Chapter 3

The Retired Playboy

March 29, 2009

Jasper Caleb Lauder

"Hi. Good morning. Am I supposed to give this here?" I gave the piece of paper doctor Steward told me to bring to the lab. The medical laboratory was huge. There were different partitions of rooms inside. Every wall was made of glass and it was easy to see everything and everyone. The people moving inside looked like colorful fishes with their scrub suits. 

"Go in through that door, please." the receptionist said, pointing to a door on my right. It was labeled Extraction area. 

"Okay. Thanks." I opened the door and sat on a chair beside a table full of syringes and other stuff I didn't know the names of. My stomach was in knots. I never liked needles. My phone and f******k became my distraction.

"Good morning, sir." a bubbly voice said. I looked up from my phone and I saw the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen in my life. 

"May I know your name, please? She said, smiling. Her blue eyes sparkled along with her perfect white teeth. 

"Uhm, it's right there." I pointed to the piece of paper she put on the table. My eyes were glued to her face. My mind was barely working. 

"Well, yes I can see your name there, but I still need you to say it out loud. It's protocol and for your own good, sir," She said in a manner that sounded so routine to her. "So, can you say your complete name for me, please?" 

"Uhm, Jasper Caleb Lauder. What’s yours?” I asked, hoping to distract myself from fainting. 

“I’m Lucille.” she said while preparing the things on the table. 

"Sir? I’m gonna get some blood samples, okay? Can you rest your right arm here please?” She took my hand, rested it on the armchair and my heart was suddenly beating so fast. Pretty girls and sharp big needles don't go together well.

"You okay there, sir?" Lucille asked while she took out the syringe from its plastic. 

"Yeah. I'm not scared." I lied. 

"You don't have to be. I'm the best around here. And your veins are bulging. I could do this blindfolded." She laughed. The dampness of the alcohol on the cotton ball she was wiping on my arm made me more nervous.

Lucille put the syringe down and to my surprise she started to massage my hand. 

"Sorry. Your hand is so cold and this is one way to get your blood flowing,"

Yeah. That's one way alright.

I thought about other ways and places my blood would flow from what she was doing. 

"Okay. Let's do this. I'm closing my eyes now." She chuckled. 

"Please don't." I laughed nervously. I felt the slightest puncture of my skin like a bite of an ant and then she said it was done.

The glass tubes with different colored tops were filled up with my blood and she put a cotton on the spot that she just punctured.

“You okay there, Jasper?" She put a little pressure on the cotton ball on the punctured site for about a minute. 

"I'm okay. Thanks, Lucille." I flashed her my best romeo smile. 

 "Well, you can come back by lunchtime, sir. Thank you.” Lucille smiled and walked back inside the lab.

I watched her for a while as she went about doing whatever to my blood samples in those colorful tubes. 

It was a quarter to eleven so I decided to wait in the mall across the hospital. I tried to find her on F******k but didn't have any luck as there were too many Lucilles. Maybe she doesn't have one yet. That's normal, I told myself.

After roaming mindlessly in the mall for some time, I decided to wait in an empty coffee shop  and dialed Dylan’s number.

"Hey, man. What's up?" From the sound of Dylan's voice, I knew I woke him up with a bad hangover. I snickered, feeling good about it. The last time he called me, I was in the middle of doing a number two and I answered because he wouldn't stop calling. I thought it was an emergency. Turns out he merely wanted to tell me what a wild night he had with the girl from the bar. Hope you get the clams you prick. I told  him that time, out of annoyance. He laughed so hard. We'd been friends since we were babies. Our mother's were mortal enemies but our dad's were best friends and business partners. 

"What ya want, asshole?" Dylan groaned. 

"I met someone. I think I'm ready to get back into the real game, man." I imagined Lucille's face and my heart started beating fast again. An hour never seemed longer to me before now. 

"What?" Dylan's voice became alive with disbelief. "What club? When? You didn't tell me you went out last night." 

"I didn't. Believe it or not there are other places to meet women than a club." I sipped my espresso.

"Well, tell me about her. She hot? Was she good in bed?" The coffee I just drank almost went back out of my mouth. Geez. With Dylan everything was always about sex. 

"I said I just met her, you psycho." He laughed. 

"I gotta go. Dad's calling me. See you later?" I said as I signalled the waiter to come.

"Yeah. Come by around four. Bye, you jerk!" 

I declined my dad's call. I wasn't ready for what I knew he wanted to talk about. They can all wait an eternity for all I care. I looked at the time. It wasalready  20 past twelve. Finishing my coffee, I got up and thanked the waiter by leaving 20 bucks. 

The laboratory people looked so busy. I went to the receptionist and she said Lucille was at lunch in the cafeteria. Her long wavy chestnut hair and pink scrubs stood out among the hundred of medical personel. Sitting alone on a table with four other empty seats. I hurriedly bought a donut and as I was waiting for my change, I heard this nerdy looking guy in scrubs and a white lab coat mumbling. He had really thick glasses and a stethoscope dangled around his neck. 

"It's now or never. I can do this. I can. Hi. I'm Raymond." He seemed to be practicing. "Hey. May I sit here?" Raymond, the four eyes, shook his shoulders. He really seemed nervous. I got my change, but I was having fun watching him practicing beside me. 

"Hi. Hi there. Lucille, right? I'm Raymond." Raymond said out loud. He shook his hands and shoulders as if preparing to strike. I had to suppress my laughter. He was practicing on how to talk to Lucille. The evil playboy in me was laughing.

"Hey, buddy," I tapped his shoulder. He looked at me irritably. His pissed off face showed that I disturbed his momentum. 

"I'm just wondering, uhm, why are you practicing on how to approach my girlfriend?" I acted all confused looking and a bit upset. 

"Gir.. Girl.. GirlFriend?" Poor Raymond stuttered. His eyes widened and his shoulders dropped. “I..I..I uh..sorry, I thought she was single.” He looked at me like I just won the Lottery. 

"Yeah. Okay fine. I can't lie to you. She's not my girlfriend yet, but I am planning to go over there and make her one." I said honestly. I had to give the poor guy a shot.

I looked at Lucille, and she was scrolling on her phone while chewing her salad. "So, do you wanna go first or should I?" I said. Raymond looked at me from head to foot. Then without answering me, he took  a deep breath, and walked towards Lucille's table carrying his tray of food. I smiled, admiring the guy's courage. But then he turned left and went past her table and took a seat to the one next to it. Raymond looked at me and shrugged. Poor thing. Now watch the expert first hand. I said to myself. 

"Hi. Sorry I'm late. Don't worry, It's totally fine that you started eating without me." I said to Lucille as I took a seat across from her. Raymond's eyes widened and he kept his eyes on us. 

"Excuse me?" She looked at me for a minute. I thought she forgot who I was already. "Oh. Jasper, right? What are you doing here? What do you mean you're late?"  her eyebrows formed a single line as she waited for my explanation. 

"For our date. You said I can come back for lunch, remember?" I smiled at her hoping she'd fall for it. She put her fork down and looked around us before answering me.

"I meant for your results. Look, it's a nice pick up line and all and I'm really flattered, honestly I am, but I literally just broke up with my boyfriend of 6 yrs. So, sorry, but I'm really not in the mood for your antics. Bye." Lucille stood up to go. 

"Hey. Wait. Sorry. I Uhm. I didn't know. Sorry." I followed her. Damn. She's fast. I looked back at Raymond and saw him laughing at my expense. He stuck his tongue out at me. 

"Hey! Lucille, wait up!" I shouted because she was already in the hallway. I ran and stood in front of her. 

"Wait. Please. I'm sorry. I really am. I'm not some heartless dick. Can we be friends?" 

I offered my hand. She looked at me and to my surprise she shook it. 

"Sure. But only friends. Okay?" 

As I shook her hand and got lost in her beautiful eyes, my heart skipped beats; the butterflies started fluttering in my stomach. 

"Friends."  I said. For now.