Page 8 of Drowning Erin

“My ‘death sentence’,” Rob replies evenly, “might be looking pretty good to you in 30 years.”

Brendan grins. “I knew I should have left your ass in that ditch behind the school.” Yet another obscure high school reference. A part of me wishes I could see Rob from those days—based on their stories it sounds like he was actually easygoing once upon a time, and that’s an adjective no one would use to describe him now.

Rob laughs and the tension abates. I’m not sure if I’m relieved or disappointed. I’d be sad for Rob if he lost this friendship—he’s so focused on work that there’s little else outside of it in his life, and Brendan is one of very people he still counts as a friend—but I think it’d make life easier for all of us if it just faded away. Although, to be honest, maybe it’d just make life easier for me.

Rob turns to Bambi and asks her what she does for a living. I’m guessing it’s not much, but I manage to stifle the urge to roll my eyes. She takes a sip of her cosmo, which I consider to be a drink of girls who’ve just acquired their first fake ID. “I’m a doctor.”

“A doctor?” I ask, choking on my drink.

Rob kicks my foot. I guess it’s wrong that I sound so incredulous but…a doctor? Really? Brendan’s smile is so smug right now. He knows I thought she’d be an idiot, and he’s thrilled to prove me wrong.

“What kind of doctor?” I ask, and Rob kicks my foot again.

“I’m a doctor of energy medicine.”

Brendan’s smug, gloating, punchable face dims slightly. Apparently this is news to him too.

“Fascinating,” I say, catching Brendan’s eye. “I don’t think I’ve heard of that.”

Brendan glares at me, and I’m about 90 percent certain he’s imagining stabbing me right now. Something giddy bubbles in my chest.

“Illness is just the result of the loss of our soul parts,” she says. “I commune with beings from other realms, and they guide me to those lost parts.”

Rob’s foot lands on mine but it’s too late. I can’t stop myself.

“Ohhhhh,” I say, directing my widest smile at Brendan. “How interesting. I thought you meant you were a real doctor.”

“I’ve cured things no one with a medical degree would touch.”

I nod eagerly. “Amazing,” I reply. “Like what?”

She begins to detail all the cases of cancer she’s sure she’s cured, presumably via the collection of lost soul parts, and I feel a gurgle of semi-hysterical laughter welling up in my throat.

Rob’s foot is on mine, and his hand clamps down on my thigh. I don’t know what he wants me to do. I’m not trying to laugh.

“Excuse me,” I murmur, sliding out of my seat and almost running to the bathroom. Laughter explodes from my throat just as I get inside the door. I shoot a quick text to Olivia, letting her know her future sister-in-law can cure cancer. It’s certainly a handy skill to have in the family.

I reapply my lipstick and resolve to be better behaved when I go out. It’s not her fault she’s an idiot, and the truth is that she’s not the one I have a problem with. It’s Brendan, with his consistent preference for looks over substance, who irks me.

When I’ve finally collected myself, I push the door open. Standing partly in shadow, his face lit by the neon exit sign, Brendan waits. He looks almost sculptural, chiseled, his hard jaw leading to the perfection of his soft mouth.

Ugh. Why can’t I even notice him without sounding like I’m narrating porn?

“That wasn’t very nice, Erin,” he says.

“I’m no doctor,” I reply, “but I’m guessing it went over her head.”

“Are you going to be like this every time I have someone over?”

“I don’t know. Will they all be ‘doctors’ or do you think you’ll branch out a little? Maybe an astrologist? A psychic?”

He steps into the light. There’s this weird little gleam to his eyes that wasn’t there earlier. A charge. I’m not sure if I’m excited or terrified.

“No, but I might try to find one who can pull that stick out of your ass.”

“If that’s your way of suggesting a threesome, I’m gonna pass.”

That charge grows. His eyes fall, so fast I almost miss it, to my mouth.