Page 3 of Love for the Holiday

He brushed the snow off my jacket.

“Mind if I take a look?” He gestured to my back.

This wasn’t my usual doctor’s visit, but I’ve been in weirder situations.

“I’m really okay. I don’t want to trouble you.”

“If it was troubling me, I wouldn’t have carried you to my office, Love,” he smiled.

Brown. His eyes were a cognac brown. A dark, smooth color of brown.

He removed his hat, revealing his short, dark brown hair. I hadn’t noticed earlier because of the lights, but his skin was a beautiful olive tan. This man was becoming more and more perfect by the second.

“May I look now?” he asked amusingly.

“Oh,” I shook my head of the dreamy thoughts. “Um… yes. Thanks.”

I unzipped my jacket, and he helped me shimmy out of it. He hung it up, while I pulled my shirt up and over my head. He turned back around and faced me once my jacket was hung up. His eyes widened.

“Oh,” he whispered then cleared his throat.

“Do you want me to just lay on my stomach?”

He just stared at me, so I waved my hand in front of his face and laughed.

“Earth to Doctor Holiday,” I teased.

“S—Sorry. You caught me off guard by…” He lifted his hand up but quickly brought it back down. “Let me grab my stethoscope.”

He rushed out of the room. He returned a few minutes later wearing his medical coat and his stethoscope was hanging around his neck. He washed his hands then faced me.

“Let’s have a listen.” He approached me. “May I have a listen?”

“Yes.” I put my arms down to my side so he could listen to my heart or whatever he was trying to listen to. He was a medical professional, not me.

“It may be a bit cold,” he informed me as he put the earpieces in his ear and the cold metal on my left breast.

He was right. The metal was cold and sent a shiver down my spine. I tensed at the coldness. The sudden tension made the small of my back hurt.

“Does it hurt?” he asked gesturing at where his stethoscope was.

“No. It’s my back.”

“I’ll have a look here in a second. Can you take a few deep breaths?” he asked looking up at the ceiling.

As he asked, I took several deep breaths. He nodded at each one.

“Sounds good,” he said removing the cold metal from my chest and moving to my upper back. “Deep breaths.”

I did as he said. Every few breaths he moved the stethoscope to another spot on my back.

“Good.” He took the stethoscope out of his ears and hung it around his neck.

I expected him to begin examining my back, but instead he grabbed a pair of latex gloves and put them on.

“Let me know if I hurt you. Okay?” he whispered before he began pressing on my back. He started at the top and worked his way down.

The pain was bearable until he reached just below the middle of my back. One little touch had me screaming and wanting to run out of the room.

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