“What are you doing here?” she asked the guy. I moved in closer to look at him, but hung back just enough so I was not obviously in sight. Smart executive type, the crisp expensive clothes told me. They were casual, but pricey. Good quality. He wore glasses, which made him look intelligent and gentlemanly, and then round his neck, a stethoscope. He looked like a young Denzel Washington or something equally irritating. What can I say—the guy was good-looking.
“I’m visiting some local rural hospitals. Doing some pro bono work.”
“Oh my God, that’s so amazing.” She touched his arm. Shetouchedit. I rolled my eyes. A good-looking doctor who did pro bono work in rural Africa. I stood up a little straighter when he reciprocated by touching her arm back.
“And you? What brings you here?”
“I’m doing some work for an upcoming shoot. We’re off to Lake Malawi.”
“It’s beautiful there. Have you been?”
“First time.”
“You’re going to love it. I hope you don’t have to work too hard, because you have to go swimming, and the canoeing is amazing.”
“I’ll do that,” she said in a slightly breathy voice. Why was her voice breathy? I looked over at the hot doctor again. Maybe I would also be breathy if I was a heterosexual woman standing opposite him.
“Just be careful of mosquito bites.”
“Mosquito bites are the least of my worries. I got bitten by a snake in Botswana. An actual snake!”
“What?Are you okay?” He looked genuinely concerned and I was irked. Very, very irked.
“Fine—it was nonvenomous.”
“Where was it? May I look? For my own peace of mind?”
“Uh . . . sure.” She hesitated for a moment, but it wasn’t because shedidn’twant him to look. I could see that. It was because shedidwant him to look. Her hesitation had been a moment of silent anticipation.
“My left ankle,” she said, and he bent down.
“May I?” he asked, holding her sock.
I rolled my eyes as she nodded at him. There was something in the way she was looking at him.Something I didn’t like.
He rolled the sock down slowly and I watched her face as she took a little in-breath. He examined her ankle for a while, and when he smiled up at her and nodded that everything was okay, a part of me was relieved to hear that, but another part of me didn’t like the fact that he had his hands on her ankle.
“Thanks,” Ash said when he stood up again. He looked at her seriously now and tugged on his stethoscope nervously. I inched closer without being obvious.
“Last time, with us . . . I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”
“That was over a year ago,” Ash said.
“I guess you left quite an impression on me.” He smiled at her, and I felt sick to the stomach.
“I wasn’t in the best place back then, as you know. I’m in a totally different place now, a much better place.”
“Yes,” she said, a small flush coming over her cheeks.
“Thing is, I’d really like to take you out again. If you’d like to. No pressure, obviously. And I’ll totally understand if you don’t want to.”
And there it was. I held my breath and waited for Ash to answer him. Surely she wouldn’t say yes? Not after declaring she was on some detox. After getting so pissed off at the potential of me being with Beverly.
“I’ll think about it,” she said coyly, foot tracing half-moons on the floor.
Was she fucking serious?
“Sure, of course. No pressure, though, please. If you don’t want to, it’s also totally fine.”
