“We’re having lunch,” he reminded me. “What if they see this?”
“There’s not a law against muffins, is there?” I raised one quizzical eyebrow.
“Bringing outside food into a restaurant,” he tried.
I shook my head. “There was a big box of them. I thought you might like one.”
“Okay,” he agreed, setting it to the side.
It wasn’t two minutes later before he was folding the paper down the sides and breaking pieces off into his hand. I had my best friend pegged. Connor worked at the university, and I worked at the hospital. There were about five city blocks between us, and we tried to get together as often as we could.
Unfortunately, my work schedule kept me away most of the time. There were no regular breaks when you were on rotation. I couldn’t very well tell my patients to wait while I ran to grab a coffee with my friend.
Connor knew it, and he never gave me any grief. We’d picked this café because he liked it. If I didn’t show up, he would just eat his lunch and go back to work. It was right down the street from his office, for convenience’s sake.
“He doesn’t have tenure,” Connor was saying.
I realized I was supposed to be paying attention. I tried to rewind the conversation in my head, but it was no good. I knew the university was a hotbed of politics. That was probably the topic of the day. People gained and lost favor overnight, it seemed. All through grad school, I thought my workload was off the charts. It turned out that I was lucky.
As a doctor, I could set my own hours. I worked at the hospital, but I also had my own practice. I didn’t have to rely on anyone else to pay my bills. I certainly didn’t have to contend with the dean. The way Connor talked about him, he sounded like an ass.
I gave my friend a little latitude. I knew he didn’t have anyone else to talk to about work. I didn’t know any of the other people involved, so I was the perfect shoulder to lean on. I let him talk but interrupted him a moment later.
“Do you see those girls?” I asked, leaning close.
Conner stopped mid-sentence and turned to follow my gaze.
“Don’t look,” I snapped.
“Do you want me to look or not?” he asked.
“Look, but don’t look like you’re looking,” I replied.
Connor rolled his eyes, giving me the finger. I laughed, unable to divert my attention from the women at the next table. They were sitting together, like old friends. One of them had long, dark hair, the other had blond hair. Both were young, maybe twenty or twenty-five at the oldest. The one I could see the best, the dark-haired beauty, was talking about her job.
She said she was a nanny, working for a rich family just outside of Dublin. By her accent, I could tell that she was American. I knew plenty of people from the States. Doctors often rotated around, sharing their knowledge and research with other facilities. There were also exchange students who did residencies in the hospital. I found them to be quite friendly, despite all the negative press. Not once had any American told me to fuck off or acted inappropriate in any way. I figured the country’s reputation must be based off Hollywood and all the action heroes. In real life, Americans were the same as anyone else.
Connor finally managed to sneak a glance, turning back to me with a thumbs-up. I shook my head. If this were a text conversation, he would be sending me emojis. He raised his eyebrows, asking if I was interested.
Of course I was. I didn’t want to commit to that in writing, but I wouldn’t have refused an opportunity to show the young woman around town. I wondered what family she was working for and if I knew them.
The hospital being central to the region meant I knew quite a number of people, both rich and poor. We were one of the leading medical centers in the entire country. It was entirely possible that her employer had stepped through my doors at one point.
“She’s too young for me,” I said, disappointed.
“Nonsense.” Conner dismissed my concerns.
“What would we have to talk about?”
“Why do you want to talk?”
I gave my friend a death stare. Conner was quicker to hop into bed with people than I was. He didn’t care about a lot of things like childhood pastimes or views on Brexit. He figured if two people were attracted to each other, they should make love.
I envied him in a way. It seemed so cut and dried. I often messed things up with my desire to get to know people. I held on to the opinion that lots of people operated that way. Hell, some men even waited until they were married to give it a go. I wasn’t that extreme.
Conner was bisexual. He’d told me a long time ago that he would gladly fuck me if given the opportunity. I told him I was flattered, but no thanks. He never mentioned it again, and I didn’t feel uncomfortable. I wasn’t the kind of guy who judged people. To each his own.
He also enjoyed going out with women, so I knew he would appreciate the view. His back was facing the couple, however, so he couldn’t study them the way I could.