Muse. Sommer Marsden
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chuckled.
‘No, I feel woozy from thinking of standing there buck naked for that long.’
He touched the top of her hand, his fingertips warm despite the chill. ‘But also excited.’
She considered it. Then she nodded. ‘Yes, but excited. Oddly enough.’
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Chris said. ‘It’s a thing. It’s a risk. If you were going to rappel down a cliff face or skydive or do that thing … the line thing.’
‘Zip line?’
‘Yeah. If you were going to do that over a rushing river in the jungle, you’d have that same buzz going on. Fear mixed with excitement and adrenalin. It’s a good feeling to have,’ he said. ‘It lets you know you’re alive. And there’s very little chance you’ll fall to your death while standing naked in a room full of budding art students.’
She hung her head and laughed. ‘True. A much safer way to get that buzz.’
Their food arrived and she took a bite and rolled her eyes, making a noise of pleasure. Then she said what she was thinking the whole time. ‘And you’ll be there?’
His blue eyes widened and then she saw amusement in them. It was almost annoying. That was probably because he’d grown into such a handsome man and he made her feel on edge all by himself. ‘Yeah. I am the teacher, Dani. I will be there.’
‘And you’ll look?’ She felt the heat in her cheeks and focused utterly on her meal as if it were the most amazing thing she’d ever seen.
‘I kind of have to look,’ he said. ‘If I don’t look, I won’t know what kind of job my students are doing. Is that it? Is it me that’s holding you back?’
‘Well, no … and yes. I don’t know. It seems kind of odd you seeing me naked after all these years.’
He shrugged. ‘I’ve seen you naked before.’
‘You have not!’
‘Sure. That last summer before I went off to college. We were changing at the lake to go swimming. You went behind a tree …’
‘You looked!’ she said, mouth hanging open a little. Dani was grateful there was no food in her mouth because she couldn’t seem to close it.
‘Not on purpose at first. We had Luke with us.’
She nodded. Luke had been Chris’s yellow lab. He’d just been a puppy that summer. ‘And? So?’
‘So he took off, probably trying to get to you. I went after him and when I looked up … there you were.’
‘And you kept looking!’ She heard the squeak in her voice and hated it. It had been ages ago. So what if he’d looked.
He grinned at her. It coerced fine lines into existence around his eyes. They made him even more handsome. When had he grown up so much? Had he been this good-looking when they’d been traipsing the woods together? Swimming? Riding their bikes into town to catch a matinee or visit the ice-cream shop?
‘I was seventeen, you were beautiful. I had little self-control. I only looked for a moment. But yeah … I looked.’
‘Oh,’ she said, not sure what else to say. Then to her surprise she said, ‘And?’
Chris shook his head. ‘And what?’
‘And what did you think?’
He sat back in his chair and put his napkin in his lap. He was laughing. ‘Is that a real question?’
‘Yes.’
‘I thought you were magnificent. But Dani, I thought that before I happened to please the gods and they allowed me a glimpse of you without your clothes. I had quite a crush on you back in the day.’
She swallowed hard. Despite food and wine and the glass of iced water that sat in front of her, her throat felt as dry as a desert. ‘You did?’
‘You didn’t know?’
‘No.’
‘That’s because you were all hung up on that guy Good Wood.’
‘Gus Wood,’ she echoed derisively.
‘Whatever.’
‘I had no idea …’ She returned to her chicken, taking small bites, forcing herself to eat.
‘So, what’s the verdict?’
‘The verdict is I’ll do it. When do I start?’
‘Tomorrow night.’
‘Right away!’
‘Yes, right away. I told you I was in a bind. I needed a model. You’re now my model. Fall classes begin tomorrow. See you at six sharp.’
‘I … um …’
He just watched her. His eyes seemed to see right down into her bones. She felt more naked than naked. ‘Um?’
‘Yes,’ she finally said. ‘I’ll be there. I might need a tranquiliser to calm myself down but I’ll be there.’
‘Excellent,’ he said, touching her elbow. Just briefly, but the heat of that single touch snaked up her arm.
Now she was losing it. Getting gaga and goofy over Christopher. Her tomboy buddy. Her swim partner.
The boy that saw you naked and liked it …
She shook the thought off. Was she that desperate for approval that fifteen-year-old admiration could affect her so much? Maybe.
They spent the rest of dinner talking about their moms, the loss of their fathers, and current events. When Dani left she felt a warm glow, not all from the Cabernet; she’d forgotten how easy Chris was to talk to. It was like coming home. Talking to someone who understood you. A very comforting feeling. And a very dangerous one.
‘It’s just a job,’ she told herself as she crawled into bed. ‘Nothing more.’
It wasn’t easy concentrating on her day job while anticipating her new night gig. She wandered through her day at the office in a sort of daze, trying desperately to imagine what it would actually feel like to take her clothes off and then reveal herself in front of a room full of strangers. In front of Chris – all-grown-up Chris – not young horny Chris.
‘You OK? Your cheeks are red as hell. Coming down with something?’ Cheryl, one of the physicians’ assistants, and Dani’s very best friend, stood in the doorway of her office.
‘I’m fine. Just trying to work the holiday schedule for the part-timers. It’s not easy. I do it early so people can bitch and swap and barter with their days ahead of time.’
It was the truth. The November and December part-time schedule was up on her PC and she was dragging employee names around the board. It was the world’s worst game of solitaire.
‘Want to grab lunch? Just a quickie downstairs in the cafeteria?’
Dani blew out a sigh and nodded. ‘Sure. I could use a break.’
They took the elevator down to the first floor of the medical building. The complex was like a working city of its own. In one large area they housed a tower of doctors of various kinds, a radiation centre, an imaging centre, a cancer centre, a pharmacy and a cafeteria.
Dani ordered a chef salad and Cheryl rolled her eyes. ‘Health nut. I’ll have the turkey, mashed potatoes, veg medley and cheesecake, Dolly.’
Dolly, the cafeteria manager, grinned. ‘There you go. A girl with a good appetite.’
‘Not