Seven #3
Before my phone makes any more noise, I pick up.
There are two missed messages from my own GQ.
Instantly, I know who it is. I can’t believe he programmed his name into my phone as my own GQ and personalised the tone.
I open the messages to read what could be so important that it couldn’t possibly wait a few hours. I mean, he hasn’t been gone that long.
My own GQ: Sunshine, don’t forget to order food to go with those mimosas. You cannot survive on liquid diets.
Holy shit, looking up, I look around the café. Is he hiding out and spying on me somewhere? I can’t see him anywhere, but how else would he know I’m drinking mimosas? Looking down, I read the next message.
My own GQ: I’ve stopped in at the club. Got shit to do, but I will be available to pick you up whenever you’re ready. Please eat something. You didn’t get to eat dinner last night. xx
Okay, so he’s not here. He’s at the club, but boy is the man obsessed with food. I message him back.
Me: “Stuck Like Glue,” really? Also, I’m 90% sure now that you have a food fetish. Is it your desire to feed me, sir?
I don’t get the chance to silence my phone before it plays the song again.
Dammit, I’m going to have to remember to change his tone back to a normal beep beep for a message, like a normal person would have.
I open his message. If I thought I was red with embarrassment before, reading his message has me ten times redder, and wet in places I won’t admit to in public.
My own GQ: Yes, it is my desire to feed you, but what I desire to put into your mouth is not food. And now you have me walking around the club with a fucking hard-on. Did I mention I have employees here? I’m sure they don’t need to see their boss with a hard-on!
“Whatever the guy just sent you is good. Let me see!” Reilly holds her hand out.
“Not a freaking chance in hell,” I tell her. “And the guy has a name—it’s Zac.”
“So, now’s a good time to tell us all about this Zac of yours, Lyssa. You’ve kept us waiting long enough.” Holly rests her chin on her hands, like she’s getting ready to hear a juicy story.
I tell them all about how I went on the blind date, how I got roofied and how Zac looked after me. Sarah then fills in. “He drove her home the next morning, and waited for her in our living room while she had a shower, just so he could drive her to work. The boy sure is smitten.” She smiles.
“One, he’s not a boy. I can assure you he is all man. Two, he was just helping me get to work on time, considering I was so late. Not smitten, just a kind person.”
“So, tell us, how did it go from him dropping you at the hospital to him dropping you here and playing hockey with your tonsils?” Reilly asks.
I decide not to tell them about going to the club to help his sister. Or making Zac shower when he came back into the office covered in blood—the only thought I had on that was: thank god it wasn’t his blood.
Thinking logically, I know I should care about whatever it is he did that had him coming back covered in blood.
But for the life of me, I can’t bother to care.
All I care about is that he’s okay, and his sister can sleep at night knowing whoever attacked her did not get away with it, whatever happened to him.
Instead, I tell the girls how Zac was waiting for me outside the hospital when I finished my shift and saved me from the awkwardness of Dr. Mark. They’ve all heard about Dr. Mark before, so that bit of information is not new to them.
“So, he picked you up, took you home and fed you cucumber?” Sarah asks.
I shake my head. “No, I have not had the cucumber… yet. We slept. That’s it. He held me all night.”
“Sure he’s not gay? Because if I had you in my bed all night, we would not just sleep—that’s for sure. Although, that kiss was way too convincing for him to be gay.” Reilly likes to say she’s an alcohol-fuelled lesbian. Meaning if she’s drunk enough, she’d be into it.
“Thanks, I think?” I hold my glass up in her direction before drinking the last of it.
It’s one o’clock when we finish the last drink, and it’s not until I’m dialling Zac’s number that I notice how tipsy I am. “Who are you calling?” Sarah asks.
“Zac. He wants to pick me up,” I say with a huge smile.
“I bet that’s not all he wants to do,” Reilly shouts out. At the same time, I can hear laughing on the other side of the phone.
“Sunshine, I assure you… picking you up is not all I want to do. Are you ready to head out? I’ll be there in fifteen.”
I sigh. I actually sigh into the phone out loud. Oh god, maybe it’s not a good idea to see Zac while I’m tipsy on mimosas.
“Zac, I can just get an Uber home. You don’t have to come back here to get me.”
“Sunshine, do not get in a fucking Uber. I swear…” He takes a breath. “I’m already on my way. Just wait for me.” He pauses and then adds, “Please.”
“Okay, I’ll wait for you. You’d be a much better view than any Uber driver anyway. Oh god, I said that out loud, didn’t I?” I can hear Zac laughing. “I’m hanging up. I’ll see you soon.”
I don’t give him a chance to respond before I hang up the phone. Looking back at my friends, I watch as they all let out the laughter they were unsuccessfully attempting to hold in. It must be contagious because I join them, laughing until my eyes water.