One Hot Doctor by Sarah J. Brooks

Chapter 5

Cora

“Okay, everyone, let’s get ready to do a basic routine. This is a beginner’s class, so we’ll take it easy.” I love my beginner’s basic class.

I love seeing new faces of people who’ve decided to take charge of their health and start exercising. I introduce myself as more people walk in. It’s a mixture of men and women and a range of ages from people in their twenties to middle-aged.

A familiar figure bounces in, and when I turn to her, my jaw drops. My mom flashes me a quick smile and a wave and strolls to the back of the class. I follow her with my gaze, taking in the totally inappropriate hot pink crop top she’s wearing and matching joggers.

I want to die. I tear my gaze away and force myself to begin the class. Every time our gazes meet, she smiles and winks. I can’t help being drawn to her exposed midriff. What was she thinking wearing an outfit designed for a teenager?

We start with basic matches. Thank God that I’ve done this countless times, and I don’t have to think about the words that leave my mouth. As the class goes on, I notice that my mom is struggling. Not a surprise. She’s almost seventy years old. I start my older clients off with easy walks and slowly build up until they can manage a beginner aerobics class.

I call for a water break, and I can tell that my seasoned students are surprised as we never take a break as the class is only for twenty-five minutes.

My concentration is messed up. I can’t peel my eyes off my mom, afraid that she might hurt herself. The water break must have perked her up because now, her movements are energetic.

After the class, I’m too pissed off to talk to her, and besides, Riley and I are meeting upstairs at my apartment to go over donor profiles. My stomach clenches as I leave the gym and take the side door to my building.

As I ride the elevator up, my thoughts wander to T. I remember the last time we rode up together after an afternoon spent imbibing. Two weeks later, I’m still finding it hard to believe that I was stupid enough to sleep with him. Again. After how he dumped me three years ago. I’m shameless; that’s what I am. And the worst of it is that in unguarded moments, I find myself missing him and looking at my phone to check if he’s called.

Thomas is a cold bastard. His interest in me has always been one thing: my body. That has not changed. My nipples suddenly harden, and my panties dampen. By the time I get off the elevator, my breathing comes out fast, as if I’ve been running.

I’m horny as hell as I walk through the front door. It’s happening more and more often. Just thinking about Thomas, and it’s as if someone has lit a fire to my body. An uncontrollable hunger for sex consumes me. Like now.

I need a shower. Desperately. I leave the front door unlocked for Riley to let herself in and head to my bedroom bathroom.

I strip off and enter the bathroom. I don’t even pretend that a shower is a priority. I grab the shower gel, squeeze some into my hand, and lather it all over my body. I moan as my hands graze over my ultra-sensitive nipples.

I reach between my legs, and my hand comes into contact with my clit; I let out a sigh of relief. Something has happened to me in the last week. All I can think about is Thomas and sex. I want him so badly that if he walked in at this moment, I’d welcome him with open arms, no questions asked.

I tease my clit and then push a finger up my lady parts and pretend that my fingers are T’s. I add another finger and pump rhythmically. The real deal would be better, but this takes the edge off. My moans grow louder as the beginnings of an orgasm start to form. I finger fuck myself faster and faster until my body explodes in an unsatisfactory orgasm. A cry leaves my lips, and I only realize how loud I am when a knock comes on the bedroom door.

“Are you okay in there?”

It’s Riley.

“I’m fine. Be out in a sec.” I turn off the shower and towel dry myself.

I grab a fresh pair of joggers and a top. With a towel wrapped around my hair like a turban, I join Riley in the living room.

She already has my laptop open, and when I enter, she looks up at me and grins. “You sounded like you were masturbating,” she says.

“Maybe.” I sit down next to her and sigh. “I swear something has gone wonky in my body. Is it normal to be horny twenty-four-seven? All I can think about is sex.”

Riley laughs. “You shouldn’t complain. A lot of women would love to have that problem.”

“I wouldn’t complain if I had a partner,” I quip, my mind shifting to Thomas.

“What happened to Doctor Sexy?” Riley says.

I groan. “Don’t ask.” I proceed to tell her about how we went for a drink and ended up having sex.

“So that’s it?” Riley says. “You two are done?”

“Yeah,” I tell her. “But it’s like sleeping with him turned on a sex switch in me. I’m constantly aroused. Is that normal?” It sounds like the ideal way to live to be perpetually horny, but it’s frustrating, not to mention I can barely concentrate on anything else.

Riley is thoughtful. “The only time I’ve ever experienced something like that was when in the first month of pregnancy. I was constantly horny.”

A thought so petrifying creeps into my mind. What if I’m pregnant? No, I couldn’t be.

“Probably the time of the month for me,” I say. “Now, let’s do this.”

Riley has already turned on my computer, and I click to access my email and then click on the link the sperm bank sent me. It immediately takes me to a page with first names that identify the donors and their profiles at a glance.

“Oh, I like that one,” she says, pointing to the second profile.

“His name is Mark, and he has dark eyes, wavy black hair, and he’s tall and big. Wait. They all have more or less the same characteristics,” Riley says. “Hang on, what specifications did you give?”

My face heats up. Without giving it any thought, I had automatically filled in Thomas’s physical details. “Dark eyes, wavy hair, tall.”

Riley turns to look at me, her eyes gleaming. “Describe Thomas for me?”

“Dark eyes, wavy hair, tall,” I tell her, my voice coated with misery.

“I’ve never seen you so hung up over a guy. Fuck, Cora, you’re in trouble. Maybe you should just ask him to be your donor.”

I make a face. “That’s what got me into trouble the last time, remember.”

She shakes her head and turns back to the computer screen. “This is weird. They all look the same. How are we going to narrow down?”

“Well, they have different occupations and hobbies. That’s a start.” My mind is not in it anymore.

Riley’s suggestion that I should ask Thomas to be my donor has got me thinking crazy stuff. We didn’t use protection. What if I did get pregnant? I remember how horrified Thomas had been at the realization that we had not used protection.

“What are you thinking?” Riley says.

“What if I’m pregnant? We didn’t use protection.”

Her eyes widen. “You didn’t use protection? Cora! You don’t know where’s he’s been and who with! I can’t believe that you’d be so careless.”

“Believe me; there’s nothing you can say to me that I haven’t said to myself,” I say, ashamed of having to admit to my carelessness.

Riley looks as if I’ve dropped the weight of the world on her shoulders. “Maybe you acted on your subconscious need to have a baby with Thomas.”

“What? Of course not! I don’t want a baby with Thomas, and he doesn’t want a baby either.”

“Why is he so against babies anyway?” Riley says.

I shrug. “I don’t know, and we really should drop this conversation. I’m not pregnant. I would know it.”

“Take a pregnancy test,” Riley says.

“Okay.” My voice comes out squeaky with fright.

Riley jumps to her feet. “I’ll go grab one in the pharmacy next door.” She’s out before I can protest. The front door bangs shut, and Riley’s footsteps fade away.

I look at the screen but see nothing. The more I think about it, the more it becomes a real possibility that I could be pregnant. My body has changed rapidly in the last week or so. It’s not just being permanently aroused. I’ve been feeling fatigued for no reason and waking up in the morning has become a struggle. And my nipples feel like they’re on fire twenty-four seven.

Oh, God.

Nausea swirls in my belly. A cold sweat covers my skin. What a mess! And all because I couldn’t stay away from Thomas. I imagine telling him that I’m pregnant and feel physically sick.

Riley returns in time before I drive myself insane with worry.

“Here you go.” She hands me a small brown bag. “I bought two just to be sure.”

I take it and reluctantly get to my feet. I move to the bathroom with Riley following closely behind. My feet are like two blocks of cement as I walk.

“You’re not going to come into the bathroom with me, are you?” I stop to ask Riley.

“No, but I’ll be right outside the door,” she says.

I enter the bathroom and reach for the pregnancy kit. I tear off the cover and proceed to do the deed. I sit on the toilet and wait for the three minutes to pass. When I’m sure they’ve passed, I stand up and wash my hands. I can’t bear to look at the results.

“Riley?”

“Yeah?”

“Come in,” I call.

She enters, and I hold the kit in her direction. “I’m too scared to look. What does it say?”

She’s quiet for a few seconds.

“Say something.”

“Cora. You’re pregnant,” she says. “There are two pink lines.”

I drop the kit and rush back to the toilet bowl. I kneel, wrap my hands around it, and empty the coffee I’d drank earlier into the bowl. Riley stands behind me and rubs my back. She’s a real friend to stand the stench that fills the bathroom. When I’m done, she flushes the toilet and helps me to my feet.

At the sink, I wash my mouth and face. I want to burst into tears. Life is a bitch. I have the thing I wanted most in the whole world, and now I don’t want it. Or rather, I do want it, but not the father.

“What the hell am I going to do?”

“We’ll figure it out,” Riley says soothingly. “Let’s go make you a cup of tea.”

I raise my eyes to the sky. “I don’t even like tea.”

“I didn’t either, but it’s soothing.” Riley takes my hand and pulls me along. “Don’t look so glum. Things have a way of working out. Admittedly, it’s scary, but you’ll be fine. And you have me and Leo and your mom and family.”

I groan. “Don’t remind me about that.”

“Why what happened?”

“My mom’s gone ape shit.”

“Yeah, I saw her in the changing room,” Riley says with a giggle.

“Not funny.” I glare at her.

“It’s probably her midlife crisis,” Riley offers.

“She’s nearly seventy. A bit too late for a midlife crisis,” I point out.

“She’ll be fine. Did you tell her anything?”

“No. I’ll talk to her during Friday dinner.”

It feels as if my world is crumbling down. Everything familiar and comforting is changing, starting with my body and my mom.

In the kitchen, I settle on the island while Riley makes the tea. I slowly get used to the idea that I’m pregnant by a man who doesn’t want a baby. He can’t heap the blame on me either because we both got carried away by our lust.

“Okay, it’s not as bad as it seems,” Riley says as she places two mugs on the island.

“Please go on.” I wrap my hands around the mug for warmth, even if it’s not cold.

“The plan was to get pregnant, right?” Riley says. “And now you are. You’ve saved yourself money by going the traditional route, and now you don’t have to wonder about the baby’s daddy because you know who he is.”

I nod. “All true and comforting except for the part where Thomas doesn’t want a baby.”

“Then he should have used protection,” Riley snaps.

I nod enthusiastically. “You’re right. He should have.”

“When are you going to tell him the good news?” Riley asks.