Playing Doctor (18 page)

“I enjoyed it too. Bye,” Nikki responded, still leaning toward him.

“Thank you again. I'll call you soon,” he called as he resolutely walked away.

Hunter felt young and carefree with an exciting new career to focus on, so he was not thinking about settling down. However, he didn't want Nikki to think he was just out for a quick fuck. Better to take it slowly than risk their budding friendship, especially after such a crazy, rocky start.

Back inside her apartment,
Nikki felt both relief and also some regret that the kiss did not go further. She had been very close to inviting him in, before Hunter had dropped his arms and stepped back. She was extremely aroused—her body tingling all over, especially down there, and Nikki could tell she was wet. All of her past feelings of inadequacy or previous hurts were gone, she realized. She wanted to explore this man, wanted to feel his warm, naked body against hers, and she had been ready to do so right now, this evening.

She predicted that sex with Hunter would be amazing, but what if she had done that and then he never called her again? Then she would definitely regret having slept with him. With satisfaction, Nikki realized that she had accomplished what she had set out to do. She had invited a cute guy out to dinner as a modern woman should be able to do, and the evening had gone very well. She had seized the day and wouldn't regret it one bit, whether he ever called her again or not. Well, who was she kidding? Of course she would be unhappy if Hunter didn't call her, but Nikki felt fairly sure that she would hear from him again sometime soon.

The next day at lunch, the three friends wanted to hear all about the date. In her usual loudmouth style, Rachel latched on to the fact that Hunter didn't pay, even though Nikki said repeatedly that he had offered, had even pulled out money but she refused it.

However, even Rachel was left without her usual retort after hearing the story of why Hunter had chosen his career. Amy thought it was all quite dreamy. Nikki wondered again how long she would wait before she got to see Hunter again. Carpe diem or not, she wasn't going to appear so needy that she called him again. It was his turn now.

She had steeled herself to wait at least a week before hearing from him, so Nikki was thrilled when Hunter called her Monday evening to ask her out for Friday. He told her that he hoped she didn't mind, but he would like to have her over for a poor man's date—a home-cooked dinner in his apartment. He explained that his two roommates would be gone. Well, actually Dave was moving into his own place now that he was employed, and Rob would be out of town for the weekend. Hunter also told her that he had become a fairly decent cook over the years, a necessity since the others couldn't even boil water. She gladly accepted the invitation, thinking she would enjoy being alone with him rather than surrounded by strangers out in public.

The week dragged slowly by until finally Friday night arrived. Nikki took extra care with her looks. It was a casual date, but she still wanted to look her sexiest. Since it was a warm spring evening, she chose a skintight, stretchy miniskirt and a pretty top that draped loosely around her. She hesitated for a moment but then chose to wear her new lingerie set that would make her feel sexy on the inside too. Smiling to herself, she wondered if maybe tonight he would actually get to see it on her.

When Nikki arrived at Hunter's two-bedroom apartment, he gave her a quick tour of the place. It was bigger than what she and Kim shared, but it needed to be, given three guys were living there together for all four years of their residency. Now that Dave was gone, the main room was once again being used as a living room. While she pretended indifference, Nikki was most interested in seeing Hunter's bedroom. It was small but private and had a twin bed. She wondered if he made an effort to clean it up and make it look nice or if he always kept it that neat.

Interrupting her musings, Hunter told her, “I'm cooking a simple meal, just steak, salad, and baked potatoes. I can get a decent meal on the table but it's never fancy.”

“That sounds terrific,” Nikki responded. “I think it's great that you can cook at all.” She left unsaid the fact that her last boyfriend had expected her to do all the cooking and then the cleanup too.

“Can I get you a cold beer?” he offered, and she accepted.

Taking the bottle, she joined him on the New Your City version of a balcony, the fire escape, where Hunter was cooking steaks on a small portable grill. It was a beautiful evening, and she enjoyed spending time alone with him.

“So how long have you been friends with Rob?” Nikki asked.

“I met Rob and Dave when we started our residencies. Rob already had a lease on this place, and the rent is really cheap. It's also fairly close to the hospital, so it worked well. He is not such a bad guy, really.”

“I can give him the benefit of the doubt, but, honestly, Rachel really dislikes him. She's still talking about that silly contest.”

“That was a stupid, stupid idea,” Hunter noted aloud. “I still regret that I went along with it, but as I told you before, I didn't call any of the numbers I obtained and, of course, didn't sleep with any of them either.”

Thinking about her friend, Nikki said, “You know that old saying, ‘The lady doth protest too much'? I think perhaps Rachel is just annoyed that Rob didn't want her number. She noticed him the minute you all walked into the club.”

“Interesting,” Hunter pondered. “The way he kept looking at her, I think Rob definitely would have gotten around to asking for her number, but then things got so crazy,” he finished with a grimace.

“Don't you dare tell Rob,” she interrupted quickly. “Rachel is a good friend, and she'd never forgive me if he found out that she thought he was cute.”

Laughing, Hunter grabbed Nikki playfully and gave her a quick kiss. “I won't say a thing. Believe me, I don't want to get in the middle of anything between those two hot-tempered people, even if Rob is a friend.”

Nestling closer to him as they stood on the fire escape, she murmured agreement, “Mmmm, Yep. I only want you to get in the middle of me.”

Nikki could hardly believe she had made that bold come-on, but it pleased her a great deal to hear Hunter's slight gasp in response.

Once the steaks were done, they ate dinner at the small table in the dining alcove. Again, Nikki saw touches that suggested Hunter was a romantic—candles adding a soft glow to the room and quiet classical music playing in the background. The simple meal was tasty, but even more delicious was the seductive talk they playfully engaged in with each other. After dinner, they moved with their beers to the sofa and sat down, close to each other but not quite touching. Hunter clinked his beer bottle against hers in a sort of toast.

“Here's to overcoming an unusually rough start to a friendship.”

“I'll toast to that,” Nikki agreed with a smile.

Their fingers bumped during the impromptu toast, and Nikki liked the physical contact with him, wanting more. Deciding to fight her natural reticence, she put her drink down and reached over to take hold of his hand. Hunter smiled at her and gently squeezed her hand in response.

“I'm still so pleased that you called me after that disaster at the doctor's office,” Hunter said.

“It was one of the first actions of the new me…the new outgoing and brave me,” she said with a hint of pride.

“Besides the fact that I didn't have your number…couldn't ethically get it from the office records either…there was also the little problem of my complete and utter humiliation,” Hunter muttered, still holding her hand but now looking away with an embarrassed shrug.

“What do you mean
your
humiliation?” she countered. “I was the one who had her bra and panties hanging on display like that… I was so mortified! I don't know what I was thinking.”

“Seeing your super-sexy underthings hanging there at eye level… Well, it was extremely arousing,” he said huskily. “But that was also the cause of my problem. Didn't you notice that I had to hold your file down in front of me? I think you can guess why,” he said with a crooked smile.

“Oh, yes, I do remember.” She laughed. “The girls thought that was
very
funny!”

“No! You didn't tell them, did you?” he retorted.

“Mmm, sorry. I was so disappointed, thinking I'd never get to go on a date with you after that, so I guess I spilled the whole story,” she said, only slightly apologetic. “But to be totally honest with you…” Nikki whispered. “Well, while it was awkward for me to sit there watching you stare at my underwear, I guess the real reason I was embarrassed was that I was, well…I was also aroused. As my…” Nikki stopped, terribly self-conscious now.

“Go on,” he urged, looking a little stimulated himself.

“I was also aroused,” she started again in a barely there whisper, not looking at him but down at her hand still holding his. “And I could feel my nipples tighten, and, umm, other things happening to my body, and then I was thinking that I couldn't let you examine me like
that
!”

Nikki glanced up as she heard his harshly inhaled breath. He now looked very aroused, she realized, and a part of her was pleased. That newly emerging sensual woman inside her was beginning to feel her power.

In a tight voice, Hunter said, “I hope you won't be offended, but in my wildest…or maybe weirdest…fantasies, I see the two of us fucking like crazy animals right there on that exam table. I know that it could never happen, but still the idea's a real turn-on, for me anyway.”

“I can hardly believe I'm going to tell you this… I've had similar fantasies since that day in the clinic.” Realizing that she wanted to tell Hunter her deepest naughty secrets, Nikki smiled deliciously. “I have pictured you ripping that thin sheet off me and climbing up to join me on that table to…”

Nikki stopped talking and Hunter squeezed her hand, looking expectantly at her. He clearly wanted her to finish the sentence.

Instead she asked, “Tell me something… Would
any
set of women's underwear do that to you?”

“I think you know the answer to that. I was attracted to you when I met you at the bar. Then seeing you gift-wrapped in a sheet sitting there waiting for me, and then those glittering panties and bra… It was incredibly sexy. You were incredibly sexy!” he said in a deep, husky voice. “I just can't stop thinking about how gorgeous you would look wearing them,” Hunter declared.

Everything he told her was making Nikki feel beautiful as well as hot and bothered. On a whim, she couldn't resist pulling her top down off her shoulder just enough so that Hunter could see she wore the lingerie in question. Groaning sharply under his breath, he reached up to caress her bare shoulder.

Nikki felt relaxed, uninhibited, sexy—and she liked this newly sensual woman she was becoming. She leaned over to give him a little kiss on the lips, really just a peck, but the contact sent a sizzling electric jolt that went straight down to her core. Hunter lightly grabbed her arms as she started to pull away and brought her back for another longer, deeper kiss. Nikki tingled all over inside and pressed into him. Taking this as encouragement, Hunter gently pulled her onto his lap and encircled her with his arms.

Sitting there, she could feel his arousal as her hip pushed up against the hard bulge in his pants. In the past this might have embarrassed her a little. However, the new Nikki wasn't discomfited or shy. Instead, she wanted desperately to unzip his pants to finally see his erect penis. She wanted to touch it. Wondered what he would do or think if she were that bold.

She was secretly excited to realize she could do exactly what she wanted, but Nikki also acknowledged to herself that she had more growing to do. She was just not quite that daring…not
yet
. So, she settled for squirming a little on his lap to feel the bulge rub against her ass and was rewarded with a low guttural moan from Hunter even as he continued to kiss her. She opened her mouth at the insistence of his tongue, and they spent several hot minutes learning the taste and feel of each other while her hand caressed the back of his neck.

Nikki felt one of his hands slowly slide up her leg and then under her short skirt, pausing for a few seconds to caress the top of her thigh. His touch sent shivers skittering upward and she opened her legs a little, offering him access to her inner thighs. Hunter used his palm to touch as much skin as possible and ever so slowly inched his hand upward until it brushed the lacy fabric of her underpants. A moan erupted from the back of Nikki's throat as he swirled his tongue in her mouth to the same rhythm that he swirled his fingers on her pussy.

Nikki was consumed by the stimulating sensations. She felt liberated and wildly abandoned, which was fresh…exciting! She was not new to sex. She'd had several intimate relationships, but she had always held back a little, allowed her natural reticence to rein in her sensuality. She had always felt secure and comfortable that way, but now Nikki suddenly comprehended that this had also held her back, kept her from allowing her own sensuality to fully blossom.

She finally understood that this flowering was something she could control. No man could make it happen or take it away. She alone was responsible for deciding whether to fully explore all the pleasure that her body was capable of—and Nikki decided then and there that she wanted it, wanted all the exhilarating pleasure, every last bit of it! As these freeing ideas took shape in her mind, she felt a new eroticism erupt within her and a roiling, burning arousal like she had never felt before.

Moaning, Nikki arched back to raise her breasts until they were touching his chest through the fabric of their clothing, and she opened her legs wider, using both hands to hold his face tightly to her throughout their long, passionate kiss. Hunter's breathing became ragged, and although it seemed impossible, the bulge in his pants felt like it was growing bigger.

Nikki was now in a mindless state of sensual pleasure when Hunter suddenly broke the kiss and huskily begged, “I want to see you! I want you to take off your clothes.”

“Ohh,” moaned Nikki, slowly opening her erotically drugged eyes to look into his passionate gaze.