"Can we...get started...on my...bed bath...now?" James looked up at me from his hospital bed as he waited for an answer. I didn't want to embarrass him, but it was going to take more than just a bath to get rid of his horrendous body odor. It was time to stop playing games and get to work...or so I thought. He didn't wait for my reply as he returned to staring at my crotch.
James wasn't being discreet this time, but I continued to squat down by his left arm anyway. I kept a straight face as I looked down at him and replied, "I need to be totally honest, but I don't think a sponge bath is going to get the job done. Would you mind if I gave you a shower instead?"
James remained expressionless as he continued to blatantly look up my skirt, "I...want to...be honest...with you...too..." He hesitated for bit, and appeared somewhat uncomfortable with what he wanted to tell me.
"I don't...mean to...upset you...but, I can...see up...your skirt...from...down here." His frankness at that moment was quite unexpected, leaving me at a loss for words. I've flashed many patients during a shift, but only a very few ever said something to me about it. Furthermore, those men waited until I was done exposing myself.
I gave him a sheepish smile as I quickly stood up, and replied with a feeble "Oops!" He'd just called me out on my flashing, and there was no point in being coy with him about it now. He'd already seen my breasts a few times, and it was clearly obvious that it didn't bother me. However, I wasn't about to admit that I was an exhibitionist either. He'd been polite about everything so far, but I still felt a bit uncomfortable with his forward approach.
James bailed me out by speaking first, "I'm not...trying to...be a...pervert, but...I just...thought you...should know. I'm sorry...but I...couldn't...look away." He paused for a few seconds before completing his statement, "Now I...know why...you wanted...to keep...your...lab coat...on." His sincerity was disarming, and made me feel a little better. He added, "I understand...if you're...upset with...me, and...want...to leave...the shift...early." I didn't know what to say.
I was tired from squatting at his bedside though, and needed to sit down before I could give him a more thoughtful reply. I grabbed a nearby folding chair and placed it right where I'd been squatting a few moments ago, beside his left shoulder. I kept my thighs together this time, and folded my arms across my chest to hide my nipples from view. I continued to perspire profusely, which rendered my camisole practically transparent. He made eye contact again as I looked down at him, and he appeared to deliberately avoid looking at any other part of my body this time. I knew this must have been difficult for James, as my skirt remained bunched up around my sticky, upper thighs.
He remained silent as I sat there and pondered over my reply. The rhythmic breathing pattern of his ventilator was the only thing that broke the awkward silence. I'm a horrible liar, and didn't want to make things more awkward by insulting his apparent intelligence. It was easier for me to say whatever came to mind spontaneously, rather than make up some contrived excuse.
"I'm not upset with you..." I paused, unsure of what I wanted to say next. "I'm the one who should be sorry for coming to work like this." I looked squarely into James' eyes as I spoke, making it clear that I wasn't trying to deceive him. "I picked the wrong day to not wear underwear, and that's totally my fault. I really am fine with completing my shift though, even if things are kind of awkward." I didn't care if he believed me or not, but that was the truth. I felt obligated to finish the shift.
James appeared to believe me, though. I joked, "Besides, now we're even." I glanced over at his penis for emphasis, and winked at him as I started to smile again. We laughed out loud together at my last statement, and that seemed to put us both as ease. I also noticed that he wasn't erect anymore, and that his penis had retracted back into his body.
His expression changed to one of genuine confusion as he raised his right eyebrow, "So...you really...don't care...that I...can see...your...uh...private parts?" James was still doubtful about my apparent lack of modesty, but I truly appreciated his polite demeanor. I wanted show him that I meant what I said, and to "reward" his respectful behavior towards me.
"The proper terminology for those parts would be the breasts and the vagina, but no, I really don't mind." I sat straight up in the chair and took a deep breath as reached up behind my head with both arms to undo my ponytail, allowing James to see my nipples again through the sheer material of my outfit. I'd torn the left strap of my camisole earlier in the shift, so the left side of my top slipped down past my breast as I reached up behind my head with my left arm. I left it that way as I let my damp hair fall to my shoulders.
James didn't react like a typical male though, and stared at my chest with a curious look on his face. It looked like he didn't believe what he was actually seeing. I took my time as I massaged and scratched the back of my scalp with both hands, watching James as he watched me. I'd never done anything like this, and I realized that I was growing sexually aroused again by this turn of events. Unfortunately, the high humidity in the room and James' strong body odor continued to be a serious distraction. I needed to get started on his am care as soon as possible.
I gathered my sweat soaked hair back up into a ponytail as James remained focused on my naked left breast. He appeared to be studying all the little details of my areola and nipple, as if he'd never seen one before. I smiled at him and asked, "Is everything ok?"
That was enough to get him to make eye contact again. "I've never...seen a...real woman's...body...like this...before today." The look in his eyes gave me the impression that he was telling the truth. "This is...the best...day...of my...miserable...life...thank you." His brief expression of happiness quickly turned to one of anger, or bitterness.
"I've been...disabled...since...I was...a kid." The tone of his voice grew more serious, and tears welled up in his eyes, "I've never...had...a girlfriend, and...my aunt...is a...conservative...bitch...about women...and sex." A tear trickled down his left cheek as he spoke, "She does...everything...she can...to prevent...me...from seeing...anything that...might have...sex...or naked...women...in it. She still...treats me...like a...child!" It sounded like he wanted to cry, and it was heartbreaking. "My aunt...won't even...let me...have any...friends. She controls...everything...about my...life, including...my regular...nurses."
The last thing he said actually upset me. Nurses are supposed to respect a patient's right to self determination and independence, and It seemed like James was being emotionally abused by his own aunt. She denied him a normal social life, and apparently didn't allow him to explore his own human sexuality. I wasn't one of his regular nurses though, and I wasn't going to let a person like that dictate how I cared for my patients. I was going to do whatever I thought was in James' best interests, not hers. He was the patient.
James was interrupted by a wet, gurgling cough, and it sounded like mucous had built up in his tracheostomy. The high pressure alarm on his ventilator started to beep loudly, confirming that there was a partial occlusion of his airway.