Chapter 5
Chapter five
Dr. Obsessed
Doctor/Patient
“I can’t believe you picked your gyno just because he’s hot,” Harper laughs.
I am driving to my gynecologist for an annual exam.
I am in a new city all by myself. At least until Harper moves here next month and she starts her job.
So I have to go to these appointments alone.
I have Harper on Bluetooth in my car as I am driving through downtown Seattle to my appointment.
“Okay, I picked it because he’s there but I’m not seeing him. That’s a recipe for disaster if I let my insanely hot and older neighbor touch my vagina, even if only for an annual exam,” I say.
“Oh, come on, Luna. You’d have fun,” she laughs.
“I live off computer engineering and smut books,” I say. I would make a fool of myself,” I reply.
“I can’t wait until we are neighbors. It’s going to be so nice to be close to you again.”
“I’ve only been gone two weeks,” I laugh.
“That’s the longest we’ve ever been apart,” she whines. “I’m having Luna withdrawals.”
“Oh yeah? What are those symptoms like?”
“Ya know… the usual. Crying. Screaming. Horny,” Harper says.
“You are insane,” I say, laughing. “Listen, I’m at the doctor’s office now. I’ll call you after.”
“Okay. Let me know how it goes,” she says before hanging up. My music starts back just in time for me to pull into a parking spot and shut my car off.
After my mom died of cervical cancer, I swore I was going to take it seriously and get seen more.
Then my older sister was diagnosed and ended up having a hysterectomy.
That's when we learned you can get cervical cancer without having HPV. The more you know, I guess. It’s rare, but it happens.
I don’t know if it’s genetic, but I don’t want to ignore it and find out I could have prevented my death.
I moved to Seattle for a job as a computer engineer for a company called Innovex.
I primarily work on building and maintaining systems and apps for companies.
I graduated high school with Harper at sixteen and promptly went to college.
We are both computer engineers for Innovex, she just doesn't start for another month because she is finishing up a few things where she was an intern.
We decided to get apartments next to each other because we would likely murder the other if we had to share the same space.
I like it cold, and she likes it hot. I am a night owl, and she regularly gets up at four in the morning to go to the gym.
I prefer going to the gym at night when no one is there.
I am an introvert, and she is an extrovert.
We’ve just been friends since kindergarten, so we know how to handle one another.
We know when to take space when we need it, and we don’t get mad if the other needs space.
I walk into the office, and there is an older grey-haired woman behind the desk. “What’s your name, sweetie?” she asks kindly.
“Luna Brooks,” I say, returning her smile.
“Okay, Luna. Just fill this out for me and I’ll get you back to see the doctor,” she says as she hands me a clipboard with a stack of papers.
I take the papers and find a seat. I feel like I signed less papers to start my job and get into my apartment than I have right now for someone to look at my vagina.
I go through the papers and fill everything out.
I go into a bit of detail with my mom and sister’s history of cancer, then take the clipboard and stack of papers back to the woman.
“Okay,” she says with a smile. “Have a seat and a nurse will call you back in a moment.”
I nod and go back to my seat. Who knows how long I’ll be waiting, so I pull out my phone and go back to reading my book.
I am reading a dark romance book about a girl falling in love with her stalker.
It’s nice on page, but in real life, I’d crawl into a hole and hide forever if someone like that came after me.
I’m not the type that turns heads though. I am short and curvy. My hair is half curly and half frizzy most of the time, so it stays up in a messy bun. I wear glasses because contacts give me sensory overload. It’s not that I don’t think I’m pretty. I know I am, I just don’t think I’m sexy.
“Brooks,” A woman says from the doorway. I jump when she says my name. I was in the middle of the hottest sex scene I have ever read, so this is not an ideal time to be having people near my vagina. Maybe I shouldn’t be reading smut at the gynecologist's office.
I follow her back and she gets my vitals and has me pee for a pregnancy test so I can get birth control.
I have debilitating cramps so I do what I can to not have a period.
Sometimes the cramps still sneak up on me, with or without a period, and it takes me down for a week at a time.
No one has ever cared to find out what’s going on.
They just tell me that the pain isn’t as bad as I am letting on, or they will just tell me there is nothing they can do besides give me pain medicine.
Yeah, let’s just give everyone narcotics.
That’ll solve the problem. Thanks for the cure, doc.
The nurse takes me to the exam room and gives me a sheet to cover up with. “Just undress from the waist down. He will be in soon,” she says kindly.
“I’m sorry… what? I thought I was seeing a woman?” I ask.
“Oh, Dr. Trager? She is no longer at this office,” she says. “Is that… is that okay?”
“Uhm… Yeah, that’s okay,” I say.
As soon as the door closes, I get my phone out and call Harper. “Hey,” she says
“I’m a fucking idiot, Har. I fucked up bad,” I say, panicking.
“Whoa, girl. What’s going on?”
“It’s him. The doctor I was going to see isn’t here anymore. My hot neighbor is about to see my vagina, Harper. I’m going to fucking die.”
“You are not going to die,” she laughs. “He’s a professional. I’m sure he’s seen it all. Women regularly shit on themselves when they give birth. I’m sure you took a shower and prepared the kitty like every other woman does before an appointment like that, so just go with it.”
“Harper… you don’t get it… I am pierced,” I say.
“Oh shit… I thought you were joking when you said you got that,” she says, stifling laughter. “What kind?”
“Princess Albertina and a VCH.” I sigh and start undressing before he comes in here and I’m not ready.
“Oh shit,” she giggles.
“I did it for the pain. Mom and Amy swore up and down that it helped them, so I got it done at eighteen. I do think it’s better, but it could be my imagination,” I say. “If I don’t call back, it’s because I died.”
“You’ll be okay. Don't squirt on the doc,” she says before abruptly ending the call.
“Bitch,” I mutter as I sit on the table and cover myself with the sheet.
I take long deep breaths and pray to God he doesn’t recognize me. The knock on the door startles me.
When Dominic Rivers walks in, my mouth dries, and my heart feels like it’s going to jump out of my chest. Luna, you fucking fool. Fuck, this is so bad.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Brooks,” Dominic says with a charming smile. Fuck, he’s gorgeous. He is six foot five, the literal definition of tall, dark, and handsome. I swear, his body was hand-sculpted by the gods. He is also covered in tattoos. Those fucking forearm veins are my weakness.
“G-Good afternoon,” I choke out. Real fucking smooth, Luna.
“So, we are just doing an annual exam and updating your birth control, yes?” he asks as he moves the stool closer to sit.
“Uhm… yeah,” I say. “I try to stay on top of the exams because of the family history.”
“I saw that your mother and sister both had cervical cancer without HPV?” he asks, looking at his notes.
“Yeah. My mom passed away from it four years ago when she let it go for too long without getting checked and my sister had a hysterectomy two years ago because it spread too far,” I explain. “I like living and even though I don’t like my uterus, I’d like to keep her a little longer.”
“I understand,” he says with a soft smile. “You also have marked that you have severe symptoms with your menstrual cycle?”
“Yeah, and I know, there’s nothing that can be done,” I say dismissively. “Better to say it and know I tried.”
“What are your symptoms?” he asks.
“I end up in debilitating pain if I have a period. The birth control helps, but sometimes I still have one and I end up in bed for a week,” I say bluntly. “The pain often radiates through my back and down my legs.”
“Any pain with sex?” he asks.
“No,” I say.
“Okay, well it sounds like endometriosis, but I’d have to do some testing to tell you for sure,” he says. “How long have you had these symptoms?”
“Since I was twelve and started my period.”
“Gotcha,” he nods. “So, the procedure is minimally invasive. It’s a laparoscopic surgery and it’s a very quick process. I have the notes from your previous gynecologist, so you certainly have a history of asking for answers.”
“It’s that easy? Are you fucking kidding?” I ask.
“Yes, ma’am,” he chuckles. “Someone should have done this for you years ago, but we can handle it now.”
“Okay,” I say. “Then what?”
“Well, if you have any adhesions, I would handle what I can. It’s a process called figuration where we burn off the adhesions.
We could try you on a different birth control also.
Something progestin-only would be ideal.
If you don’t plan on having children right now, the Nexplanon implant would be great too.
I’d say let’s get a diagnosis before we go making any changes so we can ensure we are making the correct change.
In the meantime, I can get you a prescription for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory.
It won’t make it disappear, but it will help a little.
I don’t like prescribing narcotics, but I see that your previous provider noted that you were adamant about not accepting them. ”
“Yeah, I have a family history of addiction,” I say. “When could I do the surgery?”