Chapter - 21
Nurse Lisa looked taken aback, "Excuse me!"
"Just asking," Rick waved his arms, and went inside to change back into his clothes, "Thanks, Nurse Lisa. You've been a real trooper."
Nurse Lisa was Amanda's colleague who Rick and Amanda saw making out with Amanda's boyfriend last night.
On the outside, Nurse Lisa had always been known for her professionalism and dedication to her job. However, behind the scenes, everyone knew how much of a sex crazed bitch she was, looking for preys everywhere. In fact, everyone was afraid of their husbands or boyfriends coming to the hospital just because of her. Who knows, which one of them she might end up taking fancy to.
And this time, it was Amanda who got unlucky. She was new to the hospital, and hardly knew the stories. Nurse Lisa befriended her quickly.
But Amanda did not know what she was actually getting into.
Nurse Lisa had been involved in the secret affair with Amanda's boyfriend for almost a month now.
Their relationship had started innocently enough, with casual conversations and friendly exchanges whenever Amanda's boyfriend came to visit her. But over time, those interactions had turned into something more intimate.
Amanda could see that her boyfriend, and her new friend were getting too close to each other. But her trust in them, always made her brush away the red flags.
Nurse Lisa had always been a bit of a risk-taker, and the thrill of the forbidden had drawn her towards him. Soon they started to hide things from Amanda, messages began to flow, and it was not long before they couldn't resist the excitement of meeting secretly.
What began from behind closed doors, soon came to light. Amanda finally saw her boyfriend and Nurse Lisa secretly going to the back of the hospital. And what she saw there broke her heart. Or maybe it would have broken her heart if not for Rick finding her there.
It may have been a rebound, but Rick did manage to comfort Amanda, and not let her slip into the darkness of depression.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Rick returned to Rachel's office after he was done with the tests. Rachel looked up from her paperwork as he entered.
"Back again. Miss me?" Rick grinned.
"Not really." Rachel rolled her eyes when he looked at Rick.
"Ouch, Doc. You wound me with your words," Rick rubbed his chest as he leaned on the door frame.
"I'm sure you'll recover," Rachel found his acting funny, "Don't just stand there. Come inside."
"Oh, I guess you know I am a tough one to bring down." Rick grinned as he walked inside and sat in front of her.
Raising an eyebrow, Rachel asked sarcastically, "Is that so?"
"Absolutely. I've faced lightning, after all. Your harsh remarks are no match for that," Rick nodded.
"You have an answer for everything, don't you?" Rachel shook her head in defeat.
"Comes with the territory of being irresistibly charming," Rick said winking at her.
'Where does he get all this confidence from?' Rachel wondered, 'Well, he is indeed good looking. But still...'
Rachel tried not to smile, "I don't think anyone's ever accused you of that."
Rick leaned towards Rachel, "Well, they must be blind then. But I know you are not one of them."
"You're impossible," Rachel playfully scoffed. One could even see her cheeks turn slight shade of pink.
"You know, Doc, I have to say, you're quite the multitasker," Rick said with a meaningful smirk on his face.
"And what makes you say that?" Rachel asked, raising her eyebrow. She was curious hearing him.
"Well, you manage to juggle being a stern doctor and a blushing schoolgirl at the same time," Rick said with a grin.
"Don't be ridiculous," Rachel blushed even more.
"Oh, come on. You're blushing. Admit it."
Rachel rolled her eyes, trying to act tough, "I'm not blushing."
"Denial only makes it worse, you know," Rick sighed.
"Let's get back to business, shall we?" Rachel tried to regain her composure, "I have other appointments as well."
"Of course, Doctor. But remember, I'm always here to brighten up your day," Rick said.
"Lucky me," Rachel sarcastically said.
"You know what Doctor, they say that laughter is the best medicine. So let me bring some joy in your boring, dull life," Rick with a mischievous grin
"Rick, I highly doubt that would be considered medical advice," Rachel said.
"Oh, come on, Doctor. You're a professional. You can handle a little... humor," Rick chuckled.
"I think I'll stick to more conventional methods of treatment, thank you," Rachel said, smiling a bit.
Rick asked, leaning in with a playful glint in his eye, "Are you sure? Because I've got a joke that'll surely make your day."
"Alright, indulge me." Rachel finally gave in.
Rick grinned, getting her get go, "Why did the computer go to therapy?"
Rachel shook her head, "I don't know, why?"
"Because it had too many 'bytes' of emotional baggage!" Rick grinned.
But Rachel looked the same, there wasn't even a smile on her face, "Rick, that's terrible."
"Ahemm... I guess it didn't do the trick?" Rick coughed dryly.
"Let me try again," Rick said, not loosing hope, "This will definitely raise your heart rate."
"Raise my heart rate? Okay... go ahead. I will give you one more try," Rachel indulged him further.
"You are a doctor, right?" Rick asked and Rachel nodded, "So tell me what is the difference between a boyfriend and a condom?"
Rachel thought for a while but couldn't come up with an answer. She picked up the glass of water on her table and said, "I don't know, what is it?"
"Well, condoms have evolved, they are not so thick and insensitive anymore."
"Pfft..." Rachel almost choked on her water and coughed hard. She spit all the water in her mouth on Rick. Rick's face was all covered in water and saliva.
"Cough... I am... Cough... So sorry... Cough," Rachel apologized and handed him a few tissues in hurry.
"Don't know if I should be happy or..." Rick wiped his face as he looked at Rachel with accusing eyes.
"No... No... I am seriously sorry," Rachel didn't dare look at Rick in his eyes. But inside, she was cursing him hard. She mentally scolded Rick for his audacity while desperately hoping for some kind of distraction to rescue her from the awkward situation.
'Did he really just say that? What kind of a joke was that?' Rachel thought, her face flushing slightly. 'I can't believe he's testing the limits of my professionalism like this.'
'Increase my heart rate, my foot,' Rachel scolded Rick, but on the outside she had regret on her face. She continued to hand him tissues after tissues.
'But my heart did indeed... No, don't think about it."
Rachel desperately wished for someone to help her out of this awkward moment.
Just as Rachel wished for an escape route, the universe seemed to answer her plea. The door swung open, and Nurse Lisa entered the room, holding Rick's test reports. Rachel felt a rush of relief at the timing – anything to divert the attention away from Rick's humorously inappropriate remarks.
"Here are the reports, Doct... Is everything alright?" Nurse Lisa cheerfully entered the room, but when she saw the scene in front of her, she was a bit taken aback.
Rachel was almost falling on Rick, holding tissues in her hand.
Rachel practically snatched the reports from Nurse Lisa's hand, her face hidden behind the papers as she tried to suppress a smile. She quickly flipped through the pages, not even bothering to glance up at Rick. She hoped that Nurse Lisa's presence would steer the conversation back to a more professional tone.
"Thank you, Lisa. I'll look these over." Rachel mumbled.
"Everything alright, Doctor? You seem a bit... flustered," Nurse Lisa looked suspicious.
Rachel's cheeks flushed even more as she fought to keep her composure.
"Just a busy day, that's all. Everything's fine," Rachel said, clearing her throat.
Nurse Lisa didn't say anything else. She shot Rick a knowing look, her lips twitching as if she were holding back a smirk.
Rachel's heart sank when she saw the look on Nurse Lisa's face. It seemed like she might have caught onto the underlying tension in the room, despite Rachel's best efforts to hide it.
"Well, if you need anything else, I'll be around," Nurse Lisa said winking at Rick.
"Sure, why not? Thanks, Nurse Lisa." Rick grinned.
As Nurse Lisa exited the room, Rachel finally looked up from the reports, her gaze meeting Rick's amused expression. She rolled her eyes at him, a mixture of exasperation and amusement evident in her look.
"Hey, at least my joke brought a smile to your face," Rick chuckled.
"You're unbelievable," Rachel playfully scolded.
[
1. Stop teasing Rachel (Temptation +0)
2. Tell Rachel, she enjoys your company (Temptation +5)
]
"Admit it, Doc. You secretly enjoy my company," Rick said, grinning.
"You're lucky I have a sense of humor," Rachel said shaking her head, helplessly.
Rick's playful banter was certainly a welcome change of pace, even if it occasionally veered into the realm of innuendo. Rachel couldn't deny that it added a bit of excitement to her usual routine interactions. As she continued to review the test reports, she found herself chuckling softly despite herself, grateful for the lightheartedness that Rick brought into her life, even if it came with a fair share of blush-inducing moments.
Rick chuckled as he heard her. He had already opened her information.
[
Name: Rachel Williams
Age: 34 years
Carnal Calibrator: 55/100
Romance Radar: 00/10
]
As he looked at the information, Rick suddenly had a thought, What would happen if he were to leave someone hanging at over 90 temptation?
Rick looked at Rachel who was reading the reports.
"Should I try it on her? She is already at 55, just a push and..." But Rick quickly dropped the idea. Rachel was a beauty and despite the coldness. She did her job pretty well with all seriousness. He should not return the favor like that. It would he horrible to do this to a beauty like her.
'Then who should Rick experiment on?'
* * * * *
Q. Who do you think is the best candidate to try this on?