A Doctor By Day...

Candice made quick introductions before Jake grabbed an empty chair from the table beside theirs. He flipped it around with a practised move and wedged it in between Scarlett and Mel before straddling it backwards. His long legs stuck out sideways and brushed against Scarlett’s thigh.

‘So you do own a shirt,’ Scarlett said, as her eyes raked his torso.

‘And a jacket,’ he teased.

He was leaning forward over the back of the chair, his arms crossed. The teasing note in his voice and the gleam in his eye made her feel bold. She reached out and ran her hand down his sleeve. ‘There’s a definite leather theme going on in this place.’

‘Hey,’ he said, as he sat up straight in the chair, held the jacket on each side of the zip and lifted it slightly, adjusting it on his shoulders, ‘this is mine.’

‘It’s nice.’ It was. She could smell the leathery fragrance. She hadn’t noticed a leather smell on the Himbos, not that she’d got that close to their shorts.

‘Yeah?’

She grinned, feeling more at ease. It was much less stressful now she was out of the spotlight and off the stage. ‘Much better than leather pants.’

‘Have you ever worn leather pants?’

Scarlett shook her head.

‘Well, you should give them a go, you might be surprised at how comfortable they are.’

‘You have leather pants too?’

He raised one hand. ‘Guilty as charged. Call it part of our uniform. But you might be pleased to know I don’t own leather shorts.’

‘That’s a relief,’ she said, but, as much as she thought leather was being worn a little too often around the club, she suspected he would look rather good in leather pants. She suspected he’d look good in anything.

He shifted in his seat and his thigh brushed against hers for the second time. Her nerve endings sparked and it felt as if all the cells in her thigh muscles were straining to get closer to him, as though they were trying to leap out of her skin. She moved her leg away from his before she could be tempted to lean into him instead.

The alcohol she’d drunk tonight had most certainly reduced her inhibitions. Not only had she voluntarily got up on stage, she was now having lustful thoughts about a complete stranger. She was planning on having fun but she wasn’t sure if her courage stretched far enough to include Jake. She should go home before she did something even more out of character. Before she could be tempted by a cute young barman who might, or might not, be flirting with her. There was no way she was going to make a move on him, well, not the first move anyway. She needed to get out of here. If he wanted to come with her that was his choice. If he chose to stay behind then she’d assume she’d read the signals wrong. There was a good possibility of that, she thought. She was hardly the most experienced woman at the table.

She’d done her duty to Candice. Surely she could leave now without appearing rude. She leant across the table to speak to Candice, ready to make her excuses. ‘I think I might head off, if you don’t mind. I had a really busy night on call before working today.’

‘How are you getting home?’

‘I’ll take a cab.’

‘Do you want me to come with you?’ Mel asked. ‘You shouldn’t go on your own.’ Hindley Street was not the street you wanted to walk down alone.

‘I’ll wait with you, if you like,’ Jake said to her. ‘I’ve finished my shift and was about to go anyway.’

‘Perfect! Thanks, Jake.’ Candice agreed on Scarlett’s behalf without any hesitation. ‘That way, Mel can stay and enjoy the rest of the evening. You don’t mind, do you?’ Candice asked, as she looked at her.

Scarlett didn’t want to be accused of breaking up the party so she did what came naturally to her and agreed. ‘Sure,’ she replied. She’d had a lifetime of experience at being the one to keep the peace, being the one to do what everyone expected of her while her sisters did as they pleased, so of course she agreed, but it didn’t hurt that she was more than happy for Jake to keep her company. She knew then that his touch had been deliberate and the thought sent a frisson of excitement through her body.

‘Jake is one of the good guys, you can trust him,’ Candice added, before she turned to Mel and whispered with a chuckle, ‘I’m not denying he could charm a nun out of her habit but that’s Scarlett’s good fortune.’

As Scarlett ducked her head under the table to put her shoes back on and search for her handbag she heard Candice say something about charm but she couldn’t catch the whole sentence. She thought about asking her to repeat her comment but when she found her handbag and looked up she saw that Jake was standing, ready to pull out her chair for her. Not wanting to keep him waiting, she decided that if what Candice had said was important she’d find out some other time.

She followed Jake from the club, aware of several women checking him out as he passed their tables, but their attention was short-lived as another dancer was on the stage and now that Jake was fully clothed there were obviously more interesting things to look at elsewhere. Scarlett didn’t mind, she was happy to have him all to herself.

There was a taxi rank opposite the club but the queue was horrendously long, stretching for half a block. Knowing it could take for ever for her turn to come, she released Jake from his obligation. ‘It’s going to take ages, you don’t need to wait,’ she said, as they joined the end of the queue.

‘I promised Candice I’d look after you.’

‘That’s okay, I won’t tell her.’ She smiled. ‘Thank you for offering but it’s busy enough. I’ll be all right,’ she said, as she slipped her shoes off. Her feet had had enough and she couldn’t stand the thought of another minute standing in uncomfortable high heels. The concrete pavement was rough but cool under her skin and was soothing in an unexpected way. She glanced down the line and saw she wasn’t the only one who’d divested herself of her footwear.

‘Come on, I’ll give you a lift,’ he said, looking at her bare feet.

‘It’s fine, really,’ Scarlett insisted. ‘I’m just not used to wearing high heels.’

‘I’m not going to leave you here and I think we’ve both got better things to do than stand on the street for an hour.’

His tone wasn’t impatient. Maybe she was reading things into his words but the depth of his voice and the low volume made it sound as though the better things he had in mind involved them both and she was tempted to dive in, recklessly, heedlessly, and accept his offer. But her natural inclination not to cause trouble made her ask, ‘What if I live miles away?’

‘Then that’s my problem. I’m not going to retract my offer. I’d look like a jerk.’

She looked up at him. Barefoot, she was now several inches shorter than he was. ‘I’d hate to have that hanging over my head.’

‘So, can I drop you home?’ He grinned and all her objections, few though they were, vanished. She nodded and slipped her sandals back on before following him as he retraced their footsteps.

He led her to an alleyway behind The Coop and Scarlett followed blindly. She knew she would feel unsafe if he wasn’t beside her but even though he was virtually a stranger she trusted him. It was an odd situation to be in, she wasn’t normally a trusting person, particularly not when it came to men, but she only got good vibes from Jake and he wasn’t really a stranger, was he? He knew Candice.

He stopped beside a dark green convertible that had been parked behind a dumpster, which kept it partially shielded from view. The roof was down and there was a cumbersome, heavy steering lock clamped to the wheel.

Jake opened the passenger door and shrugged out of his leather jacket. ‘Here,’ he said, as he held it out to her. ‘It might be a bit cool with the top down but it’s a bit temperamental and it’ll be quicker and warmer if you wear this.’

Scarlett slipped her arms into the sleeves as Jake held it for her. His fingers brushed her neck as he turned up the collar. The jacket was much too large for her but it was warm and smelt divine, a heady combination of leather and clean male. She didn’t bother to zip it, just pulled it close, wrapping it around her like a cocoon.

She sank into the low seat as Jake stowed the steering lock behind them and started the engine. The sound was low and throaty and reminded her of his voice. Scarlett relaxed. She closed her eyes and let the warmth and scent of the leather of the seats and Jake’s jacket seduce her. It was nice to have someone else make a decision for her. Not being required to think was a novelty. All her life she had been the one people turned to for advice. She had been the one who everyone relied on to be sensible, responsible, to make the hard decisions, and Scarlett’s natural tendency was to carefully consider all angles before making an informed and logical choice.

Letting a stranger give her a lift home was not the sort of thing she did. She wasn’t a spontaneous sort of person. Every decision she made was carefully measured, considered and weighed before she acted on it. She was used to being in control. Of her life and of her actions.

Going home with someone she’d just met was the sort of thing her sister Ruby would do. Ruby would have set her sights on a guy the minute she walked into The Coop and wouldn’t have thought twice about letting them give her a lift home. Even their younger sister, Rose, was more outgoing than she herself was. She would have walked into The Coop, tossed her blond hair, batted her long eyelashes and her big blue eyes and within minutes she would have had men falling at her feet. She would have flirted expertly and at the end of the night she would have been spoilt for choice if she wanted a lift home.

Scarlett didn’t know if she could ever be as confident or as fearless as her sisters but it was kind of nice to step out of her comfort zone for a change. But she knew the only reason she felt safe to do that was because there was a connection with Jake. She wasn’t thinking about the physical or chemical connection she felt but rather the safer, more reliable one that was their common friend, Candice. Scarlett knew that no matter how gorgeous and charming a man was, she would never let a complete stranger give her a lift home. She just didn’t do things like that.

‘Scarlett?’

She jumped as she felt Jake’s hand on her knee. She opened her eyes to find they had left Hindley Street behind. The little green car was on the bridge over the River Torrens as Jake headed up Montefiore Hill.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked, and she realised he must have been speaking to her while she was daydreaming.

‘Yes. I’m fine.’

Jake flicked the indicator on to turn at the lookout at the top of the hill. She tried not to notice the cars parked there, certain that the occupants were up to no good as they looked across the city lights. She had never fooled around in the backseat of a car but sitting here with Jake’s hand still resting on her knee she could almost imagine what it would be like. But he removed his hand to negotiate the corner, leaving a cold circle the size of his palm on her skin. He drove past the old cathedral and up towards O’Connell Street.

‘Are you hungry?’ he asked, as the car idled at the next set of traffic lights.