2. Play It Cool

Maya wakes late. It is unusual for her to sleep in these days, her mind always working overtime and keeping her from a proper night’s rest. It’s the first time in a long while that she wakes feeling refreshed and without the weight of her recent promotion resting heavy on her chest. There’s a smile on her face before she even opens her eyes.

Her eyelids flutter and she is immediately blinded by the bright light of her bedroom, so she quickly closes them again. The sun is creeping in through a small crack in the curtains and creates a lightning strike across her bed sheets. She rolls over so that her body lays in its warmth, her face buried deep in the soft pillow beneath her.

Her body starts to wake up slowly. She flexes her feet first before stretching her legs long, followed by the rest of her body. She lets out a contented sigh.

Her mind wanders to last night and her encounter with Carina. She thinks about how a simple curiosity about the bear attack led to a late indulgence of desserts and ended with one hell of a make out session.

Maya isn’t sure she has ever been so captivated by another person before. She is used to being the instigator, the confident one. Except after the weekend camping trip, every ounce of confidence had been beaten out of her with every thud of her feet on the cold, hard ground as she had chased after the ambulance.  Carina had a self-assurance that she envied and it had been easy to be in her company for the evening. She was charming and funny – and not to mention beautiful.

Maya runs her tongue over her lips, remembering how it felt to have Carina’s mouth on hers. There is a little bit of regret in the back of her mind about saying no to Carina’s invitation to go home with her and worry sets in that saying no might have upset her. Not that she showed it, Carina had acted so cool with the way she had stolen her cellphone and typed in her number.

A smile passes over Maya’s lips at the memory. She rolls over onto her back and reaches for her phone, running runs through her contact list until she reaches her name.

Carina DeLuca.

Maya remembers the way her name had rolled off her tongue as Carina introduced herself, the way she smiled, the way her eyes pierced through her. She rolls her own eyes at herself. When did she become this soft?

She opens up her messages and starts to type.

Hey.

That’s it, that’s all she’s got. Everything that comes to mind sounds lame and Maya has more game than that.

An hour later and Maya is showered, dressed and on her way to the hospital. It’s a forty minute walk from her apartment and she takes the route via Jeremy Street. She remembers Carina mentioning a coffee shop, but doesn’t remember its name. There are three coffee shops and of course the one she is looking for is the third one she tries. She orders two cappuccinos, asking especially for the Italian coffee beans, because she figures she might as well see why Carina likes it so much. She pauses just outside the coffee shop and takes a sip from her cup. It’s smooth and bitter – and it’s really good.

Maya quickens her pace to get to the hospital, wanting to deliver the coffee while it’s still hot. As she approaches, she realises she has no idea where to find Carina inside. Most of her visits have been to the emergency room and there have been a few times she has found herself in a surgical waiting room. She doesn’t even know what kind of medicine Carina practices. She curses herself for not asking more questions last night.

She steps inside the pit and immediately into chaos. There are gurneys everywhere, victims of a multi-vehicle accident. She manoeuvres her way to the admissions desk.

“Excuse me,” she says politely to the nurse, “…could you tell me where to find Doctor DeLuca please?”

The nurse tips her head to a side room.  “He’s in with a patient, can I take a message?”

“Oh, I mean the other Doctor DeLuca,” Maya says. “Carina.”

“Are you here for an appointment or is it an emergency?”

“Oh, uh, neither.”

Before Maya can say anything else, the phone starts to ring. The nurse calls out to a nearby doctor – Schmitt? – and asks him to help before answering the call.

“Doctor DeLuca’s office is on the fourth floor,” the young doctor says, guiding her to the elevators and hitting the button for her. “Take a right once you get there, down the corridor, third door on the left. Do you know the sex?”

Maya’s eyes widen. “What?”

“The baby, boy or girl?” Dr Schmitt asks, oblivious to her surprise.

“I… I’m not…”

There is a ping and the elevator door opens. Maya steps inside.

“Well congratulations!” Dr Schmitt says cheerily.

“Thanks,” Maya says dumbly, grateful when the door closes.

She heads straight to the fourth floor, as instructed, and steps out into a much calmer atmosphere. Calm, that is, until she hears a woman screaming in labour in a nearby room.

‘That explains the baby question,’ Maya thinks to herself.

She pauses. Did he say right or left?

It doesn’t matter, she hears Carina before she sees her; the melodic lilt of her Italian accent travelling to her from around the corner. Maya takes a few steps forwards and pauses, looking around the wall. Carina is stood at the nurses’ station, her back to Maya. She is resting against the desk, her head lowered as she flips through a patient’s chart. Her dark hair hangs around her face and Maya watches as she runs her hand through it and lets it fall to one side. Maya can just see her face and she notices how serious Carina looks as she studies the medical records in front of her – so different from the care free woman who took her on a whim to her favourite Italian restaurant within hours of them meeting.

Maya straightens her shoulders and lifts her chest a little, walking over to the nurses’ station with a confident step.

“Hi,” she says, a little too loudly.

Carina looks over her shoulder and immediately smiles when she sees her, spinning around to face her.

“Maya!”

There is something about the way she says her name that makes Maya’s stomach flip.

“What are you doing here?”

“I figured you might want a caffeine fix after staying out so late last night,” Maya says, holding out the coffee cup.

Carina’s face lights up when she sees the familiar name of her favourite coffee shop on the side of the cup.  “My favourite!  You remembered?”

Maya shrugs nonchalantly. “I was paying attention.”

Carina takes a sip of the cappuccino. “Mmm, so good.” She points at Maya’s coffee cup. “You like it?”

“Yeah, you were right, it’s good,” Maya says.

Carina grins cockily. “I’m right about a lot of things.”

Maya is still charmed by her, only without the alcohol running through her blood, she’s a little bit more in control of her reaction and this time she laughs. 

“So you deliver babies, huh” Maya says, gesturing around the labour ward.

“I’m an OBGYN,” Carina says. “Delivering babies is just part of my job. Like putting out fires is only part of your job as a firefighter.” She looks up and down at Maya’s casual appearance. “Speaking of your job, I thought you had work today, no?”

Carina spies her suspiciously and Maya blushes.

“I lied,” Maya admits, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she can stop them.

Carina raises her eyebrows curiously, but doesn’t look surprised. If she was offended by Maya’s admission, it wasn’t apparent.

“I figured I should take you out on a date first.” Maya tips her head to one side. “How about this Friday?”

Carina smiles. “I’m free on Friday. Back to Little Roma, si?”

“Actually, I thought I’d take you to my favourite restaurant in Seattle,” Maya says, stepping forwards and closing the gap between them. “It’s small… dark… never too busy.” She drops her eyes to Carina’s lips, not-so-subtly.  “Perfect for getting to know each other better.”

She looks up again and sees Carina smiling at her, clearly enjoying Maya’s directness.  

“Are you going to tell me the name of this place?” Carina asks.

Maya shakes her head playfully. “It’ll be a surprise.”

A smile teases her lips. Carina isn’t the only one who can be charming.

Carina steps closer so that there is only an inch of space between them and Maya feels her stomach flip again.

“I like surprises,” Carina says softly.

Maya’s eyes drop to her lips again and she thinks about kissing her, except this is Carina’s work and Maya isn’t into public displays of affection. She lets out a frustrated sigh instead.

“Doctor DeLuca, Ms Collins’ chart,” a nurse interrupts from behind the desk.

Carina shoots her an apologetic look and Maya steps backwards reluctantly.

“I should go. You have work to do,” Maya says. “So, Friday?”

“Friday,” Carina says with a resolute nod of her head.

She smiles brightly and, God, Maya wants to kiss her.

“I’ll text you where and when,” Maya says.

“Si, because I don’t actually have your number!”  

Carina crinkles her nose in annoyance, causing Maya to laugh.

“You will soon,” she says, turning on her heel and walking away.

“When?” Carina calls out after her.

“Soon,” Maya says without turning around, disappearing around the corner.

The elevator doors have barely closed before she caves and sends Carina a message.

My number… just in case you want some company on your next break. Maya xx

She taps her phone impatiently, hoping for a quick reply.

So much for playing it cool.