Unbroken Pleasures (7 page)

“Sylvia, I
didn’t mean…”

“We are still
going to find you a man.”

I sighed. I was
grateful she cut me off from saying anything that I would later regret. She
didn’t seem to notice my sudden strange behavior around her and that was just
as well. As for the man thing, I could only exhale slowly and nod my head to go
along with it.

“Nick didn’t
quite make the cut,” she continued, “but I think I have a pretty good idea who
might.”

“I’m not looking
for a one night stand,” I said trying to steer her away from any future
possibilities.

“Well, the next
one might just be willing to stick around if you treat him right.”

She opened the
door and we both groaned. She groaned for the rain that still beat down against
the ground and I groaned for the idea of being forced to entertain another
awkward evening with a man that didn’t truly have any interest in me other than
sex.

Sylvia dashed to
her car and didn’t waste much time pulling out of the driveway and getting on
her way. I had a sneaky suspicion that she had plans to continue what she
started the night before with Ben. She would never admit that to me, especially
after the way I kept insisting that they could be so much more, but I could
tell by the way they kept stealing glances at each other and whispering in each
other’s ears before we left the house. There was more than met the eye going on
with that pair. I chuckled to myself. I might even entertain the notion of
putting up with another blind date just to witness her slow decent into love
with Ben. I smiled as I continued to watch the rain. I wanted to see my friend
happy. She didn’t think that she would find that happiness in the arms of a
steady boyfriend but I suspected there was a lot more to Sylvia than she let on
and Ben might just be the guy to uncover it.

I finished
cleaning up and fed my fish. As a vet, it was a bit unusual that the only pets
I kept in the house were three tropical fish named Edgar, Allen, and Poe but I
shrugged. I didn’t have a lot of time to take in a more time consuming animal
at the moment and the fish didn’t mind spending so many hours a day on their
own like a dog or cat would. I didn’t mind the emptiness of the house even as I
walked into the bedroom and looked at the King sized bed that I had all to
myself but maybe once in a while it would be nice to have someone to share it
with.

Chapter 6

I spent the
night tossing and turning, lost in my big bed. A couple of times I got up and
looked out the window into the darkness. I told myself that it was only because
I enjoy the smell of rain and the feel of cool night air but I knew that really
I was hoping to see the stranger standing somewhere in the shadows below my
window looking up watching and waiting for me. At one point, I even convinced
myself that I saw movement between the trees. I wanted to run out into the
night and investigate. I wanted to find myself in his arms again but I held
back, closing the curtains, and returning to the bed where I tossed and turned some
more as I tried to erase the images of him from my mind. I wasn’t going to see
him again. He’d made that very clear when he walked out my front door and the
sooner I accepted that, the better off I would be. I was crazy to keep thinking
about him like this.

I was up and in
the shower before my alarm went off that morning, eager to embrace Monday
morning and all the distractions that the work week would afford me. By the
time I’d pulled into the parking lot at my small veterinary office, I’d convinced
myself that I could go on without thinking about the stranger at all.

My
administrative assistant, Mary, was busy at the computer when I walked in the
door and greeted me with a smile as I asked who was on the schedule for the
day. I was hoping for back-to-back appointments but much to my disappointment,
there would be a lot of lulls in between with space to fill. I picked up the
book I’d started reading last week and sighed. A romance would not make me
forget the way the stranger had touched me. Just looking at the cover made me
feel the lingering of his touch.

“Adam is
bringing in Tiger at 10:00 today,” Mary told me with a mischievous look in her
eyes. I rolled my eyes in response.

“Again? What is
the problem this time?”

“Adam says Tiger
hasn’t been eating like he should and wants you to take a look at him.” Mary
could barely contain the giggle in her voice. I sighed heavily. Dealing with
the likes of Adam wasn’t what I had in mind for a Monday distraction.

“I don’t know
what he thinks I can do for him. We’ve been over this already,” I said.

“Oh, I think I
have a pretty good idea what you can do for Adam,” Mary mumbled under her
breath.

“Mary, behave.”

“There is only
one reason that man comes into this office, Alex, and it’s not because of that
cute little beagle pup of his.”

“I’m not
listening.” I put my hands over my ears to emphasize the point as I made my way
to the small office I kept in the back. It was barely more than a closet but
big enough that I could squeeze in a small desk, a bookshelf containing a host
of animal care books and a filing cabinet. More than anything, it was my
retreat while I wasn’t seeing a patient. I turned on the computer to begin filling
my time until my first appointment. My email proved a useless distraction,
filled with spam advertisements that only made my lonely condition appear even
more desperate than it really was.

I made it
through my first two morning appointments and braced myself for Adam and
Tiger’s arrival. Just as I expected, Adam walked in the door exactly five
minutes before his allotted time. I listened as he exchanged greetings with
Mary and I peered around the corner from my partially open office door just
enough to get a glimpse of him with Tiger jumping happily at his feet. That was
not a sick dog.

“Hello, Adam,” I
said once Mary got a weight and temperature reading and allowed them to settle
in the exam room. I pushed my hands into the pockets of my coat hoping to hide
the fact that for some reason today, I was actually shaking.

“Dr. Jamison,”
he said reaching to shake my hand, firm and confident.

“Please, Adam, I
told you last time that you could call me Alex. No need to be so formal.”

“Sure, Alex,” he
said smiling as he released my hand. I couldn’t help but to notice the glint in
his green eyes as he looked at me. There was something warm and inviting about
his smile that I hadn’t really noticed before, despite his frequent appearances
in my office. Mary was not shy about making her opinion about Adam known. He
was hot and he had his eye on me. I had to admit that his frequent visits were
starting to feel less coincidental. Mary went as far as to suggest that the
only reason that Adam even got a puppy was so that he’d have an excuse to come
see me. I found that a bit ludicrous. But Adam was becoming less shy about
hiding his interest in me. He had asked me out the last three times he came
into my office and I’d quickly turned him down each time. I was counting on the
fact that he’d make a fourth attempt today and I had already prepared my
rejection.

I pulled away
from his green eyes and set to examine Tiger from top to bottom, certain that I
wouldn’t actually find anything wrong with him. I asked a few questions about
his habits and Adam gave me quick responses. Once I’d finished, I leaned back
against the counter and decided to get straight to the point.

“Tiger is one of
the healthiest little puppies, I’ve seen,” I said to him trying to ease
whatever concerns kept landing him back in my office. “I really think you just
need to give him a little time to settle into his new home.”

Adam petted
Tiger’s head affectionately avoiding my direct eye contact. I braced myself for
the real reason he was here and decided to cut him off before he’d managed to
say the words.

“I’m not going
to charge you for this visit,” I said as I tried to search for the right words
to put an end to this once and for all, “but I don’t expect to see you back
here until Tiger is due for his next round of vaccinations.”

Adam attached
the leash to Tiger’s collar and set him back on the floor. He didn’t need to
say anything. My tone made it clear that I didn’t plan on budging from this
decision and I was certain the man could only handle being rejected so many
times before he finally moved on. As I watched him mess with Tiger, a new
stirring started in the pit of my stomach. From the back, he looked remarkably
like the stranger I’d encountered the other night.

Adam stood up to
face me and offer his hand to shake again and I struggled to catch my breath.
It hadn’t been him that night, I was certain. I’d seen the stranger’s face very
clearly, tired or not. I’d have remembered. I’d have put two and two together.
The warmness and strength in Adam’s hand traveled through my arm and when he
thanked me for my time and went to pull away, I couldn’t let go.

“Dr. Jamison…
Um… I mean, Alex, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Yes,”
I said clearing my throat and regaining my composure. I wasn’t sure what had
just come over me. Was I going through some sort of early mid-life crisis? Is
this what being alone for too long brought on? I didn’t know and I shook my
head to try to clear it of all the jumbled thoughts that raced through my mind
at the moment. And then I stared into those beautiful green eyes and I knew
that if he said the words, I wouldn’t be able to tell him no again.

Adam seemed to
sense the strange shift in the air around us and he smiled. I let go of his
hand and he started to move toward the door of the examination room. My heart
stopped racing until he paused with one hand on the door knob and looked back
at me.

“It’s a
beautiful day out there,” he said.

“Yes, it appears
that it is.”

“Tiger and I
were planning a little romp at the park this afternoon. Would you be interested
in joining us? I mean, I know you’re busy here at work and you aren’t really
interested in seeing me but I thought maybe you look like a bit of fresh air
might do you some good.”

I took a deep
breath. I could do with a lot more than just a bit of fresh air.

“That sounds
nice,” I heard myself say.

“Can you break
free around say noon or one o’clock?”

“Twelve thirty
would be perfect actually,” I said remembering that I’d have a two hour break
before my first post lunch appointment. That was plenty of time for a walk in
the park and it had been a long time since I’d taken such an indulgence, even
though the park was only right around the corner from my office.

Tiger barked as
though he felt just as excited about the possibility of Adam and I getting
together this afternoon as we did. I felt a small tingle. Adam seemed like a
nice guy and although I always insisted to Mary that I would never consider
dating any of the patrons of my veterinarian office, I thought maybe I could
make an exception for Adam. I wasn’t sure what changed my mind. Perhaps it was
the desperation of finding someone to share my bed or maybe it was simply my
desperation to stop thinking about the stranger who seemed to have taken up
residence in my mind to haunt my thoughts both day and night.

“Great, I’ll
bring some sandwiches and we can have a little picnic.”

“Okay.”

I held my breath
until Adam and Tiger disappeared out the main door and into the parking lot.
Once I was sure it was safe, I let out my breath as I slumped against the
counter again. Being a small space, Mary had overheard my conversation with
Adam and practically came running the second he was out the door.

“You finally
said yes!”

I looked at the
excitement in her eyes. She had that same bewildered but happy look that Sylvia
always had when she talked to me about the possibility of me with any man. Was
it really so astounding that I might actually take interest in sharing the
company of one from time to time? Was my experience with Ed so horrible that
everyone believed I would never recover?

“I’m only
meeting him at the park this afternoon with Tiger. It’s no big deal.”

“With
sandwiches.”

“So? It’s not a
date or anything.”

“Food makes it a
date.”

“Don’t be
silly.”

“Well, you just
relax and have fun with that one,” Mary said with that twinkle still in her
eye, “Whatever you want to call it, that guy is interested in you and he’s a
great catch. You can have a lot of fun.”

“Why is everyone
so worried about my love life all of a sudden?”

“I wasn’t aware
that you actually had one.”

I sighed. Good
point.

“That shouldn’t
concern anyone else but me.”

“We just want
you to be happy, Alex. That’s all.”

“Well you put
your worries to rest, Mary, because I am perfectly happy whether I have a man
in my life or not.”

“Of course you
are, honey.”

“I am.”

She just nodded
and went back to her paperwork and I disappeared into my office to try to focus
on my next patient of the day. I would like to say that all I could think about
was my lunch date with Adam but that wouldn’t be entirely true. Every time the
image of meeting Adam popped up on my head, it wasn’t Adam’s face that I saw.

Chapter 7

I was thankful
that I’d chosen to wear a pair of comfortable shoes and slacks that day as I
waved goodbye to Mary and left the office. I considered walking in the opposite
direction and telling Adam later that I forgot about our little arrangement but
decided that wouldn’t be very nice of me and it would only delay the
inevitable. Besides, I might actually enjoy spending some time with him, I
reminded myself. He was well mannered and kind toward his dog, not to mention
not half bad to look at. I felt a twinge of excitement as I spotted him across
the grass. He was sat on a blanket leaning casually against the tree watching
Tiger run around in circles chasing the ball he’d thrown him. I smiled at the
sight of them.