I sit next to Josie in the lecture hall. One more stupid lecture in this class before the big tests. I can barely pay attention. Josie scrolls through her phone mindlessly, as I stare at the front podium. Professor Harinjer is telling the class that he’s brought a world-renown surgeon in. Dr. James Mason. “He’s here to tell you about the wonders of the human body,” he says.

Josie looks up and rolls her eyes, but as soon as the man walks out on stage, she smiles. “Holy shit. I’d love for him to show me the wonders of the human body,” she says.

“Him? Really?” Now I’m the one rolling my eyes. I squint at the doctor to get a better look. He’s a good looking man, that’s for sure. He’s masculine, strong, and obviously holds a pretty good title to his name. But that whole surgeon world is filled with creeps. “Anyway, it’s not like you’re going to get the chance.”

“Is that a challenge?” she asks me.

“No, it’s not,” I groan. “Not everything is a challenge.”

“Now I’m definitely going to talk to him after class,” she says, slapping her hand on her desk. A student next to her turns and glances over at us, annoyed.

“Do whatever you want,” I whisper.

“You know what?” A big, stupid grin forms on her face. A plan. She’s formed a plan for me and I know it’s going to be something I don’t like.

“I don’t want to know, Josie. Just leave me out of this,” I say. “I have a shit ton of studying to do tonight and you’re already messing with my head.”

“Yes, I’ve got the best idea. I’m going to set you two up!” she whispers.

“Josie,” I snarl. “Do not talk to him about me. Do whatever you want, but leave me the hell out of it!”

“You always said you wanted to meet someone decent. This man is definitely decent. He’s a fucking eleven on the hotness scale. No, he’s a twenty. Look at his left hand. See a ring? I didn’t think so. He’s totally single, rich, and he saves lives every single day. If that’s not a good candidate to dick you down, I don’t know who is,” she says.

“Dick me down? Ew. You truly are disgusting,” I whisper. “And it’s not about status for me. It’s about feeling.”

“Yeah. Right. Feeling. Have fun with your Xbox obsessed boyfriends. You’re going to have a real time with all of them,” she says. I don’t know what to say. I don’t need anyone right now. I’m good by myself. “This is your chance to go out with someone important, someone incredible.”

“You don’t even know if he wants to! Why are you making all of these assumptions?” I ask. Oh, jeez. Am I really going along with this? No. I can’t do that.

“You’re the hottest girl on this campus,” she hisses. “Stop being stupid.”

“He’ll want to go for one of those sorority types,” I tell her.

“Doubt it. He’s in his thirties. He’s going to want something different,” she says. She shifts her voice into a cutesy, squished sound. “And you’re so innocent. So fresh. The virgin princess, ready for the big doctor.”

“Shut up,” I blush.

She stops, but keeps her eyes on me for an extra second. She’s right. Now, I can’t stop staring at him. His perfect teeth, hair, and dark eyes. Who is this man? What’s his story? Oh, who even cares? Am I really going to go through with this?

* * *

The alarm rings and he exits out the back of the building. Josie whispers, “Dammit!” She grabs my hand and pulls me toward the back exit. We quickly run around the building and see him heading for the parking lot. “Doctor?” she calls out with haste. He turns around, confused.

I feel my heart quickly beating. This is so fucking stupid. What the hell are we doing? I can hear Josie’s voice in my head saying, “Live a little.” Well, I don’t need to live. I need to go home and study. That’s it.

“Doctor!” she yells once more. He catches our eyes with a hesitant smile.

“Can I help you?” he asks.

His smile. That damn smile. That damn pose he’s making, like he’s the best man in the world, the man to solve everyone’s problems. His hands lay smug in his pockets, as he waits for Josie’s response.

“It was a great lecture,” Josie blurts out.

“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it, ladies.” He smiles and fishes for his car keys. “I should be going though. I have a few things scheduled today.”

“I mean, my friend really enjoyed it,” she says, nudging me in the arm. Her nudge pushes me forward, until I’m right in front of him. Our lips nearly touch before I can reach out and balance myself… on his chest. Oh, God. Why does Josie always put me in situations like this?

“Sorry,” I mumble.

“Is it true?” he asks, staring at me. For a second, I see his eyes move up and down my body. I blink and he’s back to looking at my eyes. Maybe I’m imagining things. “You liked the lecture?”

“I did,” I lie. Truth is, I wasn’t paying too much attention. For the whole class period, I was staring at my notes or dealing with Josie’s rants about how I need to talk to this man. Well, here I am, talking.

He laughs at my answer, but it’s a friendly laugh. It’s the kind of laugh that lets you know someone understands the situation. I turn a deep shade of red, once again.

“Now, who in their right mind actually enjoys a lecture? Man, I hated going to those things,” he says.

“I’m interested in the state of our country’s health. I think there’s a long way to go in medicine, but it starts with some pretty simple life decisions,” I say. My inner voice is telling me: Stop! Stop speaking now, Olivia. You don’t even know what you’re saying at this point.

But he doesn’t mind. He just nods his head in total understanding. In fact, it seems like he’s actually interested in talking more about this with me. Maybe this is my ticket into something bigger. Maybe I’ve found someone who can help me out after graduation.

“I completely agree,” he says. His eyes crease as he nods. “There’s a lot that needs to be done in every field right now.”

“It’s a bit hard with all of the corporate funding getting in the way. It seems like we could be making huge advances, but of course, there are the lobbyists,” I say.

Now, Josie is staring at me like I’m a crazy person. “Totally,” she says with a look of confusion.

His tone begins to change. “You’re actually interested in this stuff, aren’t you?” he asks.

He puts his hand on my shoulder. I awkwardly step back and he immediately takes his fingers off of me. At first, I’m tempted to tell him to “fuck off.” Yet, there’s a part of me that wants to say, “It’s okay, pull me into your arms.” It’s something I hardly ever feel and right now, I have no idea how to make sense of it.

My mouth is dry, but I swallow down and give a faint smile. “It’s my life passion. I want to help people,” I say.

He shifts his position into a more comfortable stance. With one hand, he runs his fingers through his hair. He’s perfect. He’s god damn perfect. “You remind me of myself, back when I first went to school,” he says.

“I graduate in a few weeks. I’m just excited to start doing this,” I say. Right. Excited. More like terrified. More like what the hell am I going to do with a health degree?

“Well, I’d be happy to talk more about this,” he says. “How about tomorrow? My office.”

I gulp down hard and feel my body start to shake. Josie gives a look that says, “If you don’t go, I’ll never speak to you again.” Am I going to do this? Am I going to step inside his office to talk about the current health situation facing America? Or is this a ploy that all men make when they want something? Still, even facing these questions, I can’t help but give in to curiosity.

“I would love that,” I say. “Tomorrow sounds good. I get out of class at noon.”

“Great,” he claps his hands together and swings his keys around his finger. “I’ll see you at 1 PM? Here’s my card. Call me if you get lost. The name’s James by the way. You don’t have to call me doctor.”

“Okay,” I stutter. “James. I’m Olivia.”

He touches my arm as he turns to walk away. Goose bumps dart across my body. “Nice meeting you two. See you tomorrow, Olivia,” he says.

There’s no mention of Josie’s name, but she’s smiling anyway. As he walks straight to his car and opens the door, she nudges me once more and opens her big, stupid mouth. “Oh. My. God!” she squeals. “I cannot. I just can’t.”

“Stop, Josie,” I groan. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“I’m unbearably proud of myself right now.” She smiles.

As for me, I’m unbearably wet. My panties are soaked, all the way to the edges. “You shouldn’t be,” I tell her. But honestly, I haven’t felt this excited in years.