“But don’t let him touch you. He can get close, but pull away right when he tries.”
“You’re telling me too many things. I think I need to take notes,” I said warily.
“You nerd! This should be instinctual. In fact, I don’t want to give you any more ideas. You just need to go with the flow. I’m going to do your hair and makeup, you’re going to put on my clothes, and then you’re going to make him wish he never fucked with you.”
I sat in nervous silence as my roommate gave me a makeover. I tried to remember all the things she told me, but they were jumbled in my mind. I was way out of my league. When I thought too much about it, I forgot how to flirt. I knew I was going to screw things up.
Carol could tell I was nervous. She reached under her bed and h
anded me a bottle of bourbon.
“It’s the middle of the day,” I said.
“Drink up. You need this.”
I obliged, taking a swig of the burning liquid. I passed it to Carol, who took a sip as well. She handed the bottle back to me for another drink. A few minutes later, I was feeling pretty good. I wasn’t nervous at all and I was kind of excited to talk to Damon. I was feeling sexy and seductive, thanks to the booze and the makeover.
“I think you’re ready,” Carol said, a proud look on her face.
“I think I might be, too,” I said quietly.
“What are you waiting for? Get out there!” She laughed.
I took a deep breath and one more drink. Then, I headed back toward the hospital to get back at Damon, once and for all. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was going to try anyway.
Chapter 10
Damon
I flicked the lights on in the conference room, wondering if anyone would notice if I just went home and took a nap. The Dean wouldn’t expect me to be anywhere but in surgery, in my office or in the conference room, and since I told the interns to voice their concerns through email, the Dean would just assume that I was busy doing one of the things I was supposed to be. It would be like the adult version of the scam kids played on their parents when they wanted to go somewhere forbidden. I’d say I was at my friend’s house, and my friend would say he’s at mine. Everyone would be satisfied and I could get some much needed rest.
I sat down at the table and put my head in my hands. If I couldn’t get a quick snooze at home, I guessed the conference room would suffice. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my thoughts, but once again, this was proving to be difficult.
Olivia was on my mind, and I was not happy about it.
As a rule, I tried not to let girls get the better of me. I had seen firsthand what it did to other men. My friends always looked so weak when they were whipped by their girls. Even if they weren’t officially attached to a chick, their crushes yielded great power over them. It made me sick. A guy who could hold his own in the surgical theater was suddenly falling victim to his girlfriend and giving up golf trips for shopping sprees. I never wanted to be like that. Having a girl stuck in one’s mind was only the beginning.
Monogamy did not run in the family. My father was married to my mother for eighteen years before they officially ended the relationship. However, from what I heard from my mom on nights that she had consumed too much wine, he cheated on her from early on. But, she loved him and loved her kids, so she stayed with him. She put on a good show for that long, though. I never suspected a thing until I reached my teens and finally understood what my dad meant when he said he stayed in the city overnight to ‘work’.
Somehow, this casual attitude toward infidelity must have seeped into my brother’s and my psyche. My mother taught us the basics of being a decent man—open the doors for women and don’t force them to have sex when they don’t want to. Everything else, we learned from our dad. The same girl night after night was a bore. What your main chick doesn’t know won’t hurt her. Take a shower after sleeping with your mistress so your girl at home won’t smell her perfume on you. That sort of thing.
My older brother tried to master monogamy and got married to a wonderful woman. She was an East Coast darling, the type of girl you want to take to your parents’ summer home in Nantucket. Caroline was a sweetheart, but she could be tough when it mattered. She worked in advertising while my brother worked in finance. She wanted kids, and he wanted to continue to live life as an extension of college. But, he agreed, and she gave birth to two sons in three years; all the while, my brother was sleeping around while she was home rocking the boys to sleep.
Somehow, he managed to play it off for a few years, fooling her into thinking he was just working really hard to put money in their college savings accounts. My brother made the mistake of pissing one of his girlfriends off and she went to the wife and spilled the beans. Coincidentally, the girlfriend was mad because she found out that he had another girlfriend. The whistleblower knew too well that my brother was married, but apparently, she had a problem with being cheated on, not being cheated with.
In the end, Caroline took the boys and half of everything. Whenever the boys came around on holidays, I couldn’t help but think that they’re doomed to the same fate. It must be the Rye Family curse.
Knowing I was doomed as well, I never even gave monogamy a shot. It’s like if all of the men in my family had a deadly peanut allergy—I don’t know for sure if I have the same allergy, but since the chances are good, I’m not going to risk it. I’ve seen how badly it ends for everyone involved.
I often heard from happily coupled-up friends that I was being silly and that I should give it a shot. Even some of my wilder friends managed to settle down and start a family. I wondered if I would end up being the old bachelor, the creepy old man, at my father’s age, no kids, no spouse. At this point in my life, it didn’t seem terrible. It wasn’t that I didn’t like children, but I didn’t want to be held responsible for fucking someone’s life up. If I wanted to do that, I could screw my own life up. No innocent people need be involved.
That’s why the fact that Olivia was stuck in my brain was so troubling to me. Never in my life had I felt the instinct to chase after someone like that. I’d get brief flashes of arguing with her in my office, to lounging on the beach with her, to sliding a diamond ring onto her finger. It freaked me out to no end. She wasn’t even all that special.
If I wanted to go after a dream girl, I would choose a supermodel. She’d have to fly to jobs and be away for days or weeks at a time, but that would be perfect. I could have a little time to myself, or to hang with the guys without being nagged about forgetting to order the groceries or fix her Bentley. She’d have her good looks and would keep me happy in the sack. And, she’d look great on my arm for all of the dinners and events we would attend together. It seemed ideal if I ever planned on settling down.
Instead, I was dreaming about a medical intern with zero assets and moderate good looks. She would undoubtedly be a huge pain in my ass and wouldn’t know the first thing about my social life. If we settled down together, she would demand a lot out of me, and I wasn’t prepared to change the way I lived, just for a woman. We could try to date, but it would only end in disaster. It was a terrible idea to get involved with Olivia altogether.
In the end, I decided it would be best to get her out of my mind by any means possible. If it meant that I had to sleep with a bunch of women, I would do it. If I had to shock myself while masturbating to her image in my mind, I would try it. Thoughts of women only polluted the mind and made it harder to focus on more important things, like money and success. I was not about to end up like my father or my brother. I worked hard to make my money, and I wasn’t about to go to court to have a woman take half of it.
I sat up and pulled out my phone, deleting student emails begging me to give them the internship. They were making me regret ever announcing the prize. One student even tried to bribe me by saying he would give me a good teacher evaluation at the end of the session. I laughed as I deleted that one. That kid overestimated how much I cared about teaching.
Then, I typed a few quick responses to the legitimate, albeit stupid, questions. When I was finished, I went back to my contacts list and did one last search, hoping that I would discover a name I previously forgot about. Alas, there was no one to take to my event, and I had begun to come to terms with going stag.
I checked my watch, figuring I could leave a few minutes early without anyone noticing. After all, I had made it very clear that I didn’t want to deal with interns during this time. I stretched and started to get out of my chair when I heard a soft knock at the door.
I sighed. “Come in,” I droned.
I expected to see one of the interns walk through the door. What I didn’t expect was to see that particular intern, looking like she just walked into the club.
Chapter 11
/> Olivia
“What are you doing?” Damon asked, the question coming out as a groan.
“I think I forgot my phone in here during this morning’s session,” I said casually, walking straight past him without a second glance. I marched across the room and walked toward my seat near the back of the room, bending over. My translucent underwear peeked out from underneath my short skirt, staring him straight in the face. I exaggerated the movement, taking my time to feign my search. After a few long moments, I walked back toward the table and placed my hands on the top of the surface.
“Did you find it?” he asked, his face contorted as if he were in pain.
“Nope,” I pouted. “Maybe I didn’t leave it here after all.” I stared him in the eye and leaned forward a little, my boosted breasts practically bulging from my tight top. I knew how ridiculous it must have looked, but it was worth a shot. “If you happen to find it, would you let me know?” I asked. “I’m sure you could look up my apartment in the hospital directory,” I said with a wink.
Damon closed his eyes for a brief moment and took a deep breath. “Yeah, sure, I’ll keep an eye out for it.”
“Thanks,” I said, giving him a pat on the arm. I wasn’t sure if this was what Carol meant when she told me to touch him, but I went for it anyway.
Before I could withdraw from him, he snatched my hand and held it in his.
“What’s this all about?” he asked, checking me out.
“What?” I asked innocently.
“I saw you a few hours ago. You were wearing normal clothing. Now, you’re back here when you know I’m going to be alone. You’re all dressed up, when I know the first thing you’re going to do when you get back to your apartment is put on sweatpants and sit in front of your computer. What’s with this new outfit?”
I shrugged, my boobs bouncing as I moved my shoulders. “I don’t see any problem with what I’m wearing. Do you?”