Saved By The Doctor (BWWM Romance) (6 page)

Jackie shrugged. “Which is why I won't give it to you... unless you give me a reason to,” she replied, wagging her finger.

Laila nodded. “Okay fine,” she replied as she shoved the pancake in her mouth.

Jackie grabbed the remote and immediately changed the channel.

“Momma!” Laila screeched.

But Jackie, for the most part unphased, turned to shoot her daughter an even stare. “We've been watching your cartoons for too long,” she retorted. “It's my turn.”

After that, Jackie commenced the long process of finding “something good,” on TV to watch. Thus, the next thirty minutes were spent flipping channels and consuming the rest of her breakfast. She never found anything good to settle on, so her mind began to wander beyond her control. She found herself thinking back to that Picasso her daughter had painted of Doctor Allan Chase. She had been toying with the idea of calling him over and over again ever since Victoria left. In fact, it was the one time talking to Victoria just made her more and more confused. She couldn't believe she had this beautiful man of an opportunity, but that she was forcing herself to ignore it. She thought she could have him if she would only go after him; if she could only stop holding herself back. Yet, that realization didn't help make anything easier. It only made her more frustrated with herself.

By the time she got through her plate and Laila got through as much of hers as she could possibly stomach, she was tired of watching the TV and forcing herself not to think about the doctor. “Okay,” she clicked off the television and stood up.

Laila flinched, confused as to why her entertainment was suddenly going away. “What?” she asked in a shrill voice.

Jackie just picked up her plate and made her way to the fridge. “It's time to do your homework,” she replied. “You have school tomorrow and it's well into the afternoon,” she explained.

Laila frowned, crossing her arms. “But I don't-”

But Jackie was not in the mood for dealing with her arguments. “No. Laila. No. You're going to do your homework, and if you behave through all of it then we will go paint for a little bit before I have to work.”

Laila grudgingly nodded then got up to go get her things. As Jackie put on one of her favorite tracks from the Del Fonics on her record player she heard someone call from downstairs. Jackie wasn't expecting anyone to visit so she was thoroughly confused. “Yes?” she called.

“Jackie?”

Jackie's heart stopped. “Doctor Chase?” she practically yelled this.

“What are you waiting for? Buzz me in!” he called.

Jackie pressed the button as if governed by some outside force. She stood with her forehead leaning against the door, her heart pounding against her chest as she waited for him to make it up the stairs. Her frown grew more and more pronounced as she realized her face was completely clear of makeup, her hair looked like she had lost a fight with a hair dryer, and all she had on was a torn pair of overalls over a sports bra so embarrassing she had stopped wearing it to the gym. She realized it was the universe punishing her for not calling, because if she had, he most certainly would not be stalking her.

The knock on the door wrenched her out of her lamenting. She yanked the door open and braced herself for impact.

Allan stood on the other side of the threshold wearing a pastel green cashmere sweater and dark pants. His eyes widened as he got a good look at Jackie in her home environment, but the way his lips folded into a half-smile let slip to Jackie that he liked what he was seeing.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded. As each minute passed, she became more and more aware of how strange the fact that he was in her house was.

He shrugged, and then pushed past her into the short hallway that separated the front door from the kitchen and living room. “You never called me so I decided to hunt you down. This is a nice place you've got here,” he commented, running his perfect hands over her countertop.

Yet, all Jackie could think about were the bread crumbs that covered the other side of the counter top and how much she just was not prepared to have any visitors over, much less her model of a doctor. “How do you even know where I live?” she demanded.

He rested his forearms on the table, raising an eyebrow. “I'm your doctor. I know everything,” he replied, leaning in until less than a foot separated the two of them.

Jackie blinked twice in an effort to snatch her thoughts back from the oblivion that threatened to swallow them. The only thing she was consciously aware of was the doctor's frigid gaze and her own heart pounding in her ears. “No, you don't,” she replied, looking away from him and making her way back to her dining table.

“Oh really?” he asked as he followed her to her seat. “What, exactly am I missing so far?”

Jackie glowered at him. “You're missing the fact that I absolutely do not have visitors on Sundays,” she replied.

“No I got that.” He chuckled, the sound sending Jackie into a nearly uncontrollable frenzy.

She continued to glower at him even though she had no idea what to do next. “And how, exactly, did you know that?” she asked.

He shrugged. “You just look like you don't want to be bothered,” he replied, looking suggestively at her crazy overalls.

Jackie scoffed then stood up. Something about sitting across from the most beautiful man she had ever seen at her own dining table made her feel extremely self-conscious. She felt less vulnerable standing up, but even then, a strange kind of anxiety was beginning to build in the pit of her stomach. It was as if she was afraid of being caught with him or something. “Do you want a lemonade or something?” she asked, more than aware of how clichéd that offer was.

He raised an eyebrow, his eyes glowing with amusement. “Do you even have lemonade?” he teased.

Jackie couldn't help but to chuckle at this. “Maybe...” she trailed off, her mind working a mile a minute to find something else to change the subject to, because she did not, in fact, have any lemonade.

He laughed even harder as she opened her fridge to reveal the assortment of beers and fruit juices.

She shrugged, “I mean, do you want a Corona or something?” she asked.

He stood up and joined her in the kitchen, leaving less than a foot separating the two of them. Jackie took a generous whiff of his potent scent; that mixture of Calvin Klein and body odor that her nose had already grown accustomed to. “There's nothing I would like more,” he murmured.

Jackie had to rip her eyes away from him. She turned and grabbed a beer for him then, thinking again, she grabbed another one for herself. They had scarcely gotten them open before she heard, “Momma!” from in the other room. Her eyes went wide and she dropped the beer on the counter, brushing past the doctor to get to Laila before she came in the room. The last thing she wanted was for her daughter to see her doctor in their kitchen. That would immensely confuse her.

But in the next second, her call was echoed by the sound of her excited footsteps.

Jackie could think of nothing to do but to stand there, frozen on the spot and stunned, waiting for her to see him.

As she rounded the corner, her almond eyes went wide. “It's Doctor Chase!” she yelled as she ran across the room.

Acting on impulse, Jackie snatched her in mid-run, cutting her off from him and wrapped her arms around her to try to cover up that catastrophic display of her nervousness. “Babe!” she exclaimed, planting a harsh kiss on Laila's cheek.

She winced, shying away from her as much as she possibly could. “Momma!” she whined.

“The doctor and I are having a conversation,” she explained as she finally let her go.

Dr. Allan Chase crossed the room towards her. “How are you doing, Laila?” he asked, holding a hand up for a high five.

“I feel a lot better!” she exclaimed, twirling around as if to prove her point.

Jackie couldn't help but notice the way Allan's eyes lit up when their hands touched. He seemed to absolutely adore her daughter, which did nothing but make him seem even more attractive. “That's great!” he replied.

“Okay. Okay,” Jackie muttered as she physically put herself in between Laila and the doctor. “This little altercation is over. The doctor has to go.”

She could see his face fall in her peripheral vision and that almost made her want to take back her statement.

“But he didn't see my painting!” Laila replied, tugging on a handful of Jackie's overalls.

“What painting?” the doctor quipped.

“Another time, honey,” Jackie replied as she gently motioned for her to move away.

But Laila wouldn't budge and the doctor seemed so intrigued, Jackie couldn't hope to get out of it without revealing her daughter's obvious liking for him. She knew that would only make him more and more confident. The prospect of having another mind-churning conversation with the doctor was a little bit more than Jackie could handle.

“Okay, fine,” she replied.

Laila squealed with delight.

“But only one quick look then the doctor really does have to be on his way.” Jackie added, but just as Laila pivoted on her heals to go grab the painting, Jackie got cold feet. There was something incredibly intimate about showing Allan her daughter's artwork and the thought of being even a little intimate with anyone, much less a man she's only talked to twice, was enough to overwhelm her with fear. “But wait!” she called.

Laila froze.

“Don't bring it out. It's still hanging to dry. Why don't you let me go show it to him,” Jackie replied, fully intending to pretend that she had lost it as soon as they got into the studio.

Laila frowned, but nodded.

Jackie raised an eyebrow at her. “Okay. So go finish your homework. I meant what I said,” she replied as Laila hurried away. As her footsteps faded away, Jackie turned back to the doctor. “You lucked out,” she retorted as she led him through the living room to the back door that led to her studio.

“I can't believe you're a painter,” Doctor Chase murmured.

Jackie opened the door, pausing for a reaction as Allan took in the entire room, lined with canvases leaning against the wall, hanging on racks or half-finished and standing on easels. “Why? Do I not look like one?” she demanded, stepping inside. She pursed her lips as Allan followed her in, his icy eyes missing nothing.

“No,” he turned around to face her, a look of wonder in his eyes that Jackie had never actually seen before. “I've just never met one before.”

“Well, we're not all we're cracked up to be,” Jackie muttered in a short voice as she sifted through the pieces, trying to remember where she had laid her daughter's painting.

“What exactly is that?”

Jackie shrugged, “Neurotic, exciting, unique...”

The doctor glowered at her. “I think you're all of those things,” he replied.

Jackie raised an eyebrow. “Did you just call me neurotic?” she teased.

He shrugged. “I thought it was a compliment.”

The two of them broke into a short bout of laughter.

“Ah, so this must be it....” Allan murmured as he reached in front of him towards something leaning on the windowsill.

Jackie was across the room in the next second. She extended her hand, going for the painting, but Allan wrapped his fingers around her arm, stopping her in her tracks. Jackie's heart stopped at the sensation of his hand on her skin. She could feel her blood boiling as it sat stagnant in her veins, waiting for his next move. As they stared at each other for that brief moment, Jackie found herself wishing something would happen. She held her breath, willing herself to get lost in his gaze yet again, hoping that he would take her breath, just as he was taking her heart.

But the moment lasted so long that it began to turn stale and Jackie remembered what she had been so bent up about in the first place. “It's just weird, me showing you her work,” Jackie was practically pleading at this point.

“Don't be so introverted all the time.” Allan replied, taking his hand off of her arm and grabbing the painting off of the window all in one go.

Jackie opened her mouth to say one more thing, but he was already looking at it. He had already gotten in. There was nothing more for her to do but just stand there and watch him.

“I think she's got some real talent,” The doctor joked.

Jackie couldn't help but to laugh at this. “Oh stop it!” she replied. “I know you're completely weirded out by this.”