I Like 'Em Pretty (5 page)

He hadn’t been this joyous
to go out at any time in the past but this evening just seemed like
it would be a success.

Rhoda sounded like just the
medicine he needed to cure the emptiness in his life.

* * * *

“
Woohoo! I’m lovin’ this!”
Sharnette held on to Alexander, looking like a kid in the line at
Six Flags. “I do love a crowd.”

“
Mhmm…” Rhoda nodded,
knowing she didn’t exactly relish it, but she wanted to try being a
bit more outgoing for her date tonight. Even Alexander told her to
let her hair down a little and enjoy herself.

“
You just love people,
period, darling. I know you enjoy watching them.”

“
Yes, I do. Always feed
the muse, baby. Hey Rho, we’re gonna get one of those Long Islands
for you to drink tonight. Perhaps it will loosen ya up.”

“
Perhaps too much.” Rhoda
face scrunched up thinking about the last time she had more than
one alcoholic drink similar to a Long Island. Oh, what a night that
was. Standing on top of the bar with Sharnette, singing Duran
Duran’s
Hungry Like the Wolf
with the trademark howling at the end. Just
recalling that caused Rhoda to shudder. How on earth she let
Sharnette convince her into having another drink was beyond her.
Never again, though. She’d gladly chicken out and grab a chilled
glass of Moscato. A lot less embarrassment to be had and no
hangover as long as she didn’t go over her own limit of
two.

With the soft breeze
whipping around her, Rhoda took a gander at all the well-dressed
people standing in the same line. Mostly couples of every variety,
donning their best outfits and anticipating getting in to the
opening, while she, Sharnette, and Alex stood at the VIP side,
since her friend knew the owners. This was no surprise since
Sharnette knew everyone.

Alexander looked down at
his phone. “Ah good, Nicholas is almost here. He says he should be
pulling up at any minute. You gals stay here while I go greet him,
right?” He kissed Sharnette on the head and walked toward the
curb.

Rhoda couldn’t help but
smile at the affection Sharnette and her man showed for one another
and sincerely hoped she’d have that same thing soon.

“
Ah, young love,” she
chided and playfully smacked Sharnette on the shoulder.

“
Yep. I love that man with
all my heart. I never thought I’d be so in love with just one
person, Rho.” She fluttered her eyebrows and waved the couple in
front of them in.

“
Yeah you did, girl and so
did I. I know you fought it for the longest time, and as soon as
you made up your mind to settle down, there he was, waitin’ for ya.
Too bad I can’t foresee that for myself.”

“
Yes, you can, Rho. You
never know when Mr. Right will pop up in your life.”

“
Or Doctor Right,” she
responded and attempted to find Alex, hoping to catch a glimpse of
Nicholas before he walked up.

Her nerves crept up,
causing knots to form in her gut, and she bit her lip. God, why did
she feel like a young girl on her first date at the age of sixteen?
She’d been through this plenty of times before, but this evening
she might be meeting the one she’d been searching for
eons.

C’mon, Doctor Nicholas,
you’ve gotta be the one.

Chapter Four

“
So she’s here?” Nicholas
couldn’t help but be excited at meeting the hot nurse that left him
exhausted from his dream earlier this evening.

“
Yep, she is. Was it
good?” Alexander cocked an eyebrow.

“
Uh huh. Wouldn’t you like
to know, you kinky bastard!” Nicholas slapped Alex’s shoulder and
they walked toward the club.

“
Sure would. My girl’s an
erotica writer so I notice everything and I wanna know about
people’s sexuality.”

“
Eh, you always were
an
interesting bloke
, Dr. Carthington.”

“
Yep, ah there she is.
Like what you see?” Alex nodded toward a tall, young
lady.

Nicholas’ mouth gaped open
and his eyes bulged.

Good
God
.

Nurse Rhoda was everything
he’d stated and more. From here, she looked to be about five seven
in heels, wild brown eyes, a perfectly curvy body he’d loved to
cuddle up against at night. And those legs, long and luscious. God,
he’d love to wrap them around him when he…

“
Nicholas?” Alexander
laughed.

Time seemed to stand
perfectly still while he strolled over to see his new lady to
be.

“
Yes, um, hi. Rhoda? I’m
Dr. Nicholas Fairlight.” Nicholas held out his hand and smiled
wide. When their hands touched, the electricity flowed from her
fingers to his.

“
Hi Doctor, I’m Rhoda
Maire. I work at Duke University Medical center.”

Both Alexander and
Sharnette laughed at their connection and Nicholas couldn’t help
but chuckle himself at her response.

“
I work at Methodist with
Dr. Carthington. It’s a pleasure to meet you, m’lady.” Nicholas
continued to clasp her warm, soft hand and pressed his lips against
the top of her knuckles. He wished he could be alone with her right
now, instead of in this crowded club.

Did she do first date
sex?

Something told him she
didn’t. Alexander did mention she was sort of shy. Why she should
be with that lovely mocha-colored body and beautiful smile he
couldn’t figure out, but still he’d be glad to bring her out of her
shell.

“
You too, Dr. Fairlight.
I’ve heard some wonderful things about you.”

“
All proper, I hope. Dr.
Carthington tends to have a big mouth at times.”

Alexander chuckled. “I
didn’t talk to her about you, chum. Sharnette did.”

“
Ah, good, then it was all
proper. Only Alexander knows about the things I might like to hide
from the masses.”

Rhoda joined him in the
giggles. “I have a feeling there may not be much, doctor. Good
thing Sharnette doesn’t have anything on me.”

“
Ah yeah, I do. We used to
spend the night over at each other’s house. I know all about your
obsessions.”

Nicholas smiled at that
statement and still didn’t let go of Rhoda’s hand.

I’d like to know about
those myself!

* * * *

Rhoda couldn’t stop gawking
at the gorgeous man in front of her. Dr. Fairlight was exactly what
she wanted from what she could see.

Nicholas appeared to be
about her height without her pumps, short blond hair, pale face,
pouty lips with a narrow nose, and the most beautiful set of green
eyes she’d ever seen. From where she stood, his body was toned.
Broad shoulders, slim waist, and oh yeah she had to look down and
see what he might’ve been working with. Even though she couldn’t
see a whole lot under the black trousers.

Damn
Sharnette
!

Her best friend was such a
bad influence, but she loved her anyway. Only when she mentioned it
to her once had Rhoda thought about checking out a man’s crotch.
From the looks of it, he was quite happy to see her.

“
Nah you don’t. Not
everything.” She winked at the doctor and could feel her cheeks
flush when he returned the grin. The white teeth poked from
underneath those lips and she gasped at the sight. Straight and no
discoloration. Not only did she like her man pretty, but he also
had to have a nearly perfect mouth. Dr. Nicholas filled the bill
perfectly and she couldn’t wait to get her hands on…

“
Rhoda, after you?”
Nicholas voice came out of nowhere and she chuckled in
embarrassment.

She’d already drifted off
into a happy land, wondering if Dr. Nick would like to be that one
she was searching for, to make her happy, to give her that romantic
ending she only read in Sharnette’s books. To shut her mother up
would be good too and show her good men aren’t always in the
church.

More like
never!

When Nicholas touched the
small of her back to guide her in, she could’ve sworn something
fluttered down below and then a rush of heat between her
thighs.

Down girl! You just met
the man!

“
Mhm, thank you.” She
clutched her handbag a little tighter and tried not to stare any
more than she already was. Instead, she decided to take a gander at
the décor of Enigma.

Perusing the establishment,
she noticed the club mimicked a museum. Walls of marble, pillars in
white, intricate crown moldings, and furnishings that looked to be
from some expensive European design catalogue. Everything looked
rich and pretentious, which she actually hated, but she’d have fun
tonight just to be next to the doctor.

“
Wow, it’s quite nice.”
Nicholas took her arm and looped it around his bicep. Instead of
being wiry, it felt very firm and she clasped it tightly with her
fingers.

“
It is.” They followed
Alex and Sharnette through the throngs of well- dressed club goers,
apologizing as they made their way to the other side.

“
C’mon you two, don’t lag
behind,” Sharnette yelled over her shoulder. Hearing was nearly
impossible with the techno dance music blaring over the sound
system.

Nicholas flashed her a wry
grin, perhaps telling her he was thinking exactly what she was. How
they wished they could be anywhere but here, yet still happy to
have finally met one another.

After seemingly crossing
into another territory, they made it to their destination. The VIP
section, of course, cordoned off from the rest of the club. Tables
draped in white cloths with lit candles. Leather couches and
recliners with a full service bar in the middle. Apparently
Sharnette’s friends had a place reserved for all of
them.

Good thing since Rhoda
wasn’t much of a dancer.

“
Ah, here we go.”
Alexander pulled out a chair for Sharnette and Nicholas did the
same for Rhoda. They sat across from one another and made
themselves comfortable.

Thankfully, this room was
quieter. Lord knows with the music going like it was outside this
space, they wouldn’t be able to hear a damn thing.

“
So, what do you guys
think? Perhaps we can get the guys to take us on a grand tour
later.” Sharnette smiled and took the menu from the waitress who’d
just approached. “Long Island, please.”

“
Lovely. A little too loud
out there so I’m glad the VIP is not as deafening,” Nicholas
responded.

“
Ah, don’t be such a fuddy
duddy, Nick. I’m gonna get you out on that floor tonight so you can
show Rhoda your brilliant dance moves,” Alex joked, prompting them
all to laugh. “Heineken, please. Thank you.”

Rhoda gazed at Nicholas
again, watching his cheeks redden. She had to laugh at his
reaction.

“
I’m not a dancer at all.
Don’t believe anything this wanker tells you, Rhoda!” Nicholas
patted her knee and gave the waitress his order.

Rhoda jumped a little at
the slight gesture. “I won’t, Nicholas, no worries.”

“
Please, call me Nick,
love. Only my closest friends call me that.” He winked. “Can I get
you something to drink?”

Rhoda could feel the heat
rise around her once again. God, the way her body jolted just from
those casual flirts. “Um, if you have a glass of Moscato? I’ll take
that. Thank you, Nick.”

“
Wuss.” Sharnette lightly
kicked her under the table.

Rhoda glared at her friend
and then looked back at Nick, her expression changing.

“
So Rhoda, you’re a nurse
at Duke Medical Center? What a fine hospital that is.”

“
Aw Nick, really? We’re
not gonna talk about work on our day off, are we?”

“
Yeah, could we skip that
part of the conversation? Let’s talk about the juicy stuff.”
Sharnette rubbed her hands together in glee.

Rhoda and Nick looked at
one another; she had no idea what juicy stuff Sharnette was
referring to. “Um, yeah, it’s a great place to work.” Rhoda felt
the stares from Sharnette and Alex. “I work in
maternity.”

“
Ah. Delivering babies all
the time. That could be quite fun. I’ve done a few of those myself.
I specialize in surgeries, though, mostly orthopedic.”

“
Mhmm, do you like
it?”

“
Eh, yeah I do. It gets
quite exhausting sometimes, but I try to relax by going to the gym
or to the library or a museum. Or just to the park so I can take
pictures at my leisure.”

“
Really?” Rhoda nodded at
the server and took her wine. She sipped a little, enjoying the
sweet taste, as well as the warmth, of the alcohol going down her
throat. “You like photography?”

“
Love it. I enjoy watching
people and animals. Sometimes I like going to the cemetery because
it’s so peaceful. I’m very interested in old headstones and crypts.
It’s all part of history.”

Rhoda’s eyes widened and
she couldn’t fight the grin. “I love doing that too, Nick.
Actually, I’ve been wantin’ to do a book on that, about the
children who died in the early eighteen and nineteen
hundreds.”