“Are you okay, Drew?” Ally asks.
“Yep, fine,” I mutter, as I carefully pull up the zipper of my jeans. Since it’s June, I don’t have a coat to cover the problem; I’ll just have to hope no one looks at my crotch on the way out of here.
“You should stay if you want, Ally,” I tell her. “You could get an Uber home, or I could come back and pick you up?—”
“No, I’ll come with you.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see she’s moved off the table and is starting to get dressed. A moment later, she slings her purse over her shoulder and we’re ready to go.
“Have you already paid?” I mutter as we walk down the hall.
“Yeah, it was all online,” Ally says. “I used the gift card.”
“Great.” I know I should probably leave a tip, but I can’t bring myself to stop. Hopefully they’ll forgive us for that, but I guess it doesn’t matter if they don’t. It’s not like I’m planning to come back here.
“So you think you’re coming down with something?” Ally asks as we walk across the parking lot.
“Probably, yeah.” I climb into the car and cautiously buckle the seatbelt.
Her brow furrows with concern. “Maybe you should cancel your appointment tomorrow,” she says as I turn out onto the road.
“I think it’ll be fine.”
“Really?” Ally asks. “Because if you’re sick with some sort of virus, it might confuse the assessment.”
“It’ll be fine, Ally,” I repeat.
“You sure?” she asks anxiously. “Because you really don’t look very good.”
“I had an erection, okay?” I blurt. “You were lying there practically naked, and I couldn’t control it!”
There’s a beat of silence, then Ally bursts out laughing and her eyes slide to my groin.
“Staring at it doesn’t help,” I grumble. Things had started to settle down, but now my pants are tight again.
“Sorry,” Ally says through a giggle. “It’s just?—”
“I know.” Someday, I might be able to laugh about this, too.
“And when the massage therapist asked you to roll over?—”
“Yes.I know.”
“They’re probably used to it,” Ally says thoughtfully. “I’m sure it happens more than you think, and they have to pretend they don’t notice.”
“Maybe.”
“And the therapist might have thought it was for her,” Ally points out.
“It wasn’t.”
The driver behind me honks, and I realize the stoplight’s changed to green. I move my foot to the gas.
“Do you want me to drive?” Ally teases.
“No.”
“It’s lucky you have an uncrashable car.”
