“Max,” I stated, looking at the guy.
“Hey, Max, nice to meet you. I’m Sibu.” And then the guy stood up to shake my hand. He stood up. All respectfully, like a bloody gentleman.
“I saw you at the airport, didn’t I?” he asked.
I nodded. “Briefly.”
“Sorry, I was in a hurry or I would have introduced myself.”
“Uh . . . sure.” I was so taken aback by this man—it was hard to describe. He exuded this energy that was so likeable, and yet I was quite determinednotto like him.
“How was the trip? I assume you have something to do with production as well?”
“I manage locations, and scout them.”
“So you get to travel for work—sounds like the dream job.”
“I get to go to some really interesting places.” For some reason, I felt myself responding. He had this way about him that was engaging, it made you want to talk with him.
“What’s the most interesting place you’ve ever been to?” he asked, turning his body to me now, as if he was fully engaged in this conversation.
“Socotra Island. Off the Yemeni coast,” I said without thinking.
“How do you spell that?” he asked, taking out his phone. “I want to google it.”
I spelled it for him and he typed it up and then put his phone away. “Thanks, I’m going to check it out later. So how do you guys know each other?” he asked, sitting back down all demurely.
“Funny story that—we used to date,” I said.
“Back in high school,” Ash quickly added.
And then the guy chuckled. “I bumped into my high school girlfriend a few months back and we had such a good laugh over some of the questionable fashion choices we made back in the old class of 2009.”
“Class of 2009?” I asked. “How old are you? You look younger than that.”
“I get that a lot. Can only put it down to good genes. Too lazy for a skin-care routine and too shit-scared of Botox. I stick needles into people all day, but I’m too scared to have needles stuck into me.” He smiled at me. “I’m actually thirty-four. But I went through this huge denim-from-head-to-toe stage back in the day. And I even tried to bleach my hair.”
Why did I suddenly like this guy?Why was I suddenly smiling at him?
“Ash wore this dress to prom that had so many shiny things on it, it was a literal disco ball. She could blind people with it.”
“I bet she still looked good, though.” He smiled over at her with . . .fuck. . . something totally genuine in his eyes. My stomach twitched. I looked over at Ash. This was the kind of guy that would not cause her distress, not like me. He seemed like the kind of guy who would be easy to fall in love with, and it would be uncomplicated and good.
“Yeah, she did. Prettiest girl there that night,” I said, looking at her. She was still the prettiest girl here tonight too.
Ash forced a small smile and quickly looked away.
“Do you want to join us for a drink? I won’t invite you for the entire date, if you don’t mind. I would like some time alone with the prettiest girl in the restaurant over here. But I did order a large bottle of champagne and I’m sure we could both do with it having one less glass in it.”
Damn. I liked this guy.
I looked over at Ash again and then took a step back from the table. My heart felt like it was cracking.
“Nah, I don’t want to interrupt, just wanted to come over and say hi. You guys have a good time, and make sure she gets home safely.”
And then he stood up again and took my hand. “Not to worry, I will. Nice meeting you, Max. And I’m going to check out that island.”
I shook his hand and looked at him. “Yeah, nice meeting you too.” I meant it, and I hated that I meant it. And then I walked away. I walked upstairs to my office and collapsed on the sofa there.
