by Jackie Lau
“I think that’s weirder than the poop place,” Crystal said.
“I beg to differ.” Iris picked up her next slice of pizza. “How’s it going with Jared?”
“Ohhh.” Crystal was practically fluttering her eyelashes. “Jared is lovely. And strong. And rugged. And everything a woman could want.”
“You’ve been seeing him for over a month. That’s a long time for you.”
Like Iris, Crystal was not usually one for relationships.
Crystal shrugged. “I like him. He doesn’t talk much—he has the strong, silent thing going on—but when he says something, you really listen, you know? Anyway, I’m not thinking about where it’s going. I’ll just keep seeing him until it stops being fun.”
“Maybe you’ll fall in love,” Rebecca said.
Crystal shrugged again, which was interesting. She didn’t protest that it wasn’t a possibility. “What about Alex? Having fun working with him?”
Iris had a sip of wine. “It’s okay.”
At first, she’d dreaded each meeting, but now, she didn’t mind.
Actually, she was rather looking forward to the next time she’d see him—either Wednesday or Thursday, depending on her schedule. Maybe they’d talk about steel erections some more.
“What are you giggling at?” Rebecca asked, leaning forward.
“Giggling? I’m not giggling.”
Rebecca and Crystal looked at her doubtfully.
“I think that was a giggle,” Crystal said. “Do you ever pull him behind half-finished walls and kiss him senseless?” She made smooching noises.
“That would be inappropriate.”
“Well, do you want to kiss him senseless?”
Iris looked away. “I still think he’s attractive.”
“I’m disappointed I wasn’t there the night you two met Jared and Alex,” Rebecca said. “You should bring them along the next time we go out. We can have a triple date.”
“Sure,” Crystal said. “Just don’t expect Jared to be a great conversationalist.”
“I’m not bringing Alex,” Iris protested. “There’s nothing going on between us now. We’re simply working on a project together. Yes, we slept together once, but it’s no big deal.”
“Mm-hmm. Are your conversations always one hundred percent about work?”
“No. I mean, you talk about non-work things with your co-workers, don’t you? Alex and I had a very interesting conversation about the weather once.”
Why did she say that? Crystal and Rebecca wouldn’t buy it for a second.
Really, there was no reason to talk about Alex. And yet if Iris was honest with herself, maybe she did want to talk about him, even if she’d never ask him to go on a triple date.
She drowned her sorrows in wine once more.
“You flirt with him, don’t you?” Crystal said.
“Not when I’m doing my work! But he always walks me to my car afterward.”
“He sounds like quite the gentleman,” Rebecca said.
Crystal jumped in. “I get the impression he wasn’t exactly a gentleman in bed.”
Iris felt her cheeks heat.
“Ooh, you’re blushing! You never blush when you talk about men. Or sex. Unless your mother or grandmother is in the room. So, are you going to sleep with him again?”
“I shouldn’t. We’re working together.”
“It’s not like you have to see him every day, and it’s not preventing you from doing your job, right?”
“You’re making this sound so sensible, but it’s not. I’m not getting more involved with Alex. We’re in a good place right now, and I think having sex with him again would ruin that. We had a one-night stand. That’s all it was.”
“Are you sure about that?” pressed Rebecca, the happily-married woman. “Maybe it could be something more.”
Iris shook her head decisively. “Not happening.”
* * *
Iris went to site again on Wednesday at the end of the day. The project was behind—it seemed like projects were always behind. A shipment hadn’t arrived on time, and there had been thunderstorms both Monday and Tuesday afternoon.
“I blame you for the weather,” she said as Alex walked her to her car. “The thunder, the lightning, the heavy rain...I bet that was you. You did it to annoy me. I got soaking wet when I walked home from the subway yesterday.”
He gave her a crooked smile. “Yes, I’m Thor. I can control thunderstorms.” He spread his arms wide.
“You’re a nut.” Iris couldn’t hide her grin.
“Have coffee with me now?”
She must not have heard that right.
“There’s an independent coffee shop nearby,” he said. “Just give me ten minutes to finish up here, and then I can leave. Unless you have to go back to the office?”
She shook her head and stared at him. Apparently, she hadn’t misheard him after all.
“Why?” she asked.
“Why not?”
“Is this a date?”
“It’s not a date. I just thought we could have coffee. I don’t want to go home to an empty apartment right now. I’d rather talk about steel erection with you.”
“We don’t have to talk about work when you’re off the clock.” She paused. “Okay. Tell me where this coffee shop is. I’ll head there, and you can meet me when you’re done.” She opened the door to her car.
Why was she doing this? She’d told her friends nothing more would happen between them.
But he’d sounded lonely, behind those light-hearted comments about steel erection, and she didn’t want him to be lonely.
* * *
Alex opened the door to the coffee shop and immediately located Iris sitting at a table near the back. Her chin was propped up on her hand, and she was looking out the window. It was the first time in ages that he’d seen her without a hardhat and safety vest. She was beautiful.
Mind you, she was still beautiful with the hardhat and safety vest, but it was nice to see her outside of work.
He hadn’t planned to ask her to have coffee with him. The words had just popped out of his mouth; he hadn’t been able to help himself.
And now, here they were.
He bought a coffee and took the seat across from her.
“So,” she said.
“So.” He paused. “I confess, it’s weird to have a conversation with you that doesn’t involve work.”
“There was that conversation when we were trying to get each other into bed.” She tilted her head. “Are you trying to get me into bed? You said it’s not a date, but—”
“I’m not trying to get you into bed. Let’s try to have a conversation that has nothing to do with sex. Or work.”
They were quiet for a minute.
“My grandmother and my mother are both determined to find me a boyfriend,” she said at last. “In fact, both of them brought men over to meet me on Saturday morning.”
She proceeded to relate a ridiculous story involving a proctologist, a neurosurgeon, and some very determined mothers and grandmothers. When he started laughing, she glared at him.
“What?” he said. “You can’t tell me that you didn’t expect me to laugh when you started that story. Wouldn’t you have been disappointed if I hadn’t laughed?”
“I suppose. But dammit, sometimes my life just seems like one bad joke.”
“I kind of want to try deconstructed dumplings.”
She made a face. “That defeats the purpose of dumplings.”
“It does, but I’m still curious.”
“Do you think I should have gone on the date just for the story?”
At the thought of Iris going on a date with someone who wasn’t him, Alex was tempted to crush his coffee cup in his fist, but he held himself back. It would make a mess, and besides, he had no claim on her whatsoever.
Yet they were now sitting in a coffee shop, outside of work, as though he wanted her to be something more.
Maybe they could be friends.
He took one look at Iris’s lips and decided it could never be that simple with her.
“I don’t think you should have gone on the date just for the story. You’ve got enough of a story as it is.” He had a sip of coffee. “My dad tried to set me up with a girl on the weekend, too. She’s a pharmacist who likes fine dining, traveling, badminton, and cosplay. I looked up her pictures on Instagram, and she’s very talented. I couldn’t believe some of the pictures were actually her.”
“Are you going to meet her?”
Was that a hint of jealousy in Iris’s voice, or was it just wishful thinking on his part?
“No,” he said.
“Why not?”
He held her gaze for a moment, then turned his coffee cup in his hands. “I’m not interested in a relationship.”
“Neither am I. What about your mom? Does she try to set you up?”
He swallowed. “My mother died last year.”
She reached forward and placed her hand on top of his. “Alex, I’m so sorry.”
He nodded jerkily in acknowledgement.
She kept her hand where it was, running one of her fingers up and down his.
“But she did before she got sick,” he said hoarsely. “No matter how many times I refused, she would keep bugging me about it.” He gave Iris a wry smile. “I miss that. My dad took no for an answer so easily, it was almost disappointing. Actually, I think...” He hesitated. “My father and I don’t know how to be around each other without my mother there. I never really had a relationship with him that was separate from her, if that makes sense.”
Iris nodded. “It’s a little like that with my dad, too.”
“She called me several times a week, but I rarely talked to him on the phone. She was the one who decided when we’d see each other, what we’d do. She was also the one who’d take the pictures, so now there are so few photos of her.”
He hadn’t realized the extent of it until now. His mother had been the one his family revolved around, and now they were all cut adrift. Maybe if his brother lived in Toronto, it would be easier, but Stuart and his wife had moved out west a few years ago. Alex hadn’t seen Stuart in months, though he was coming to visit soon.
“It’s strange,” Alex said, “the things I miss now.”
He shook his head. He was getting too melancholy.
Fortunately, Iris found the perfect thing to say.
“What would have happened if you’d gotten yourself a fake girlfriend?” she asked. “You could have pretended you were in a relationship with me. Would that have been enough to stop your mother’s matchmaking?”
He managed a chuckle. It was nice to think about his mom like this. “She wouldn’t have tried to set me up with anyone if I had a girlfriend, but I think she would have been able to see right through any fake relationship.”
“I can’t believe Phillip’s mom was determined to set him up, even though he already has a girlfriend.”
Alex thought for a moment. “If I was serious about a woman, I’m sure my mother would have liked her. She would have done her best to learn to like her, even if she didn’t at the beginning. Though my mother liked almost everyone, so I doubt that would have been an issue. She just wanted me to be happy.”
“I don’t think that’s what my mother and grandmother want. I think they just consider me a failure if I don’t hit the traditional milestones. Husband, children, and all that. Frankly, my grandfather was an ass, and I doubt my mother and father are happy together. I don’t want that kind of life.”
And Alex didn’t want to feel the pain of loss ever again.
He’d managed, though. In the days afterward, he’d been the only one who hadn’t cried. The one who made the funeral arrangements, the burial arrangements. The one who put the obituary in the paper. He had separated himself from that pain as best he could, like he could put his heart in a box and stuff it in the closet.
It hadn’t worked entirely, but it had worked well enough.
It still worked well enough.
Sometimes, it was all he had.
He was afraid that if he lost his ability to detach himself, everything would collapse, and there would be nothing left.
Nothing.
“Alex?” Iris said. “Would you prefer to talk about something else?”
Maybe if they were in bed together—not having sex, just her naked body around his—he would be able to say something more, but not here, not like this.
He gave her a sharp nod.
“Okay,” she said. “What are your hobbies? I assume they’re not traveling, fine dining, badminton, and cosplay?”
He managed a smile. “I like food, of course. Just not if it’s deconstructed. Or in the shape of a poop emoji. I like traveling, but I haven’t been anywhere in a little while.” Not since his mom had gotten sick. “I work out a lot.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s obvious. The first thing I noticed about you was your biceps.”
“Not my gorgeous silky locks?” He touched his hair, which he kept quite short.
“You could be in a shampoo commercial.”
“You think so?”
“To be honest, I think you’re hot enough that you could sell anything.”
“Mm. What should I try to sell you today?”
She smiled at him. She had the loveliest smile he’d ever seen, no doubt about it. He wanted to see it again and again, but he also liked making her roll her eyes or glare at him.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I can’t stay much longer. My grandmother is expecting me home for dinner.”
* * *
Alex walked Iris to her car. When they reached it, he stepped toward her and lifted his hand, and she gave him a barely-perceptible nod. He touched her cheek, stroking the pad of his thumb across her skin.
“Thank you for today,” he said before gathering her in his arms and pressing his mouth to hers. She tasted of warm milk and coffee. It was comforting to kiss her, to be with her, even though they had talked about things that weren’t so comfortable.
She moaned against his lips and swept her tongue into his mouth. She bit his bottom lip.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” he said when she pulled back.
Apparently, that made her want to kiss him again.
Well, he wasn’t complaining.
This time, she wrapped her arms around him and took control of the kiss, of the give and take, of the pressure, ending with a light brush of her lips over his.
“I’ll see you next week,” she said as she climbed into her car.
“When will you come to site?”
“Probably Wednesday.”
And then she was gone, and he could only think of next Wednesday.
Chapter 11
“You’re quiet today,” Ngin Ngin said at dinner. “Cat got your tongue? This is a new expression I learned.”
Iris shrugged, then picked up a snow pea with her chopsticks.
“What happened at work?”
“Nothing. Work was fine.”
“I have many, many decades of people telling me they’re fine when they’re not. You tell me the truth!”
Iris chuckled.
She really was fine. She was just a bit out of sorts after that kiss. After that conversation with Alex at the coffee shop. She wasn’t used to being out of sorts because of a man.
Something he’d said the night they met jumped into her mind.
I want to take you to my bed and use you to forget...
Now she knew what he’d wanted to forget.
“Ngin Ngin,” Iris said slowly, an idea forming in her mind. “Can I have a friend over next Friday for dinner?” She felt like a child, asking questions like this.
Ngin Ngin put down her chopsticks. “A friend? Is this friend a man?”
“Yes.”
“What’s his name?”
“Alex.”
She hoped her grandmother had forgotten who Alex was.
Unfortunately, sh
e wasn’t that lucky.
“Alex,” Ngin Ngin said. “This rings a bell... Yes! I remember. He is the site supervisor at your job, and you slept together!”
“Um.”
“Is he your boyfriend now? Is this why you want me to meet him?”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Iris said. “Women are allowed to have male friends, you know.”
She would not mention today’s kiss. She would not.
God, she couldn’t believe she was bringing a man to meet Ngin Ngin. It wouldn’t matter how much she protested. Her grandmother would treat Alex as though he was her boyfriend.
But it would make Ngin Ngin happy, since she desperately wanted Iris to get a man. With any luck, it would also make Alex happy, since he seemed lonely and he missed having interfering female relatives. Iris was sure Ngin Ngin was nothing like his mom, but she thought he might enjoy it.
This wasn’t entirely selfless, though. If Ngin Ngin met Alex, perhaps she would stop her matchmaking efforts. Iris didn’t want to be surprised by any more proctologists and their grandmothers coming over for tea, or by a man cutting grass shirtless in the backyard. (Unless it was Alex. It would be no hardship to see Alex cutting the grass without a shirt.)
She just hoped Ngin Ngin wasn’t already planning the wedding.
“What should I cook for him?” Ngin Ngin asked. “What does he like to eat?”
“I don’t know. Anything you like. I’m sure he’s not too picky.”
“This is not a helpful answer.”
“Whatever you want to make. It doesn’t need to be fancy. I feel bad asking you to cook for another person, but—”
“Better me cook than you.” Ngin Ngin grinned. “You would scare him off with your terrible cooking. Plus, you might blow up the kitchen.”
“Thanks, Ngin Ngin.”
“It’s okay, I don’t mind making dinner. Not every day I get to meet Iris’s boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend!”
* * *
“You want me to come over for dinner?” Alex asked after walking Iris to her car the following Wednesday. “Come over for dinner and meet your grandmother?”
He hadn’t thought they had this sort of relationship.