I first met Berlinda when interning at a New York hospital. I was fresh out of medical school and during my first year, I was assigned two months in General Medicine. General Medicine encapsulated the Leukemia/Lymphoma ward, as it was the most depressing rotation in medicine, and no self-respecting medical resident would be caught dead taking on more oncology than necessary. Of course, I was an intern, and so I had no one to argue my rights. So hem/onc it was.
A large part of medicine is comprised of social workers. If you're smart, you'll learn to befriend them, as they facilitate your working life by getting patients into nursing homes and off your census list. Above them is the nurse manager, who keeps track of a patient's stay and determines if there was a more better use of the hospital's resources (i.e. get them out sooner). Berlinda was one of these managers.
As it happened, we bumped into each other one day on the hem/onc floor and introduced ourselves. Berlinda was the nurse manager for part of the adjacent unit and we ended up working side-by-side. She was slightly older than I was but had distinct features that made her uniquely attractive: she was tall for an Asian woman - about 5'6, taut, athletic body, long, thick, black hair and a ready smile. I've always been attracted to Filipina women and so was instantly smitten. Berlinda had a very slight accent which enhanced her exotic features, but more than anything, there was a smoldering feature to her. I can't quite place it, if it were her looks or something more ethereal; she just exuded sex.
One day, I saw her working at a computer in the nurse's station and so I came up to her to say hello. She was sitting down and I came up on the other side of the counter and leaned over. I noticed her watch - she wore an expensive Cartier that she tried to convince me was a fake. When I pointed out the features that met it real, she smiled broadly and said she was impressed. While we were talking, I noticed that her top was a little low cut and from my vantage point, I could clearly look down and see her ample cleavage. I tried to be subtle about it but when your eyes keep going back to the same place, it's just a matter of time before you get caught. And I was. Red-handed. Berlinda was in mid-sentence when she stopped speaking, and when I immediately looked up, I saw her looking at me knowingly. My face flushed and I tried to change the subject, rambling on to distract her. The conversation somehow shifted to rock climbing, something I've tried a few times and really liked, but had a difficult time keeping up with because of money (lack thereof) and time (ditto). Berlinda was an avid rock climber and we talked about getting together sometime to climb. Innocent enough I suppose, as I was dating someone and also had no idea if she was dating anyone, or even what her sexual preferences were.
But apparently, it wasn't meant to be, as my rotation ended without us getting the other's contact information, and I was next assigned to the cardiology service, which generally operated in a different part of the hospital.
However, one day, while doing a preliminary consult, I ended up on the hem/onc floor. After finishing my consult and waiting for the fellow to show up, I went to the nurse's station and saw Berlinda. She smiled at me, and gave me a hug. We exchanged numbers with the intent of making a date for the long-delayed climb.
A few days later, I met her in the lobby at the Sports Club LA and together we went upstairs to the indoor climbing wall. We took off our jackets - she was wearing a tight white top that tied around behind her neck and yoga pants. As she began to stretch, I stole glances at her body but she felt my gaze and simply smiled and turned away. We did a fair bit of climbing that day and took turns climbing and belaying each other. She said I was a good climber and she was only being kind - she was much, much better than I was. I learned techniques from her but most of all, loved watching her climb. After the work-out, my hands were cramping so much I couldn't even grasp the door properly, and she laughed and opened the door for me. It was embarrassing for me, but I swallowed my pride, walked to her street, hugged her, and walked back to my apartment.
The following Saturday night, we met up at the local bar for a drink. We sat at the bar and made conversation that lasted a few drinks. Midnight came around and we got up to leave. I dropped her off on her street and went home. As I opened the front door of my apartment, my phone rang.
"Hi, it's Berlinda."
"Oh, hi."
"What are you doing?"
"I just got in my apartment."
"I had a nice time tonight."
"Thanks. I did too."
Then there was a long pause.
"Can I ask you something?" she asked.
"Sure thing,"
"Did you... did you... expect anything to come out of tonight?"
"What do you mean?" I answered, sort of knowing what she was driving at.
She took a deep breath. "Did you expect to have sex with me tonight?"
"Uh, no," I stammered, surprised at the bluntness of the question.
"Good," she said. "I wasn't planning on having sex with you either. What are you doing now?"
"I just got home and was about to take a shower and go to sleep."
"Do you want to come over?" she asked, "Not to have sex or anything. But just to come and sleep next to me."
"Huh?"
"Would you like to come over and sleep with me?"
"Let me get this straight," I said. "You want me to come over and sleep with you, but not have sex?"
"Yes," she said.
"Sure," I said, "it's always better to sleep with someone than sleep alone..."
Berlinda gave me her address and apartment number. I literally sprinted all the way to her place through the cold and snow and arrived at her building. She had already left instructions with the doorman, so he pointed me towards the elevator and up I went. When I knocked on her door, Berlinda immediately answered, wearing a long white T-shirt, which I wasn't expecting. With no bra underneath, I could make out her nipples underneath the material.
"Did you think it was a strange request?" she asked.