Jay cocked his head to one side, studying her. She was staring at the floor, completely mortified. Okay. He was supposed to be gay. This should come in useful. So instead of saying sorry to her, shutting the door, and leaving her alone like a real bloke would do, he came into the bathroom and closed the door. He glanced at her chest; the milky white flesh of her breasts was barely concealed from his prying eyes, what with her slender arms and the little material of the wet singlet.
“Hey,” he finally said. “It’s okay.”
Alex looked up at him. “I really didn’t mean that, Jay. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I can’t help the way I am,” he said, his gut wrenching in disgust.
You’re damn right, you rascal. You can’t help the way you are. You’re a male who’s about to take advantage of an innocent young woman.
He came to stand in front of her and touched her arms. He said gently, “It’s all right, Alex.”
Alex hugged herself harder, as though she were withdrawing from him because he was touching her. And in doing so, she was squeezing her breasts together. His mind started reeling with sinful images.
He quickly looked away before his imagination got any wilder. He stared at the wall instead and thought, You rascal, you’re turned on. Shit! You’re turned on. You’re in deep shit.
Think of something to say! Think of a joke! Make a joke!
Nothing.
Alex looked up at him. “Jay?” she whispered, her eyes large beneath her glasses as she gazed up at him.
“Hmm?” he responded, finally looking down at her face that didn’t seem so plain anymore.
“I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. Peter told me. I’m sorry. I should have kept it a secret. I mean, not mentioning it to you. But Peter told me, and—oh, damn—I’m so lousy at this. But I was just wondering, so you like men?”
God, she was so cute trying to apologize. She didn’t even know how to go about this so she wouldn’t hurt his so-called feelings even more. As an answer to her question about him being gay, he swallowed and managed to nod.
“So it’s okay, then,” she said quietly.
“What’s okay?”
“Me half-dressed in front of you. I’m shy. But since you’re gay and all, I think it’s okay. I heard people say gay friends are genuinely nice, like they’re not—you know—maybe it’s good to have you as a friend. I think you’re a good man, Jay. I think that’s why Peter is helping you out. And like can we not talk about this, you know, to anyone? Can we, like, keep it a secret?”
Jay wanted to laugh. She was drawing all the wrong conclusions about him. She considered herself safe in his presence when she was half-naked? And she thought he was a good man?
“All right, then. That’ll fix it.”
“What’ll fix it?” Alex asked, looking up at him.
“I’ll get one of my shirts for you since I’m the one who spilled beer on you,” he said and reluctantly took a few steps back. “And yeah, we’ll keep it a secret.”
“Thanks. Can you, like, hurry ‘cause I’m hungry.”
Jay nodded. “Right,” he said and opened the door. “Back in a sec.”
Alex grinned. Jay closed the door. Alone, she turned and glared accusingly at her old bra. It was the bra’s fault, of course. She couldn’t believe the stupid thing coiled with her singlet and came off. Gosh, she needed to buy a new one.
* * * * *
CHAPTER 6
In the dimly lit dining room, Jayden watched Alex from across the table. She had on his dark-grey jumper. It was way too big for her person, but she managed to make it look as though it fit her perfectly, with the sleeves rolled up to her slim forearms.
“So how’s the house renovation going, Pete?” Alex asked, glancing up from her plate of roasted pork and various veggies.
“Not too well,” Peter said. “Did I tell you about that mold?”
Alex shook her head as she popped some pork into her mouth.
“We have to take down the walls. God, more labor costs and more materials needed now,” he mumbled. “And Tracy is not very happy.”
“I’m sure I wouldn’t be happy either,” Alex commented, thinking about the amount of money needed for a house renovation.
“So, Alex,” Mr. Thompson said from across the table, sipping his glass of white wine.
Alex looked over at Dr. Mark Thompson, who had only arrived five minutes before dinner. He had been busy at the Dunedin Public Hospital and at the lab. Well, as a head consultant hematologist, he was expected to be busy and he was expected to be called in at any time.
“How’s Dad?” he asked.
“He’s not doing too well,” Alex said, wondering if she should tell Mark her dad was getting worse day by day.
Jay popped a piece of the roast meat into his mouth and chewed as he listened to their conversation. He wondered what was wrong with Alex’s dad. Was that why she had been reluctant to talk about her family back at SAN?
“He’s still having those fainting spells now and again.”
“I suggest surgery if it gets worse,” Mark said.
“Likewise,” Peter agreed.
Alex could only nod in agreement, as she didn’t know what else to say. She turned her attention to Jayden and saw him watching her. Her stomach fluttered oddly as his gaze seemed to be drawing her deeper into some kind of spell. Then he looked away and popped another piece of sweet potato into his mouth.
“You do like kumara?” she asked, watching him.
Jay looked up at her. “Kumara?”
“Yeah, kumara,” Alex said, nodding her head. “You’ve had three big pieces already.”
“I have? I don’t remember eating them.”
Peter and Margaret laughed. Peter said, “She means sweet potatoes.”
“Yeah, we call them kumara. It’s a Maori word for sweet potatoes,” Alex said.
“Kumara,” Jay tried out the word. “I like the name.”
After a good, hearty dinner and then dessert of ice cream and fruits, Alex said good night to the Thompsons and left. It was cold and dark outside as she rushed to her car. She was about to get in when Jay called out to her. “Hey, sorry to bother you.”
“That’s okay,” she said, shivering and hugging herself against the cold wind. “Oh, yeah, totally forgot. Your jersey.”
“No worries. You can give it back to me tomorrow.” A good excuse indeed to see her again.
“Tomorrow? What’s happening tomorrow?” Alex asked, confused.
“We have a lunch date,” he said.
“We do?” she asked. Her brows rose, her heart beating just a little faster than usual.
“Yeah.” He came closer to her. He could smell a hint of that lovely floral scent of her hair, and he wanted to get closer. He also wanted to keep her out of the cold wind.
“Peter told me you said yes. I thought we should meet tomorrow for lunch and arrange everything. How long do you have for lunch?”
“An hour.”
“Only an hour, huh?” He sounded disappointed. “That’s too short. How about we change to dinner?”