chapter 3

Kara shuffled through the paperwork on her latest patient.

"Well then, he's a man at least," she thought. "And it's been a while since I had one of those in my life. Where is my Mr Right?"

A knock at the door suddenly distracted Kara from her musings.

"Come in!" she announced. And as she did, Russell entered.

"Well here he is!" muttered Kara to herself.

"Pardon?" Russell inquired politely.

"Oh, nothing, sorry. Hi there - I'm Kara"

"Hi. Nice to meet you Kara. I'm Russell". Russell offered her his hand. She grabbed it and shook it in a very professional fashion.

"Nice to meet you Russell. Jenn's told me so much about you. Please do take a seat." She pointed at the chair by her desk.

She picked up his file and flipped through some pages. 'Relax a little bit Kara, she thought as she read, 'he's cute, but he's no Brad Pitt'. Despite being highly articulate Kara's own internal voice was not immune to the foibles that plagued many a young mind - male or female - about finding a long term companion to share a lifetime with.

"So then ...," Kara went straight into her medical spiel. "Your test results are back in and I'm glad to say you're in good health ... Let's see ..."

"Bloods are fine ..."

"Pressure's fine ..."

"Cholesterol's fine ..."

"Body fat's fine ..."

'You're pretty f-i-n-e,' she added mischievously in her mind.

The list went on and on as Russell got lost in Kara's piercing blue eyes. He estimated she was about 5' 8" tall and a perfect hourglass figure. Her long-blonde hair was tastefully pinned up above her shoulders. Her glasses only added to her appeal. And he was a sucker for intelligence. He stared silently as his eyes were mesmerised by her soft-looking lips as she spoke. He did his best to concentrate on what they said.

"So basically all your tests have come back as normal so now we just need to take some basic measurements, but before that, is there anything you want to ask me?"

'How about a date tomorrow night?' Russell's brain pushed this question to the forefront of his mind but his conscience slammed on the brakes in the split second that it took him to find a response.

"No. I don't think so."

"Okay then," replied Kara. "Let's get on with those measurements". She stood up purposefully and grabbed a clipboard.

"Right then ...," she paused and looked down and pretended to read her next words from the clipboard to make them sound like an official statement. "If, and only if you're comfortable to do so, do you mind removing your shirt and pants/skirt please?"

"Uhm, well, okay then." Russell was slightly taken aback by the request but obediently agreed.

'Oh c'mon Kara!!!' she thought to herself giggling internally. 'You know this isn't part of the normal drill. You're such a naughty girl!'. But she was eager to check out the goods on the cute boy that stood in front of her. She was only human after all.

Russell removed his top and Kara eyed his torso with interest.

'Mmmm-mmm boy, you are looking good!' thought Kara, weighing up his attractiveness with her eyes. She let them periodically flash above her papers to trace his muscular shape, his broad shoulders clear. 'Well,' Kara pondered. 'He's a little fluffy around the edges, but that's easily fixed with me at the gym. Dateable body though. He could be fixed'.

Russell was now down to his boxer shorts and slightly bemused at how this could be part of any standard procedure. But then again, he had never been to a private clinic before, and just assumed that the tests they undertook were more thorough.

Kara put down her clipboard and quickly grabbed a tape measure and went to work, scribbling notes as she went.

"Height, 6 foot ..."

"Raise your arms please. Chest, ... 38 inches ..."

"Waist, ... 34 inches ..."

"Thighs, ..." the list of checks went on.

"And finally, can you step onto these scales for me please Russell." Russell did as told and they both watched for the scales to settle. Kara was now ready to jot down the number with a pen.

"Precisely two hundred and four pounds exactly, which puts you," Kara looked at the chart on the wall before continuing, "your BMI at about roughly 27. We'd normally class that as being a little bit overweight to be honest with you, but the BMI number is just a guide. Your body fat reading was quite low, and judging by your muscular physique," she blushed, "your extra weight must be down to muscle mass."

"Overweight?" Russell inquired looking slightly concerned.

"Oh, don't worry, you're fine. You should see some of the sights I've seen in this clinic! Just keep up the gym classes and you'll be a-okay and good-to-go."

"You must go to the gym?" asked Russell, interested in her.

"Sure do - when I can grab the time," replied Kara. "But I'm really looking for a new work out partner at the minute". Kara blushed thinking about working up a sweat with Russell in more ways than one. She may have made it too obvious.

'That's an opening dumba**,' Russell's mind seemed screamed at him.
"Ask her, just ask her."

"Oh, well, I see, that's too bad," replied Russell, innocently. 'And you're an idiot,' his mind added further.

They made some polite conversation over the next couple of minutes after that and then Kara decided she'd make one more move as Russell was heading towards the door.

"Maybe we could catch a coffee sometime?" she blurted out in a somewhat panicked fashion, instantly regretting it, and worried about appearing completely unprofessional.

"Well, uhm," Russell began to blush awkwardly, taken aback, and began to cobble a convincing lie. "Well, I've just come out of a long-term ..."

Kara cut his sentence short. "That's fine. Maybe another time. I'll see you for your 6 month check-up anyway."

"Sure will," said Russell, smiling, as he opened the door to go back into the reception room.

Kara watched the door close behind him. 'Geez - what a Mamma's boy - and I was so obvious too'. She sat down as the rejection started to grate.