“They’re not things, they’re humans—and when I die, I want to donate my body to this,” Paige said dramatically. “Did you see the fetus?” Paige tugged her to the next display, which wasn’t the fetus, thankfully. It was a body leaping into the air to spike a volley ball; muscles and tendons were pulled tight, the dark eyes glaring. Zoe turned away from it as a wave of bile crept up the back of her throat. She had the same reaction to each piece, but for some reason the eyes staring right through her pushed her over the edge.
“Oh my god, I’m gonna barf,” she gasped before clapping her hands over her mouth.
Paige rolled her eyes at the same time a man near them began to laugh. Zoe didn’t realize that he was laughing at her until he came forward and spoke directly to her.
“You’re not the only one,” he said. “I’m a doctor and I still am oddly grossed out by this—and yet, I’m completely fascinated by each one.”
“I know!” Zoe gasped as she stared up into his blue eyes. She felt her skin tremble at the sight of his handsome face and kind smile. She looked away, but not back at the display.
“I… I feel like leaving, but I paid nearly sixty dollars for two tickets so I want to get my money worth. But every time I look at the bodies I feel like I’m going to lose my lunch.” He rocked back on his heels as he laughed.
“You are a little green.”
Zoe smiled and fanned her face with her hands. “But for you to be a doctor and feel like this…”
“Well, to be fair, I’m not a medical examiner, they may feel more at home with this,” He gestured to the display. “I’m just a lowly family practitioner—the closest I get to surgery or cadavers is Grey’s Anatomy, which I am slightly ashamed to say that I watch avidly.” Zoe laughed. “Well, I’m glad I’m not the only one feeling ill in here today.” She glanced over her shoulder to see where Paige had gone. Zoe finally spotted her a across the room, trying her hardest to snap sneaky pictures of the exhibits. Zoe licked her lips and glanced back at the display glad that the initial wave of nausea had passed so that she could study what was before her.
“I…. I know this is going to sound like a line,” the doctor began, “but I feel like I know you from somewhere.”
Zoe turned back to him and really studied his face. He was older, maybe mid- to late-thirties, maybe even early forties, had blond hair that he wore parted to one side, and his eyes were blue and very kind looking. Overall, he was a handsome man. He held her gaze for a moment and Zoe realized that he did look familiar.
“Yeah,” she said with consideration, “you do look familiar, but I can’t place you.”
“Hmm,” he hummed. “Well at any rate, let me reintroduce myself, if we have indeed met before—Ben Wolff.”
“Ben,” Zoe murmured, even his name sounded familiar. She took his extended hand in hers and shook it. She noticed instantly that his hands were huge and completely gulped hers up. She noticed because she was starting to have an affinity for big, working hands.
Her last date, Samuel, had hands smaller than hers. They didn’t feel as nice at all.
She introduced herself to Ben, “Zoe Rayne.”
“Nice to meet you,” Ben said as the corner of his mouth turned up. He had a nice smile.
Straight teeth that weren’t bleached white, but weren’t disgustingly yellow either—
normal teeth. “I just realized where I know you from.”
“Really, where?” Zoe rubbed the tingle away from her hand the moment he released her.
“We bumped into each other at Rylie’s several weeks ago—or maybe I should say that you bumped me. I was sitting in the window having a sandwich.”
“Oh!” Zoe’s cheeks felt warm. “I do remember you now! I… oh, I’m so clumsy, I remember—I spilled something on you right?” Ben laughed and shrugged his shoulder.
“No harm done,” he smiled. “I have lunch at Rylie’s at least a couple times a week—it’s across from my practice. I… umm… I haven’t seen you there since that day.”
“Oh,” Zoe stepped aside to let others view the exhibit they were standing in front of. As she moved to the next, Ben fell in step with her. She noticed that he wasn’t as tall as Colton, she sort of liked that she didn’t have to crane her neck so much to look up at him.
“Well, I was just there to meet someone, actually. It didn’t really turn out the way I wanted it to that day either. So, I don’t frequent Rylie’s often.”
“Y-yea,” Ben drawled out as he followed her to the next display. They both glanced at it for a moment or two before moving to the next. “I saw your meeting that day actually.”
“Oh, wow,” Zoe laughed.
Ben looked slightly abashed, “I was sitting in the window,” he reminded her.
Zoe pressed her fingers to her cheeks which a flame. “I could have lived the rest of my life not knowing that someone witnessed one of the most humiliating moments of my life!”
Ben laughed and Zoe noticed the fine lines that stretched out from his crinkled eyes.
“You’re right, that was insensitive of me. I shouldn’t have admitted to seeing anything.” Zoe nodded in agreement, but smiled so that he knew she was okay with it. “Look, if you pretend not to have seen or heard anything from that day, we’ll be even.”
“Deal,” Ben nodded. They shook hands again and stopped before another body. “So, what brings you to this exhibit?”
“I’m supposed to be spending the afternoon with my sister Paige,” Zoe stopped and glanced around for the girl in question. Paige was sitting on a bench outside the bathrooms texting on her phone. Zoe watched her for a moment and then turned back to Ben who was watching Zoe closely. “Paige wanted to come here—she insisted as a matter of fact.”
“It’s pretty cool—I’m sure the young kids find it gruesome,” Ben said as he looked at the body in front of them, this one posed like The Thinker sculpture.
“I’m sure I’ll have nightmares,” Zoe muttered.
She glanced over her shoulder and watched Paige’s fingers flying rapidly over the keypad of her phone. Zoe felt her dread seeping into her body. She’d been suspecting for several days now that Minnie and Paige were conspiring and having a grand time locating ultimate losers for Zoe to date. Men who paled in comparison to Colton. Men who would get Zoe out of the house and perhaps out of her head long enough to distract her from her need for Colton. Well, perhaps they weren’t all losers. They started off seemingly nice, but were never quite right; they didn’t have that warming spark she felt whenever she touched Colton. The men she’d been dating lately didn’t make her feel incredibly warm and tingly. They were serving a purpose; Zoe had been thoroughly distracted the past few days.
Zoe looked back at Ben and smiled. “Do you know a woman named Minnie Philips, by chance?”
“Minnie,” Ben thought about it. “The only Minnie I know lives in Orlando and has a rich mouse boyfriend.” He laughed at his own joke, and although it wasn’t funny, Zoe smiled at his charm. “In seriousness, I don’t know any Minnies. Why?”
“My friend Minnie’s been setting me up a lot lately—Paige, my sister, is usually involved and she was very adamant about coming here today. And then I run into you….”
“Ahh,” he nodded. “I see where you’re going with this. No… I don’t know your friend Minnie and this is not a set up. It’s just… a very nice coincidence.” Zoe smiled, “Sorry for the slight paranoia,”
“Understandable—how many people have you been set up with?”
“One too many,” Zoe answered. “All nice guys—it’s just… there was one in particular that…”
“Not the asshole outside Rylie’s,” Ben interrupted his brow wrinkled with concern.
“N-no,” Zoe said blushing. “No, the asshole’s brother actually—but it’s over now.” Ben considered her for a moment and then gestured to the next display. As if he senses Zoe’s sadness and discomfort, he distracted her by explaining the skeletal system that was displayed prominently w
ith this body. Zoe was enthralled by his explanation; he was so informative that a few others near them stopped to listen. Zoe listened and she watched. Ben was a natural teacher, funny, energetic, animated, cute. He was very cute, actually, and when he smiled at her she felt a soft flutter in the middle of her tummy. She smiled back and slipped away when a woman asked him a question about something on the body. Zoe stopped at the next body and stared at the display with new appreciative eyes. She felt a little less disgusted now. After a moment Ben joined her again and she was glad to have his company again.
“That woman wanted me to look at a mole on her arm,” Ben said quietly. “I hate when people do that. They find out that I’m a doctor and all of a sudden I have requests for free mole checks and rash inspections.”
“No way, rashes?” Zoe gasped.
“Yea,” Ben smiled. “I’ve even had a guy drop his pants for me to look at a sore on his butt—that was the worst. Zoe, I noticed some complimentary coffee over in the corner—
would you like a cup?”
Zoe nodded and followed him across the room. She noticed Paige was still on the bench near the bathrooms, the girl’s eyes were following Zoe and Ben’s every step. Gesturing Paige over, Zoe frowned as her sister shook her head, jumped up, and ducked into the bathroom. Ben saw and chuckled.
“I really didn’t come here as a favor to anyone,” he said as he poured two cups of coffee and handed one to her. “But… my next question may make it seem that way. I was wondering if I could take you to dinner tonight.”
Zoe’s heart fluttered in response to his question. She bit her lower lip and dumped a sugar packet into her coffee. She stirred in creamer and then raised her eyes to Ben’s. He smiled nervously. “I’m having fun here with you and I’d like the chance to get to know you better—we could do lunch or something if you prefer.”
“No, dinner would be nice,” Zoe said. “Thank you for asking me.” Ben laughed and took a sip of his coffee. “Thank you for saying yes—I didn’t think I had a shot in hell.”
“Why would you think that?” Zoe asked as they moved aside to let others to the coffee.
“I don’t know… a vibe I got before, I suppose, at Rylie’s. You didn’t seem interested in me.”
Had he tried to ask her out at Rylie’s? Zoe didn’t remember anything about their conversation, only that he’d been eating an open turkey club sandwich.
“Well,” Zoe smiled. “I was incredibly distracted and nervous that day—I wasn’t interested in much of anything. My friend put me on the spot and I was thinking about how I was going to confront someone.
“I would like to have dinner with you Ben, as long as you swear that this wasn’t planned by my friends.”
“No,” he answered softly. “Look, why don’t we keep things causal and have dinner at Rylie’s? They play jazz music most nights—do you like jazz?”
“Sure,” Zoe nodded. “That sounds great, Ben.”
“Good,” he smiled again and Zoe felt herself blush, to which he laughed. “So, how about seven thirty? Do you want my number in case you need to cancel?” They switched numbers and chatted for a few more minutes about jazz before Paige slipped up quietly, her big eyes dancing with interest. For some reason Zoe felt embarrassed by Paige’s inquisitive look. As if Zoe had been caught doing something naughty, though she had no reason to feel that way at all. Paige was just too observant—
perhaps she was reading something into Zoe’s conversation and Ben’s attention.
“Hello.” Ben smiled at her.
“Hi,” Paige beamed at him. She slipped her arm around Zoe’s waist and leaned her weight against Zoe’s side. “I’m Paige Dryer.” She thrust her hand forward and Ben shook it.
“Ben Wolff,” he smiled.
Paige studied him. “Is your full name Benjamin?”
“It is,” he nodded.
“Benjamin Wolff,” Paige murmured. A smile spread across her face as she beamed up at Zoe. “That’s nice, right? Nice ring to it—sorta cute and masculine.”
“Yes, it’s a lovely name,” Zoe answered unable to stop herself from blushing when Paige wiggled her eyebrows. “Are you ready to go?”
Paige nodded, “But if you want to stay and chat some more, I’ll understand.”
“No, let’s get going,” Zoe ran her fingers through Paige’s soft hair and smiled at Ben.
“See you tonight?”
“Yeah, tonight, 7:30,” he winked at Paige as they passed him and headed outside. Zoe sighed a few blocks away and looked down at Paige who had been staring up at her without blinking, waiting patiently for details.
“He was cute!” Paige exclaimed after finally being acknowledged. “Really cute—how old do you think he is?”
“I don’t know, probably a good number older than me,” Zoe answered. “I don’t mind though—it’s just dinner. Not marriage or anything.”
Paige considered this for a moment and finally looked away. “Older men are probably more respectful, what does he do?”
“He said he’s a doctor.”
“WHAT!” Paige released Zoe’s waist so she could jumped up and down with excitement.
Zoe laughed as Paige did a little dance and clapped her hands. “Ohmigod, you landed a doctor!”
Zoe looked away embarrassed, “I didn’t land anyone, Paige, come on….”
“But you did that on your own!” Paige insisted. “You got a date.” Zoe blushed and looked down at the sidewalk, “Yeah, I suppose I did. I guess I don’t need my twelve year old sister and best friend setting me up all the time. Do I? I guess that means you both can stop!”
Paige ignored Zoe’s comments and asked, “Where are you going?”
“Rylie’s,” Zoe answered. “It’s a small café—they’ll have live jazz music tonight. That should be fun.”
“Yup… and he seems normal!” Paige looked away with a look of wonderment on her face. “And you said yes to a date without even being scared or anything. You didn’t even ask Minnie what you should do.”
Zoe nibbled on the inside of her cheek. She didn’t always ask for Minnie’s advice, only some times. She didn’t think of accepting a date on her own as big news, but obviously Paige did, which made Zoe wonder just how reliant she was on her friends to make decisions like this. She put both arms around Paige and hugged her tightly; the embrace was returned with enthusiasm. Together they hopped over cracks in the cement all the way to the subway station. Zoe road the train to Queens and saw Paige to the stoop of her apartment complex, and then took the train back to Manhattan. All the way home she convinced herself that she didn’t need to call Minnie in order to get ready for her date.
This time, she was going at it alone.
After only an hour in Ben’s company, Zoe realized that she was enjoying herself very much. He was waiting for her outside Rylie’s with a pretty bouquet of Gerber daisies. He was wearing jeans, a white button down shirt and a navy blue blazer, and was just as handsome, if not more so, than he had been earlier. He smiled when he saw her approaching and that smile did so much to put Zoe completely at ease in his presence.
Ben had a deep dimple in his right cheek; Zoe had always thought men with dimples were cute. He opened the door to the café for her and they were seated toward the back of the room far enough from the stage to have a conversation without yelling over the music, but close enough to have a great view of the band.
Ben didn’t insist that they have an appetizer when Zoe said she was fine without one, and they ordered the same meal for dinner, grilled chicken and vegetables, which was amusing and comforting to Zoe.
“Sometimes I hate eating healthy,” he said after ordering. “I was never blessed with a fast metabolism—I packed on quiet a few pounds in college. And it took forever for me to shed the weight.”
Zoe smiled. Somehow knowing that he’d had a weight problem was comforting, and Zoe could talk about her own struggles. She told him that she knew how he felt and was always watching what she ate. Because h
e was a doctor, she felt she could talk to him without embarrassment and he’d understand. Of course she didn’t dive deeply into the subject, and was grateful when he changed the topic to something non-weight related. He told her about all of the odd jobs he’d had in college and entertained her with tails of his stand-up comedy days. Zoe laughed so hard at several jokes she felt as if she were being watched by those around her.
“You’re too nice, that wasn’t funny at all,” Ben sighed as he pouted his lower lip out before sipping his beer. “No one ever laughs at those jokes.”
“I think they’re funny,” Zoe laughed. “Maybe we have similar senses of humor? You can’t love everything and some things just aren’t funny. What else did you do?” He shrugged casually, “I want to hear more about you, Zoe. Tell me about your family.”
“I’m an only child,” Zoe answered automatically. “Born in Pennsylvania, my parents still live in Philly. I moved to New York for college and never left. My mom is a teacher and my father is a welder, both are very hard working and not artistic at all. The big joke is that I was switched at birth; my dad sometimes demands a blood test.
“I love my parents very much, but I don’t get to see them very often. Lately it’s been work and my own crazy personal life—I should really visit soon.”
“Sounds like you love them very much,” Ben said. Zoe nodded and picked up her tea.
The condensation on the outside of her glass mixed very poorly with the lotion she’d put on her hands in the bathroom and the glass slipped right out and tipped over. Ben was quick to catch her glass and stop the contents from spilling onto his lap. Zoe was horrified, as usual, but Ben’s soft smile and laugh put her at ease.
“Sorry, I guess you should know that I’m very clumsy as well,” she blushed when he gave her a look, “oh, right, you already know that.”
He smiled, “What do you like to do for fun?”
Zoe shifted in her seat, “I’m pretty boring, Ben,” she admitted. “I enjoy hanging out with my best friend and Paige—my sister. Well, she’s my little sister through the Big Brother Little Sister program, but I’m coming to think of her as an adopted sister really. I do like to sketch and paint, and I love my job, so I spend a great deal of time doing that. I like gardens—but that’s sort of a new thing for me.”
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