What happened in Vegas: Didn't Stay In Vegas! (20 page)

His comment
made me self-conscious as I noticed he was watching me eat the food
on my dish. I decided not to let myself feel intimidated or
self-conscious by him so I started closing my eyes and moaning with
every bite. If I didn
’
t already have his
full attention, I had it now. I think he even stopped eating his
food. I then patted my face with a make-do napkin, thanked him, and
saw myself out. He was left speechless.

~33~

Nick

It sucked being
back to work after spending four way too short days in sunny Las
Vegas. It was always the same shit different day here in the
hospital. The weather here wasn
’
t good either. It was
cooler here than in Vegas and always cloudy.

I was flying solo today figuratively
speaking, Dr. Thicke was sick with something he probably caught
from one of his patients. That meant if I was having troubles or
needed help I had to go to the Throb who was covering for him. My
hatred for Throb had only grown since being with Coco in Vegas.
That man had no idea what kind of catch he had.

My biggest mistake was choosing internal
medicine as a specialty. I was always in emergency and on
respiratory floors, exposed to the worst and most infectious cases.
I might as well have specialized in infectious diseases, I was
around them enough. I should have kept my hands clean the way Coco
did and chosen Cardiology or better yet, Dermatology.

I
’
ve been meaning to call Coco since I got back to
see if she spoke with Aria yet. Coco was always good at doing
damage control. I pulled my phone out of my lab coat and texted
her:

Nick: Hi Coco?

Chanel:
U
’
r back?

Nick: Unfortunately.

Chanel: I know and we had fun.

Nick: Did U C Aria yet, damage control?

Chanel: Not
yet, 2 busy 2. I
’
ll text her C if we
can get 2gether 2night.

Nick: Thx. My social life depends on it!

I looked up from my phone to see Chase
walking towards me in the hall.

It was funny
seeing him here. He nodded his head in my direction and
said,
“
Nick.
”

I quickly slid
my phone back into my pocket and acknowledged his greeting,
“
Hi Chase.
”

He stopped in
my path and asked,
“
Have you seen my
brother?
”

“I
can
’
t say that I have, but I know he
’
s on call.
He
’
s covering for Dr. Thicke whose sick today.
I
’
ll tell him you
’
re looking for
him.
”

“Thanks Nick,
good tan!
”
His comment carried no significance to
me.

A few minutes later my phone vibrated and I
grabbed it from my pocket to look. It was a text from Coco.

Chanel: Meeting with Aria 2night 2 do damage
control. I will keep U posted.

CHANEL

Aria and I were meeting at the Paddock for
seven, Bradley was meeting us after his on-call shift. I chose not
to invite Nick until I knew how it was going with Aria.

When I got home
from work I headed straight for the shower. I must have been in
there a long time, because the water was starting to make my skin
crinkle. I dried off and dressed provocatively wearing my shortest
skirt and a simple camisole. I wasn
’
t in the mood for
heels so I wore sandals that matched my outfit. I walked to the
Paddock and found myself the first to arrive.

Aria came
dressed in a red silk kimono dress that stopped at her knees and
red patent leather shoes. She was such an odd bird; I could totally
see why Nick liked her. She wasn
’
t afraid of being
different, she embraced it. I gave her a huge hug and noticed she
toned down her perfume. It was subtle and flowery, quite
lovely!

“I love your
Kimono dress and your perfume,
”
I gushed.

Aria smiled
back at me,
“
Thanks! Oh my God!
You cut off all your hair!
”

Okay now she
wins the award for making me feel the most self-conscious
I
’
ve been since I did it,
“
I
did!
”

“It
’
s so different, I
love it! Did Bradley tell you to cut it?
”

Now I was
wishing I had spent more time on it tonight before I went
out,
“
No, just did it on a whim! When he saw me he said I
should have gone shorter with it.
”

She
hesitated,
“
Oh, I quite agree,
chin length would have been perfect on you! It looks fabulous
though. You looked like a floozy from the eighties
before!
”

I felt
embarrassed and grabbed an elastic from my bag and put it up in a
ponytail. I couldn
’
t believe she said
that but I guess it was good to know the truth. Well, with two
people telling me to go shorter, I would chop it again before the
Fundraiser. I had nothing to lose that couldn
’
t grow
back.

“How was Vegas?
I couldn
’
t believe you went there alone! What in the world
did you do there?
”

I
lamented,
“
It was great. I spent most of my time by the
pool. I just needed to get away.
”

“From
what?
”

“You
don
’
t want to know! Let
’
s just say that when
Bradley was training me he failed to tell me that his ex-wife
worked in the Cath lab.
”

She looked
shocked,
“
Fuck off! You
’
ve got to be kidding!
Kind of important thing to miss. You had no
idea?
”

I raised my
shoulders,
“
None. Nick knew but
he never told me because he thought I already
knew.
”

“Speaking of
Nick, I wanted to tell you before you left, we
aren
’
t seeing each other anymore. Did he tell
you?
”

I think she was
gaging my expression,
“
Yes, he did.
I
’
m sorry to hear that Aria, what
happened?
”

The waitress
came to take our order so we ordered two Cosmos and waited for her
to leave.
“
He came over to my loft one night and everything
was going well until we started getting intimate. He started going
all S&M on me. He was spanking me, and demeaning me. I had no
idea where this was coming from. I never told him I liked doing
that stuff, and if he
’
s into it, he better
find someone else to do THAT to! It was horrible
Chanel!
”

She looked so
upset even telling me, her face was all red and her eyes were
welling up with tears,
“
Oh, Aria this is my
entire fault!
”
I confessed.

She looked at
me completely confused,
“
Your fault! How
so?
”

I felt really
embarrassed,
“
Nick and I were
discussing your relationship and I suggested he get all S&M on
you. I thought you would like it!
”

The waitress
came back with our drinks and placed them down on the table. Aria
didn
’
t look up; she grabbed her drink removing the straw
and took a huge gulp of it,
“
Whatever gave you
that impression?
”

“I
don
’
t know Nick was just worried he
wasn
’
t doing it for you so I suggested some kinkery. He
spoke to me after; he said he felt really bad. He thought you were
role playing until he saw you crying, then he realized you
weren
’
t enjoying yourself but it was too late. He said he
tried explaining to you but you broke up with him and told him to
leave. Give him another chance. He
’
s not into it. He
just thought you were!
”

Aria looked
relieved,
“
I
’
d love to give him
another chance if he wants to be with me. I tried calling him and
leaving a message, he never returned my call. I
didn
’
t think he wanted to have anything to do with me after
that, you know, when he realized I was crying.
”

“Aria, he felt
like a bag of shit after. He
’
s never going to do
that again. He told me that. He
’
s waiting for me to
text him whether you forgive him or not.
”

Aria
glowed,
“
Text the poor guy already!
”

I pulled my phone from my purse and texted
Nick just as I saw Bradley walk into the Paddock.

Chanel: Come meet me & Aria @ the
Paddock. UR forgiven.

Nick: U rock!
I
’
ll b there soon.

Bradley was
dressed in his scrubs from work and had a six o
’
clock
shadow. He hadn
’
t bothered to change
before coming to meet us at the Paddock. My burley doctor was being
a rebel fashionista! I was finding myself very attracted to him. He
bent over to kiss me and then greeted Aria,
“
Hello Aria, how
are you doing? Can I interest you ladies in a fresh
drink?
”

Aria was
glowing,
“
Thanks Bradley, I would love one! Chanel how
about you? Chanel?
”

I
hadn
’
t realized Aria was talking to me until I looked at
her, and then flirted back at Bradley,
“
Oh Bradley, you
can interest me in more than just fresh drinks!
”

He grinned back
at me,
“
Can I interest you in spending the night at my
place?
”

Now I was
glowing,
“
Now you
’
re
talking!
”

Bradley brought
our drinks to the table, and took a chair between myself and Aria.
I placed my hand on his thigh and asked,
“
How was
work?
”

He took a drink
of what appeared to be a martini with an olive in it,
“
Not bad, nothing out of the blue except for an eighteen
year old fishing with her boyfriend. He cast the line while she was
standing behind him and the hook went right into her eye socket.
She
’
s in surgery right now. It doesn
’
t look good
for her. The boyfriend was devastated. His skin was all white, pale
as a ghost. He didn
’
t speak from the
shock he was in. Last I heard the surgeon was having troubles, it
was lodged into the bone.
”

Aria looked
enthralled with his story, I hadn
’
t seen anything like
that but I felt instantly sorry for the poor girl. You never expect
to get an injury like that merely by fishing. It seems like such a
safe sport. I looked at Bradley,
“
Are you working
tomorrow?
”

He ran his
fingers through his hair before reaching for his drink,
“
Yes, I
’
m on call again. This
time for myself and not Dr. Thicke. Are you
working?
”

“I am Dr.
Morden is going to teach me how to insert a
pacemaker.
”

“Did you meet
with my brother today?
”

I
couldn
’
t help smiling,
“
I did, and we picked
the caterer for the Fundraiser. It was fun.
”

“Free food is
always fun, speaking of which, I
’
m starving. If
you
’
ve already eaten, I might as well order food from
here.
”
He waived to get the waitresses attention and when she
came to our table he ordered the Souvlaki.

Nick entered
the Paddock ten minutes after the waitress took
Bradley
’
s order. He went directly to the bar to order his
drink before joining us at our table. I started digging through my
purse for the two boxes that I kept forgetting were in my purse. I
gave the first box to Bradley and the second box to Aria before I
explained,
“
I just picked you up
something small to let you know I was thinking about you in
Vegas.
”