She nodded. “I do see,” she replied, and then eyeballed me with one of her strange, meaningful looks. The kind that burns through your soul like a flaming sword through a watermelon (which I’ve seen on a YouTube video btw! The Sword vs Watermelon #challenge)
“Frankie, this is my husband, Faizel,” she said, introducing us.
I shook his hand.
“So! You’re here to fetch Harun?” Samirah asked, moving down the passage.
“Yup,” I said as we followed behind her.
I found Harun lying on the big dog bed exactly where I’d left him. He looked so much better this morning, and on entering, he lifted his entire head and wagged his tail at me.
“He’s doing excellently,” Samirah said. “Dogs heal much faster than humans, but he’ll still be tender for a few days. I’m going to send you home with some medication, and, I’m afraid, no traveling for at least three days, even if you do have your immobilizer back.”
I bent down and laid a hand on his fur. It really was coarse. Rough and prickly and scratchy, despite the fact that a few nights ago he’d gotten lathered in a very pricey tub of jasmine-scented hair mask.
“Hey, boy,” I said, running my hand through his hair. And then I slipped his collar and leash on and was just about to pull when Samirah stopped me.
“Oh, he shouldn’t walk just yet,” she said.
“I’ll get him,” Mark said, bending down.
“I’ll help.” Faizel jumped in and he and Mark lifted Harun up. We all walked like that out the house and to the car, where Harun was placed carefully in the backseat.
“So, will we see you at quiz night this week, or are you going to chicken out since you’re one person down?” Faizel suddenly asked Mark.
Mark gave a sarcastic chuckle. “Oh, we’ll be there,” he said, in a jokey tone. “Trust me, Risky Quizzness can still take on Beyoncé Know’Alls, even though we’re a player down.”
“Risky Quizzness and Beyoncé what?” I burst out laughing.
Mark shot me a really cute, coy kind of smile and then a shrug.
“Hey, we like Beyoncé,” Samirah piped up.
“We do!” Faizel gave her a high-five.
“Wait, you guys are all in quiz teams and do quiz nights?” I looked at them all.
“Well, I’m not sure that Risky Quizzness can call themselves a team anymore, they’re more like a duo, now that Emma pulled out.” Samirah narrowed her eyes at Mark, a look of meaning passing between them.
“Perhaps if you stopped dating your teammates—” Faizel started, but Mark cut him off.
“I didn’t date her,” he said quickly.
“She had a huge crush on you, though,” Faizel said matter-of-factly.
Samirah nodded. “That she did. Mind you, half the town has a crush on you . . . except me.”
“I should hope not,” Faizel joked, placing a hand over her big baby bump.
“Half the town has a crush on him?” I asked. I hadn’t meant for my voice to take on that skeptical tone and for my eyes to run up and down his body, twice.
Samirah nodded.
“Okay, let’s stop this,” Mark said, closing the door.
“No, this is interesting.” I folded my arms and looked at Samirah.
She smiled at me. “It’s as if he wields some magical power over all the women in this town that no one quite understands.”
