One Hot Doctor by Sarah J. Brooks
Chapter 26
Thomas
I’ve missed this, I muse as my feet pound the treadmill and sweat trickles down my back. When I’m in the gym and working my body is one of the few times that my mind is empty. The other time is when I’m with Cora. I feel like a man of leisure being in the gym at 9 AM. My usual gym time was six in the morning, but I’m taking it easy in all areas of my life these days.
It’s been a rough couple of days, but not as bad as it could have been. Having Cora in my life has prevented me from going down a dark hole that would be very difficult to crawl out from. I’ve experienced all sorts of feelings from feeling inadequate that I could push my wife to have an affair to feeling a level of anger I’ve never experienced before.
Time is a healer. I’ve reached a place of acceptance after going through a roller coaster of emotions. Tessa and I had no business getting married before we were ready for the commitment that came with it.
We were in love and believed that marriage was what we wanted. I can’t speak for Tessa, but my focus had been my career in those early years. I wanted to do it all. Help as many patients as I could, learn everything I could. And I did but at the cost of my marriage. Tessa had not uttered one word of complaint, and at the time, I remember thinking how lucky I was to be married to such an understanding woman.
We should have done things differently. I should have paid more attention to my wife, and Tessa should have voiced her dissatisfaction with our marriage instead of seeking happiness in another man’s arms. I can think about that now without pain clutching my chest. It was in the past, and Tessa is gone. The mistakes that we made are buried with her.
I work out for an hour and a half, and when I’m done, every inch of my skin including my scalp is covered by sweat.
As I’m walking out, I run into Cora. My heart leaps, and heat whips through me. I’m addicted to her. How can happiness surge through me just by seeing her? I have a stupid grin on my face.
“I didn’t know that you were back with us,” she says. “You should have let me know. I’d have given you a family discount.”
“Family discount? I like the sound of that.”
Her gaze ripples over my body. “How was the work out?” she says in a husky, suggestive tone.
“Sweaty.” I match her tone.
“You look like you could do with a shower,” Cora says.
Warmth spreads over me. “I could.”
“I know just the place. Follow me,” Cora says.
We leave the gym and go through the door to the apartments above. We chat about inconsequential stuff as we go up in the elevator.
In her apartment, I go straight to the bathroom and turn on the shower. I raise my face to the water as it hits my body and cascades down it. It feels like a new beginning as if I’m washing away my past and beginning afresh. I scrub myself and then rinse off the soap. When I’m done, I step off and dry myself while humming a tune. I leave the bathroom, and when I step into the master bedroom, I grind to a halt at the sight before me.
I inhale deeply as all my blood drops down to my cock. Cora is lying on the bed completely naked, looking so beautiful and inviting as she meets my gaze.
“I’m going to be quite the gym rat if this is the reward I get each time.”
Cora’s laughter dies in her throat when I drop my towel to reveal my erect cock. I join her on the bed and pull her into my arms. We kiss and make unhurried love. I explore every part of her skin, and when I penetrate her, we both orgasm intensely, leaving us feeling drained.
“I could stay here all day,” Cora says.
It sounds so tempting, but I don’t want to be the reason she’s neglecting her work. “How does your calendar look today?” I ask her.
“I’ve delegated all my classes until further notice. What’s on your mind, lover?” she says.
“Let’s make this a lazy Monday,” I say while softly stroking her back.
Something is happening to me, and as much as I try to control it, it’s not containable. My feelings for Cora are growing by the day. When I look at her or hold her in my arms like I’m doing now, my heart feels as though it will explode from the love I feel for her.
I desperately wish that I were a different sort of man. One whose heart is not so easily bruised. I’d take a chance and try to make it work with Cora, but I just don’t have the heart for it. Even if I’ve almost come to terms with Tessa’s unfaithfulness, I still feel as if my heart has been run over by a truck. I can’t do it again. I can’t put myself out there, so I’ll enjoy this ride until the baby comes. Then I’ll move on with my life. I still have so many goals that I want to achieve concerning my work.
We doze off, and then at noon, Cora’s hunger wakes us up, and we go to the kitchen half-naked to prepare a light lunch.
As we are munching our sandwiches on the island, Cora starts to giggle.
“What?” I ask her. “Do I have food on my face?”
She laughs so hard that for a few moments, she can’t speak. “I just remembered the way you looked when I walked into your office at the fertility clinic that first time.”
I chuckle as the memories wash over me. “I couldn’t believe I was seeing you again. A few minutes later, and I couldn’t stand up from my chair.”
A look of concern is drawn on her pretty face. “Why what happened?”
“I had a massive hard-on,” I said straight-faced.
Cora laughs and pushes me. “You’re lying. You couldn’t have been thinking about sex at the moment.”
“I was.”
“You’re a perv,” she says.
“Only when it comes to you.”
She smiles but doesn’t say anything. We eat in comfortable silence and when we’re clearing up, the conversation moves to the baby. I’m still not feeling that connection, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I plan on being a present dad. I plan on showing up.
“Dr. Phillips talked about birth options,” Cora says. “What are your thoughts on taking pain medication when giving birth?”
Her voice trembles as she speaks, and I lean forward and kiss her cheek. I’d happily swap places with her and bear the childbirth pain. “What matters is you and what you feel comfortable doing. I’ll support you in whatever you decide.”
“Thanks,” Cora says.
“There’s no shame in using pain medication. Some people have a low threshold for pain. Others are happy to bear it. It’s a very personal decision.”
“I’m a little scared, to be honest. I’ve been watching a lot of childbirth videos online, and they frighten me.”
“I thought you might have been present when Adeline was giving birth.”
She makes a face. “I didn’t want to, but of course, I heard about it. Adeline handled the birth of her twins the way she does everything else, with awesome courage. She’s a bulldozer.”
“We all have different strengths and weaknesses. The trick is never to compare ourselves with others.”
“Easy for you to say when everyone in your family thinks the sun shines from your ass.”
I laugh at her choice of words. “For your information, they do not. As a matter of fact, when I need to be brought down to earth, I can count on them to do it and not in the nicest way.”
She smiles. The terrified look is gone from her face.
“You should attend birth classes,” I tell her. “Nothing, of course, can show you exactly what the experience of giving birth will be like but knowing will help, I believe.”
“Riley was planning on attending before she was put on bed rest,” she says. She gives it some thought and then nods. “Okay, I’ll look into it.”
My phone vibrates, and I pick it up from the island countertop. It’s my mother. I’m a grown man but anxiety forms in the pit of my stomach. I’m so used to working that it feels as if I’m doing something wrong by being home on a weekday. And my mother knows it too, hence the call.
“Hi, Mom,” I say. Cora makes as if to leave to give me some privacy, but I signal to her to stay put.
My mother and I ask after each other’s health, and then she gets into the reason why she called.
“We haven’t seen Cora in ages, and we’d love to spend some time with her. Can you bring her along for Friday dinner?”
“I know she’s missed you guys too. Dinner sounds awesome but—”
Cora nods at me vigorously and makes spoon-to-mouth gestures.
“Actually, I’m sure that she’d love too,” I say, and Cora gives me a thumbs up.
“Great,” my mom says happily.
We wind up the conversation, and as I look at Cora, gratitude floods me at how kind she is to my parents.
“You don’t have to, you know,” I tell her. “My mom can get a little intense.”
“That couple is very special. They’re our child’s grandparents, and whatever happens between us won’t change that fact,” Cora says. “Besides, I want our baby to enjoy being loved by lots of relatives.”
The reminder that this camaraderie we share will end soon leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It’s what we both want, but that won’t mean that it will be easy.
