“Sorry about that,” he said to Cora. “We usually talk at the same time every night, and I just lost track of time.” He looked at her plate. “How are you liking those rainbow rolls? Pretty amazing, right? Stop cleaning and take some of this Hokkigai, too, it’s ridiculous.” He held the container with the belted fish claws out to her.
Cora made her way back to the table reluctantly. “Oh, I’m good right now, thanks,” she said, pointing to a half-eaten roll on her plate to prove her point.
“You’re a slow eater! I’m going to eat all of these myself if you don’t hurry up.”
“Just keep going, I’m totally fine.” She hoped that he would polish off all of the trays and not notice that she was barely eating anything. The sushi wasn’t all that was trashing her appetite, though. It was Charlie Gill. His unwavering gaze, his fingers on her skin, the smell of his summertime aftershave every time he leaned close to her. And then there was the very real possibility of forgetting her honor code and doing something she knew she’d regret.
“So how did you and Madison meet?” Breaking yet another rule by asking an uninvited personal question, but the red wine combined with her empty stomach emboldened her.
“Me and Madison? It’s kind of embarrassing. I saw her walking down the street and I chased her down. I literally pulled my car over, jumped out, and ran down the sidewalk to meet her. Such a creeper thing to do.” He shook his head, feigning embarrassment at it.
“No, it’s so ... sweet. You were overcome by her beauty.” Cora felt queasy. No one had ever chased her down.
“Exactly! I mean, she looked like this blinding vision of blondness. The sun was shining on her... she looked like ... like an angel.” He stared off, clearly reliving the moment.
She couldn’t help herself. “So what happened when you got to her? Did you know what you wanted to say?”
“I sounded like such a dork!” She doubted that anything that came out of Charlie’s mouth sounded dorky. “I just introduced myself and asked if I could take her out for some coffee. And to my surprise, she said yes.”
Of course she said yes,Cora thought.Look at you.
“So how long ago was that?” she asked him.
“Uh ... we’ve been living together for three years now, so it was five years ago. And now that you know the math, don’t ask me the inevitable question, please.” He smiled a wan smile.
“Huh?” she faked, even though she knew exactly what he meant.
“Themword.”
“Right. I would never ask that. That’s personal.” She took a huge swig of wine and looked over at Oliver, hoping to telepathically wake him so that he might save her from the conversation with some puppy shenanigans.
Charlie looked at the roll he was about to eat and said, “Well, between you and me, it’s sort of on the radar screen.”
She felt like he’d punched her. He hadn’t been flirting with her, he was just being kind to her, in the same way that he’d been kind to the sushi delivery guy, and everyone else that he met.
“Well, that’s got to be exciting,” she managed to say.
“I guess it is. I mean, I have my doubts about it, of course. It seems so ... predetermined. You meet, date for an appropriate amount of time, and then get hitched to the old ball and chain. I’m not there yet, but isn’t that how it works?” He looked at her questioningly.
“What comes next is whatever youwantto come next,” she said firmly, hoping that it would end the conversation. She needed to leave, to get away from Charlie and his mixed-up signals. At least now she could will herself to shift her focus from dissecting a possible flirtation to training his dog—what she was actually being paid to do.
Charlie didn’t catch her subtext. “Yup.” He sighed. “We shall see.” He looked down at the trays strewn before him. “Eat more, Cora. I feel like a pig!”
“Nope, I’m good. I have to head out anyway.” She made an exaggerated show of checking the time on her phone. “What do I owe you for dinner?” Her tone was as clipped as Madison’s had been.
“You have to go already?” He sounded disappointed. “But you barely ate anything! Stay, hang out with us!”
“I’ve had more than enough, trust me. Seriously, what can I throw in?” She dug into her bag for her wallet as Oliver jumped on her.Now he wakes up!She kept her head down so Charlie Gill wouldn’t see the splotches on her chest and neck.
“Please, not a thing. You get dinner next time, okay? My pleasure to have you here. And Oliver loved it, too.”
“Yes, so nice, thank you for dinner. So I’ll see you next week?” He nodded. “Good luck with homework, and holler if you have any questions.” She sounded professional and disinterested, which was exactly how she planned to make herself sound for the remainder of their sessions together. Charlie Gill was a client and nothing more, no matter how many compliments he paid her or how tingly he made her feel when his hand brushed her back.
Besides, in a few weeks, she’d never see him again.
“Thanks again, Cora. This was great.” He smiled at her and leaned forward to squeeze her shoulder. “You seriously are the best.”
He loves his girlfriend, he loves his girlfriend, he loves his girlfriend,she reminded herself as the warmth of his touch radiated through her body.
