
"I'll be sure that there are no drowning kids any time that I'm in a canoe. Or, and here's an idea, maybe we can skip the mandatory fun." Idoni rolled his eyes and went to check out the pro shop.
As it turned out, they did have rental clubs. Sometimes members brought guests from out of town or lost their clubs. He was able to get a set of clubs to use and they headed on out to the course. This early in the day there weren't many other golfers to worry about, so they were able to start right away.
They were both able-bodied young men and decided to carry their own bags. They didn't need caddies, and they didn't need a golf cart either. "How does a doctor get to the position you're in without golfing?" Finn asked, after demonstrating how to get started. "I mean, it's how most social business gets done. Cases get discussed over a few rounds of golf, deals get made over drinks at the club afterward—how do you not know this?"
Idoni smirked and hit the ball. He got it fairly close to the first hole, especially considering he was a beginner. "I didn't grow up around golf," he said. "Once I got into a pre-med program I knew that a lot of people did golf, but I still couldn't afford to get started in it and it didn't appeal to me anyway. I preferred to spend the money on school or my actual sport."
"Your actual sport? What's that, canoeing?" Finn watched as Idoni lined up his shot. "Hit the ball gently here. It's called a putt."
"Muay Thai. When my brother tested as an omega, my dad signed us both up for lessons. We couldn't exactly afford it, but he wanted us both to be able to stand up for ourselves. He didn't want us to be at someone else's mercy, I guess." His hands tightened around the shaft, and he hit the ball. "It's been good for me. Keeps me in shape. Taught me self-discipline, too. Nothing better for getting me through undergrad and med school."
"I imagine you'd need that." Finn watched the ball sail past the hole. Idoni had only missed by a few inches. "Golf might be a better past time for an omega, though. You know. It's a little less high impact."
"Until one of those balls comes landing on your unprotected head from six holes away." Idoni glared at a ball that came sailing into their green from some distant tee. "I'm not real worried about kids at this point in my life. If it comes to that, I'll step back from competition and sparring, but let's be real. I'm in my thirties and single. I'm going to keep sparring for a very long time." He grinned and sank the putt.
Finn nodded. Idoni didn't sound at all resentful or sore about his child-free state. Most omegas would be. Idoni was just full of surprises. "Does your brother still compete too?"
"He died. Ah, when I was thirteen. He miscarried, and it went wrong. He bled out. You know how it is." Idoni retrieved his ball, but wouldn't look at him when he stood up.
"Not really." Finn offered a sardonic little smile. "I'm from New Jersey. We've got plenty of doctors, lots of them are certified in omega care, and if it comes to it we've got the New York hospitals less than an hour away. I'm sorry for your loss." He'd never had a sibling. He could barely bring himself to believe that his parents had made one baby; he couldn't believe that they could have made two. He could understand grief and loss in the abstract, though.
"Thank you." Idoni gestured to the next green. "Should we keep moving?"
"Of course." Finn led the way.
Bellevue was a challenging course. While Idoni seemed to have a natural affinity for the game, something that Finn hoped he pursued, he couldn't be expected to perform on a course such as this simply by instinct. Finn had to urge several changes to his body mechanics during their outing, which wore on both of them.
Idoni apologized at one point around the ninth hole. "I'm sorry. I just snapped at you and I shouldn't have. I'm sitting here trying to adjust my mechanics, and I feel like a colt again and that's just not something I'm used to. It's making me cranky."
"Well, how much of it is you trying to adjust your body based on words?" Finn walked over to Idoni. "Here, let me show you." He got behind the doctor and put his feet alongside his companion's. He layered his hands over Idoni's on the golf club and covered his arms with his own. "Here. Feel how much power I'm giving this. You should be able to sense exactly how much I'm turning my hips into this swing. It's not that much, okay?"
He guided Idoni's swing and followed through. They stood stock still, joined as one while they watched the ball sink into the hole. "Perfect," Finn whispered into Idoni's ear.
Idoni wasn't breathing. Finn realized that Idoni wasn't breathing because Finn was practically on top of him. His nostrils were filled with Idoni's wood smoke scent. "Sorry," Finn said, and backed away. He realized, with dawning horror, that he'd been half-hard when he'd been pressed up against Idoni's body. The doctor couldn't have failed to notice.
Idoni straightened up. "It's not a big deal," he said after a second. "We're both adults. We're both professionals. Let's keep moving." He glanced down and away for a second, blushing. "Thanks for the lesson, though."
Finn wasn't quite sure what to make of that, but he went ahead and finished out the round of golf. Afterward, they grabbed lunch at the club's restaurant. Idoni posed for more awkward selfies with teenagers and their day came to an end.
Finn walked Idoni out to his car again. For a moment he found himself possessed by the pressing urge to kiss the beautiful obstetrician, but he restrained himself just in time. "I'll see you Monday," he said instead.
"Bright and early." Idoni smiled up at him, and Finn couldn't quite explain why that made his heart melt. "Have a good weekend."
Idoni took off, and Finn headed back into the clubhouse. He'd hoped to clear the air between them with his golf outing. Instead, he'd just been drawn further in.
He hadn't brought Idoni to heel on any of his plans for the hospital or for the department. He had established himself as some kind of authority, but only in golf. He'd come to understand Idoni a little bit better, but not in any way that he could use. Finn might be a heartless bastard, but he couldn't bring himself to use the story of Idoni's brother against him.
The story did explain a lot. It explained why he was so determined to save people, and their babies. It explained why he stayed in Syracuse, a city with the highest concentration of poverty in the United States, when he could go elsewhere and get paid much better.
It didn't explain what Finn was supposed to do about his attraction to Idoni. Maybe he wasn't supposed to do anything about his attraction to the omega. Maybe he should just sit back and wait to let it run its course. That usually did the trick.
Somehow, that didn't seem like an appealing prospect.
Chapter Four
Carter shifted the phone from his right ear to his left. "Hey, Mama, how you doing?" He sat down on his couch, put his feet up, and tried not to sound too tired. He'd only just walked in the door when his phone rang and he tried not to miss calls from his parents, but he was ravenous and exhausted and angry. This wasn't the best time.
Mama didn't need to know that. She didn't need to know any of that. All that she needed to know was that her boy was doing well and making her proud.
Of course, Rhoda Idoni was smarter than that. She'd been taking care of people ever since she was sixteen years old. "You sound tired. What's going on?"
"Ah, nothing, Mama. The job's just being a pain. You know how it is."
He grinned when he heard her reply. "You know it's more of a pain for the people you're working for than it is for you."
"That's a fact, Mama." He paused. "Of course, it would be less of a pain for both of us if it weren't for the new hospital CEO."
"What the hell does a hospital CEO have to do with a person giving birth?" He heard footsteps on the other end of the line and knew that his mother was going into the kitchen. "Sarah? Get down here and finish your homework. You're not ever going to graduate if you don't get your homework done."
"Is Sarah the newest foster kid?" Carter smiled. Once he'd started making enough
to cover his own expenses, and put away enough for retirement, he'd started sending money home. Had his parents decided to put their feet up and build an easy life for themselves? No, of course not. They got certified as foster parents.
"You bet she is, and she's just as sweet as can be. I'm telling you, Carter, if we were ever going to be allowed to keep one, I'd want it to be her. We'll see how it plays out though." Mama sighed. "Now let's get back to talking about this new CEO of yours."
"Ugh. He's got this idea that hospitals are supposed to make money. I mean sure, we'd all like to save a little money here and there, but the patients come first and I'm not going to sit there and say, Meh, we're not going to check the heart on this baby because it's not defective fifty percent of the time, right? Hell no. I'm going to check it, because the patient needs to know if their baby needs help or not."
