Page 35 of Wrench
¡°Do you want to?¡±
His eyes lowered to my throat to watch me swallow before I answered him.
¡°Yes.¡±
The phone rang and startled both of us. It must have been Buddy¡¯s results, so I leaped
from my chair to the phone, feeling sweaty.
¡°Hello? Oh, good. They¡¯re ready,¡± I said over the phone. ¡°And?¡±
The sexual tension in the room dissipated, transported back to an unsexual, cold,
office. I was left with a similar feeling one feels after a one-night stand: shame. Although,
I had no reason to. Nothing happened. He complimented me, some things that could have
meant anything were insinuated, then the phone rang. Fin. Done. Never again.
While listening to the results over the phone, I took a sip from my bottled water,
realizing I was parched. The lab tech finished telling me the results and just like I had
assumed, I turned to Isaac with a smile on my face. ¡°Great news! It¡¯s just leptospirosis!¡±
Isaac¡¯s charming swagger fell, and terror took over his face and I realized my error.
Wincing, I mentally kicked myself for my enthusiastic delivery of Buddy¡¯s diagnosis. ¡°Oh,
no. Don¡¯t worry! It sounds scary, but it¡¯s basically just the dog¡¯s version of a stomach
bug.¡±
Relief washed over his face. ¡°So, he¡¯s gonna be okay?¡±
¡°He¡¯s gonna be fine,¡± I said with a reassuring smile and turned on my heel toward one
of my cabinets. Talking while walking, I said, ¡°He¡¯ll have to take these antibiotics twice a
day, morning and night, for a week, but then he¡¯ll be good as new! Within twelve hours
you¡¯ll notice the, uh¡ symptoms decrease, and in a couple days he¡¯ll seem fine, but you
still have to finish the bottle, okay?¡±
I didn¡¯t notice I had reverted back to my professional manner as I called over my
shoulder, searching through the different pill bottles. When I found the right one, I
walked back, almost forgetting that just earlier I was wet for him.
Then, when I held out my hand with the pills, our hands touched, and everything came
back to me. His palms brushed mine and he lingered, like he was holding my hand. My
facade of professionalism fell. By then, I was so dizzy from the rollercoaster of erotic
emotions before I had my coffee, I felt like I was going to faint.
