Bedside Manner (Love Under Lockdown)

The only problem was how to approach it. I couldn’t just pull down my pants and bend over the table after breakfast, hoping he’d get the hint. Or, maybe I could, and at least it might work. The odds of success didn’t matter, though, because I wasn’t nearly comfortable enough to do that. It would have to be something a bit more subtle.

Breakfast beckoned, the scent of bacon rife in the air. There was no way I could resist that no matter who was making it. Satan could be handling the skillet and I still would have rushed down for a portion— maybe even heard him out as he went over the finer points of whatever diabolical deal he might be proposing.

“Good morning,” Jake greeted from the stove.

His tone wasn’t exactly gruff, but nor was it very welcoming, either. It seemed like his best attempt at warmth. There still could have been some embarrassment about me seeing him naked. He’d seen me too, though, so we were about on even footing there.

I couldn’t actually decide which would be more embarrassing: me seeing him or him seeing me. For my own part, seeing him was in no way negative, and I’d come around to the fact that he’d seen me. Particularly when I considered his response to the sight.

Even if it did somewhat pose the question as to why he had never invited me to his dorm in med school. For all I knew, he hadn’t even been aware I existed, though.

“Do you like your bacon curly?” he asked.

“I like it any which way it comes,” I said. “I mean, really, how can you go wrong with bacon?”

“My thoughts exactly.”

He looked so pleased with my answer that for a moment I thought he might kiss me as he put the plate down in front of me. Nothing too big, or significant. Just a peck on the cheek. He didn’t, surprising no one who knew him much at all. It was The Iceman I was dealing with, after all.

It was important to remember that if I wanted my plan to seduce him to be successful. Not that I didn’t think he could change, just it might take some more melting before we could get hot and heavy.

We ate in comfortable silence, both of us seeming to be waiting to see if we were going to be called in that day. For a moment, I reconsidered my taking off my pants plan, but again thought better of it. It just wasn’t how I wanted to approach things. I didn’t expect Jake to love me, but I did want him to respect me, at least as a colleague, if not a one-night stand.

The calls never came. We waited until noon and, as Jake made us both lunch, putting his gourmet cooking skills once again to use, it set in on us that we were effectively stuck with each other.

It’s not like either of us could go far if we tried to escape the confines of Jake’s house. There was a pretty heavy-duty lockdown on. The cops really weren’t messing around. I’d already heard of a few people getting fined and even arrested for breaking restrictions.

We were both frontline workers and were required to go to work, but only if we were called in. Without that, we were just like everyone else in the city, biding time. Still, we might as well try and make the best of it.

“Would you like to go for a walk?” I asked Jake.

“Can’t. Lockdown,” he grunted, in that deep, growly voice of his.

I couldn’t help but want to say something light and fluffy in response, to break the serious mood.

“The lockdown applies to your backyard? My goodness, that is serious.”

“No.”

“It’s not serious? I think George Orwell might have something to say about that.”

“No, no, I mean it doesn’t apply to my backyard. As long as we’re on my own property, particularly outside, the government can’t say anything about it.”

“It must be pretty big. I mean, considering the size of the house.”

“Oh, it is.”

I couldn’t quite tell for sure, but I could have sworn I’d witnessed The Iceman wink. It was enough to set the butterflies in my stomach all a flutter.

“But it would be better to go sit by the pool than take a walk,” he continued.

Well, yeah, I thought. If I had known he had a pool, I would have suggested that instead of a walk. And it went perfectly with my plan to seduce him. As I hurried to go get the bikini my grandmother had packed for me, I couldn’t help but think of her winking as she put it into the suitcase, as if hoping that the good doctor would like seeing me in it.

Chapter Eight - Julia

The sun greeted us as we set out into Jake’s expansive back yard, which was marked out from the rest of the land by a high, red brick wall. Two wooden deck chairs awaited us out back. They were positioned just right to get the most sun.