“Can I talk to you?” he asked, shifting uncomfortably.
“Of course. Come in.” She cleared a pile of papers and books from a recliner and sat down across from him.
“Are you about out of here for the day? It’s almost six. I don’t want to take up the only time you and Reed have to see each other before his shift.”
“I’ll be here a while yet, let’s talk. What’s on your mind, Chris?”
“I met someone.”
Charlotte gave him a slight, encouraging smile.
“Even though we can’t be together, she’s on my mind constantly,” he continued.
“Why can’t you be together?”
“Because I don’t want to be in a relationship. And even if I did, Abby’s…she’s a stripper. Please don’t judge, though, Charlotte, she’s not what you might think.”
“Tell me more. Why does her being a stripper mean you can’t be together?”
Chris looked at her incredulously, as if it was obvious.
“I can’t stand the thought of other men getting hard looking at her and jerking off thinking about her. When I picture her doing a lap dance on some guy, it makes my stomach clench. If we were together, I wouldn’t be willing to share her.”
“Let’s back up. Tell me more about her.”
There was a light knock on the door before it swung open and Reed stuck his head in.
“Hey, babe, let’s get dinner,” he said. “Oh, hey, Chris, what are you doing here?”
“We’re talking,” Charlotte said.
“Everything okay?” Reed asked.
“You guys get dinner together,” Chris said, rising. “You hardly see each other.”
“No, sit.” Charlotte’s small voice was commanding.
“It’s fine, I’ve got paperwork anyway,” Reed said. “Come say bye to me before you leave, Char.”
Chris sighed as Reed closed the door. He wasn’t sure he wanted to go down this path; to say out loud what he was feeling for Abby. But Charlotte looked at him expectantly, so he continued.
“Abby’s…like a breath of fresh air. She’s beautiful, but I’ve known plenty of women I could say that about. I’m very attracted to her, but it’s not just because of her looks, and I’ve never experienced that. She’s this confounding mix of fragile and strong. I don’t think she’s ever been treated well, and I want to show her what it can be like. But I’m afraid to, because I don’t want to hurt her. I’m averse to commitment, so how far could it ever go?”
Charlotte just looked at him, waiting for him to continue. He shifted in the chair and took a deep breath.
“I gave her a massage the other day, and I didn’t mean to, but I kissed her afterwards. I wish I wouldn’t have, because now I want more. And then…when I called her from Vegas last weekend, she told me some asshole asked her out, and it really pissed me off.”
“What about just giving things some time? Seeing what develops?” Charlotte suggested.
“I don’t know. My voice of reason tells me I need to stop this now, before anything happens. Abby’s not someone I’m willing to hurt.”
“Why do you assume it will end with hurt?”
“It always does, Charlotte. Otherwise, why would it be ending?”
As she lifted her head from the pillow, Abby was confused by the cloudy grogginess that surrounded her. Had something woken her up? Ringing. She inhaled sharply, about to jump from her bed and run to her mother’s room, when she realized it was her phone ringing from a bedside table. She glanced at the clock – it was almost 2:30 a.m.
“Chris?” she said after seeing his name on the display.
“Abby. I’m so sorry for waking you up.”
“No, it’s – is everything okay?”
“Yes. It’s great. I just delivered a baby.”
She could feel the joy in his voice.
“A baby? Oh, Chris. That’s amazing. Tell me about it.”
“I’ve never had to deliver one alone, but the baby was crowning as the woman’s husband walked her into the ER, and I had to do it because no one from OB made it down in time. It was amazing.”
“That’s great, Chris. I’m so proud of you.”
“I didn’t do much. It was just neat to be part of it. They took a picture of me holding the baby in the lobby.”
“You delivered it in the lobby?”
“Yeah, I did. Anyway, I was excited, and I wanted to tell you. Sorry I woke you up.”
“I’m so glad you did.”
“How was your day?”
“Good. I finished a big project at work and took the girls to gymnastics after work.”