Chapter One Matilda #3
One gorgeous woman almost falling at my feet. Before I could even settle my breathing from running, I blink, and she’s gone. Almost like a little figment of my imagination.
One part I certainly didn’t imagine is how freaking beautiful she looked.
I take off running towards Dunbar Park and the basketball court where the guys are waiting for me.
Elvis is pumping out more rock in my earbuds, and my feet pound the pavement in time with his hip thrusts.
I’m a huge Elvis fan, my music tastes stuck in the sixties.
There is nothing like the smooth melodic tones of the King.
My mom listened to him on her old vinyl records, and we would dance around the kitchen while Dad was at work.
I think she was brainwashing me. It totally worked.
Although I love all sorts of music, Elvis will always be at the top of my playlist.
“Oh, here’s Doctor Dreamy. What, some damsel in distress at the hospital that you couldn’t walk away from?” The basketball lands with a thud in the center of my chest from Tate.
“Like you can talk, oh godly one. The surgeon that every nurse in the hospital is either dreaming about fucking, or how she can stab needles in you after she’s been fucked over by you.” Smacking him on the back as I join the boys on the court, Lex and Mason burst out laughing.
“Welcome to the game, doctors. Sucks you’re on the same team today, doesn’t it?
Less bitching and more bouncing. Let’s get this game started.
I’m due in court at three and the judge already hates me, so being late won’t go well,” Lex yelled as he started backing down the court ready to mark and stop us scoring a basket.
“Let me guess, she hates you because you slept with her,” I yell back.
“Nope, but I may have spent a night with her daughter, who I had no idea lives with her mother the judge.”
“Holy shit, that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard today.” Tate throws his head back, laughing out loud. “That story is status-worthy.”
“You put one word of that on social media and I won’t be the one in court trying to get you out on bail, I’ll be there defending why I beat you to a pulp, gossip boy. Now get over there so Mason and I can whip the asses off you two glamour boys.” Lex glares at Tate.
“Like you even have a chance. Bring it, boys.” I yell to him as he waves at me to come at him.
Game on, gentlemen.
My watch starts buzzing to tell us time’s up in the game.
We’re all on such tight work schedules that we squeeze in this basketball game together once a week.
These guys are my family, well, the kind of family you love one minute and want to kill the next.
We’ve been friends since meeting at Brother Rice High School for Boys, where we all ended up in the same class on the first day.
Not sure what the teachers were thinking after the first week when we had bonded and were already making pains of ourselves.
Not sure how many times our parents were requested for a “talk” with the headmaster, but it was more often than is normal, I’m sure.
It didn’t matter we all went to separate universities or worked in different professions.
We had already formed that lifelong friendship that won’t ever break.
Sweat dripping off all of us, I’m gulping down water from the water fountain. Not too much, otherwise I’ll end up with a muscle cramp by the time I run back to the hospital.
“Right, who’s free tonight?” Mason is reading his phone with a blank look on his face.
“I’m up for a drink, I’m off-shift tonight,” Tate pipes up as I grin and second him that I’m off too. It doesn’t happen often that we all have a night off together. The joys of being a doctor in a hospital.
“I can’t, I’m attending a charity dinner. It’s for that charity you mentor for, Mason,” Lex replies.
“Well, that’s perfect. Gray, you are my plus one, and Tate, your date is Lex.
I’m now the guest speaker for the night.
So, you can all come and listen to the best talk you have witnessed all year.
Prepare to be amazed.” He brushes each of his shoulders with his hands, trying to show us how impressive he is.
We all moan simultaneously at him.
“Thanks for the support, cocksuckers. My memory is long.” He huffs a little as he types away a reply on his phone.
Mason is a pilot who spent four years in the military, before he was discharged, struggling with the things he saw.
He started to work in the commercial sector but then was picked up by a private charter company.
He’s perfect for that sort of role. He has the smoothness, wit, and intelligence to mingle with anyone, no matter who they are.
He’s had great stories of different passengers over the years and places he’s flown.
“Why in God’s name would anyone think you were interesting enough to talk for more than five minutes. You can’t even make that time limit for sex,” I say, waiting for the reaction.
“Oh, you are all so fucking funny, aren’t you. I’m talking about my role in mentoring kids to reach for their dream jobs, no matter how big that dream is.” The look on his face tells me he takes this seriously.
“Jokes aside, man, that’s a great thing you do.
If you can dream it, you can reach it. If you make a difference in one kid’s life, then it’s worth it.
” We all stop with the ribbing and start to work out tonight’s details.
We agree to meet at a bar first for a drink and head to the dinner together.
My second alarm on my watch starts up. We all know what that means.
Parting ways, Mason yells over his shoulder to us all, “By the way, it’s black tie.”
I inwardly groan as I pick up my pace into a steady jog again.
I hate wearing a tie. It reminds me of high school wearing one every day.
If I can avoid it now, I do. Unfortunately, most of these charity dinners you need to dress to impress.
You also need to have your wallet full to hand over a donation.
I’m lucky, I’ve never lived without the luxury of money, so I’m happy to help others where I can.
Running down Michigan Avenue, I can see Mercy Hospital in the distance standing tall and proud.
It’s my home away from home. This is the place I spend the majority of my waking hours, working, along with some of my sleeping hours too.
My heart beats happily in this place. Looking after people and saving lives is the highest rush you can experience in life.
With that comes rough days, but you just hope the good outweighs the bad most of the time.
That’s why I run and try not to miss the workouts with the boys.
You need to clear the head to stay focused.
The patients need the best of us every single time.
Tate works with me at Mercy, which makes for fun days and nights when we’re on shift together.
He didn’t run with me today as he’s in his consult rooms and not on shift at the hospital.
I love summer in Chicago, except, just not this heat in the middle of the day when I’m running and sweating my ass off.
It also means the hospital struggles with all the extra caseload we get.
Heat stroke in the elderly is an issue, especially if they can’t afford the cool air at home.
The hospital is the best thing they have for relief.
My smart watch tells me it’s eighty-six degrees Fahrenheit, but it feels hotter with the humidity.
I don’t get the extra caseload, since I don’t work in emergency. That’s Tate’s problem. He’s a neurosurgeon who takes on the emergency cases as they arrive in the ER. Super intense, high-pressure work. Not my idea of fun. I had my years of that role, and I’m happy where I am now.
Coming through the front doors of the hospital, I feel the cool air hit me, while the eyes of the nursing staff at the check-in desk follow me to the elevator.
The single ones are ready to pounce as soon as you give them any indication you might be interested.
Tate takes full advantage of that. Me, not so much.
When you’re an intern, it seems like a candy shop of all these women who want to claim the fresh meat.
The men are just as bad with the new female nurses.
We work in a high-pressure environment, working long hours and not seeing much daylight at times.
You need to find a release. That’s how I justified it, when I was the intern.
I remember walking into a storeroom in my first year as an intern, finding my boss at the time, Leanne, and she was naked from the waist down being fucked against the wall by one of the male nurses.
Now I am a qualified doctor who should hold an upstanding position in society, so I rarely get involved in the hospital dating scene anymore.
Fuck, who am I kidding? That’s not the reason.
It’s the fact I got burned a few years ago by a clinger who tried to get me fired when I tried to move on from her.
Not going down that path again. Don’t mix work and play, they say—well, I say.
Tate hasn’t quite learned that lesson yet.
Especially the new batch of interns he gets on rotation every six months. He is a regular man-whore.
Am I a little jealous? Maybe just a tad. And my cock’s now firming up just thinking about getting ready for some action. It’s been a bit of a dry spell. I think it’s time to fix that.
Pity my date for tonight, Mason, is not even close to who I’m thinking about to break the drought. My cock totally loses interest now, and I can’t say I blame him.
But on my way back up to my office upstairs, I start picturing the enchanting woman from today, and my whole focus changes. The way she sparked something inside me, and I remember the feeling of her body against mine and how quickly it affected me.
It was the briefest encounter, yet she captivated my mind with her stunning beauty and those spellbinding eyes, leaving me wanting more.
I just wish I knew who my mystery woman was.