by Nella Tyler
Chapter Ten – Patrick
The sidewalks were full of people as I walked up to La Colombe. I’d forgotten that the time of night that I’d suggested meeting up with Mackenzie was the time when everyone was doing their Christmas shopping and taking family members out and about in the city. It had taken me a full fifteen minutes to find a parking spot, and I had been out of my mind thinking that I was going to be late to meet with her; not the impression I wanted to make.
I hadn’t exactly hidden what I was doing from Landon when I went home to get ready and drop him off at his grandparents’ house; I told him that I was going to be having coffee with Mackenzie, and he’d asked if we were going to talk about him. “Probably a little bit, but I really just want to spend some time getting to know her.”
“She’s nice,” Landon had said. “Are you going to kiss her?”
“I don’t know yet, shrimp. If she wants me to kiss her, then maybe.” Landon had turned to look at his Christmas list, up on the fridge. “Your Granny and Pop are going to take you to see Santa while I’m hanging out with Mackenzie—that’ll be fun.”
“It will,” Landon had agreed. “Are they going to get my picture taken with him?”
“I hope so!” I’d made sure that Landon had his toys and his warm clothes, and hurried him off to my in-laws’ house to spend a few hours. I hadn’t told them that I was going on a date, but I knew that Landon would probably drop the dime on me. I didn’t think that Bill and Sherry would mind; after all, it had been five years since I’d lost Joanne, and I hadn’t dated anyone since then. They knew that I’d never bring anyone into Landon’s life who I didn’t know for sure would be good for him.
As I got closer to the café, I saw that it was packed and my heart sunk. It wouldn’t be easy to talk to Mackenzie with the dining room so busy, and I wanted to have as much of a chance as possible to get to know her—and for her to get to know me. I could get where she was coming from about the issue of going on a date with a patient’s parent, but I hoped that I could change her mind. I thought about Landon’s wager as I navigated around some gawking pedestrians and got to the front door of the café.
I stepped into La Colombe and looked around. Oh shit. Are you even going to be able to recognize her in regular clothes? For a second I almost panicked, and then I thought of the fact that I had her phone number; if I couldn’t find her, I’d text her and ask her if she’d arrived—and then I’d figure out where she was. I looked over the crowd of people in the café slowly, looking for Mackenzie’s face in the swarms of people. Everyone was moving around—of course they were—but it made it harder to spot any individual person.
Just when I would have grabbed my phone out of my pocket to text her, I spotted Mackenzie sitting at one of the tables. Her cheeks were still a little pink from the cold outside, or maybe she was anxious as I was; she looked somehow softer, sweeter away from the office, her hair down around her face. Since she was sitting down I couldn’t see all of her body, but she’d taken her coat off, and the sweater she was wearing fit her like a glove—much better than the scrubs I’d seen her in during the sessions.
I made my way to her through the crowd, sidestepping and dodging people carrying big, hot coffees and hoping that I wasn’t running late. Finally I arrived at the table and she looked up, almost startled. “Oh! Hi, Patrick,” she said, and the pink-red flush in her cheeks deepened, spreading down onto the part of her chest that I could see at the neck of her sweater.
“You look beautiful,” I told her, smiling down into her face. Mackenzie stood up quickly and I gave her a quick hug, barely pressing my cheek against hers. The touch of her skin on mind sent a hot jolt through me—a tingle that worked down my spine, something I hadn’t felt in years.
“You look good yourself,” Mackenzie said, stepping back and taking her seat once more.
“Can I get you a coffee? Or do you want something else?” I glanced around; there was a line at the register but it wasn’t too bad.
“Coffee is fine,” Mackenzie said, smiling a little nervously.
“Then I will be right back,” I said. I gave her a pretend stern look. “Don’t run away on me now—I spotted you, so I know you’re here, and I’ll know if you run away.”
“I won’t run away,” Mackenzie said, her smile warming up a bit. “I’ll be right here.”
I stepped into the line and tried not to fidget as I waited for the people ahead of me to put in their orders. Get it over with and you can sit down with her for an hour or more. You won’t have to get up again. I’d never been close enough to Mackenzie to smell her, and of course it’s not like I go around sniffing people; but when she’d hugged me, I’d caught a whiff of her soap and shampoo, and maybe a hint of perfume. Mack smelled sweet and warm, just like I’d thought she might, and I could feel that while she was strong, she was soft, too—in all the right places.
The line moved forward bit by bit and I lost myself in thought for a minute, wondering if things were just going to be awkward, or of Mackenzie was going to actually give the date a real chance. The fact that she’d gone to the trouble of getting cleaned up—and I thought she might have put on makeup, too—said that at least she had invested some thought in meeting with me.
Finally I got to the registers and put in my order for two regular coffees. I realized I hadn’t asked Mackenzie how she took her coffee; I told the woman behind the register to leave room in one of the cups, just in case. I waited off to the side, and glanced at Mackenzie to make sure that she was still there—and not terribly bored. I grabbed the two coffees and made my way back to the table, being as careful as the crowd around me would let me be; the last thing I needed was to spill coffee all over myself or someone else because I was hurrying.
“I didn’t know if you take cream and sugar or not,” I explained to Mackenzie as I set our coffees down on the table. I took my coat off quickly and draped it over the back of the other chair, across from where Mackenzie sat.
“I can get it—probably better to do it myself anyway,” Mackenzie said, giving me a quick smile. She stood and I had the pleasure of seeing that she was wearing jeans—and they fit her like a glove. As she walked past me, I turned my head just a little bit and caught sight of the shape of her ass; I looked away just as quickly, turning my attention onto my coffee, warming my hands on my cup. Do not let her catch you doing that. The view was great, and I had at least a dozen more reasons to hope that things would go well on this first date. I definitely wanted to see what she looked like naked. Take your time. Don’t rush things. She’s probably not the kind of woman who puts out until the third date—and that’s what you want, isn’t it?
Then Mackenzie was back at the table, sitting down and taking a sip of her coffee. “You know,” she said, smiling a little, “I think this is the first real date I’ve been on in probably about a year.”
“Full disclosure: it’s been about five years for me,” I admitted. “I went on a few blind dates a couple of years ago, but they just…” I shrugged. “One of them I ended up pretending that Landon’s grandparents had texted me to let me know he’d somehow gotten food poisoning.”
“Oh no!” Mackenzie laughed. “That must’ve been absolutely the worst date.”
“She was a smoker, and insisted that it didn’t harm a kid to be around it,” I said, shaking my head in disgust. “She also wanted to know why I didn’t just send Landon off to a boarding school.”
“I can see why you’d cut the date short then,” Mackenzie said. I took a sip of my own coffee and something relaxed inside of me.
“So you seem really dedicated to your job—I almost couldn’t believe I’d caught you at work yesterday.”
“That’s actually why I’ve been without a date for so long,” Mackenzie said, blushing once more. “I’m so involved in my career that I sort of just…let dating fall by the wayside.” Mackenzie giggled a little bit—it sounded amazing to my ears, like a bell. “If you hadn’t asked me out, I’d probably not have a
nother date until like…April or something.”
“I know that feeling,” I said, nodding. “Between Landon and my job, it’s hard to find time to devote to another relationship.” A look like concern flickered across Mackenzie’s face. “I’m ready to jump back into the dating pool, though,” I said quickly. “I feel like it’s time. Landon is getting older, more independent.”
“He seems to be really independent already,” Mackenzie said.
“Oh he is,” I said, thinking of my son. “He wants to do everything himself anymore—even things he’s too small to do.” Mackenzie nodded, smiling, and I thought to myself that there was nothing more gorgeous on the planet than the sight of her smile.
“I read in the file that he broke the leg playing soccer?”
“Yep,” I shook my head. “One of the scariest moments of my life. He was a trooper though—barely even cried on the way to the hospital.”
“How long have you been taking care of him by yourself?” Mackenzie took another quick sip of her coffee.
“Pretty much his whole life,” I told her. “His mother died when he was only a few months old. Cancer.” Mackenzie’s big, bright eyes were full of sympathy for me. “Let’s talk about something else—I don’t want to dwell.”
We chatted for over an hour, comparing our jobs, and talking about our childhoods. I learned that Mackenzie had grown up a little outside of the city, that her parents still lived in the same house she’d grown up in; I told her about going to college in California, and getting my degree, and about how Landon and I had moved back to the city after my wife had passed away.
My phone vibrated in my pocket and I took it out quickly, worried it might be about Landon; instead of an emergency call from his grandparents, it was the alarm I’d set to make sure I got back to their place in time to pick Landon up. “I’m so sorry,” I said, standing up. “But Landon’s at my in-laws’ place, and they can’t keep him overnight. I have to go get him.” Mackenzie nodded her understanding and stood, finishing off her coffee.
“I should head home and put together some dinner for myself anyway,” she said, giving me another one of those beautiful smiles. “I had a really great time talking to you, Patrick.”
“Can I walk you to your car?” Mackenzie hesitated a moment before nodding. We dropped our empty cups off at the pick-up station and left the café together.
“I’m parked a couple of blocks down,” Mackenzie said, looking almost embarrassed. “It was impossible to find anything closer.”
“I know—I was going around in circles for fifteen minutes to find a spot,” I told her. I walked at her side for a few steps and then, on an impulse, I reached out and took her hand in mine. Mackenzie stumbled slightly in surprise, but she gave my hand a quick squeeze and we continued up the street to where she was parked.
“Here I am,” Mackenzie told me. She drove a beat up old sedan; just what I would have expected for a woman who worked a job that covered her normal expenses with only a little bit left over, a responsible person who didn’t live outside of her income. I saw her take a deep breath and her hand moved in mine. “I had a really good time,” she said, looking up at me nervously.
“Me too,” I told her. I looked into her eyes for a moment and made a decision; I didn’t know for sure if she wanted me to kiss her—but I knew that I would know in a heartbeat if I’d read the signs wrong. I leaned in and brushed my lips against hers. Mackenzie tensed against me for just an instant, but then she relaxed. I deepened the kiss, wrapping my arms around her, giving her plenty of opportunity to push me away or back off or tell me to stop.
Instead of pulling away, Mackenzie pressed her body against mine, and a hot jolt of electricity shot through me at the feeling of her curves crushed against my body. I darted my tongue out and she opened her mouth, letting me in. In a matter of a few minutes I would never have believed it was cold outside; we were heating up second by second. My hands started to wander a bit on Mackenzie’s body and I kissed her more and more hungrily, and in a matter of moments I had her up against the car door.
I broke away from her finally; I could feel the heat pooling in my groin, my cock hardening like a metal rod. “I have to go,” I said, giving Mackenzie one last, quick kiss. “Landon.” She nodded, looking up at me breathlessly.
“I understand,” she said.
I smiled. “Can I see you again soon?”
Mackenzie nodded. “I’ve got a day off in a few days; we could go out the night before.”
“That sounds good,” I said, smiling down at her. “I’ll call you tomorrow to firm up the details.” I gave her one last kiss and then let her go, stepping back. It felt like I had a hot stone in my pants as I walked back towards my car; Mackenzie had felt so good and so right pressed up against me. I couldn’t wait to see her again—and maybe our next date I would hedge my bets and make sure Landon could stay the night outside of the house. I watched Mackenzie pull out of the parking spot and finished heading to my own car, trying to clear my head enough to go pick up my son.
PART 2
Chapter One - Mackenzie
For a few days after my first date with Patrick, I still couldn’t quite keep the smile off of my face. It had been ages since I’d actually gone on a date and even longer since I’d had a good date. When I went into work the day after, everyone commented on my good mood; of course I couldn’t tell them anything about it—dating a patient’s parent isn’t against the law or anything, but it isn’t exactly ethical. I had more patience than ever with the kids who came in, and I could even look forward to my family’s holiday get-together with something like calm. If nothing else, at least I can tell them that I’ve been on a date recently, I thought as I walked into work a couple of mornings later. I was as professional as ever with Patrick and with Landon when they came in, which I’d been a little worried about—but Patrick was the same as ever: focused on Landon, talking to me about his son’s progress.
I was looking forward to my next date with Patrick so much more than I thought. When he’d first asked me out, I had been nervous—that I’d say something stupid, or that he’d turn out to be a jerk, or that things would get awkward—but when he’d kissed me I’d really felt it. I wonder how many dates before we can sleep together? It wasn’t just up to me; it was up to him as well. With a child, Patrick would have to be careful about how quickly he got serious with someone. He couldn’t risk bringing someone into Landon’s life who wouldn’t be a good influence. Even though I was Landon’s physical therapist, I understood that Patrick would have to be sure about how I would interact with Landon in a different part of his life.
“Girl, you have been distracted for days,” Amie commented. “Can’t you hear Charlotte paging you?” I blushed and answered the phone. It was a call from another patient’s mother, to ask if I thought that her daughter would be ready to go back to ballet in three weeks when the new program started. I told her that we’d have to see at her daughter’s next appointment if her recovery had been enough to allow for it, and that all on its own reminded me of Landon and all his progress—which reminded me of Patrick.
I went back to my work, throwing myself into a session with a seven-year-old girl who had broken both arms in a tree-climbing accident and needed to regain muscle mass after the long period waiting for the bones to heal. As long as I was working with an actual patient, I was able to focus on my work; I would hate myself if I ever let anyone distract me from the sessions themselves. I took her through the exercises, cheering her on and encouraging her about how far she had come, and talked to her Mom and Dad who were both watching her work with me. “She’s doing really, really well.”
“Do you think she’s going to make a full recovery?”
“She’s going to need time,” I cautioned them, “but she’s young, and the breaks themselves didn’t do very much damage at all to her muscles. If we work hard then Annie will absolutely make a full recovery and fingers crossed, it’ll be like it never happened.” I did a quick
evaluation of her strength and coordination—at such a young age, long periods of time where the muscles are immobile can slow down normal development—and sent her on her way with her parents, a little sweaty but grinning from ear to ear.
After Annie, there was a lull between sessions; I’d had a patient cancel on me while I was in the session. It irritated me whenever parents would call at the last minute to cancel, but I know that things come up, and they can’t always be predicted. I went back to my desk and pulled up the endless paperwork that I never quite seemed to get done and decided to work on that. Amie had made a run to the café a block away from the office, so I had a hot drink waiting for me, and I sipped it while I called up the files that needed updating.
There wasn’t much of anything out of the ordinary going on with any of my patients; that of course meant that their files were starting to get more than a little bit boring to update. I started typing in my notes, based on the papers I’d filled out during their sessions, and my mind began to wander while I worked. I knew I shouldn’t give into the impulse to daydream, but I couldn’t help myself.
I thought about my date with Patrick, remembering every little detail of our conversation, the way the coffee had tasted, the way he’d looked. I had to think that it wouldn’t be all that normal for someone like Patrick—good-looking, pretty wealthy, and working in such a prized field—to even notice someone like me, much less want to go on a real date with me. I wonder where he’s going to take me next, I thought, remembering that I’d agreed to a second date. I bit my bottom lip and felt my cheeks warming up as I remembered the kiss at the end of the night, the way that Patrick had seemed to be on the point of asking—begging—me to come home with him. It was a good feeling. It had been years since I’d felt like I had something special, like I could drive a man wild. If it hadn’t been for the fact that Patrick had to pick Landon up from his grandparents’ house, I was pretty sure that he would have gotten to third base—so to speak—really easily, and probably would have invited me back to his house.
