“What? No. I just meant …”
Josh stood, crossing his arms. “I’m serious. Give him a better name if you don’t like it.”
“Like a nickname?”
“Yeah. I’m still calling him …” Tiny whimpers came from the floor, and I bent over to run my fingers through coarse black and brown hair. “Didi,” I said. “That’s close enough to what he’s used to, so I don’t confuse him.”
Josh wrinkled his nose. “He’s a boy, Avery.”
“Fine, just Dee, then.”
“Dee it is,” Josh said, bending over to ruffle the hair on Dee’s head. “I’ll be back later.”
Dee whined when we approached the door.
My mouth curved down. He looked so lonely, and I knew exactly how that felt. “You just got home. Maybe we should stay here?”
“You sure?” he asked.
“Yeah, we can have JayWok deliver and watch a movie.”
Josh shook his head. “No movies. I’m kind of enjoying the inquisition.” He jogged back to the door, opened it, and then grabbed his phone. The dog wiggled its butt against Josh’s ankles again, and then ran over to me. I picked him up and sat on the couch.
“Hey, it’s Josh.”
I smiled. Josh called them as much as I did. “The same for me, and Avery’s over here. Yeah, chicken fried rice and low-sodium soy.” He gestured to me, making sure that was all right. I nodded. “Delivery. Thanks, Coco.”
“If I still had a car,” I said, “I’d ask you to teach me to change my oil. That would save me a ton of money.”
He shrugged. “I can do it. I don’t mind.”
I looked at him, unimpressed. “I need you to teach me, that way I can do it on my own when you tell me you’re not interested in a relationship.”
He looked around his apartment and then walked over to me, sitting on the cushion next to me. “Hadn’t crossed my mind, actually.”
“Right,” I deadpanned.
I wasn’t about to feign naïvety just to make Josh feel better. I had to at least protect my dignity, if not my pride. Knowing what the other nurses were thinking, seeing us chatting and making plans when he delivered patients to the ER, was hard enough. I had been one of those nurses once, making bets with Deb on how many drinks it would take Josh to get a particular nurse into bed, and how many days she would cry after.
Work would be easier later if I played this right.
“I thought we weren’t going to do that,” he said, unhappy.
“Do what?”
“Play games.”
“I recall you saying play nice. Technically, that’s playing something.”
“That’s not what I meant. You know,” he said, shifting uncomfortably. “Like you said, let’s be brave. Balls out. No back and forth, no anticipation of the other person’s next move. Let’s cut through all the bullshit and just be honest without worrying we sound too … anything.”
“Okay,” I said, unsure.
“I like you,” he admitted. “A lot. I was attracted to you before the accident, but since, everything’s changed. I want to get to know you better, but I’ve been sort of a dick since I got here, and I’m fairly certain you don’t believe a word that comes out of my mouth.”
“No, but you oversharing is mildly entertaining. Tell me more.”
He smiled. “You look exceptionally beautiful in my hoodie. Avery?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I kiss you?”
“Um, sure.” I cringed at how awkward I sounded.
He raked his fingers gently into my hair at the nape of my neck and leaned in. I closed my eyes, and then I heard whimpering. Dee jumped up, licking and nibbling my chin.
I squealed, leaning back and wiping my chin with the hoodie sleeve.
“C’mon!” Josh said, chuckling while he set the wirehaired dog on the floor.
“He missed you,” I said.
He shook his head, pointing to the ball of fur. “No, no,” he said, trying not to laugh. He turned to me. “Ask me something.”
“Anything?”
“Almost anything.”
“What can’t I ask?”
“Oh, c’mon!”
“You said to ask you something! At least answer that.”
“I don’t like talking a lot about my past.”
“Join the club.”
“Oh, sweet Avery Jacobs has skeletons?” He smirked.
“Everyone has skeletons. So, pretty much everything is off the table with you.”
“Ask me. I can’t promise I’ll answer now, but I promise to answer later.”
I thought for a minute. “Why did you move to Philly?”
“My grandfather got me a job at LifeNet here.”
I nodded. “Does your grandfather live here?”
“He did when he first married Granny. They moved to Abbottstown when she found out she was pregnant. He had some connections here and said it would be good for me.”
“Why?”
Josh squirmed. “Later.”
I nodded. “Were you always so … charismatic?”
“That’s a nice way to say it. Y’know, it never occurred to me to be embarrassed about it, but sitting with you at the moment, I kind of am.”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed. It’s not like I’m a virgin.”
“You’re not?” I couldn’t discern the look on his face.
My shoulders fell, and I looked at him as if I were bored with his question. “Please. I’m twenty-four. Do you know anyone our age who’s a virgin?”