Open Heart: A Medical Lesbian Romance Novel (City General: Medic 1 Series)

by Ruby Scott

  than anything.

  They finally came around when Cara entered her first relationship.

  They made her first girlfriend feel unbelievably welcome in their home.

  They adjusted with ease. Cara felt like Izzy’s parents would be the same.

  What parents wouldn’t

  On the other hand, the look on Terri’s face was skeptical. “Man, I

  would’ve appreciated that. I’ve had a few of these myself through the years

  and they have never ended well. That’s like a major red flag.”

  A sigh left Cara’s lips. It was…but she was willing to look past it for

  Izzy. Sometimes it took people a while to come out of the closet, it usually

  took even longer when they had to admit it to their families. “Only if there’s

  other red flags. I think all of her friends know about me, so it’s not like she

  wants to keep us a secret from everybody… just from her parents.”

  Cara felt more uncomfortable than she had in years. She was wearing a

  nice pair of jeans, a white top, and a navy-blue blazer. Her dark hair was

  slicked back, making sure not a single one was out of place. She was

  meeting Izzy’s friends today, at the urging of Izzy. She looked at her watch,

  anxiously waiting for her girlfriend to join her. She had hoped that they

  would start small. Maybe meeting one friend, then another. But no, Izzy

  insisted they all should all get brunch together. All four of her best friends.

  Izzy assured her that it would be okay. Her friends knew she was gay,

  so what could go wrong? She promised that they were all nice girls, all

  were super accepting of her when she came out. “You look great!” Izzy’s

  voice broke through Cara’ distracted thoughts. She turned around, visibly

  relaxing when she saw her.

  Izzy had on a cute yellow sundress with a white cardigan over it. Her

  hair was perfectly styled in something other than the loose bun she wore to

  work daily, and she had taken the time to do her makeup. While Cara loved

  how she looked on a day-to-day basis, there was something different about

  seeing her all dressed up. She was breath-taking.

  As soon as Izzy was within her grasp, Cara reached out and hooked

  her arm around her waist, pulling her close. “You look amazing.” She said,

  pressing a kiss to her temple.

  Izzy smiled up at her, not shying away from the public affection. That

  was a good thing, right? “I think the girls are already inside, so we should

  head in.” She took the lead, leading Cara inside the overly fancy downtown

  restaurant. It wasn’t a black-tie type of place, but it was definitely fancier

  than the places Cara usually attended.

  After speaking to the hostess, she told them that the table they were

  looking for was on the back deck. Izzy led the way, stepping out of the

  double glass doors. There was a large round table with six chairs, four of

  them occupied. In the center of the table was a large yellow umbrella,

  offering some much appreciated shade for the diners.

  As soon as Izzy stepped outside, the other girls squealed. Before Cara

  knew what was happening, everybody was hugging and telling each other

  how good it was to see them. Cara stood to the side, feeling like the odd

  woman out. She didn’t know these girls; she definitely wasn’t going to hug

  them.

  When they all took a seat, Izzy began introductions. In order, the

  brunette on her immediate right was Monica, next to her was the redhead,

  Bets. Next to Bets was Eliza, who had short platinum hair and next to Eliza

  was Laurel, who had thick dark hair. Cara tried to commit each name and

  face to memory, but knew she was bound to forget.

  The girls began chatting about life, about what was going on with

  their jobs and relationships. Cara stayed in her seat, holding Izzy’s hand

  under the table as she listened. She learned that Laurel was an interior

  designer who was beginning to get work with celebrities. Monica was

  engaged to a guy named Seth, although they’d only been together for a year

  or so. Betty was a successful lawyer, working with her parent’s firm and

  Eliza had close to a million followers on social media. The fact this seemed

  to be her career confused Cara.

  Monica was the first to turn her attention to Cara. The way her green

  eyes looked at her made Cara feel uneasy. She felt like she was an animal

  on display at the zoo. “So…Cara, right? What do you do? Did you meet

  Izzy at the hospital?”

  Before Cara could answer, Betty cut in. “Oh! Are you a doctor? I told

  you you’d hook up with a hot older doctor when you started at the

  hospital.” She said, jabbing her finger at Izzy from across the table.

  Cara didn’t know whether or not she should be offended. Older? She

  was hardly three years older than Izzy. Did she really look that old? The

  questions stopped slamming into her after that, so Cara figured it was safe

  to answer. “I’m not a doctor, I’m a EMT, well, a paramedic. I met Izzy—,”

  She glanced over at Izzy, trying to judge from the look on her face. Did she

  want her friends to know they were originally just a one-night stand? She

  got her answer when Izzy squeezed her hand twice under the table. She

  assumed that was no. “Yeah, I met Izzy at the hospital. I signed a patient

  over to her and we went from there.”

  Laurel’s nose wrinkled. “A paramedic? Is that like…an ambulance

  driver?” She laughed, as if it was a joke.

  Cara was a bit offended. She hoped she didn’t let it show. “I actually

  went to school for two years to be a paramedic. We almost have the same

  patient privileges as doctors.”

  “But do you make as good money as a doctor? Izzy has expensive

  tastes you know and she likes her long-haul holidays.”

  “No, not as much as a doctor.” She gave a wry smile knowing full well

  they knew the answer before it left her lips. She glanced over at Izzy,

  hoping she was going to say something…but she didn’t. Her mouth was

  closed, and she was smiling, laughing with her friends. Cara felt entirely out

  of place. She wanted to melt into the ground and disappear.

  “Well,” Eliza said with a shrug. “it’s a good thing Izzy’s going to be

  making good money. She’ll be able to keep up the lifestyle that she’s used

  to.”

  Izzy nodded a bit then, muttering a “Yeah,” in response to her friend’s

  comments.

  Betty hit them with the next question. “So, have you met her parents

  yet? They adore Izzy.”

  Before Cara could answer, Izzy stepped in. “No they haven’t been

  introduced yet. You know what it’s like my hours are like crazy! Any you

  know I’ve not officially said anything to them about being gay. The right

  time has just never come up. It’s not like it’s a big thing.”

  “Oh! I thought since you actually have a girlfriend now you would

  actually tell them. Didn’t you always say you would when things got

  serious between you and someone? Or was that just an excuse?” Eliza

  almost seemed to be smirking as she asked the question.

  Izzy’s cheeks flushed. She was clearly uncomfortable with their

  questioning, just as Cara had been moments earlier.
“Well, we’ve only been

  dating a few weeks. I don’t want to get them involved just yet.”

  After that, the questioning stopped. They ordered food and Cara

  listened as they all chatted about their lives. Never once did any of Izzy’s

  friends seem interested in her, nor did Izzy try to make her feel included.

  She ate in silence, listening to them giggle and laugh. It was awkward. Cara

  couldn’t remember the last time she felt like this. It was almost as if she was

  back at high school, sitting with the cool girls at lunch, but they didn’t want

  her there.

  When she finished eating, Cara excused herself to go to the restroom,

  where she just stood and looked in the mirror. She was trying to calm down,

  trying not to worry. Those girls made her feel like she wasn’t good enough,

  something she had never felt with Izzy before. They made her feel like Izzy

  was too good for her, like she was some untouchable princess.

  And Izzy didn’t stop them. She didn’t tell them the questions were

  too much, she didn’t stand up for her. She just sat there, listening to them

  hound her with questions. It was enough to make Cara wonder… was she

  ashamed? Was that why she didn’t tell her parents yet? Did she not want

  them to find out about her because they wouldn’t approve? No. Izzy had

  said that she hadn’t had many relationships before. She clearly was just

  naïve when it came to this type of situation.

  Cara pulled herself together and left the bathroom. Just as she stepped

  back onto the deck, she heard the girls talking about her…again.

  “All I’m saying is she isn’t the type I thought you’d date. It isn’t like

  she is your equal?”

  A piece of Cara wished she would have stepped out a moment later

  so she could have heard Izzy’s answer. Instead, they stopped talking when

  Cara took her seat. Izzy just looked down at her plate, refusing to meet

  Cara’s eyes. Another hour or so of small talk and the brunch was over.

  Everybody hugged and made promises that they would see each other

  again soon. They promised to text and keep each other up to date on their

  lives. They turned to Cara and gave her a small wave goodbye, making her

  feel like even more of an outcast. They had said it was nice to meet her, but

  she highly doubted they really meant that.

  ELEVEN

  When the four girls were gone and it was just Cara and Izzy remaining,

  Cara realized she couldn’t hold it in anymore. “I don’t think I like your

  friends much.” She admitted as they walked hand-in-hand to where they

  parked.

  Izzy looked up at her, eyebrows raised. “I know they can be a bit

  much but they mean well. We’ve all known each other since we were at

  prep school.”

  Cara couldn’t buy that, she really couldn’t. Maybe if it had been just

  one question that rubbed her the wrong way, she could write it off as a small

  misstep. Instead, there were multiple. They continued to talk about her after

  she had left the table. Who knew what they said that she didn’t overhear?

  Hell, who knew what Izzy responded. “Do they? They have a really weird

  way of showing it.”

  Izzy stopped walking, letting go of Cara’s hand. She turned to look at

  her, “Look, I know they overstepped but you’re the first person I’ve really

  dated that they’ve met. They have my best interest at heart, I know they do.

  They will come around. Just give them time.”

  Cara sighed, running a hand through her hair. Who cared if she

  messed it up? She wasn’t trying to impress anyone anymore; maybe she

  shouldn’t have tried in the beginning. As soon as they heard she wasn’t a

  doctor, their mind was made up about her. “They made me feel like I was

  trash, Izzy. They made me feel like I wasn’t even good enough to be around

  you, and you didn’t say a thing, and that is what made it worse. How would

  you feel if you’d been me?”

  Izzy’s nose wrinkled. She hadn’t been thinking of it like that. She’d

  always cut her friends a lot of slack, but she hadn’t thought this through and

  that was now obvious to her. Was she just that naïve? She looked up at Cara

  and took her hands.

  “I’m sorry.” She said, honestly. “I should have told them to stop. I

  just… I’ve never introduced them to someone before. Plus, if my friends

  are that bad… my parents are going to be ten times worse. Can’t it just be

  practice?” From the look on Cara’s face, she could tell that the answer was

  no. Izzy sighed, “I’m sorry, I really am. In the future, I won’t allow anyone

  to talk to you like that, no matter who they are to me. But you don’t need to

  worry. My opinion about you didn’t change. You’re more than good enough

  for me. You are way more than I deserve.”

  Cara sighed. She couldn’t stay angry when Izzy was looking up at her

  with those big, round blue eyes. She genuinely believed that she just didn’t

  know better. She reached down and wrapped her arms around Izzy’s waist.

  She pulled her close, pressing her lips to her forehead. She stayed like that a

  moment, holding Izzy as she calmed herself down.

  “It’s fine.” She finally said. “I guess I just really wanted to make a good

  impression on your friends, not look like a loser. I mean, I know I’m not

  one, but they made me feel like it. But… as long as you still like me and

  they didn’t make you change your mind; I think I’m okay.”

  Izzy smiled up at her before leaning in and kissing her. It was a light

  peck, something soft and hopefully comforting. “I will never not like you.”

  She promised.

  Honestly, Izzy felt guilty about how her friends ended up treating Cara.

  At the time, she hadn’t seen a problem with it. She remembered grilling her

  friend’s boyfriends with similar questions. Although she didn’t remember

  getting so detailed about how much or how little they made. As long as her

  friends were happy, Izzy didn’t care about money. She should have shut

  things down when they kept asking Cara about money, she just hadn’t

  realized at the time.

  She tried to push that out of her mind, hoping to focus on work.

  Things between her and Cara had felt okay when they parted this morning,

  but she was still worried that deep down Cara was still hurt over it. She

  checked her phone, finding no text from Cara, and stuffed it back into her

  pocket.

  She was with Sara again today. She was beginning to wonder if Sara

  was going to be her permanent attending. She had softened up on Izzy a bit,

  no longer berating her for small mistakes, but that was weirder than

  anything. She ruled the hospital with a heavy hand. Everyone feared being

  called to her office… except Izzy. She had complained to Jack about it

  earlier, about how she desperately wanted to learn from someone other than

  Sara. He had just laughed and told her; “She’s the Chief for a reason, Izzy.

  She clearly knows what she’s doing. Just roll with it.”

  So that was what Izzy was trying to do, just ‘roll’ with it. She popped

  her head into Sara’s office. The place was crystal clean. The wall was lined

  with certi
ficates that the hospital had earned under Sara’s lead, Izzy did note

  that there were no pictures of family. Sara’s desk was clutter-free.

  Everything had a proper place. That was something Izzy had learned while

  working under Sara – the woman was probably the neatest, most organized

  person that she had ever met.

  Sara looked up from her desk before Izzy even spoke. If Izzy was

  being honest, she was pretty sure she saw the smallest of smiles grace her

  lips. “Good morning, Frost. Do you have our patients for the day?” There

  was a pause. “Come inside. Don’t stand in the doorway like you’re

  unwanted.”

  Izzy managed a polite smile before she stepped inside. “Good

  morning, Chief Dev – I mean, Sara.” She pulled out the small tablet that the

  surgeons used to keep track of their patients and their records. “Today we

  have a stent on Mr. Lee and,” As soon as Izzy’s eyes scanned over their

  next surgical patient for the day, she couldn’t stop herself from sighing.

  “Another stent on Mrs. Rojas.”

  Sara turned her attention away from whatever paperwork was on her

  desk and focused it solely on Izzy. “What was that sigh for?”

  Izzy wanted nothing more than to write it off. She wanted to tell Sara

  that it was nothing, but the truth was… Izzy couldn’t hide the truth. “I…

  uh… I don’t know. I’ve been having some qualms about whether

  cardiothoracic surgery is where I should be.” She admitted. Just saying the

  words out loud felt such a relief. She was sure people like Jack suspected

  she wasn’t happy in her choice, but she’d never spoken those words before.

  She had told Cara that she had had no choice and Cara questioned her if she

  was going to be happy, but Izzy had never freely admitted that she wasn’t

  sure if her heart was in it.

  She expected Sara to yell at her for wasting her time, to put her on

  suspension until she figured things out. Instead, Sara’s features softened.

  “Frost, I can’t tell you what to do. If you’re unsure about cardio, though, we

  can sit down and look at other long-term options for you to explore. If you

  want to stick it out though, we can make that work too.”

  Izzy couldn’t remember what it felt like to have a real option when it

  came to her specialty. She had been entirely convinced that emergency