(Inspired by a portion of Sidney Sheldon’s novel Nothing Lasts Forever, 1994)
We had all only worked together as resident doctors
for a few weeks when we first met. Jake had just arrived at Mount Sinai Hospital
in Toronto
My name is Gayle. I, unlike Jake, wanted
nothing whatsoever to do with the opposite sex. My early teen years had been
rife with sexual abuse because my stepfather had insisted on visiting my
bedroom almost every night while my mom, ignorant of what was happening at home
while she was absent, worked as a cleaning lady in a nearby office building in
downtown Vancouver. When I finally decided to tell my mother that her husband
was forcing sex on me while she was at work, she got so angry with me, she
slapped me hard across the face. That was when I moved out and went to live
with my aunt in Toronto
According to my new girlfriends at the
hospital, I was a very attractive black woman, tall and slender and very
confident in my ability as a resident. No one who worked with me as a resident,
including all the nurses, could understand why I was not interested in men. I
liked it that way. It lent some mystery to my personality. All anyone knew for
sure about me was that I was a good, kind and caring person and totally
dedicated to my chosen profession as a doctor.
To Jake, however, I apparently presented a
special challenge. He had heard all about my “standoffishness” from the other
residents and nurses but was confident that he could still persuade me, just
like all the other females, to have sex with him. Someone at the hospital told
me Jake was not used to failure in this realm, although there was a rumour
circulating that he’d been asked to transfer out of his last placement because
he’d bedded a very rich patient’s wife and the enraged husband had found out. Rather
than being forced to quit medicine altogether, Jake had agreed to quietly leave
the hospital, citing illness in his family as an excuse for the move.
So here he was now at Mount
Sinai , hoping to make a fresh start as a resident. Since he was in
his fifth year, he was considered a senior resident. The female nurses were all
vying with each other to go to bed with him. That fact was more than obvious. We
would see them frequently sneaking off with Jake into the on-call room, which
was only supposed to be used by the residents on call for catching up on their
sleep at the hospital between patients. But, once in a while, the on-call room
was free in the evening, and that’s when Jake would take his more-than-willing
bed partners in there for a romp in the hay. I didn’t care about any of that. Jake
meant nothing to me.
Given the fact that Jake and I were virtual
opposites in nature, it would have taken a minor miracle to get us together
just to go out on a date. The other residents were totally convinced that I
wouldn’t go out with Jake anymore than I would go out with any of them, but
Jake was sure that I would eventually capitulate. In fact, rumour had it that
he was determined to convince me that he was worth the effort. It was going to
be largely a matter of time, patience and a lot of charm and luck on his part.
One day, one of the male residents, Nelson,
after having talked over the matter with his male counterparts, decided to
broach the idea of a bet. The idea was that the residents were willing to bet,
collectively, thousands of dollars that Jake could not bed me, no matter how
hard he tried. When he heard about the nature of this bet that the other male
residents were willing to make against him, Jake expressed his amusement at
their naiveté, sure that they had to be wrong about me. In fact, he was willing
to bet that I was not only going to go to bed with him, I was going to love every
second of it and I would not be able to wait to tell the other residents all
about our lustful adventure. The residents accepted the bet only on the basis
that I would tell them all about it afterward, which would be proof that the
event had actually taken place. They gave him a maximum of 30 days to complete
the feat and Jake agreed that that was more than enough time. Of course I was
not to know of any of this; I only found out because Nelson told me all about
it later—after the bet was made. He wanted to win.
Now that Jake had made this bet (which
would be worth $10,000 dollars to him if he won or would cost him $10,000 if he
lost), he set about carefully planning his approach to me. He resolved to put
on his most charming face at our next meeting.
One day soon afterward, he found me sitting
in the cafeteria with my two roommates (also residents) having lunch together. Their
names were Jennifer and Haley. We’d met at the same time—when we’d started at
Mount Sinai together—and had decided that we all got along so well together, we
would share an apartment in order to save money. When Jennifer and Haley saw
Jake approaching that day, they discreetly excused themselves, leaving me alone
with Jake.
Now Jake was alone with me at the table. He
smiled engagingly at me. “Gayle,” he began, “what are you doing this Saturday
night? I’d love it if you’d have dinner with me.”
“I’m a very busy person. When I’m not at
the hospital, I’m at home catching up on the million and one things that have
to be done around the house. What makes you think I would go out with you
anyway? I hate dating. It’s a waste of time. All you men want is one thing from
us women, and we all know what that one thing is, don’t we? So, no, I’m not
interested in going out on a date with you, now or ever!”
“Gayle,” he said soothingly, in a most
uncharacteristically patient tone, “I don’t have any more time than you for
those things that we all have to do at home. But when Saturday night arrives, I
like to go out for the evening and enjoy the company of the opposite sex. You
are one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Surely you have been
approached by other men to go out on dates? What is so different about this
time, with me? I need to eat, you need to eat. If all we did was eat dinner,
then I would still really enjoy the evening with you. We don’t have to go
anywhere else if you don’t want to. After dinner, I’ll just drop you off at
home.”
“Try again in a few weeks,” I replied. “I
have to think about this. You’re not really my type, you know. Besides, I know
all about your reputation with the female nursing staff around here and I’m not
impressed. I need to go out with someone who’s not so free and easy with his
sexual favours. I need to know that it’s me you want, not just some sex object.”
Thinking I had put him right off from
wanting to date me, I merrily went on my way and left Jake sitting there at the
table, wondering what he had to do to get through to me. When I caught up with
Nelson later that day, I found out. Jake had resolved to change his approach. He
had decided to “change” his sleazy reputation and, for a change, not sleep
around. In a couple of weeks, maybe then I would see that he was not the male
slut he had appeared to be; he was taking a date with me seriously. Still, I
was not about to change my mind.
A couple of weeks later, Jake ran into me,
sort of accidentally-on-purpose, and told me that he had been having a lot of
trouble sleeping at night lately because he’d been so disheartened by my
rejection of him. I looked at him in amused amazement. Okay, maybe I should give him a chance … he seems to be interested
in me, not just in getting me into the sack. Maybe I should give him a run for
his money. By the end of the evening, I could have him foaming at the mouth, he’ll
be so excited.
When Jake came to pick me up that Saturday
night, I was dressed in my sexiest off-the-shoulder evening dress, and he
looked at me with sincere admiration. I was determined to get him all hot and
bothered without ever doing anything sexual with him. I’d make him think I
wanted his body like nothing else, and then, at the end of the evening, kiss
him lightly on the cheek, say good night and walk out.
During the evening, our conversation
centered at first around our many duties as residents and then around the
different people we worked with, the attending physicians who were in charge of
us and the hospital environment. Eventually we got around to talking about
ourselves. And that’s when I put my hand warmly on his arm and told him how
much I wanted to be with him, how much this evening with him meant to me and
how much I wanted the attention only he could give. He of course appeared to
take my flirting to mean that I really did want him sexually and he looked so
turned on, he looked like he couldn’t wait to finish dinner and go back to my
place to do the “dirty deed.” If I could have read his mind right then, I would
have known what he was intending for me. I imagined what he was thinking: I only have 14 days left to get her into bed—plenty
of time to seduce her. I really didn’t think it would be this easy! My God, she
is “hot to trot”! Now I want to find out what kind of tigress she is in bed!
When we got back to my apartment, I told
him that Jennifer and Haley were on call at the hospital the whole night so we
had the place to ourselves. I asked Jake to make me a drink at the little bar
in the corner of the living room and he cheerfully obliged. When he approached
me with the drinks, we toasted each other, took a drink and then set our
glasses down. He took me into his arms, held me closely and kissed me very
warmly and passionately, darting his tongue in and out of my hot mouth. I
responded in kind, caressing his hard male arousal with my hands, marvelling at
what great shape he was in. I was shocked to discover that I was really
enjoying this. I started steering him toward my bedroom and he, more than
willing, followed. In the bedroom, I asked him to take off his clothes very
slowly, and meanwhile, I slowly took off my own shoes and stockings. I gazed at
his body while he undressed, and all the while I was smiling engagingly at him
and telling him how much I needed his body. Jake, eager to get me into bed,
stripped off all his clothes and got under the covers, waiting anxiously for
the coveted moment.
Again, if I could have read his mind, I
would have known for sure what he wanted. I could see it written across his
face: At last, she is going to get what
she is begging me for and she is going to get f***ed like never before!
Just then the phone rang and startled us. As
we’d planned, it was Jennifer, right on cue, telling me I was needed at the
hospital, telling me one of my patients was dying. She had promised to call me
half an hour after we got back to the apartment, when I had Jake right where I
wanted him.
When I told Jake, he tried in vain to
dissuade me from leaving, but I reminded him of the rules (that stated we had
to drop everything if one of our patients needed us). The look on his face told
me he would have killed me right then and there if he could have gotten away
with it.
I then got dressed in a hurry, kissed him
lightly on the cheek and wished him a good night, just as I had intended. He
barely choked back an angry reply and asked me if he could call me tomorrow, so
I acquiesced. But the damage had been done. He had not gotten me into the sack
after all, and I was more than happy to leave him there with a rigid hard-on
and a very pouty attitude. The next time
we get together, if we ever do, he’ll find that I’m even more alluring! I’ll
dress like a slut and act the part, only I won’t be the eager slut that he would like me to be. I’ve had my fill of men
who only want one thing from women.
The next week, Jake and I frequently ran
into each other, and he repeatedly asked me to go out with him again, but I
always made up some excuse. Finally, two weeks later, I agreed to go out with
him. Jennifer, Haley and I planned our strategy regarding Jake. The difference
this time is that I knew he could turn me on and that scared me, but we wanted
to teach him a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget. He was going to regret making a
very expensive bet just for trying to get me into bed.
At the same time, this game we were playing
with Jake was becoming tiresome. I planned to end it by telling Jake all about
the bet and that I had known about it right from the beginning. Once he knew I
knew, it would be over between us for good. The problem was that I actually
found myself attracted to him. I knew exactly what he was and that he was not the man for me, but I couldn’t help
having these feelings of desire for him. The thing is—unless he was prepared to
return my feelings honestly and openly, there was no alternative for me but to
finish it, and as soon as possible. Nevertheless, I continued seeing Jake for
the next week trying to figure out how to gracefully exit this exasperating
situation, which was getting worse by the day.
When I found that I was pregnant with Jake’s baby and
that I was now eight weeks along, I knew I had to tell him. At this point, I
was sure of only two things: I wanted this baby very much and was going to have
it, but I knew for sure that Jake did not want this baby at all.
That left only two options: that I
terminate the pregnancy, which I did not want, or hope Jake would actually
marry me to legitimize our baby.
When I told Jake about my pregnancy, a look
of sheer panic momentarily crossed his face. Then it cleared. He told me he
would support me if I would have an abortion now and that, if I was willing to
wait a few years until he had established his own private practice, we could
get married then and have children. That was when I had my own panic reaction. I
told him an abortion was out of the question. If he didn’t want to marry me, I
was still going to have this baby, with or without him. He resolved to think
about it and tell me what his decision would be.
The following week, Jake surprised me by
doing an abrupt about-face and told me he really did want to marry me—that we
should get married as soon as possible. I can’t tell you how happy I was to
hear this good news! I told Jennifer and Haley about the baby and my upcoming
marriage to Jake and they were totally shocked (as I’d expected)—because they
also knew exactly what Jake was and that he was not the man for me, but neither
of them could talk me out of it.
I also told them that I had admitted to
Jake that I knew all about the bet. If he changed his mind later about wanting
to marry me, then I would know the real reason for it. But he now seemed really
keen on the idea of getting married to me and having our baby.
Little did I know that that was the last
thing Jake had in mind for me. Unaware of the new danger I was now in, I
happily accepted Jake’s proposal, and we set about planning our very small
wedding. Only over time was I going to find out just what kind of deadly plans
Jake had for me.
Jake, in the meantime, seemed totally
devoted to my health during my pregnancy and genuinely happy about the new baby
soon to arrive. If there was a more loving guy to have a baby with, I had not
yet met him. But against all odds, I was soon to have the rudest awakening of
my life—a woman Jake had recently met. Jennifer had seen Jake and his new woman
together on a date. She was rich and good-looking and had a father who was very
influential in medical circles. Her father was, apparently, the kind of man who could easily
set Jake up in his own private practice after he finished his residency.
On the other hand, I was just an
up-and-coming doctor, a surgeon who loved her work and cared deeply for her
patients and had a couple of great girlfriends (my roommates) who would do
practically anything for me. Still, I wasn’t good enough for Jake anymore. He
wanted the rich bitch now instead of me, and he would do whatever he needed to
get rid of me. That just goes to show you that love is, indeed, blind. I was
blindly in love with Jake, and nothing was going to change that fact—nothing,
that is, except an outright threat to my life—or my death—whichever came first.
copyright - Anne Shier, 2013, all rights reserved, published by Authorhouse, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
