Page 17 of Just Like That

‘Excuse me?And how exactly am I going to do that?’

Nick runs a hand through his dishevelled dark brown hair, clearly perturbed. ‘Because, God’s honest truth, I didn’t set that situation up. You jumped to the wrong conclusion, and all it will take is for Gwen to look at the staff roster and the cleaning schedule to realise that’s what you’ve done.’

I continue to eyeball him, weighing up whether to believe his story. ‘I could see in the meeting earlier that you’re not exactly in Gwen’s good books. How do I know you’re not just saying this to avoid getting in deeper than you already are?’

‘I guess you don’t. I’m asking you to trust me.’

I snort with derision. ‘Are you kidding me? I couldn’t trust you as far as I could throw you with that bloody great dung rake you made me use. All you’re doing is trying to cover your backside.’

I start to walk away again but Nick’s words stop me.

‘What is it that makes you so sure of that?’ His tone is exasperated. ‘Why do you have me pegged as this awful guy?’

‘Because you’ve given me no reason to think anything—’

‘Haven’t I, Jess?’ He walks right up to me so our faces are inches apart, and despite myself, I can’t help noticing his dark espresso-coloured eyes and how his days-old stubble accentuates his already well-defined jawline. ‘What happened in that hospital car park?’

‘You hit on me.’

‘No, whatreallyhappened? What are the facts?’

‘Oh, I’m not doing this,’ I scoff.

‘Why not? Could it be because if you really think about it, you’ll realise I did nothing wrong? That maybe you overreacted because you were already upset?’

‘Donotpull the “hysterical woman” excuse with me.’ I’m back to fizzing mad in an instant. ‘I don’t know what makes men like you think you can—’

‘Jess,stop,’ Nick assumes a commanding voice that shocks me into silence, then he softens his tone straight away. ‘Please. You’ve got this all wrong. And not because you’re a woman or you’re emotional or anything like that. It’s because you’re human and things get lost in translation. And I haven’t helped.’

‘No arguments on that one,’ I mutter, but I allow him to continue while staring into the empty enclosure I was curious about earlier.

‘Thank you.’ Nick acknowledges my climb down with evident relief. ‘Look, at the hospital that day, I know how you think it went down. And on reflection, maybe offering to buy you a coffee did seem like I was hitting on you. But I assure you, I wasn’t. When I walked past and saw you there, looking so broken, it reminded me of how my sister was the day our dad died of a heart attack…’ He trails off and I look round at him, finally realising my error.

‘Nick, shit, I’m… I don’t—’

‘It’s OK.’ He holds up a hand that’s clearly intended as a gesture of peace. ‘You don’t need to say anything. You didn’t know and I’m not looking for sympathy. It was a long time ago. I’m just trying to explain where I was coming from. When I saw you there, I guess the protective big brother came out in me and I wanted to help, but somehow, I got it wrong. I often get these things wrong.’ He grimaces and seems to wrestle with himself internally for a second.

I glance back at the empty enclosure then turn to face him properly. ‘So you weren’t hitting on me? You really were just being a good citizen, and I balled you out?’

‘Um… yeah. That’s about the size of it.’

‘And then when I walked into your workplace this morning – no surprises – you weren’t exactly pleased to see me.’

‘Correct again.’ He gives an almost apologetic nod. ‘All I saw was this judgemental woman who made a BS assumption about me. I guess I felt a bit emasculated, too. From being shouted down, and also because you’ve come to fix a problem we can’t seem to fix on our own.’

On hearing this, the tension in my jaw subsides and my guard finally drops. ‘When you put it like that, I guess I can see it from your side. Though this male pride thing…?’

‘I know. You don’t need to tell me. Not a good look.’

‘You’re right, it’s not.’ I fiddle with my watch awkwardly. ‘And neither is ball-breaking a bloke who was only trying to help. I’m sorry for how I reacted at the hospital. Though I would suggest that you work on your approach if you want to play the shoulder to cry on.’

‘I won’t be doing that again, I assure you.’ His expression tells me that he’s dead certain about this.

‘Oh no, I’ve broken you.’ I put a guilty hand to my mouth.

‘It’s not you. I’m generally not a natural at that stuff. So, can we start again?’

I reach out my hand jovially in place of a verbal response, and as he smiles and shakes it, I feel a tingly sensation spread through my body. This is closely followed by an involuntary thought of what it would be like to kiss him, and I jolt with surprise.

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