Raw Medicine (A Medical Romance Short Story) Read Free Page B

sting of sunburn on my back. I decided to check if Dr.
Jeffries called, just one more time before I found a place to eat dinner by
myself. I searched around in my purse for my cellphone, then realized it wasn't there.
    Shit. I had left it upstairs to
charge.
    I wobbled to my feet, still
groggy from my nap, and wiggled back into my short-shorts. But I didn't make it
ten feet before I ran into the douchebags again. Of course, the one with the
biggest muscles was the one who grabbed my shoulder and talked to me.
    "Hey girl," he slurred.
I cringed at the smell of alcohol on his breath. "It's my bro's bachelor
party tonight, and we're all going to have a little pre-party in our hotel
room. You going to join us, or what?"
    "Get off me," I
snarled, pushing his hand off my shoulder. He reached forward again, this time
grabbing my waist.
    "Hey, we were just wondering
if you care to join us for drinks, that’s all. No need to get hostile."
His voice was so smug and condescending I wanted to strangle him.
    "No," I said, shoving
him away again. This time, he grabbed my wrist.
    A cold wave of alarm ran down my
body. I realized the pool area was totally empty except for them and me. If he
got even more aggressive, would anyone even hear me scream?
    "Fucking let go of me,
douchebag!" I yelled, trying to yank my wrist away. But his grip was like
iron. "You're drunk," I persisted, “Let go!"
    I looked up at his face, dripping
with hatred.
    "Let go of her, you
scumbag." I whirled around in surprise.
    Dr. Jeffries ?!
    He looked like he had just got
out of work, and was dressed simply in a pair of shorts and a button-down
shirt. And compared to the musclehead holding my arm, he looked tiny. How the
hell had he even found me?
    "Take it easy, little
bro," the douchebag said, a smug smirk on his face. He let go of my arm. I
quickly ran to Dr. Jeffries' side.
    Dr. Jeffries' eyes flashed. He
put his hands up, like a boxer. "Come at me, bro. "
    The douchebag just laughed. He
put his hands up in mock imitation of Dr. Jeffries and laughed some more. His
friends didn't even acknowledge Dr. Jeffries—they kept talking and
laughing about something else.
    "Get lost, nerd," the
douchebag snorted.
    Dr. Jeffries punched him so hard
and so fast the douchebag never even saw it coming. He hit the concrete with a
painful thud. His friends stopped their conversation and suddenly looked at Dr.
Jeffries in fear. He took a step closer, his hands still up, taunting them.
    "Hey bro," one of them
said, "We don't want any trouble."
    "Then leave the girl alone or
I'll send you all to the hospital.”
    The douchebag groaned and tried
to stand up, then collapsed onto the hot concrete again, down for the count.
    "Come on," Dr. Jeffries
said, grabbing my hand, "we're going up to your room."
    I squeezed his arm as we got in
the elevator.
    "Thank you, Dr.
Jeffries."
    He rolled his eyes. "Please,
call me Gabe."
    "How did you find me?"
    "Um, you sent me your room
number, remember, asking if I wanted to come over. I sent a message back a
couple hours later when I got off but you didn't reply. I knew you might not be
in town very much longer, so I decided to head over here anyway. When you
weren't in your room I thought I'd check the pool. You're lucky I found you
before that meathead had his way with you."
    "Well, thank you
again," I said, squeezing him tight. I couldn't believe how he had just
swooped in and saved me like that.
    "You probably won’t believe
this, but I was an all-American kickboxing champion in college. I'm sure
everyone thought it was super dorky, but of course they never dared to say it
to my face."
    I laughed. "That guy hit the
ground so hard I wonder if he'll be okay."
    "He'll be fine. It'll take
more than a light punch to seriously damage a brute like that."
    When we arrived at my hotel room
I put my arms around Gabe and gave him a little peck on the cheek. "My
hero," I giggled.
    He grabbed a fistful of my hair
and kissed me back, hard. We stood there