I've been sitting here for forty long, boring minutes, people coming and going whilst I stay here and plant my roots into what seems like the longest wait of my life. I usually never have to wait this long, but my designated GP is out today, and now I have to take whoever is on call to see about me.
"Jamie," a doctor calls. A woman gets up and follows the specialist to a room in the back. More names are called but none of them are mine, which irritates me even more. The receptionist claims I'm going next, but I've stopped believing him at this point because he's said it three time already. I don't even think he knows his own schedule. This has got to be the worst client treatment ever.
"Hi," a voice says, pulling me out of my angered thoughts, "I'm here for a check-up." I wearily look up at the person speaking, not having much else to do in the empty waiting room. I can't see the front of her, because it's facing the receptionist, but she looks more like a cat person than a dog lover.
"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asks.
"No," the woman says, a shy, dimply smile making its way on her face. Her posture is confident, but odd for her short height. "I just moved here, and I was hoping you'd squeeze me in even though I don't have an appointment?" She shrugs her shoulder and tilts her head to the side in this cutely mesmerising way as she stares at the receptionist. Her flirty smile reaches all the way up to her piercing blue eyes and, even from here, I know she's got the receptionist under her spell because she has me under it too.
"I'm...sure I could figure something out," he says after a lengthy pause, pulling out a fresh client card, "Name?"
"Amelia," she says, leaning on the front desk now as she keeps up her façade of flirty smiles and uncomfortable eye contact. The receptionist's eyes dart to her breasts, which are faced towards him now that she's pressed against the desk, and I roll my eyes, for some reason jealous. Maybe not jealous, but I don't like the fact that she's gotten her way already, just based on how she looks.
This woman, I think.
"Dog's name?" he continues. I look down at her slightly smaller than average black husky with matching blue eyes.
"Riley," she says. The dog looks up at her and wags his tail at the mention of his name. At least he's trained, unlike his owner. The receptionist asks for more information and then, a couple minutes later, she sits down next to me and my Shiba Inu. I find it weird because there are about a dozen empty seats, and yet she chooses to sit directly next to me. Now I'm finding it hard to resist the urge to make a backhanded comment.
"Flirting isn't always going to get you what you want, you know," I murmur under my breath.
Her eyebrows raise, either in response to my remark or to the fact that I spoke to her at all. "It hasn't failed me yet."
I snort as our dogs sniff each other and become acquainted, ready to pull them apart if things go south. "Sure, jiggle your boobs and get whatever you want. I'm sure that'll get you far in life."
"I didn't jiggle my boobs at him," she smirked, rolling her eyes at me as she pulls out her phone, "I don't need to do that much." I glance over at her in shock, but quickly avert my gaze when her cocky one stares me down. Her self-confidence is attractive yet annoying, and somehow I find myself wanting to know more about her now. "What's her name?"
"Sato," I say. She smiles at my dog and coos her name as she pets her. Sato leans into her gentle touch and licks her hand as her tail wags behind her. Of course my dog would like the person I find most annoying right now. "You told the receptionist you moved here recently, was that part of your flirt act?"
"No." She rolls her eyes but grins playfully. "I'm from New York, but I moved here from LA."
Go figure. She really looks like the type of girl who sports large lens sunglasses as she drinks her pumpkin spiced latte from Starbucks.
"A husky in LA?" I ask, my eyebrows furrowing at the thought.
"Contrary to popular belief, huskies don't need to be in -7 degrees temperature all the time," she explains as she huffs at my accusation of animal abuse, "And he spends most of his time indoors, in A/C, because my job requires me not to bring my large breed dog in with me."
"And what job could possibly be that cruel?" I play along.
"I don't give out that kind of information on the first date," she quirks, eyeing me jokingly now.
My mouth turns from a slightly agape position to a small smile. "So we're on a date now?"
Before she can answer, the exam room door opens and out comes the veterinarian, calling my name. "Owen?" Although I was once eager to leave this waiting room, I feel a little disappointed at the thought now.
"Bye bye, Owen," she says in a way that makes me feel weird, using the name she just learned from the vet.
Whether it's a good weird or a bad one, I'm not certain, but I return the gesture. "Bye bye, Amelia." She winks at me, and I shake my head and chuckle. What an entertaining human being. I almost wish I'd had the nerve to ask for her number. Maybe if she was less annoying, I would have.
When I'm finished with my appointment, I head back into the waiting room, hoping to see the stranger I acquainted moments before, but she's already gone now, probably with the vet. I feel a bit bothered by the wandering thought in my head that's saying she's flirting with the vet too, but I try to ignore it as I go back to the receptionist to pay.
"Cash or card?" the man asks, to which I respond by handing him my credit card. As he types in the payment info, I wonder about asking him about Amelia. The thought quickly disappears as I see her exiting one of the rooms with her dog and the vet. The vet looks polite, but there's a look of discomfort on his face that I immediately recognise as attraction, and I wonder what she did to make him look like that. Before my mind runs further, the receptionist hands me back my card, and I leave the clinic without saying hello to her again. It's petty, but I don't like the idea of her flirting with everyone under the sun, and she seems to be doing that today for whatever reason. Thankfully, it's unlikely I'll see her again, so I won't have to wonder who else she flirts with when she's not flirting with me.
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Puppy Love
FanfictionAmelia has just moved from LA to Seattle, to start a new life after she completed her fellowship. Owen has been living in Seattle for two years after having taken up a job there, after the explosion that killed his platoon and rendered him discharge...
