Doctor's Delight(3)
“Cherry—”
Cherry glanced back out the door. “Never mind. Susie’s copped it.”
“You are such a bitch.”
“No, I’m a survivor.”
Maxie shook her head and grinned suddenly. “I’ll tell Susie that you could have saved her.”
“Hey, she’d have done the same.”
Trailing behind Maxie as she left the treatment room and headed for the corridor leading to the patients’ rooms, Cherry gave Susie a little wave behind the ranting doctor’s back. Susie’s gaze promised retribution.
After giving the patient his antibiotics via the IV cannula in his hand, Cherry and Maxie disposed of the syringe and needle into the sharps container before heading to the staff dining room. It was deserted apart from themselves. They hadn’t been there long when Susie came through the door.
“You cows,” she stated bluntly. “You could have—”
“But didn’t,” Cherry finished, unwrapping the glad wrap from her sandwich. “Man, I hate this rabbit food.”
It was with a smirk that Susie placed the plate of mushroom and chicken pasta in the microwave and heated it up. Cherry sighed as the aroma filled the air.
“Revenge is sweet.” Susie set the plate right opposite Cherry and sat down.
“That’s low and mean and everything else in that area,” Cherry muttered. Why oh why couldn’t she be slim and able to eat whatever she wanted? Glancing down at her gently rounded tummy and plump thighs under the nurse’s uniform top and pants, she sighed.
“Uh-oh,” Maxie said. “She has that look again.”
Forking up some pasta, Susie shrugged. “Hey, no sympathy here. She left me to Ducks Arse.”
“I never told you to come at his yelling,” Cherry pointed out.
“Yeah, well at least I have the knowledge that I’m in for a mad sex session with Robbo this arvo to restore my good nature.”
Sighing again, Cherry picked the bean sprouts out of the sandwich. “Hell.”
Susie glanced up. “Cherry…”
“Don’t worry.”
“Of course we worry,” Maxie said bluntly. “Ever since we found out you’re a virgin, we’ve been worried.”
“Dying a virgin.” Susie shuddered.
“Well, it’s not like I’m going to get de-virginated anytime in this life.” Goddamn it.
“Is there such a word as de-virginated?” Maxie wondered.
“Forget that.” Susie waved her fork in Cherry’s direction. “You need to go out more. Meet more blokes.”
“I spent the whole of last year being dragged around to pubs and clubs and who the hell knew where else.” Cherry tossed the sandwich on the plate with a sigh. “You, of course, got every good-looking man in sight.”
“Why ‘of course’?”
“Because you’re a lust magnet,” Maxie replied bluntly.
“And you can’t talk.” Picking up the mug of hot coffee, Cherry waved it around until it was in danger of slopping over. “You had more offers than a wage increase at a politicians gathering.”
“Well…”
“And now you’re engaged and Susie has a boyfriend. Again.”
“Cherry, any man would have to be out of his mind to not want you—”Susie began.
“Oh, come on!” Cherry poked her soft belly with a forefinger. “I’m fat and thirty five. No man wants me.”
“That’s not true.”
“Of course it’s bloody true! How many times was I picked up at the pub? When did any man show any interest in me?”
“You have plenty of male friends.”
“Friends. Friends!” Cherry stopped talking when a hospital clerk looked inside the door and glanced around in search of someone before retreating again. “Friends, Susie. Men want to be my friend, not my lover.”
Maxie and Susie looked at each other.
Cherry sighed and leaned her chin on one fist. “I’m not jealous of you two. We’ve been friends for years. It’s just…”
“You want to be loved,” Maxie said.
“No. Yes.”
“Decisive,” Susie stated.
“I want...”
“A man.”
“Exactly.”
“We’re trying, sweetie.” Maxie patted her hand. “There’s some new doctors coming to the town and we’ll see them here. Maybe one of them?”
“You don’t understand.” Taking a deep breath, Cherry pushed the coffee mug away. If it were anyone else but her two friends, she wouldn’t have had the gumption to speak her mind. “I’ve given up on finding a man to love me.” When Susie opened her mouth to object, she held up her hand. “All I want is to know what it’s like to be held. Kissed. Have sex.” Okay, maybe that was taking it a bit too far, especially at work.