Page 52 of Deal Takers

I shrug. “They always say that during natural childbirth.”

“Here she comes!” Dr. Thomas announces.

I take my place beside him on the business end of the delivery, with my blanket ready to go. Once the baby’s shoulders pass, she slips out lightning fast into the doctor’s waiting hands. I scoop her up as he clamps and cuts the cord before setting her on mom’s stomach and suctioning some leftover fluid out of her nose andmouth. No matter how many times I’ve seen this part, I always have to fight back tears when I see the parents looking at their new child for the first time. It doesn’t matter if it’s their first kid or their tenth—that look of pure awe and elation is always the same.

After mama and daddy have a few moments with their new daughter, I go through my usual routine of doing an Apgar assessment, securing their ID bands, weighing and measuring, administering eye drops, and giving a vitamin K shot. I’ve done this so many times by now it’s almost second nature. At Memorial, we encourage skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth whenever possible before moving on to the baby’s first bath and footprints. Usually, the first hour or so after the delivery, I hang out in the background, staying far enough away so the family can have bonding time, but close enough should they need anything. This is usually the time when I remember how badly I want a child of my own. The older I get, the more it bothers me. I know people give birth well into their forties these days, but I want to be young enough while my child grows to be active with them.

The door cracks open, and Dr. Thomas peeks his head back in. “Rainey, can I borrow you for a few minutes?”

“Uh…sure.”

He smiles at me as I join him outside the patient’s room. “How’ve you been?”

“Okay…how about you?”

“Disappointed, actually. I was expecting to hear back from you after you started feeling better, so we could reschedule our date.”

Yep, I faked being sick to gracefully escape the tiny dick situation. Rather ironic considering how my first night with Brody ended, huh? In my defense, I thought avoiding hiscalls for a while was nicer than telling him the truth. No man wants to hear they don’t measure up below the belt.

I start fidgeting. “Oh…well, sorry about that, Chris. I’ve been busy.”

“That’s okay. I have you here now. So…when can I take you out again?”

I bite the inside of my cheek. “Actually, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

He frowns. “May I ask why? I thought we were getting along well.”

“Um…I actually started seeing someone else. Exclusively.”

“Oh.”

I can’t stand the forlorn look on his face, so I decide to elaborate. “It’s not as sudden as it seems. We’ve been friends for years. We just decided in the past week to try for something more.”

“I see.”

“But I did have a nice time on our dates,” I stammer. “You’re a nice guy. It was…nice.”

Christopher flinches every time I saynice,and then he clears his throat. “Okay then. Well, I need to get back to my office. I suppose I’ll see you around.”

I bite my lip to avoid another nervous outburst as he walks away. I think that went well, all things considered. He doesn’t need to know the only reason I made a deal with Brody was to get laid, right? Speaking of…I can’t get that damn man-child out of my head today. There was never any doubt Brody and I have chemistry, but last night wasunreal. I can’t stop thinking about all the wicked things he can do with his tongue.

Here’s a confession for you. I’ve never really enjoyedgiving blow jobs before. I mean, I didn’thatethem, but it was always more of atit for tatthing. If I expected a guy to go down on me, I should be willing to return the favor. It’s a matter of common courtesy. With Brody though, I was fully aroused before ever touching him. I was actuallylooking forwardto it. And during the act itself? I couldn’t get enough. I would’ve happily treated his peen like the best lollipop in the worldall night longif I wasn’t concerned about getting lockjaw. Since we’re being so truthful, I’ll admit I freaked out, which is why I bailed so quickly afterward. If oral was that good, I can’t imagine how actual sex will be. I keep telling myself to keep my emotions out of this, but being with Brody was like a friggin’ religious experience. If I didn’t bolt, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to keep things casual like they need to be. I needed time to gather my wits.

This thing with Brody has an expiration date. I want to settle down and be a mom one day—preferably sooner rather than later. That means I don’t have time to waste with a man who doesn’t have long-term potential. Brody and I have been dancing around our attraction to each other for years, so there’s no better time than now to act on that. We can get off while we’re getting each other out of our systems. Then, once that’s done, I resume looking for Mr. Right. Simple, right? I decide to text Brody so we can finish what we started yesterday.

Me

Hey you. I’m off at six tonight if you feel like coming over. If it’s early enough, we should have plenty of time to pick up where we left off.

He responds within seconds.

Brody

Sorry, babe. I’ll be working late tonight. Raincheck?

I’m more bummed than I’d like to admit. Only because of his talented tongue, of course.

Me

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