“Sure.” She giggled, already feeling tipsy.
He started a fire in the center of the stone table and put on some soft music. The wind blew Isabella’s soft curls and sent a shiver down her spine.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
“No, it’s perfect.”
She curled up next to him on the wicker loveseat, her drink in hand. They sat in silence for a moment, enjoying each other’s presence.
“It’s nice to finally have someone here to enjoy my home with.”
“It’s beautiful,” she gushed.
“Yeah,” he said wistfully, “But it gets lonely.”
Feeling the result of half of a bottle of wine and a cocktail, Isabella excused herself to go inside and use his restroom. Having a moment to herself, she did a little light snooping and took a minute to look at the pictures on his walls. He had several frames filled with a woman who could have been his mother at his college and medical school graduations. A man, who was probably his father, was featured in others, on a fishing trip, and one where he was beaming with pride after a soccer game. His parents were never in the same picture.
“Are those pictures of your parents in there?” she asked, returning to her seat outside.
“Yep, that’s them. They’re good people and have always been very supportive of my dreams.”
“For some reason, your dad looks really familiar.”
“I’m not sure why.” He laughed. “I guess he is a pretty generic looking middle aged man.”
“Are they still together?”
“Goodness, no. They divorced when I was really little. My mom married her current husband a few years later. My dad’s married several times since then.”
“Sounds like my mom. I’m starting to lose track of her husbands.”
“I know how that goes. I’ve given up on becoming close to my stepmothers. They never seem to last for long.”
“You’ve got to be the first person I’ve ever met who has experienced this too,” she said.
“Same,” he said, putting an arm around her. “One time, I made a comment to a classmate in passing that my dad was getting married during exams. He was shocked that I was missing it.”
“I know how that goes.” She laughed. “It doesn’t matter, though, because you’ll spend a few holidays with the new spouse, and then they’ll be gone.”
“What does your mom do?” he asked.
“She used to do some interior decorating. Now, she’s a career wife. What about your dad?”
“He’s an architect. Actually, my mom is too. They even had a business together. It was a nightmare when they had to split assets.”
She chuckled. “I bet. My dad was never really part of my life. I don’t really care, though. I’ve never been a very family-oriented person.”
“I’m fairly close with my parents,” he said. “It just gets hard to see them when I’m busy with work and they’re busy with their new lives.”
“Despite this, we both seem like we turned out to be fairly normal,” Isabella joked.
“Yeah, besides the fact that I choose women with logic instead of feelings and I have unrealistic expectations for my love interests.”
“And my ideal man is poor and cool with my never being around.”
“Maybe we are a little fucked up.” He smiled, leaning in closer to Isabella.
“Maybe we are,” she echoed, moving closer to James.
They kissed, gently at first, taking the time to enjoy the moment. He put his hand at the base of her head, pushing his face a little closer. He took in her scent, sweet and clean, like she just stepped out of the shower. She was effortlessly beautiful.
She pulled herself onto his lap, taking his face in both of her hands, kissing him harder. She parted her lips for his tongue to enter, intertwining them. She could feel him growing hard underneath her.
“Do you want to go inside?” she whispered.
He nodded, scooped her up, and carried her inside. James dropped her on his bed, and she slithered into his silky sheets.
“This is so much better than the on-call room’s bed.” She sighed. “This may even be the most comfortable bed I’ve ever been in.”
“I hope that means you’ll sleep in it more often,” he said, climbing onto the bed.
He unzipped her dress and she hastily undid the buttons on his shirt. She loved the way his skin felt against hers. He pulled off his pants and climbed under the covers.
There was no need to rush things in the privacy of James’s home, so for once, they took things slowly. He used his mouth to explore every inch of her body, and under the soft shadows from the hallway lights, she observed every curve and every muscle of his body.
James leaned over Isabella, touching her, and she closed her eyes and gave soft moans in return. He teased her, bringing her right to the brink of orgasm and then backing off.
“How are you doing this?” she asked. No one had ever made her feel this good with such little effort.
“I guess studying anatomy for so many years has finally paid off,” he said with a devilish grin.
“You’re too good,” she groaned. “Make me come.”
He obliged, entering her slowly. He alternated fast and slow movements, sending waves of pleasure through her body. They kissed gently as their bodies moved in synchronized rhythm.
The buildup was worth the wait. They came together, Isabella moaning loudly with no one to hear but James.
Afterward, they held each other, in no hurry to be anywhere but with each other. They kissed tenderly, and Isabella traced his toned chest and rippled abs with a finger.
“Honestly,” she sighed, still high from pleasure, “No one has ever made me feel that good.”
“Me neither,” James said. “I want you in my bed more often.”
“I can’t stay forever,” she cooed.
“I know. I’ll take you home.”
“Do I have to? What if I just sleep here and you drop me off in the morning?”
“Deal,” he said, smiling. “That would be perfect.”
He found her a spare toothbrush and a shirt to sleep in. He pulled on a soft college t-shirt.
He spooned her, and they both fell asleep within minutes.
In the morning, she woke up alone in James’s bed. She fanned a leg over to his side. It was still warm. He hadn’t been up for long.
She padded out to the kitchen to see James pour two cups of coffee.
“Morning,” he said. “What do you want for breakfast?”
“I’m a little hung over this morning,” she said. “I think I’ll skip breakfast if that’s okay with you.”
“Sure,” he said, handing her a bottle of ibuprofen. “But next time, I’m making my world-famous waffles.”
She smiled and washed the pills down with her hot coffee.
“If you want to get dressed, I can take you home now.”
“Yeah, I should probably be going.”
She slipped back into her wrinkled dress and gathered her long hair into a ponytail.
“I had a really good time last night,” James said as they drove the short journey to Isabella’s apartment. “I’m glad you gave me a chance.”
“I had fun too,” she said, wiping the stray mascara from under her eyes.
“Do you think,” he said hesitantly, “that you would want to do this again sometime?”
Isabella grinned and nodded. “Yeah,” she said shyly. “How about next weekend?”
“I can’t next weekend,” he said, looking disappointed. “I have to go to a conference out of town. Can we do this the next weekend?” he asked.
“Okay. This time, I’ll pay for dinner.”
“Deal.”
Before Isabella got out of the car, he grabbed her hand.
“Wait,” he said. “I need to tell you something.”
“Yes?” she asked, a little nervous about where this was going.
“I really like you. I know we’ve both got our issues, and
we work together so things are complicated. But I want to be with you, Isabella. I want to try to make things work. Do you?”
“I can’t promise you that it’s going to end well,” she said after thinking for a moment. “But I’m willing to give it a shot.”
James was relieved. “Great,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Isabella gave him a quick peck on the cheek and retreated to her apartment. She ran a lukewarm bath, poured herself a glass of ginger ale, and soaked the excess wine from her system.
She was still dazed by the quick turn of events. One moment, she was accepting a date with her attending out of curiosity, and they next, she was agreeing to be his girlfriend, or at least that’s what she thought he meant. What started as some harmless fun turned into something serious. It scared Isabella.
She was also excited at the prospect of getting to spend much more time with James outside of work. At the hospital, they couldn’t talk about anything other than their patients, and they certainly couldn’t act like a couple. The other interns would raise hell so quickly.
It was a risk, but maybe it was one worth taking. For Isabella, friends were so hard to come by, and here was someone she meshed with so seamlessly. She knew she had to go for it before the opportunity was gone.
The next day was business as usual. The guys were bragging about the surgeries they were in the previous week, and Jordan was rolling her eyes at them.
“How was your weekend?” she asked Isabella.