“Good evening, Dr. Montgomery,” the driver greets me.
“Evening. Here’s the address of our stop before going to the gala,” I tell him, passing a piece of paper with the address listed on it.
“Right away, Sir,” he says as he pulls out of the driveway. It doesn’t take us long, maybe ten or so minutes to make it from my place to Megan’s apartment building that is just across the street from the hospital. What a convenient location to the hospital, makes getting to work easy.
“We’ll need the wheelchair ramp opened up, if you don’t mind,” I tell him as he pulls into the parking lot and into one of the empty handicap spots. I jump out and head up to the building’s door as he pulls out the ramp. I make work of buzzing Megan’s apartment number and wait patiently for her to answer or buzz me up.
“Hello!” her voice fills the speaker.
“Hey, Megan. It’s Drew. Did you want me to come up?” I ask, not really sure what she expected. All I confirmed with her yesterday at work was that I’d pick her up around five thirty. We exchanged cell numbers at that time and that was about it.
“I can just head down, unless you need anything up here,” she says.
“I’m good. The SUV is all ready for us. The driver has the ramp out and ready for you.”
“I’ll be down in just a second,” she says, then the speaker goes silent. I wait next to the elevator, as I hear it working as it moves from floor to floor. A minute or so later, the doors slide open and Megan rolls out. My tongue about rolls back in my throat as I take her in. Lucy wasn’t lying when she said she’d take care of everything to make sure Megan was ready for tonight’s event. The dress she picked out for her hugs her body perfectly. Showing off just enough cleavage to have my dick noticing, but classy enough that she won’t feel like she’s on display at the gala. Her hair is done up in an intricate twist, and a light touch of makeup accents her eyes and makes me want to kiss the lipstick off her plump lips. I don’t know why I’d never noticed before now just how beautiful she is, but sometimes I can be a bit focused on my work and not see what is right in front of me these days. Maybe everyone in my family was right and I do need to take the time to date.
“Damn. You look amazing,” I tell her as she comes to a stop next to me. I don’t miss her own perusal of me in my tux. I’ve been told a time or two that I know how to fill it out and, apparently, it’s a turn on to some women.
“Thanks,” she says, biting her bottom lip, and damn if that motion doesn’t have my cock swelling even more in my already tight tux pants. I need to get us moving along before she notices just how tight things are getting.
“Ready?” I ask, clearing my throat, as it’s sounding a little scratchy all of a sudden.
“As I’ll ever be,” she says, moving forward toward the door. I hurry my step and open the door, stepping through it so I can hold it open for her.
“After you,” I say, holding my arm out, pointing toward the waiting SUV. I stand back as Megan rolls herself up onto the ramp and into the SUV. She secures her chair and I slide into the seat next to her.
“Where did you find a company with a handicap accessible vehicle to hire?”
“Oh, I have my ways,” I tell her, my lips pulling up in a smile. “Did Lucy help you get ready today?” I ask once we’re on the road.
“Yes, she came over today and insisted I join her at a local place. She arranged everything from our hair and makeup to manicures and pedicures. Said it was her treat since I indulged her spur of the moment idea of being your plus one,” she says, smiling at me.
“She’s thoughtful like that,” I tell Megan. “I know she’s got a good heart, as does my mother and grandmother, but sometimes I wish they’d let up on trying to pair me off with someone, not that I’m upset about having you as my date tonight, so please don’t get the wrong idea.”
“No offense taken. Is this a normal thing for them to do? Arrange dates for you?” she asks as her shoulders ease up as she relaxes next to me.
“Yes and no. My mom and grandmother, yes. They’ve been trying to find me someone and marry me off since I hit my twenties, especially since I graduated med school.”
“I’m sure they just want to see you happy.”
“But that’s the thing, I am happy. I love my job. I admit, I’m the stereotypical young doctor who’s married to his job, but the last few years have been demanding. From med school to residency, I didn’t have much time to devote to anyone, especially anyone looking to build a lasting relationship. I don’t want a partner who’s willing to play second fiddle to my job, and that’s what they would have done during those years. Now that I’m out of residency, my schedule is more relaxed. I can spend more time away from the hospital if I want. Take an actual vacation, which sounds so foreign to me right now.”
“If you could go anywhere, where would you pick?” Megan asks.
“I’ve been debating going somewhere on the beach, maybe down in the Caribbean or Hawaii maybe, or going down to South America, Chile maybe and backpacking my way around.”
“Any of those options sound like amazing places to visit. Have you been to any of them before?”
“When I was a kid, we went on a few cruises that stopped in the Caribbean, but nothing more than a day spent in a handful of ports. What about you, have you traveled much?”
“Nope, the farthest I’ve traveled is when I moved here. I’d never been east of the Mississippi River until a couple of weeks ago,” she says.
“Wow. So, this was a big decision and move for you.”
“It sure was, but with being offered my dream job right out of college, I knew I had to take it. It was important to me to prove to not only my parents, but myself that I could move out and be on my own. I don’t want my disability to define me. Yes, I’m usually sequestered to my chair, but that’s because it allows me the freedom to move around easily. I can walk short distances with the aid of a walker, but I get around so much easier in my chair. Some people look at it as a detriment, but I look at all the freedom that it does give me. I also think it helps me a tad bit with kids that I help. It makes me a little more relatable. I can use my personal experiences when I’m helping kids with tests or procedures that they find scary.”
“Did you live at home while going to college?”
“No, I had the entire college experience and lived in the dorms. A nice perk of needing a handicap-accessible room is I was always in the nicest and newest dorm building.”
“Gotta look at the bright side of things.”
“Always,” she agrees. “What made you want to become a doctor?”
“My brother, Tyler.”
“How so?”
“He was born with a heart condition and spent many years in and out of the hospital. He was fifteen when he finally got a new heart.”
“Wow, so he’s okay now?” she asks, concern lacing her voice.
“Yeah, he’s good,” I tell her, chuckling a bit at just how good he’s doing. “He travels around the world, getting paid to speak. He’s taken advantage of all his travel and has a pretty popular travel blog and Instagram following. You’ll meet him tonight; he always comes home for the gala. It was because of his condition and treatment that my grandparents started the foundation.”