by R. Lorelei
I took my time in his shower looking at his collection of scented body washes, I refrained from using them thinking, and how weird would it be if he was with me when I smelled like him, it would kind of be like he was being intimate with himself, almost a form of masturbating.
When I was sure I used up the majority of his hot water, I dressed and towel dried my hair before going in search of something easy to make in his unfamiliar kitchen. I settled on eggs, bacon, and toast with strawberry jam. I decided I was going to wait for him to come home from work and have a lazy day in my Grizzly’s Den (My new nickname for Bradley’s house).
I decided to text him at work, which was something I never usually did, but I was getting bored mid-morning so I caved.
Chanel: You left without even a note?
Bradley: Woke up late, Maggie called me in for a case.
Chanel: U should have told her U had a bed guest.
Bradley: Droll. I left a key to my house on your keychain. If you leave, can you lock up?
Chanel: Sure.
Bradley: I have to go back to work, ttyl.
Chanel: ttyl.
~32~
Friday was a busy day and I found it hard to focus on my work with the excitement of the upcoming taste testing that I was going to be doing with Chase. I got to his office at exactly five and Chase’s secretary was packing up for the day. Four out of five caterers agreed to come tonight with beef dishes of their choice.
The secretary met my eyes for a second and said, “He’s been expecting you, go on in.”
“Thank you,” I said. I walked passed her into the open door. I stepped in and she poked her head in behind me, I’m off now Dr. Hart. The answering service is on so you won’t be interrupted.”
Chase gave her his million dollar smile, “Thanks Mrs. Webster. Have a good weekend.”
Chase pointed to the chair and asked, “Can I offer you a beverage?”
As much as I would have liked to have had an alcoholic drink, I thought better of it because I was expected to work until 7:30 p.m., “Diet coke, or water if you have it.”
He walked over to his mini fridge and pulled out a can, “Is Diet Pepsi okay?”
“Sure,” I smiled.
He closed his office door while we waited for his waiting room to collect with the four caterers, “So Chanel, how was your leave? Did you get some rest?”
“I did, thanks for asking.” I didn’t want to volunteer more information to him than what he asked. It seemed as though Bradley was very skilled at divulging too much personal information about me to his brother.
“Did you travel? You look tanned.”
“I spent four days in Las Vegas.”
“By yourself?”
“Yes, it was quite nice.”
“Glad to hear it. Have you done something to your hair? Its looks exquisite on you.”
I had never engaged in small talk with Chase. He was beginning to make me blush. I knew I shouldn’t have said anything but I was so hurt by Bradley’s comment, that I wanted to volunteer this tidbit of personal information to him, “You’re brother’s opinion of my hair differs from yours. Thanks for the compliment. It took some getting used to but I quite like it now.”
Chase took a drink of his whisky and placed it down on his desk making a clink noise when the ice hit the side of the glass, “Forgive me for being nosy but may I ask what his comment to you was?”
“He said I should have had more cut off, but we were in the midst of a disagreement at the time, so I tried not to take it too personally.”
“It obviously bothered you Chanel. Pay no notice to my brother, it’s stunning.”
Chase looked at me before standing from his seat, “If you’ll excuse me for a second, I’d like to see if the caterers are in the waiting room yet.”
“Sure,” I said and he got up to check. When he opened the door the chatter of the caterers silenced as each one noticed him at different times.
Chase spoke to them outside his office but I could hear everything he said. His voice was deep, authoritative, and downright sexy. “Welcome, please come into my office and place your sample dishes next to your business cards on the table I’ve provided. Chanel and I will go over each dish carefully, and the caterer we decide to go with for the Cardiac Fundraiser will be notified by Wednesday of this week. We would like to thank all of you for coming and we appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedules to come here this evening.
The caterers did as they were instructed and after making sure their dish looked exactly the way they wanted it, they all left shaking Chase’s hand on the way out.
We found ourselves alone with four beautiful dishes waiting to be feasted on.
He grinned at me, “Okay, so how do you want to do this?”
I wasn’t sure where Chase was going with this so I let him take the lead, “What are you thinking?”
Chase looked youthfully handsome when he suggested, “We try each dish, don’t say a word or make a sound to each other, and then we write down the caterers name that made our favorite dish. Hopefully we pick the same one.”
“Do you have any utensils? Are we allowed to use those?” I asked jokingly.
He opened the side drawer to his monster desk and pulled out two plastic forks and knives for the occasion. We rolled our chairs to the table and he handed me my utensils. We sat facing each other and started with the same dish. I cut a piece of beef covered in gravy and put it in my mouth. He did the same.
I closed my eyes as the beef and salty gravy melted in my mouth, delicious! It had to be the best I’d ever tasted. I moaned forgetting myself and Chase had this confounded look on his face, “No words or sounds, remember?” He reminded me. “Now, I already know you like this dish.”
I giggled, “I’m sorry, I forgot myself.”
Chase looked all serious, “That’s okay just done do it again. Are you ready to try dish number two?”
“Yes, Ready.” I straightened up in my chair and rolled to the second dish. I was mindful of my reactions now. I took a sip of my Pepsi and then cut a piece of beef from dish number two. I savored the flavor of the second dish. It was better than the first! I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t think anything could taste better than the first.
“Chanel!” Chases voice startled me.
“What?” I didn’t think I did anything. What where his pants getting into a knot over now?
“You’re eyes went big. You aren’t supposed to react,” he chastised me.
“So what does that mean? Do you know why they went big?”
He looks at me, contemplating how he’s going to answer, “Actually, no, I don’t know what that means. We only have two more dishes, try to refrain from reactions until we discuss them.”
“Okay.” I said, and I didn’t say or do anything else. I was on my best behavior.
When we were on the forth dish I reached for Chase’s face and wiped a drop of gravy from his chin. He stared into my eyes. “Gravy,” I muttered. We both wrote on a piece of paper who we wanted to cater the event and then looked at each other’s choice. We had both picked the second dish. It was a no brainer.
Chase went to his fridge and poured himself another whisky, “You finish the second plate and I’ll have the first. I’ll take the one that made you moan,” he said jokingly.
His comment made me self-conscious as I noticed he was watching me eat the food on my dish. I decided not to let myself feel intimidated or self-conscious by him so I started closing my eyes and moaning with every bite. If I didn’t already have his full attention, I had it now. I think he even stopped eating his food. I then patted my face with a make-do napkin, thanked him, and saw myself out. He was left speechless.
~33~
Nick
It sucked being back to work after spending four way too short days in sunny Las Vegas. It was always the same shit different day here in the hospital. The weather here wasn’t good either. It was cooler here than in Vegas and always cloudy.
I was flying solo today figuratively speaking, Dr. Thicke was sick with something he probably caught from one of his patients. That meant if I was having troubles or needed help I had to go to the Throb who was covering for him. My hatred for Throb had only grown since being with Coco in Vegas. That man had no idea what kind of catch he had.
My biggest mistake was choosing internal medicine as a specialty. I was always in emergency and on respiratory floors, exposed to the worst and most infectious cases. I might as well have specialized in infectious diseases, I was around them enough. I should have kept my hands clean the way Coco did and chosen Cardiology or better yet, Dermatology.
I’ve been meaning to call Coco since I got back to see if she spoke with Aria yet. Coco was always good at doing damage control. I pulled my phone out of my lab coat and texted her:
Nick: Hi Coco?
Chanel: U’r back?
Nick: Unfortunately.
Chanel: I know and we had fun.
Nick: Did U C Aria yet, damage control?
Chanel: Not yet, 2 busy 2. I’ll text her C if we can get 2gether 2night.
Nick: Thx. My social life depends on it!
I looked up from my phone to see Chase walking towards me in the hall.
It was funny seeing him here. He nodded his head in my direction and said, “Nick.”
I quickly slid my phone back into my pocket and acknowledged his greeting, “Hi Chase.”
He stopped in my path and asked, “Have you seen my brother?”
“I can’t say that I have, but I know he’s on call. He’s covering for Dr. Thicke whose sick today. I’ll tell him you’re looking for him.”
“Thanks Nick, good tan!” His comment carried no significance to me.
A few minutes later my phone vibrated and I grabbed it from my pocket to look. It was a text from Coco.
Chanel: Meeting with Aria 2night 2 do damage control. I will keep U posted.
CHANEL
Aria and I were meeting at the Paddock for seven, Bradley was meeting us after his on-call shift. I chose not to invite Nick until I knew how it was going with Aria.
When I got home from work I headed straight for the shower. I must have been in there a long time, because the water was starting to make my skin crinkle. I dried off and dressed provocatively wearing my shortest skirt and a simple camisole. I wasn’t in the mood for heels so I wore sandals that matched my outfit. I walked to the Paddock and found myself the first to arrive.
Aria came dressed in a red silk kimono dress that stopped at her knees and red patent leather shoes. She was such an odd bird; I could totally see why Nick liked her. She wasn’t afraid of being different, she embraced it. I gave her a huge hug and noticed she toned down her perfume. It was subtle and flowery, quite lovely!
“I love your Kimono dress and your perfume,” I gushed.
Aria smiled back at me, “Thanks! Oh my God! You cut off all your hair!”
Okay now she wins the award for making me feel the most self-conscious I’ve been since I did it, “I did!”
“It’s so different, I love it! Did Bradley tell you to cut it?”
Now I was wishing I had spent more time on it tonight before I went out, “No, just did it on a whim! When he saw me he said I should have gone shorter with it.”
She hesitated, “Oh, I quite agree, chin length would have been perfect on you! It looks fabulous though. You looked like a floozy from the eighties before!”
I felt embarrassed and grabbed an elastic from my bag and put it up in a ponytail. I couldn’t believe she said that but I guess it was good to know the truth. Well, with two people telling me to go shorter, I would chop it again before the Fundraiser. I had nothing to lose that couldn’t grow back.
“How was Vegas? I couldn’t believe you went there alone! What in the world did you do there?”
I lamented, “It was great. I spent most of my time by the pool. I just needed to get away.”
“From what?”
“You don’t want to know! Let’s just say that when Bradley was training me he failed to tell me that his ex-wife worked in the Cath lab.”
She looked shocked, “Fuck off! You’ve got to be kidding! Kind of important thing to miss. You had no idea?”
I raised my shoulders, “None. Nick knew but he never told me because he thought I already knew.”
“Speaking of Nick, I wanted to tell you before you left, we aren’t seeing each other anymore. Did he tell you?”
I think she was gaging my expression, “Yes, he did. I’m sorry to hear that Aria, what happened?”
The waitress came to take our order so we ordered two Cosmos and waited for her to leave. “He came over to my loft one night and everything was going well until we started getting intimate. He started going all S&M on me. He was spanking me, and demeaning me. I had no idea where this was coming from. I never told him I liked doing that stuff, and if he’s into it, he better find someone else to do THAT to! It was horrible Chanel!”
She looked so upset even telling me, her face was all red and her eyes were welling up with tears, “Oh, Aria this is my entire fault!” I confessed.
She looked at me completely confused, “Your fault! How so?”
I felt really embarrassed, “Nick and I were discussing your relationship and I suggested he get all S&M on you. I thought you would like it!”
The waitress came back with our drinks and placed them down on the table. Aria didn’t look up; she grabbed her drink removing the straw and took a huge gulp of it, “Whatever gave you that impression?”
“I don’t know Nick was just worried he wasn’t doing it for you so I suggested some kinkery. He spoke to me after; he said he felt really bad. He thought you were role playing until he saw you crying, then he realized you weren’t enjoying yourself but it was too late. He said he tried explaining to you but you broke up with him and told him to leave. Give him another chance. He’s not into it. He just thought you were!”
Aria looked relieved, “I’d love to give him another chance if he wants to be with me. I tried calling him and leaving a message, he never returned my call. I didn’t think he wanted to have anything to do with me after that, you know, when he realized I was crying.”
“Aria, he felt like a bag of shit after. He’s never going to do that again. He told me that. He’s waiting for me to text him whether you forgive him or not.”
Aria glowed, “Text the poor guy already!”
I pulled my phone from my purse and texted Nick just as I saw Bradley walk into the Paddock.
Chanel: Come meet me & Aria @ the Paddock. UR forgiven.
Nick: U rock! I’ll b there soon.
Bradley was dressed in his scrubs from work and had a six o’clock shadow. He hadn’t bothered to change before coming to meet us at the Paddock. My burley doctor was being a rebel fashionista! I was finding myself very attracted to him. He bent over to kiss me and then greeted Aria, “Hello Aria, how are you doing? Can I interest you ladies in a fresh drink?”
Aria was glowing, “Thanks Bradley, I would love one! Chanel how about you? Chanel?”
I hadn’t realized Aria was talking to me until I looked at her, and then flirted back at Bradley, “Oh Bradley, you can interest me in more than just fresh drinks!”
He grinned back at me, “Can I interest you in spending the night at my place?”
Now I was glowing, “Now you’re talking!”
Bradley brought our drinks to the table, and took a chair between myself and Aria. I placed my hand on his thigh and asked, “How was work?”
He took a drink of what appeared to be a martini with an olive in it, “Not bad, nothing out of the blue except for an eighteen year old fishing with her boyfriend. He cast the line while she was standing behind him and the hook went right into her eye socket. She’s in surgery right now. It doesn’t look good for her. The boyfriend was devastated. His skin was all white, pale as a ghost. He didn’t speak from the shock he was in. Last I heard the surgeon was ha
ving troubles, it was lodged into the bone.”
Aria looked enthralled with his story, I hadn’t seen anything like that but I felt instantly sorry for the poor girl. You never expect to get an injury like that merely by fishing. It seems like such a safe sport. I looked at Bradley, “Are you working tomorrow?”
He ran his fingers through his hair before reaching for his drink, “Yes, I’m on call again. This time for myself and not Dr. Thicke. Are you working?”
“I am Dr. Morden is going to teach me how to insert a pacemaker.”
“Did you meet with my brother today?”
I couldn’t help smiling, “I did, and we picked the caterer for the Fundraiser. It was fun.”
“Free food is always fun, speaking of which, I’m starving. If you’ve already eaten, I might as well order food from here.” He waived to get the waitresses attention and when she came to our table he ordered the Souvlaki.
Nick entered the Paddock ten minutes after the waitress took Bradley’s order. He went directly to the bar to order his drink before joining us at our table. I started digging through my purse for the two boxes that I kept forgetting were in my purse. I gave the first box to Bradley and the second box to Aria before I explained, “I just picked you up something small to let you know I was thinking about you in Vegas.”
They both looked at me and started opening their boxes with excitement. Aria pulled her new 10K dice earrings from her box and gasped with aw, “They’re great! Thank you!” She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a big kiss on the cheek, “You totally shouldn’t have!” Nick took a seat next to Aria and they locked lips immediately like sex starved teenagers. When they finished sucking face he looked at me with gratitude, “Thanks Chanel.”
Bradley opened his box and in it he found a 14K ID bracelet which I had engraved, ‘THROBBING 4U, Chanel.’ He gave it to me to put on his wrist and then he showed me his gratitude by kissing me.
I would buy him a hundred more if I got kisses like that every time. I felt Nick’s eyes on us. I was getting the impression he was having troubles seeing me with Bradley or being in the same room with him. I could sense hostility coming from him and I didn’t know what the cause was.
