I Like 'Em Pretty (7 page)

“
I see.” Nicholas held her
tightly and kissed her on the head. “You didn’t have to worry.
Despite her flirting, I was only interested in you Rhoda. I really
had a good time with you tonight.”

“
I did too, Nick. I can’t
wait for us to spend some time together.” She really couldn’t. A
part of her wanted to take him home with her right now.

They stopped in the middle
of the sidewalk. Peering into those deep emerald greens, her heart
fluttered in her chest.

“
Neither can I, Rhoda. So
I’ll pick you up on Tuesday after work?”

“
Yes, and we can have
lunch. I’ll bring my tablet with me to show you some of the latest
pictures I took.” She held on to him, not wanting to let him
go.

Nick stepped closer and
slipped his arms around her waist. His soft hands touched the small
of her back and she gasped at the energy coming from his
fingers.

She leaned into him; their
foreheads met. “I enjoyed you tonight, Nick.”

“
Me too, love, but this is
only the beginning.” Nick pressed his lips against her temple and
retreated.

“
Yes it is.” Rhoda pulled
him back in and softly kissed his lips. She was feeling that third
glass of Moscato Sharnette talked her into. Just think if she
would’ve chose the Long Island, she might’ve humped this man right
here or in the bathroom.

Nick reciprocated with a
more passionate embrace, tangling tongues with her, making Rhoda
breathless. She sighed into his liplock, and moaned at the feeling
between her thighs.

“
Mhmm…you’re so beautiful,
Rhoda. I’m so happy to have met you.”

“
So am I, Nick. So am
I.”

* * * *

A couple of weeks passed
and Rhoda couldn’t have been happier at how quickly things had
developed between her and the doctor.

On the first date, they
went to a restaurant near Duke and looked at her pictures as she
promised. After that, they had dinner two nights later at a fancy
seafood restaurant, enjoying seafood and smooth live jazz all
night.

She even convinced Dr.
Fairlight to dance a little more. At least he kept the rhythm. On
their last day off together, they took a trip to the Nasher Museum
on the Duke University campus, which he’d never visited. Nicholas
used his camera a great deal, taking photographs where they’d
allow.

“
I wasn’t even aware this
place existed.” He beamed while enjoying a marble sculpture of a
well-dressed couple in love from Spain.

Rhoda could only grin at
Nicholas’ reactions to the museum. Seemingly they both had a high
appreciation for the arts.

A lot of people had no clue
about the place. It was indeed one of Durham’s best kept
secrets.

Due to their busy
schedules, more time together couldn’t be had right away, making
the both of them miss one another like crazy.

They called, texted, and
even messaged one another every night they didn’t see each other,
trying to make tentative plans for the next date.

Hopefully, the next planned
visit to the Golden Belt—a campus full of art galleries, live/work
lofts, and entertainment—would actually happen. Nick mentioned he’d
wanted to go there for quite some time.

Thinking of Nick, and in
pain from being on her feet, Rhoda propped them up in the nurse’s
lounge and drank a bottle of cranberry juice to give her some
energy. She’d already had two Cokes and coffee throughout the night
to keep the adrenaline flowing for the third eleven hour shift this
week. She’d traded with another RN just so she could spend the
weekend with her favorite doctor.

Her cell phone rang,
disturbing her rest,
Bedroom Toys
by Duran Duran signaling a call from Sharnette.
She hadn’t spoken with Nettie in a few days. They’d been missing
one another because Alexander had taken time off to be with her for
a small in-town book tour.

“
Hey girl! How’s the tour
goin’?”

“
Fabulous! My agent said
the excitement has gone up for the next book and sales are going up
for the series I finished last year. Looks like I might just catch
E.L James after all,” she joked.

“
Really?” Rhoda cocked an
eyebrow.

“
Eh, no, not unless my
next book sells close to a million copies. I’m kinda far away from
that, but at least the stories are sellin’.”

“
That’s great, babes.
How’s Alex?”

“
Wonderful! He and I have
relished his time away from the hospital. I’m sorry to take Nick
away from ya though.”

“
Oh hon, it’s no problem.
Alex is working those shifts for Nick when his parents come into
town in a few days, so…”

“
Yeah. Hey, so, how’s
everything goin’ with Nick? Alex said Nick doesn’t really talk to
him about his personal business too much.”

Rhoda beamed from ear to
ear and leaned farther back in the chair. “Ah Nettie, he’s
brilliant. Just what I needed.”

“
Have y’all done the deed
yet?”

Rhoda’s eyes widened. “Naw,
girl. We’ve only been seeing one another for about three
weeks.”

“
And
?” Sharnette sounded surprised.

“
And it’s not time yet.”
Rhoda nibbled on her bottom lip and her eyes darted from left to
right.

“
Whaddya mean, honey? It
is. When’s the last time your well has been tapped,
huh?”

Rhoda had to think about
that. “Quite a while. It’s about to run dry,” she whispered into
the handset.

“
Yeah and that means you
need to try getting’ it flowin’ again, girl. Don’t be such a damn
prude. You been talkin’ with Momma again?”

“
Nope,” she lied. Her
mother had been calling lately and was excited Rhoda had met a
doctor, despite the fact he worked at Methodist.

“
Well, why are ya waitin’,
girl? He couldn’t keep his eyes or hands off of you on that first
night. That kiss you guys shared outside the club…rawr.”
Sharnette’s smile came through the phone.

“
Yeah, it was quite a
kiss. Whew! I don’t recall the last time I got
that
wet after just a liplock. I
swear if it wasn’t our first meetin’, I might’ve taken him home
with me!” Rhoda shook her head then noticed a couple of nurses at
the next table grinning and giggling, probably from what they’d
overheard. Rhoda gasped and slumped in her seat. Damn Sharnette got
her in trouble once again.

“
Hello? Rhoda?” Rhoda
sighed inwardly.

“
Yeah, sorry, Nettie. I
was thinking about Nick again. I wish we’d met a lot sooner, then
I’d have the perfect excuse to bed him,” she whispered.

“
You got the perfect one
now, Rho. You like him a lot!”

“
Yes yes, but…it’s only
been…”

“
So? What’s the big deal?
You like him, he likes you. I don’t understand why you’re
withholding the nookie when you don’t have to.”

Rhoda thought a moment.
Perhaps her friend was right. She did really enjoy Nick’s company
and wanted nothing more than to lie down with him and enjoy that
hard body on top of hers.

“
I guess.”

“
No…you know.”

Silence.

Perhaps I
do
.

After work ended, Rhoda
went home, hoping to catch Nick before he went in for his last late
night shift for Alex. Eleven p.m. to one p.m. the next day.
Murderous. Usually the thirteen hour ones tired him out the most.
Rhoda already knew that feeling well.

Once she changed into her
pajamas and slipped into her fuzzy bunny house shoes, she pressed
the buttons to call Nick. Spearmint followed her closely and, when
she sat, he jumped on her lap.

Anticipation ran high while
she tapped her nails on the side table waiting for him to pick up.
Why the heck she was so nervous because of a phone call, she didn’t
know.

“
Hello, sexy
lady.”

“
Hi there.” She grinned at
the sound of that proper British drawl.

“
How was your day at Duke
Maternity?”

“
Good. Only assisted in
twelve deliveries within the last ten hours. Two were a set of
twins.”

“
Wow, seriously? I don’t
think I’ve ever seen that many delivered in one shift.”

“
No, I’m pretty sure
that’s a record. You ready to head in to Methodist?”

“
Uh huh, as much as I’ll
ever be. I can’t wait to get this night over with so we can spend
time together.”

“
Me too. You sure you
won’t be too tired? I mean, you get off at one and then we’re going
to meet at six? Is that enough sleep?”

“
Yes. It’ll be like a
power nap, Rhoda. No worries. I intend to be fully awake when I see
you.”

“
Good. I wouldn’t want you
to doze off on me. Lord knows I can talk your ear off and bore ya
to tears if you let me.”

“
You’d never bore me,
Rrrrhooddaaaahhh…” Nick rolled the ‘r’ and Rhoda could’ve sworn she
felt warmth trickling between her thighs. She loved the way he said
her name; once he added some speech from another language and
titillation coursed through her entire body.

“
Aw, well, thanks for the
vote of confidence. All right, then, let me get off the phone so
you can go to work.”

“
I really don’t want you
to, love. I adore your voice, your smile, everything about
you.”

Rhoda’s cheeks flushed and
she twirled her curls around her fingertips. “Oh, Nick, you really
do say the sweetest things. I really look forward to seeing you
tomorrow night.”

“
So do I, Rhoda. Get some
rest and I’ll talk to you in the afternoon.”

“
Okay then. Have a good
night.”

“
I’ll try.” Rhoda could
hear the smile in his voice before they hung up.

Was this too good to be
true? A man that held her interest, exactly what she was looking
for and gorgeous?

Someone pinch me.
Hard!

* * * *

With a huge Cheshire grin
on his face, Nicholas pushed his cell into his pocket and headed
out the door to catch a cab for his late night shift. How he wished
to be in Rhoda’s arms enjoying the evening but duty called.
Sometimes it sucked to be the on-call surgeon. Whatever emergencies
required his expertise, he’d have to perform, regardless of the
hour. Despite this, Nicholas truly loved being a doctor. Ever since
he was little, all he ever wanted was to help people with their
ailments and cure people from various diseases.

Orthopedics meant helping
people walk, which was his specialty, but he’d helped in other
areas as well which meant he was well-rounded. That was the reason
he and Alexander were in such high demand at Methodist. Though the
staff had many qualified medics, Alex and Nicholas travelling to
treat people in different parts of the world made them the top of
the crop when it came to Methodist’s doctors.

Nicholas in particular
thought about going abroad and assisting ailing people in rural
areas. They’d done it once for the Peace Corps when visiting
Tanzania and becoming part of the medical caravan. He hoped to do
something of that nature once again.

Perhaps this time he
wouldn’t be alone. Yes, unlike last time, Nicholas would have a
young lady on his arm. A certain curvy nurse with big brown eyes,
long legs for miles, and a white pearly smile.

Would she consider leaving
America to be with him and help the sick? It would be a fascinating
love story for him and his new lady to love one another and use
their talents to help the less fortunate.

While riding in the cab, he
noticed small crowds of people walking to and fro, most likely out
to dinner, or some bar to enjoy the evening. Nicholas really wished
he was one of them with the beautiful Rhoda Maire at his
side.

One of the few drawbacks of
being a doctor—your personal life was always interrupted. The
patients at Methodist always took precedence over his own needs and
desires.

In a matter of moments,
Nicholas arrived at the hospital, ready to take on the night. He’d
been sleeping the majority of the day, took in a good movie, and
had a light dinner before he showered for work. Good thing this was
the last thirteen hour he was taking for Alex so he could enjoy a
couple of days off with Rhoda and then with his parents.

Most importantly her,
especially if they could move to the next step. Even though he
wanted it badly, he didn’t want to leave Rhoda with the wrong
impression.

Nicholas hoped she would
take the initiative, like she did at the club when pulling him out
to the dance floor. Although he was usually the one in control,
nothing would arouse him more than to have Rhoda lead him into the
bedroom and through various sexual activities.

Chapter Six

“
I’m good.” Rhoda scurried
around her apartment, looking for just the right shoes to wear on
her date with Nick. The black pumps didn’t suit this outfit and the
flats didn’t look too flattering.