Greer put her wallet back in her purse after checking in at the clinic. She had started her first ‘adult’ job a few months prior and finally had her own insurance. Things had moved really quickly the past few years and she hadn’t made her health a priority so it had been a few years since she’d been to the doctor.

There were relatively few sounds in the waiting room, some faint generic classical music, the competing sound of the ac. All Greer could hear was the tapping of her foot on the ground competing with the increasing *thump* of her heartbeat, pulsing in her ears and much to her embarrassment, pulsing in her crotch. As she started to think about the sound of clanking metal, and the slick cold sensations that followed, her cheeks flushed slightly when she was jerked back to reality.

“Greer? Greer Mason?” A clear, bright voice chirped. The nurse was petite and plump, her lips were bright red and her golden hair caught the fluorescent light as it cascaded down from her high ponytail. She smiled gently as she shut the door behind us, clutching her clipboard. “First stop!” She exclaimed as we stopped at the scale next to the nurse’s station. At this point my only thought was of a lecture on my weight but, thankfully she scribbled it down without a word and ask my height. “5 foot 5 and a half” Greer replied quietly, “We’ll just say 5’ 6 then” with a quick grin and eye contact that was just a second past normal.

She glanced at the clipboard and announced we would be going to exam 3. The nurse opened the door and we stepped inside and Greer immediately felt overwhelmed. The white of the floor matched the white of the walls and the cabinets, made that much brighter by the buzzing lights overhead. The antiseptic smell combined with another smell that took her a minute until she realized what it was, in the dead center of the room. The teal leather of the exam table against the wall mixed with the antiseptic and Greer tried to look at anything else. She sat down in the small chair next to the cabinet and found her eye drifting back to the table, the only point of color in the entire room.

The nurse busied herself grabbing a blood pressure cuff, thermometer and something else she was having to dig for in drawers. The objects clattered against each other setting my imagination off as to what they could be. The nurse grabbed her stethoscope and put the cuff on my arm. “I’m sure you know the drill but, this will get a bit tight.” The ritual was familiar but, the nurse continued to pump until Greer’s fingers began to tingle. She was wondering if it would stop when she felt the cool drum of the stethoscope on her arm. Greer held her breath as the room was still except for the soft ticking of the clock on the wall; it was soon broken by the hiss of the cuff and tearing of the Velcro. The nurse unceremoniously popped the thermometer in her ear and her chipper face dropped slightly. “Hmmm 100.3, that’s a bit high, we’ll have the doc take a peek!”

As if by magic, there was a quick tap on the door. “Hey there Greer, I’m Dr.Cameron, I understand it’s been a minute since you’ve seen a physician.” His voice was smooth and low. His trim, muscled figure was apparent under the crisply pressed white shirt with small black triangles neatly punctuating the sleeve. The cuff led into the crisp white cotton of his lab coat, up to his tight shoulder, to the black stethoscope around his neck, draped casually, awaiting its inevitable use. The slightly unbuttoned revealed lightly tanned skin and a small hint of white chest hair, peeking out over the top. Salt and pepper stubble dotted the sharp blade of his jawline. She finally looked all the way up and met his stare, cool and professional, his eyes a bright green that Greer had never quite seen before.

Greer realized everyone was waiting on her to speak. “Um, yeah, sorry. It’s probably been since Sophomore year of college so, about 3-ish years now” she spoke clearly but her voice broke slightly at the end. The false confidence she projected, momentarily shattered by Dr. Cameron.

“Understood. I see that you’ve brought in your vaccination record. Looks like you’re overdue for tetanus and you never got the third vaccination in the series for HPV. Have you had a flu shot this season?”

Greer had been mentally tallying the injections she was to receive and her anxiety came fluttering back to her chest. “No, I actually haven’t gotten one before. I heard that if you get it for the first time you’re more likely to get a reaction”.

The tension was briefly broken as Dr. Cameron cracked a good-natured smile. “Not sure who your source is on that one but, that’s certainly not the case. The flu can be pretty nasty, even at its best. I strongly advise my patients to get theirs each season, we have to keep you nice and healthy don’t we?” He continued, making it clear that despite his smile, it was not optional. “Good, we’ll take care of those today. We don’t have any of your prior medical records so we’ll have to get your medical history. Given the infrequency of your office visits, I want to do a thorough exam on you today. We have you booked for several hours today but, we can schedule a followup at the end of the day if I’m not satisfied that I have enough information to ensure your health.”

Greer tried to gulp but found her mouth dry. She had wondered why the appointment was 3 hours long and thought it was to account for waiting time. Dr. Cameron had appeared kind and gentle but, the brief glint in his eye as he discussed the length of the exam sent a shiver down her spine. Her body knew what was coming. She opened her mouth to speak but Dr. Cameron Brushed past her to the counter and cleared his throat as he read through the paperwork she had already filled out.

“Ok, so this covers most of your family medical history and it seems like the only notable thing here is a history of breast cancer so, we’ll be sure to pay extra attention to those.” Great she thought to herself. Though past partners were excited by her proportionally large breasts, she found them to be frustrating. They were hard to dress and Greer often found them to be painful. “Anything else I should be concerned about?” She didn’t want to tell the doctor, fearing what she was unwittingly signing up for but, she softly replied, “My period cramps have been getting more and more painful recently and, I’ve been getting pain in my lower belly.” The doctor nodded and opened the top drawer. “I’m sorry you’re experiencing that, I’ll do my best to find the source of what’s troubling you.” I sighed, thankful that that was the extent of the family history.

“Given the amount of things we have to do in a short span of time, we’re going to have to multi-task a little. I’ve gotten your medical history now I need to collect your personal history.” Greer glanced down and noticed a light blue paper folded square in his hand. “I’m going to need you to change into this gown for the exam, and I’ll go over that now.” She froze. She was just getting over the idea of having to be naked for a stranger much less disrobing while answering questions about her sex life, it felt like some twisted nightmare scenario. “Get to it, we don’t have all day, come on now.” Her delicate fingers clasped the neckline of her light lavender cardigan. “Let’s start with the basics, are you sexually active?” He glanced up from the paper to ensure her compliance. “Yes.” He looked back down to his paper and continued, ”How many partners have you had in the past 6 months?” She pulled up the hem of her dress, feeling her cheeks flush. She had gotten out of a long term college relationship and had been exploring… all of her options. “10.”

The doctor raised his eyebrows and shook his head slightly to snap himself back to professionalism. “This may be embarrassing but, I need to know, so I know which areas to pay attention to. What types of sex acts did you engage in?”. Greer paused as she lifted her dress over he head, wishing she could be anywhere but here in this moment. She pulled it off and gently lowered her arms as she met the Doctor’s gaze. “Vaginal, oral, anal” she muttered. “Sex of your partners?” The doctor replied, not missing a beat. “Both.” Greer was intent on keeping her answers brief, in an attempt to make the moment move faster.

“Ok, so we’re ready to get started” He stopped and looked me up and down as she pulled the sad excuse for a gown over her trembling body, trying to hide the rosy patches eminating from her thighs. “No, that won’t do, I need you to remove your undergarments as well.” Greer pulled the gown off, tearing it slightly. “Don’t bother with that anymore, it’ll be off most of the time regardless.” She felt a lump forming in her throat, as she unhooked her bra. Her warm breasts spilling out of their cups like dumplings onto her sternum. Her areole were pink and gently guided the eye to her pert nipples, slightly pricked as they met the unforgiving chill of the office. Her plain white belly had just enough squish. Her most recent ex had always sad it made her much more enjoyable to hold. She wished she could be back in bed with him rather than in this office, stripping, never quickly enough. She quickly pulled off her plain black hiphuggers underwear and stashed it underneath her clothing. So quickly that she almost missed the damp brush of the cloth against her fingers. She had just gotten naked and was already moist? Mortified couldn’t begin to cover her emotions. The doctor motioned her over to the table and told her to hop up. Moment of truth.