What happened in Vegas: Didn't Stay In Vegas! (6 page)

“How did you
tell Mr. Wilson without letting it show that his
wife
’
s death bothered you?
”

“I
couldn
’
t. A tear gave me away.
”
Okay, he admitting
that he wasn
’
t strong was so sexy.
My insides turned into a warm jelly.

His hand was
resting on the table and I covered it with mine,
“
Thanks, it feels better to know it
’
s okay to cry,
and that you felt the same.
”
There was nothing
more attractive to me in the moment than this strong man who
wasn
’
t afraid to cry.

We finished our lunch and headed back to the
hospital. Our relationship with one another was never the same
after that day, it was better.

We were far
more cordial with each other. We would go to the cafeteria and have
lunch together or sometimes we would go to the
doctor
’
s lounge and sprawl out on the couch placing our feet
up on a table that was probably older than both of us, staring at
the television but not watching it. Sometimes, we
wouldn
’
t talk, we just shared each other
’
s
companionable silence. He was becoming a whole different kind of
friend, unlike Nick.

~12~

Our time together got increasingly comfortable and
Bradley and I started confiding in each other. I would sit next to
him while he told me stories about what his
‘
bitch
ex-wife
’
would do, and I always actively listened to him
or even poked fun at his stories making him laugh. Sometimes I
found myself wanting to defend his ex-wife scything that she
couldn
’
t be all that bad, after all, he did marry
her.

When we were
alone one day in the doctor
’
s lounge, I faced him
on the couch and asked,
“
Why so much
hostility? I know it
’
s not really the
money.
”

He took a
really long time to answer me,
”
I was truly love with
her.
”

“You talk in
past tense, so you
’
re not
anymore?
”

“Not
anymore.
”
When he said it, he looked away and I suspected
it wasn
’
t completely the truth. I think there were
residual unresolved feelings.

“Then why hold
onto that anger? What are you getting out of it?
”

“It
’
s protecting me from
making the same mistakes again.

“That makes
sense, coming from a weak person.
”

“So
you
’
re calling me weak? I call myself smart, he
argued.
”

What about
yourself? Is there a special somebody in your
life?
”

I
didn
’
t know how to answer him. I didn
’
t think he
was going to believe me, but I said,
“
No.
I
’
m not dating anyone. Just haven
’
t found the
right guy yet.
”

He looked at me
suspiciously,
“
I find that rather
hard to believe, you
’
re very
beautiful.
”

I ran my
fingers through my hair self-consciously and looked into his very
serious eyes, he had a six o
’
clock shadow that
made him look more rugged and sexier than usual,
“
Why thank you for the compliment Dr. Hart but unfortunately
it
’
s true,
”
I said playfully.

“I do have a
friend that I go to when I
’
m lonely, a fuck
buddy if you will, and when he
’
s lonely he comes to
me. It
’
s a mutual agreement we have. Sad to say, I
don
’
t think either one of us has had a date in over a
year. I think I
’
m less inclined to
get involved with anyone because I know he is always there, so
I
’
m not so quick to settle on just anyone less than near
perfect.
”

He
frowned,
“
You
’
re devaluing yourself
and letting him use you.
””

“You
’
re implying
it
’
s one sided, but we use each other. I have no qualms
with my friend Nick. He
’
s never let me down
because my expectations for him are very low, he
can
’
t hurt me because I
’
m not in love with
him, and he
’
s really a very good
listener.
”

“You deserve
more.
”

“What do I
deserve?
”
I was hoping he would say something like,
“
You deserve me.
”
but he
didn
’
t. I instantly regretted telling Bradley about Nick.
This new look of disappointment in me was smeared all over his
face.

I was halfway
through the door when I felt his hand grab my wrist and spin me
around. He pulled me back into the room to face him. His brooding
eyes searched mine; the room was filled with a tension I
couldn
’
t describe.
“
This conversation
isn
’
t finished,
”
He
scolded.

His body
closing in on mine and his bold hand not letting go. Frozen to my
spot I wished him to kiss me. I found myself undeniably attracted
to him. His finger stroked my cheek and he began to lower his head
towards mine, then as if catching himself becoming inappropriate,
he suddenly stopped himself and stepped back before saying,
“
We better get back before they start paging
us.
”
I needed a second to recompose myself; I had
practically gone into cardiac arrest.

~13~

Today was an exciting day in my residentship because
it was the first day I would enter the Cath Lab as more than just
an observer. Bradley handed me a pair of surgical scrubs and
said,
“
You
’
re going to have to
change into these.
”

“Right here,
right now?
”
I quietly flirted so the Unit Clerk
couldn
’
t hear what I was saying to Bradley. I had become far
too bold with him since our last serious discussion and he
didn
’
t seem to be shying away from it.

“No, Maggie,
the UCA will show you where to go and be quick about it, we have a
long list of people we have to get through
today.
”

“What are we
doing today? Valvuloplasties?
”
Angioplasties?
Angiograms?
”

“Angiograms to
begin with, now go.
”

“I like it when
you
’
re bossy,
”
I winked at him and then turned to
catch Maggie was smirking at me.

She winked at
me and whispered,
“
You have to be
careful, he
’
s got a bitch ex-wife
you need to watch out for!
”

I shrugged
nonchalantly,
“
Ex, is the key
word!
”

Maggie pointed
to the door behind where I was standing,
“
Change room is
behind you.
”
I turned around and headed through
the door. The room was small and full of lockers, most with no
locks on them. There was a bin for dirty linen and a small
bathroom. I slid my clothes off and placed them in an empty locker.
The pants had a pull string so one pair fit many sizes. I pulled
the string as tight as it would go but they still felt loose. I put
on the top and then headed back out to Maggie and
Bradley.

“Do they fit
okay?
”
He asked.

“The top does,
but the pants are loose, I
’
m afraid they are
going to fall.
”

“I
’
m not, I wouldn
’
t turn away
either.
”
He teased. Dr. Hart was flirting back. How
delicious! I lifted the shirt to show him the slack in the waist. I
knew there was nothing he could do for me because they were the
smallest size.

He took me into
one control room looking out into two different Cath labs. He
pointed to one of the labs and said,
“
That
’
s where
we
’
ll be working today.
”
The control room had
a desk with a microphone and a telephone facing each Cath lab, so
two cardiologists were able to work on different patients at the
same time. The other Cath lab wasn
’
t being used
currently so the lights were off and we had the control room to
ourselves.

The nurses were already prepping for our
first angiogram procedure. Bradley handed me a long heavy metal
vest for protection from any unnecessary radiation, and he put one
on him. He looked so hot in his surgical scrubs. I broke out
panting with desire, but I forced myself to stop.

We joined the
nurses and Bradley began showing me how to freeze the sight close
to the groin before making the incision, then he inserted a long
guide wire up into the patient
’
s artery, and when he
had the wire in the exact position he wanted it in, he flushed dye
through so we could get a good look at the
patient
’
s arteries determining if there were any
occlusions and by how much. We would then finish off the procedure
and the nurses would take that patient away.

Bradley took me
back to the control room where we reviewed the images we had
previously seen in the Cath lab in greater detail, discussing the
patient
’
s condition and determining the best course of
action. Finally we dictated notes on that patient and filled in a
diagram of the patient
’
s heart explaining on
the diagram where the occlusions were if any, before moving onto
the next patient.

Bradley and I did this repeatedly until the
end of the day. With each procedure, he involved me a little more.
By the end of the day I was almost able to do the entire procedure
on my own. I was elated with my progress and tired at the same
time.

We went in
separate directions to change and then met back at
Maggie
’
s desk to walk to the parking lot together. He gently
took my hand in his and we strolled leisurely to Snowball. When we
got to snowball, I introduced them,
“
Snowball meet
Bradley, Bradley Snowball.
”

“Pleased to
meet you Snowball,
”
he played along. I liked this doctor
increasingly, especially watching him do angiograms all day. There
was something really sexy about a focused and intelligent man,
operating big machinery, with people
’
s lives in his
hands.

I wanted to be the person on that table that
was getting all his attention and not for an angiogram. I was
reduced to a drooling, horny mess. The only way to describe him was
Alpha Sexy Male. You just knew to say yes sir and do whatever he
wanted, with comfort knowing he would never hurt you; it was
obvious by watching his interactions with his patients. He was so
caring and compassionate.

We heard the double beep of someone
unlocking their car door in the close vicinity of Snowball. We
automatically turned to face where we heard the sound coming from
and found Chase walking in our direction. Bradley instinctively
dropped my hand at the sight of his brother. His brother being CEO
and both of us working for him, he acted quickly, and wisely.

Chase
nodded,
“
Chanel, Bradley.
”
Then he looked
directly at me,
“
Chanel, could I have
a minute with you?
”
I glanced at Bradley for approval and
nodded okay to Chase.

“It
’
s okay Chanel;
I
’
ll see you tomorrow, goodnight.
”
He headed for
his car without looking back. All of a sudden the air around us
became thick and tense.