Marshall looks from Ryle to me. I don’t know whether to laugh or crawl under the table and hide. “You did?” he says, looking back at Ryle.
Ryle shrugs. “It appears that way,” he says.
Allysa puts her head in her hands, “Jesus Christ,” she says, looking at me. “He’s drunk. They’re both drunk. Please don’t judge me because my brother is an asshole.”
I smile at her and wave it off. “It’s fine, Allysa. Lots of people want to fuck me.” I glance back at Ryle and he’s still casually stroking my foot. “At least your brother speaks his mind. Not a lot of people have the courage to say what they’re actually thinking.”
Ryle winks at me and then carefully moves my ankle off his lap. “Let’s see if you can put any weight on it,” he says.
He and Marshall help me to my feet. Ryle points to a table a few feet away that’s pushed up against a wall. “Let’s try to make it to the table so I can wrap it.”
His arm is secured around my waist, and he’s gripping my arm tightly to make sure I don’t fall. Marshall is more or less just standing next to me for support. I put a little weight on my ankle and it hurts, but it’s not excruciating. I’m able to hop all the way to the table with a lot of assistance from Ryle. He helps me pull myself up until I’m seated on top of it, leaning against the wall with my leg stretched out in front of me.
“Well, the good news is that it isn’t broken.”
“What’s the bad news?” I ask him.
He opens the first aid kit and says, “You’ll need to stay off of it for a few days. Maybe even a week or more, depending on how it heals.”
I close my eyes and lean my head against the wall behind me. “But I have so much to do,” I whine.
He carefully begins to wrap my ankle. Allysa is standing behind him, watching him wrap it.
“I’m thirsty,” Marshall says. “Anybody want something to drink? There’s a CVS across the street.”
“I’m good,” Ryle says.
“I’ll take a water,” I say.
“Sprite,” Allysa says.
Marshall grabs her hand. “You’re coming with.”
Allysa pulls her hand from his and crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m not going anywhere,” she says. “My brother can’t be trusted.”
“Allysa, it’s fine,” I tell her. “He was making a joke.”
She stares at me silently for a moment, and then says, “Okay. But you can’t fire me if he pulls more stupid shit.”
“I promise I won’t fire you.”
With that, she grabs Marshall’s hand again and leaves the room. Ryle is still wrapping my foot when he says, “My sister works for you?”
“Yep. Hired her a couple of hours ago.”
He reaches into the first aid kit and pulls out tape. “You do realize she’s never had a job in her entire life?”
“She already warned me,” I say. His jaw is tight and he doesn’t look as relaxed as he did earlier. Then it hits me that he might think I hired her as a way to get closer to him. “I had no idea she was your sister until you walked in. I swear.”
He glances at me, and then back down at my foot. “I wasn’t suggesting you knew.” He begins to tape over the ACE bandage.
“I know you weren’t. I just didn’t want you to think I was trying to trap you somehow. We want two different things from life, remember?”
He nods, and carefully sets my foot back on the table. “That is correct,” he says. “I specialize in one-night stands and you’re on the quest for your Holy Grail.”
I laugh. “You have a good memory.”
“I do,” he says. A languid smile stretches across his mouth. “But you’re also hard to forget.”
Jesus. He has to stop saying things like that. I press my palms into the table and pull my leg down. “Naked truth coming.”
He leans against the table next to me and says, “All ears.”
I hold nothing back. “I’m very attracted to you,” I say. “There’s not much about you I don’t like. And being as though you and I both want different things, if we’re ever around each other again, I’d appreciate it if you could stop saying things that make me dizzy. It’s not really fair to me.”
He nods once, and then says, “My turn.” He places his hand on the table next to me and leans in a little. “I’m very attracted to you, too. There’s not much about you I don’t like. But I kind of hope we’re never around each other again, because I don’t like how much I think about you. Which isn’t all that much—but it’s more than I’d like. So if you still aren’t going to agree to a one-night stand, then I think it’s best if we do what we can to avoid each other. Because it won’t do either of us any favors.”
I don’t know how he ended up this close to me, but he’s only about a foot away. His proximity makes it hard to pay attention to words that come out of his mouth. His gaze drops briefly to my mouth, but as soon as we hear the front door open, he’s halfway across the room. By the time Allysa and Marshall make it to us, Ryle is busy restacking all the crates that fell. Allysa looks down at my ankle.
“What’s the verdict?” she asks.
I push my bottom lip out. “Your doctor brother says I have to stay off of it for a few days.”
She hands me my water. “Good thing you have me. I can work and do what I can to clean up while you rest.”
I take a drink of the water and then wipe my mouth. “Allysa, I’m declaring you employee of the month.”
She grins and then turns to Marshall. “Did you hear that? I’m the best employee she has!”
He puts his arm around her and kisses the top of her head. “I’m proud of you, Issa.”
I like that he calls her Issa, which I’m assuming is short for Allysa. I think about my own name and if I’ll ever find a guy who could shorten it into a sickeningly cute nickname. Illy.
Nope. Not the same.
“Do you need help getting home?” she asks.
I hop down and test my foot. “Maybe just to my car. It’s my left foot, so I can probably drive just fine.”
She walks over and puts her arm around me. “If you want to leave the keys with me, I’ll lock up and come back tomorrow and start cleaning.”
The three of them walk me to my car, but Ryle allows Allysa to do most of the work. He seems almost scared to touch me now for some reason. When I’m in the driver’s seat, Allysa puts my purse and other things in the floorboard and sits in the passenger seat. She takes my phone out and begins programming her number into it.
Ryle leans into the window. “Make sure to keep ice on it as much as you can for the next few days. Baths help, too.”
I nod. “Thanks for your help.”
Allysa leans over and says, “Ryle? Maybe you should drive her home and take a cab back to the apartment, just to be safe.”
Ryle looks down at me and then shakes his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he says. “She’ll be fine. I’ve had a few beers, probably shouldn’t be driving.”
“You could at least help her home,” Allysa suggests.
Ryle shakes his head and then pats the roof of the car as he turns and walks away.
I’m still watching him when Allysa hands me back my phone and says, “Seriously. I’m really sorry about him. First he hits on you, then he’s a selfish asshole.” She climbs out of the car and closes the door, then leans through the window. “That’s why he’ll be single for the rest of his life.” She points to my phone. “Text me when you get home. And call me if you need anything. I won’t count favors as work-time.”
“Thank you, Allysa.”
She smiles. “No, thank you. I haven’t been this excited about my life since that Paolo Nutini concert I went to last year.” She waves goodbye and walks toward where Marshall and Ryle are standing.
They begin walking down the street and I watch them in my rearview mirror. As they turn the corner, I see Ryle glance over his shoulder and look back in my direction.
I close my eyes and exhale.
The two times I’ve spent with Ryle were on days I’d probably rather forget. My father’s funeral and spraining my ankle. But somehow, him being present made them feel like less of the disasters they were.