Page 16 of The Doctors Will See You Now

“Right, right.” I tried to force a laugh.

Next question. Where do I go from here? Oh! Periods. Something considerably less sexy. Fantastic!

“How about your menstrual cycle? Any concerns there?”

I inserted the speculum carefully and swabbed the cervix quickly.

“No, ah—” She winced at the invasion.

“Sorry about that,” I consoled. No matter how awkward the appointment was for me thanks to her flirting, I had no doubts this part was more awkward for her. And it was my job to make it all right.

“There. Done,” I said as I removed the speculum. “I’m just going to feel a little, make sure everything feels like it should—”

“Knock, knock. Dr. Cummings?” I heard a female call from the other side of the door. “Marlene instructed me to go into this exam room,” she added, and I was so caught up in escaping the uncomfortable cloud filling the room, I didn’t think about how much calling out for her entry so enthusiastically might add to the discomfort.

“Yes, God, please come in.”

Awkward was nothing more than a memory when her body cleared the door and her enticingly hazel eyes met mine.

A rubber band of intensity stretched between us as I took the soft tendril of uncontainable hair that draped over her forehead and down her cheek. I struggled to keep my eyes from exploring anything below the neck.

She was new, I knew that much, and she gave the best physical first impression, to which I’d ever been fortunate enough to bear witness. But her eyes weren’t smiling in a way that said she was currently falling in love with me in this one perfect moment, and they didn’t say she thought I was making a good first impression.

I finally—painfully—understood why when the vagina currently wrapped around my fingers—not hers, as a reminder—contracted noticeably.

Ah Jesus.

I couldn’t claim to know everything about the female psyche, but I was absolutely certain halfway through a pelvic exam of a different woman wasn’t the most opportune time to win one over with small talk and half-assed compliments.

Find out why she’s here, my mind instructed.

“Can I help you?” I asked, doing my best to comply with the limited tools presented by my scattered thoughts.

She looked to the patient, then my hand—still inside a different woman, by the way—and back to my face. “I’m, um, the new nurse.” She shook her head slightly before correcting, “Your new nurse.”

Excited about the news that this wouldn’t just be a chance encounter, that I’d have the opportunity to actually get to know this woman, my actions once again outraced thinking it through.

“Oh, wow,” I chirped—yes, fucking chirped. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

And then.

Oh God. And then…I pulled my hand from its place—inside of another woman’s body—and held it out for her to shake.

She was horrified.

Both shes were, actually.

“Um, hello?” the now agitated patient called from the table. I wasn’t sure if she was more upset that I was doing something abhorrently disgusting or that my attention was no longer focused on her, but either way, I couldn’t say I blamed her.

My new nurse made big eyes before trying to play it off with a pat on my shoulder. Three pats, in fact, each more awkward than the previous. What she didn’t do, however, was shake my contaminated hand.

For fuck’s sake, Will. Pull it together.

Grabbing the glove at the collar, I ripped it off my hand so that it flipped inside out, and I tossed it in the garbage quickly. Moving to the sink and turning on the tap to wash my hands, I spoke rapidly, taking advantage of the fact that I didn’t have to look either one of them in the eye.

“So everything seems good, Alyssa. It’ll take a couple of days to get the results back on the pap smear, but we’ll get in touch with you if anything comes back abnormal.”

“Nurse, uh…?”