Page 25 of One for the Road
Aptly named the ‘Rosebud’, the flower-shaped sex toy was as pretty as it was mystifying. I’d hidden it in my hallway cupboard and now blushed every time I glanced at the shared wall.
Behind me, I felt Alistair tense, but he said only, “Isla had an accident.”
Jess’s eyes roved over me with concern. “What happened?”
“Boy ran into the road right as some idiot ignored thePedestrians onlysign,” April explained, lowering herself into a spare seat.
“And Isla here thought she was auditioning for the next James Bond movie.” He still held the back of my dress. His grip gentle yet quietly domineering, though I’d given up trying to escape almost instantly.
It was very on brand with all the tiny slivers of information I’d gathered about him so far. As much as I tried to ignore his presence, I felt like a detective with an evidence board.
“First-aid kit is in the staffroom.” Jess waved us to the back.
“Come on,” Alistair said, leading me into the small room. It was essentially a cupboard with two chairs shoved against the wall and a microwave older than I was. “Sit.” He pointed to one of the chairs.
“Are you always this bossy? No wonder you never have any overnight guests.” Despite my words, I did as he asked.
I’d left him the perfect opening to deliver one of his barbed comebacks. Instead, he pulled the first-aid kit off the wall and took the two steps to the small sink, thoroughly washing his hands. “Are you always mean when you’re nervous?”
“I’m not nervous,” I said. A lie.
“No need to be embarrassed, it’s a common coping mechanism. A lot of people are afraid of blood.”
He’d caught that? “Is your coping mechanism being a dick?” His expression didn’t change, but I visibly winced. “Sorry,thatwas mean.”
“Apology accepted. Don’t go throwing yourself in front of any cars on my account. Or you know,do, it would save me a lot of trouble.”
I laughed, a surprised, instant reaction quickly reined in, covering my mouth. I felt the question in his stare. “You’re just so blunt all the time, makes it impossible to tell if you’re joking.”
“Itwasa joke.”
“Is it a doctor thing? The bluntness.”
“Yep,” he said, flipping open the first-aid kid. “First lesson of medical school.”
Another joke, I’m sure, but his face was no less icy than before. The uncertainty made my knee bounce, and mouth run. “Sorry about the other morning—” He pausedhis rummaging. “The package you opened, it isn’t mine – well, I guess itismine. I didn’t, like, get it second-hand or anything. Your sister sent it to me. As a joke,” I finished lamely.
“What’s the punchline?”
“Excuse me?”
“The sex-toy joke,” he explained, tearing open a packet of latex gloves. “What’s the punchline?”
My heart somersaulted, blood racing through my veins at twice the usual speed. What could I say that wasn’t Ifail at getting off? Because I was already living that joke. “That’s a little personal, don’t you think?”
“You brought it up.”
“Yeah . . . for clarification,” I sputtered. “That’s all.”
“I see. Consider it clarified.” He huffed a little laugh as he snapped on the gloves.
What the hell did the laugh mean?
“I didn’t realise you and Heather were such good friends.” Somehow, he managed to stuff those syllables with so much ire, it gave me whiplash. And for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what I’d said that was so wrong.
My stomach quivered. I hated the way that made me feel. Like I was too stupid to keep up with the conversation.
This, right here, was why I’d sworn to stay away from men until the end of time.
