Ryan looked into her eyes and could only hope that what she saw was sincere interest. As Tobi stared back, Ryan wondered what Tobi could see in her eyes— were they revealing her fear and insecurity?
“So, speaking of jobs, you know what I do, but I have yet to find out what you do,” Ryan said, mentally shaking off the effects of Tobi’s intense gaze.
“Ah, well, I’m a radiologist over at Truman University Medical Center. I’ve been there just a little over two years now.”
“That sounds like an interesting field. Do you enjoy it?”
“I love it. There are some mundane parts to it, but overall, each day brings along something new and exciting.”
“Sounds a lot like my job,” Ryan said with a smile.
“The only downside is that I do have to take call. That can make things a little hectic, and sometimes I forget to allow myself to have a life outside the hospital walls.” Tobi hesitated before continuing.
“I’m really enjoying our dinner together. You’re so easy to talk to. I’ve missed that lately. Life gets so busy, and there’s no time to get to know people.”
“I understand completely. I’ve been concentrating on my job, ignoring—or maybe excluding—the personal side of things. God knows there’s more to life than punching a clock.” Ryan took a deep breath. “Tobi, I’ve enjoyed myself this evening, and I would very much like to spend some time with you again.”
Tobi gave one of those heart-stopping smiles that, had Ryan been standing, would have made her go weak in the knees. Her belly fluttered and all she could do was smile back. Through the rest of dinner, Ryan thought she caught Tobi stealing glances at her as often as she did at Tobi. When the meal was over, Ryan realized she wasn’t ready for the night to end.
“My place is just around the corner if you’d like to come up for a cup of coffee,” Tobi said, as if reading the cop’s mind.
“That would be great,” Ryan said, smiling. “Lead the way, Doctor.”
Ryan followed Tobi to a newly built townhouse. As Ryan got out of her Jeep, Tobi walked over to meet her.
“Nice,” Tobi said, rubbing her palm across the top of the Jeep.
“It suits you.” Then she gave Ryan such a sweet smile it made her mouth go dry. It was more than just a physical response. Every time Tobi smiled it made Ryan forget what she was doing. This woman had gotten under her skin, and she had no idea how that had happened so quickly.
“Thanks,” Ryan stammered.
Ryan turned and followed her up the steps and through the door into her home. She looked at her surroundings and waited as Tobi closed the door.
“Your home is beautiful, Tobi. I really like your taste …uh, you know, in furniture and decor.”
Laughing, Tobi said, “Thanks. It’s taken a while to get it how I want it, but it’s finally home. Let me get that coffee. Can you start a fire? Everything you need is just to the side there. I know it’s been kind of warm outside, but it’s cooled off so much, I think it would feel nice.”
“I think I can handle that.”
As Ryan turned to start the fire, Tobi walked up to her and placed her hands lightly on Ryan’s shoulders. Ryan knew her eyes had gone wide as Tobi smiled and leaned in just close enough to place her lips on Ryan’s. She kissed her gently, letting her tongue skip across Ryan’s lower lip before pulling away.
“Sorry, I’ve wanted to do that all night. I’ll go get the coffee,”
Tobi said as she turned. “By the way, Ryan, I like your taste, too,”
she quipped over her shoulder as she disappeared into the kitchen.
She left Ryan standing there with her mouth hanging open, her heart thumping wildly, and her body yearning for so much more.
Ryan’s blood ran hot and her legs trembled.
“God damn,” Ryan muttered, somewhat bewildered. She shook herself out of her stupor and turned to get the fire started…in the fireplace.
Leaning against the closed kitchen door, Tobi slowly raised her hand to her lips.
What the hell just happened? I only meant for
it to be a simple, teasing kiss. I wonder if she felt the spark, too.
When Tobi came back in with two mugs of coffee, she was struck by how beautiful Ryan looked in the firelight. As Ryan rose from her crouched position, Tobi smiled and held the cup out to her. They sat beside each other on the couch and began talking.
Ryan really could have listened to her all night, but two hours later, she realized she should get going and let Tobi get some sleep. Ryan was reluctant to leave the warmth that had enveloped her. It was more than just the sparks and heat coming from the fireplace.
“I’ve had a really nice time tonight,” Ryan said, glancing at her watch. “I guess I should let you get some rest.”
Tobi stood up and reached for her briefcase. “Here, this is my card,” she said as she wrote something on the back. “I also wrote my home number on there. It has my beeper number and office numbers on the front. Please feel free to call anytime, okay?”
Ryan took the card and glanced down at the numbers before placing it in her pocket.
“I’ll walk you to the door,” Tobi said.
“You’ll have to check your call schedule. Maybe we can get together again soon. We could see a movie or something if you’d like.”
“That sounds like a great idea. Give me a call tomorrow afternoon and we can plan something. Would that be okay?”
Ryan stopped at the door and turned. “That would be more than okay.”
“Please be careful driving home,” Tobi said, softly.
“I will. Thank you for a wonderful evening,” Ryan said as she leaned down to give Tobi a soft kiss on the lips. Straightening up, Ryan was relieved to see the little smile on Tobi’s face.
“Goodnight, Ryan.”
“Sleep well, Dr. Drexler.”
yan looked at the card in her hand, lightly rubbing her thumb over the embossed letters.
Tobi Drexler, M.D.
R She still couldn’t get over Tobi being a doctor. It was the last thing she had expected, and it took her breath away for a minute. Tobi just seemed so down to earth. Ryan was used to dealing with the ones who weren’t. She had been into the Emergency Room many times for various reasons with some of the people she had arrested. The doctors there were either too busy, on a major ego trip, angry as hell, or all of the above.
Over the last month, she and Tobi had gone out at least twice a week and talked on the phone almost every night. They were taking things slow, which Ryan thought made both of them feel more at ease. Ryan enjoyed the sensual kisses they shared and looked forward to the time they spent together. She had long since memorized the numbers on the card, so she really didn’t need it any longer, but couldn’t bring herself to stop carrying it. It was a small reminder that Tobi was real and they were indeed dating.
Ryan had learned from Tobi’s secretary that Tobi generally stayed in her office during lunch hours, so she decided to surprise her by bringing lunch. She walked down the hospital corridor searching for the suite number that matched the one on Tobi’s business card. Ryan slipped the card back in her pocket and entered the office to find herself standing in a small room with a couple of chairs, a cabinet with various business cards and some plants on it, and a woman on the phone behind a large desk. The secretary waved Ryan over and asked her caller to hold before placing her palm over the phone. “Hi, I’m Marcy; can I help you with something?”
“Hi, I’m Ryan…Ryan Thomas. I’m here to see Tob…I mean Dr. Drexler,” Ryan replied nervously.
Why am I so nervous? I
know why, it’s because I want Tobi to feel special and I’m afraid I
won’t succeed.
“Ah, it’s nice to finally meet you. She’s just doing some paperwork; go on back. It’s the last door on the right,” Marcy said with a smile.
“Thanks,” Ryan whispered.
Marcy winked and continued her phone conversation as Ryan turned down the hall. Marcy was not what she had expected. The woman had shoulder-length dark hair and big brown eyes. She appeared to be a little older than Ryan and was very attractive. She looked nothing like the matronly image Ryan had of what a secretary typically looked like. Chuckling, Ryan decided she needed to change her stereotypical thinking.
Ryan stopped just outside the door Marcy indicated and could see that Tobi’s back was to her. She raised her hand to knock, but stopped when she realized Tobi was talking. Not wanting to interrupt, she waited until the doctor was finished.
“...Impression: Number One: Tender left ovary demonstrating a probable hemorrhagic cyst measuring up to 2.3 centimeters in greatest diameter. Number Two: There is heterogeneity of the myometrium with no focal myometrial mass detected. End.”
Tobi set the hand-held device down and wrote something on a chart, so Ryan figured it was a good time to knock. When she tapped on the door, Tobi turned her chair around, noticed Ryan, and her lips curled into a smile.
“What a sight for sore eyes you are.” Glancing down at the bags in Ryan’s hand, she asked, “What have you got there?”
“I thought you might be a little hungry. Chinese?” Ryan questioned, raising the bags slightly.
“What a wonderful surprise,” Tobi said, while sniffing the containers. “Mmm, I love Chinese.”
“You know what they say, protect and serve,” Ryan said with a chuckle. “I got the serve part right, didn’t I?”
Laughing, Tobi motioned for her to sit down. “You are such a goofball. So, are we still on for tonight?”
Ryan handed one of the containers to her and sat down before replying, “Yep, I’m all yours. What did you want to do?”
“They have this marathon of scary movies on that I thought might be fun to watch. We could make some popcorn and turn the lights off. What do you think?”
“Sounds like a plan, Stan. What time do you want me to come over?”
Stan? Sometimes she says the craziest things.
Tobi pursed her lips before saying, “How about six? That will give us time to eat dinner before the movies start.” Looking over at Ryan, she couldn’t help but smile when she noticed some sauce on Ryan’s lip.
“What?” Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
“You’ve got some sauce on your lip there. Do you need some help with that?”
Oh, my God! Did I just say that out loud?
From the startled look on Tobi’s face, Ryan could guess what Tobi had been thinking
.
“You did just say that out loud, and what if I do need some help?”
Ryan, seeing Tobi blush an even deeper shade of red, couldn’t keep a straight face any longer and laughed out loud.
Tobi thought Ryan’s laughter sounded wonderful, but decided she was carrying on a little too long. She reached over with an index finger and took the sauce off Ryan’s lip. Then, smiling wickedly, Tobi drew her finger between her lips and slowly sucked the sauce from it.
Ryan’s jaw went slack, and her pulse rate doubled as she watched Tobi’s small, pink lips remove the last remnants of sauce from her finger. She was still staring at her lips when Tobi started laughing. She looked up into eyes twinkling with mirth.
I wonder
if she’d still be laughing if I pinned her to that chair and kissed
her senseless?
The thought of sharing that much passion made Ryan wet, but at the same time scared her to death.
The body is
willing, but the heart isn’t ready.
Ryan cocked her head and grinned. “That was evil, Tobi.”
“Yeah, well, that was just payback for your little comment,”
Tobi said triumphantly.
Ryan smiled as she stood up to throw away her container and discard the bags. She turned around to tell Tobi that she needed to go, and almost ran her over. “Whoa, what are you doing?”
“Oh, just thought I would make sure you didn’t need any help with that,” she said sweetly.
Stammering, Ryan replied, “Okay, well, I don’t think I need any help, but thank you all the same.”
Ohhh, what is this? Now I have her blushing?
Rising up on tiptoe, Tobi leaned into Ryan and felt hands go around her waist.
She kissed Ryan’s chin first, then her lips. She felt Ryan’s tongue move across her lower lip and beg for entrance to her mouth. Tobi parted her lips slightly and felt Ryan’s tongue graze hers. Just as the kiss was about to deepen, Tobi heard a throat clearing.
Jumping apart, they glanced at the door.
“Um, hello, Marcy. Ryan, this is Marcy, my secretary. Marcy, this is Ryan, my umm …”
“Friend, and we’ve met,” replied Ryan.
Smiling gratefully at Ryan, Tobi turned back toward Marcy.
“Lunch over already?”
“I knocked, but I guess you didn’t hear me. Sorry to interrupt, but you are needed in Ultrasound Room One,” the grinning secretary said.
“Okay, thanks,” Tobi said, turning back to Ryan. “I need to go for now, but I’ll see you tonight?”
“Okay. Have a great afternoon. I’ll see you later.” With a nod to the secretary, Ryan made her way back to the main hall.
I’ll
have to remember to ask Tobi how much teasing she had to
endure when I see her tonight.
Tobi walked briskly to the Ultrasound department and entered the technologists’ viewing room. She was immediately concerned when she saw the tense look on the technologist’s face.
“Kathy, what’s wrong?” Tobi asked the sonographer as she stepped closer to the view boxes.
“I don’t know what’s going on, Dr. Drexler,” Kathy started.
She pushed a couple films up for the doctor to review and pointed to what she was concerned about. “When I started this woman’s exam the baby’s heartbeat was just fine. I came out to check the films and decided to do a couple more. When I resumed scanning I could not auscultate a heartbeat at all.”
“Hmm. Okay, well, let’s go take a look.”
Tobi tapped lightly on the door to the exam room before she and Kathy entered.
“Hello, Mrs. Hyde. I’m Dr. Drexler.”
“What are you doing here and when can I go? I’m tired of you people poking and prodding me.”
The woman was visibly upset. Tobi noticed her eyes darting around the room as if looking for the closest way out. Her breathing was also very rapid and shallow.
“I’m just going to take a quick look here and then we’ll get you on your way.”