I Like 'Em Pretty (2 page)

“
No, no, not right now, I
just wanted to see ya. I hate when ya not here, Nicky. The other
doctors, except for Alex, don’t pay me much attention.” Her
Southern drawl came out in her voice.

“
Well, I’m sure they don’t
mean to ignore you, Mrs.… Er, Janet. We do get very busy here
sometimes.”

“
I know but—” She stopped
and her face softened when she met his gaze. “You’re such a great
doctor, ya know, because you really give a damn about yer patients.
Ya treat ‘em like family.”

Nicholas appreciated the
comment and crossed his legs while he relaxed. The end of his shift
was coming soon but, he had to admit, he loved coming in here,
listening to Janet Mackenberg tell one of her stories. “Thank you,
Janet. I try, I really do. It’s part of the reason I decided to
become a Doctor.” Nicholas sat up straight for fear he might get
too comfortable and fall asleep in the chair. It had been a long
night here at Methodist; two emergency surgeries, head trauma, and
gunshot wounds. Just a normal night in the life of a doctor who
worked a thirteen hour shift.

“
I’m glad ya did, honey.
We pay y’all pretty well to take care of us ol’ folk. You might as
well earn that cash. I know you and Alexander do.”

“
Yes, but that isn’t why
we work here, Janet.”

“
I know, I know.” She
sighed and flashed him a wry grin. She reached across and patted
his hand. “You two are good ol’ British boys, not like some of them
others I seen on TV. These American medics can take a cue from the
both of ya.”

“
We have a fine staff
here, Janet, regardless of where we come from. Well…” Nicholas
straightened and rose from his chair. “If everything’s okay, let me
leave you to get rest and I must get some too since I have to be
here late tonight for a ten hour shift. If there are any more
melees in the inner city, I might be here longer.”

“
Aw, I wish ya didn’t
hafta leave, sugah. I love talkin’ with ya, but I know ya need
sleep to keep up that pretty face of yours.” The old lady winked at
him. “You sure are a handsome devil, Nicky. Ya sure you don’t wanna
make an old woman happy until she leaves this earth?”

Nicholas’ eyes widened.
His lips curled into a half smile. “Um, Janet, I already told you.
I’m
very
taken.
My lady and I have been dating for years and I just haven’t popped
the question,” he lied. There hadn’t been anyone serious since his
last girlfriend left him in his second year of med
school.

“
I need to meet her one
day and tell ‘er she took away my dream man.” She laughed. “All
right, baby. You getcha self some rest and come see me in the
mornin’, right?”

“
I sure will.” Nicholas
patted her shoulder and attempted to turn in the direction of the
door when she grabbed his hand.

“
Go home and getcha self
some lovin’, Nicky. You look like ya need it.”

Nicholas bowed his head and
grinned at Janet.

If only there were someone
waiting there to give it to me.

* * * *

“
Girl, please! How old are
you again?” Sharnette Bixby wailed in her ear while Rhoda attempted
to finish up her pedicure.

“
Please what? You know how
my momma is. She don’t wanna hear anything about about me goin’ on
no swingers cruise. Besides, you and
your
man are into that, not
me.”

Silence. “Well, you just
might meet someone on it. Hell, you never know. Alex and I met at a
swinger’s party. Neither of us had been with anyone the whole
entire night…and then…” Sharnette trailed off. The smile could be
heard in her tone.

“
Um, yeah, I know. You met
Prince Charming in the most unlikely place. Good for you,” she
chided and flicked out her tongue.

“
Don’t hate the playa’,
girl.”

“
I know, hate the game.”
Rhoda finished the statement.

“
No, no, I wasn’t sayin’
that, Rho. It just kinda happened. Lord knows I wasn’t even lookin’
for someone that night, at least not for anything long-term, and
there he was, Doctor Carthington, fine ass with a great smile,
muscular in all the right places.”

“
Yes and the perfect muse
for your next novel, right?” Rhoda couldn’t help but be envious.
Sharnette and Alex had been dating for almost a year now. Still, it
didn’t make her jump at the chance to meet the man of her wildest
dreams at a place where people hooked up and talked about their
sexcapades so openly.

“
Yep. I’m gonna call
it,
Sweet Medical Emergency.
Hmph. The heroine will be on the verge of death
and hunky doctor Alexander comes to save her. It’ll be a
hit!”

“
Yes, I know it will be.
You know I love your stuff. When are ya gonna write one for me,
hmm? If I’m not gonna live a happy ever after at least I can read
about one,” she joked while putting the finishing touches on her
pinky toe.

“
Oh you stop that right
now, girl. Even though I will be writing you in a book real soon,
but I know there’s somebody out there for ya, Rho. You’re a
gorgeous woman!”

Rhoda sighed and turned the
top on the polish to close it. She shifted on the sofa and slapped
her knee to invite Spearmint onto her lap. “When will I find him,
Nettie? When? I’ve been prayin’ for him to come take me away from
everything. Perhaps it’ll be some hot doctor who whisks me off to
faraway Africa to take care of sick patients while I’m pregnant
with twins.”

“
Hmph, now
that’s
a storyline.
Lemme write that down.”

“
Are ya crediting me with
the idea?” Rhoda stroked Spearmint’s head and he licked her
fingers.

“
You know I will, babe.
How many of my stories have I dedicated to my Rho, my
homegirl?”

Rhoda laughed and kissed
the top of her dog’s head. “Good, and when you get rich and famous,
don’t forget me, all right?”

“
Of course not,” Sharnette
squealed, making Rhoda pull the phone away from her ear. “So, you
goin’ out with us next Saturday? Alex is bringin’ a friend along
you might be interested in. I’ve been askin’ him to try gettin’ the
man to join us, but he said he didn’t want to be a matchmaker for
fear somethin’ might go wrong.”

“
I guess, as long as they
don’t call me in for an emergency in maternity. Tell me, Nettie,
how do you and Alex do it? I mean, he works at Methodist for hours
and you sit at home and write all day. When the hell do ya have
time for one another?”

“
We
make
time, Rho. Sometimes when he
comes in, I’m in the hot tub waiting for him with a chilled bottle
of wine, the loofah, and soft music to relax him. And lemme tell
ya, the man is
never
out of energy. Despite the long shifts he puts in, he’s
always ready for sex.”

“
Really?” She turned up
her lip and her eyes widened. How could that be possible when he’d
been on his feet all day with patients? Energy drinks? Uppers? He
didn’t seem like the type for the latter.

“
Yep. He stays in good
shape, Rho. After we make love, we go to sleep and I wake up to
work on my stories. I always make sure I’m done before he wakes so
we can spend those few hours together before he heads into the
hospital.”

“
And you guys don’t swing
now?”

“
Nah, not anymore. We
don’t want to and don’t really have the time. He tells me I’m all
he needs right now. Isn’t that sweet? We’re only goin’ on the
cruise because they’re headin’ to Costa Rica.”

“
Very sweet, and aren’t
there other cruises that stop off there?” Rhoda sighed and sulked,
knowing her friend’s situation sounded too good to be true but
hell, Sharnette always seemed to get what she wanted.

“
Yes, but this is for
research mostly. Some old swinger friends of ours are allowing me
to be an observer for my next ménage book.”

Rhoda’s eyes widened and
she shuddered just thinking about it.
Watching other people have sex? I don’t even like to watch
myself
.

“
I’m sorry, babe. I’m just
so happy right now. I never expected to be so in love after
spending so much time alone. I been pretty content with just datin’
on the fly and not givin’ my heart to anyone and then
he
came
along.”

“
Yep.”

“
And that all changed in
the blink of an eye. Now, I don’t need the muse to be fed with
erotic encounters with different men. My one and only Alex does it
all for me.”

“
Ideal. That really is and
don’t be sorry, Nettie. I’m real happy you found Mr. Right. Now you
can help me find one of my own.”

Chapter Two

“
Yep, I can,” she
responded in a happy tone. “Maybe Doctor Fairlight will be exactly
whatcha need. He really is a nice lookin’ guy, too. He and
Alexander studied together back in Britain and decided to come here
to practice. Both of them were originally born in the States. Isn’t
that cool?”

“
Yep. Never dated a Brit
before. Might be interesting. Lord knows I love listenin’ to your
Alex talk.”

“
Uh huh. Good thing he
isn’t adopting too much of the southern accent. Not that I don’t
like it but, I love his speech just the way it is.”

“
Me too. Soo, more about
Dr. Fairlight, please? What’s he look like?”

“
Oh, he’s really gorgeous,
Rho. Blond hair, green eyes, a small build but toned arms. I saw
him workin’ out at the gym once when me and Alex joined him for
breakfast. He’s got a pretty face. He looks like he could be a
model.”

“
Yeah?” Rhoda perked up.
She loved men with beautiful features.

“
Yep. If I weren’t so in
love with Alex, I’d be all over that!”

“
M’kay, and
why
haven’t you
introduced me?” Rhoda placed Spearmint on the coffee table. “You
know I been searchin’.”

“
Yes, I know, girl but
what did I just say? Alex didn’t want to be responsible if
somethin’ went wrong. Neither did I for that matter. I know you
like a
specific
kind of man.”

“
Yes, I do. I like ‘em
pretty. Clean shaven, beautiful eyes. About my height and not burly
lookin’.”

“
Uh huh, just like that
musician you used to love back in the eighties.” She
sighed.

“
And still do, I beg your
pardon,” Rhoda objected. “Not all of them have to look like him,
but they can at least remind me of what I could’ve had if Mom
woulda let me go with you to that concert back in ‘93.”

“
Yep. Lordy, was that a
good time.” Sharnette’s voice trailed off again and she
exhaled.

“
Yep, while you all were
havin’ big fun, I was stuck at home, cleanin’ dishes, and
watchin’
Murder She Wrote
with her and my grandma.”

Sharnette clicked her
teeth. “Sorry.”

“
Whatever.” Rhoda rolled
her eyes. “Back to the hottie. So you sure he’s not taken and he
isn’t a swinger?”

“
Er, no. Dr.
Fairlight—”

“
Does he have a first
name?” Rhoda couldn’t help but want to find out more. Despite the
fact she didn’t want to be set up, Sharnette’s description excited
her.

“
Um, you’re gonna trip out
when I tell you. Nicholas.”

Rhoda’s eyes bulged.
“Really? Oh my God, if that isn’t a good omen…” She rubbed her
hands together.

“
Err, well, maybe. Don’t
get too happy, now. Alex did say the Doc is a workaholic and might
be a control freak.”

“
Hmph, I’ll whip him into
shape.” Rhoda smiled to herself and looked up at the cable box
clock. “Hopefully I’ll get to meet Doctor Nicholas on Saturday.
Perhaps you should give him my number…”

“
Wait, whoa, whoa. Hold
on, Sis. I think you should try meetin’ him first. Not sayin’ you
two won’t hit it off, but…”

“
But what?” Rhoda had to
hear this. She was raring to pass along her info and her friend
told her to hold up?

“
Don’t rush into it,
sweets, that’s all. I won’t be happy if this thing turns sour
quickly. Like I said, he seems nice in the few times we’ve hung
out. The man hardly gets out other than the gym.”

“
Okay, well that makes two
of us, but I
never
go to the fitness club. I hear ya. I should slow my roll a
little. When you told me his name and how he looks…”

“
Yeah, I get it. You’re
excited, but I just don’t want there to be issues.”

“
And I appreciate ya
lookin’ out for me.” Rhoda grabbed the remote and turned on the
television to look at the guide.

“
Good. Well anyway,
hopefully the two of you will hit it off. I gotta go, Rho. Alex
will be home in a while so I need to get our bath
ready.”

“
You go do that, Nettie.
Reruns of
Top Gear
are about to come on anyway. I wanna watch the couple I
missed.”