A Doctor By Day...

‘I am,’ she said, as she rubbed at the cold spot on her knee. She was a little surprised to find she was hungry but dinner seemed like hours ago.

‘My favourite late-night take-away is just up here. We can grab something to eat there, if you like?’

‘Sure.’ She thought it was probably a good idea to eat something else and soak up the rest of the alcohol she’d consumed but where they ate was another decision she was happy to let Jake make.

Jake slowed his sports car as they approached the café strip and he searched for a parking space. A car was pulling out from the kerb and he waited, taking the spot in front of a café with distinctive blue-and-white signage. She recognised the café; she’d walked past it plenty of times but had never been inside, but it seemed that Jake knew it well.

‘Jake, how’s it going?’ The guy behind the counter greeted him as they walked in. ‘What’ll you have, the usual?’

‘Sounds good,’ he said, before explaining to Scarlett, ‘You can’t go past George’s lamb yiros,’ he told her.

There was a huge selection of dishes written on the blackboard above the counter but Scarlett could see the lamb revolving slowly on the enormous spit, cooking as it turned, and the smell carried to her. It smelt fantastic. She’d never tried a yiros before but it was an easy decision. She nodded. ‘Make that two,’ she told George.

‘You want garlic sauce with that?’ George asked.

That sounded rather potent and Scarlett wasn’t at all familiar with yiros etiquette. Jake was watching her, his head tipped to one side, waiting for her answer. She didn’t want to be in close proximity to him if she had garlic sauce and he didn’t. Even in a convertible she suspected it could be unpleasant.

‘Is that how you usually have it?’ she asked Jake.

‘Yep.’

‘Okay, then.’ Scarlett watched as George expertly carved slices of lamb as it rotated on the spit and piled it onto flatbreads and garnished it with garlic sauce and salad before wrapping each yiros in wax paper and handing them over the counter. She followed Jake to a table tucked into the back corner of the café. All around them other patrons were devouring their yiros but from what she could see it was almost impossible to eat daintily. Worried about making a mess of Jake’s jacket, she slipped it off and hung it over the back of her chair.

‘Do you want to take your shoes off too?’ Jake was smiling at her.

She shook her head. ‘Not in here.’

‘You could take them off on the street, why not in here?’ he said, as he tore the wax paper to expose the top half of his yiros.

‘We’re in a restaurant. Earlier I couldn’t face the thought of standing any longer but I’m okay as long as I’m sitting down,’ Scarlett said, copying his actions.

‘I’ve never understood why women insist on buying uncomfortable shoes—although they do look great on you.’

‘Thank you.’ The compliment almost made the pain worthwhile. ‘But they’re not mine and I didn’t realise they were so uncomfortable. I borrowed them,’ she admitted. ‘Strip clubs aren’t really my scene and I don’t own anything suitable to wear to one.’ She took a bite of the warm flatbread. The lamb was tender and juicy, perfectly complemented by the sauce.

‘Going to the club doesn’t mean you need to dress like a stripper.’ He laughed.

She stuck one foot out from underneath the table, pointing her toes and swinging her foot from side to side. ‘You think these look like stripper shoes?’

Jake raised one eyebrow and grinned. ‘That wasn’t what I meant,’ he protested.

‘I wonder what my sister would have to say about that!’

Scarlett smiled back before taking another bite of her yiros, only to discover a fraction too late why she should have said no to the garlic sauce as it squirted out of the bread and ran down the side of her hand. She was holding the yiros with two hands, trying to stop it from falling apart, and there was nothing she could do about the sauce that was now running over her wrist and heading for her elbow.

Jake reached across and ran his finger along her forearm, wiping the sauce from her skin. He was watching her as he put his finger in his mouth and sucked the sauce from it and Scarlett felt as though he’d run his tongue along her bare skin. She could see the heat in his eyes and could still feel the heat from his finger as it sent a current shooting through her.

‘You’ve got sauce just here too,’ Jake said, and Scarlett held her breath as he stretched his hand out and wiped the side of her cheek. His thumb grazed the corner of her lip and Scarlett couldn’t help it—her lips parted under his touch and it was all she could do not to capture his thumb with her mouth. She inhaled deeply as Jake removed his hand and this time wiped his fingers on his serviette.

Despite the fact that they were sitting in a busy café, surrounded by other people, she was aware only of Jake. She ate the rest of her yiros in silence, acutely aware of him sitting opposite her, but somehow she managed to finish eating without any further mishap.

She felt the first wave of fatigue roll over her as she wiped a serviette over her lips and stifled a yawn.

‘Are you ready to go?’ Jake asked.

She was tired but in no hurry to get home. She was quite happy to sit for a bit longer in his company but she had no reason to delay. She stood as Jake picked his jacket up from her chair and slung it around her shoulders. He left his hand around her back, holding the jacket in place as he walked her to his car. Scarlett had to squeeze in close to him to manoeuvre between the tables and chairs and she could feel the length of his body where he pressed against her. The night air was cool on her skin when he released her to open the car door and she pulled his jacket more tightly around her to make up for the loss of warmth.

Within minutes she had directed Jake to her house. The night was over.

Almost.

Jake was out of the car and was walking her to her door.

‘Thanks for the lift,’ Scarlett said, as she unlocked her front door.

‘It was my pleasure.’ He was leaning on the doorjamb, watching her quietly.

‘And for supper,’ she added, reluctant for the evening to end.

Light spilled from the hallway and fell on Jake, illuminating him where he stood. She was in shadow but she could see Jake’s hand reaching towards her shoulder.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Something I’ve been wanting to do all night.’

He was leaning forward. Was he going to kiss her? His head was next to hers, his lips beside her ear, and his voice was quiet and deep. She could feel the gentle puff of his breath on her skin as he spoke and then she could feel his fingers in her hair as he pulled the end of her ponytail and untucked her hair from its bun. He pulled her hair forward and loosened it over her shoulders and his hands brushed her skin.

‘That’s much better.’

Scarlett turned her head and lifted it, just slightly, less than an inch, to look at him. He was still watching her and the way he looked at her made the heat pool low in her belly. She could feel a fluttering of nerves, a tremble in her stomach, but the nerves were anticipatory, not anxious. Jake’s green eyes were shining emerald in the light. His lips were millimetres from hers. He dipped his head into the shadow and closed the gap. His lips were warm and hungry, soft yet demanding. His body was lean and hard and his hands on her arms were firm but gentle. Scarlett pressed herself into him as two of them became one.

His hands slid behind her, cupping her bottom, holding her to him.

She wound her hands behind his head as her lips parted in response to the pressure of his tongue.

She was standing on her front porch, kissing a stranger, but he didn’t feel like a stranger. Scarlett felt as though she belonged with him, as though she’d known him always. Every cell in her body responded to his touch. Every part of her recognised him, as though they’d met before, and as she kissed him she felt as if she was reuniting with a lover, not making out with a stranger.

She brought her hands to his chest and placed them flat against his pectoral muscles. She grabbed a fistful of his T-shirt, bunching the fabric up in her palms, and dragged him out of the doorway and into her hall.

She should be saying good-night. She should be thanking him for the lift and saying goodbye but the look in his eye and the taste of his mouth had disengaged her brain and she couldn’t let him go. Not yet. She knew their first kiss was only a taste of what was to come.

She stepped to her right, towards her bedroom door, and her lips left Jake’s mouth. He was watching her closely, his green eyes intense, and she knew he was waiting to see what she would do next. She knew it was her decision now.

She pushed the front door closed and stepped backwards into her bedroom.

Jake didn’t wait for an invitation. He stepped towards her, following her lead. His hands were behind her back and she felt him slide the zip on the back of her dress down and her dress fell at her feet. She stepped out of it, naked except for her underwear and her borrowed heels.