Page 36 of Love, In Balance

“Thank you. That means a lot. I thought I’d be burdening you with having to work here, so I’m pleased to hear that. It’s been a pleasure having you” she says as she sips her old fashioned.

We’ve ordered food and kept the drinks coming. I’m not drunk or even tipsy, but I’m feeling relaxed and slightly merry. My mind is looser than usual and I’m appreciating Lista even more than I do normally.

It's dangerous territory.

I’m still trying to remain professional, but this evening feels out of the professional boundaries and my body has a mind of its own.

Just in the nick of time, as I go to lean forward towards Lista, disaster saves me from doing something I may have regret.

“Fuck. Shit!” accidently leaves my mouth when the hammer Lista just placed on the table slips off and onto my hand, shattering the glass I was drinking from.

The shards of glass fly between us both and my first concern is her.

Lista leans toward me.

“Fuck Quin, I’m so sorry. that was my fault. I’m so sorry” she says panicking.

“Lista, are you hurt? Do you have glass on you” I say as I lightly graze her arms with my right hand.

We’re both covered in Whiskey and there are small shards of glass in her right arm and on her legs. I’ve got some in my left hand and on my trousers, alongside a cut in my palm. We both stand. She helps me get up from the floor and we walk towards the bathroom.

“I’m fine Quin, just a few shards. I’m so sorry”. She rests her hand gently on the one I’ve cut.

“There’s blood on your shirt Quin. Let’s start removing the shards and then get your hand bandaged up.As ifyou’ve got another hand injury after just healing from your last injury” she says as she stands close to me, removing the shards of glass bit by bit from my hand and wrist, shaking her head and looking worried.

“Lista I’m ok. It’s not your fault. The hammer just slipped”. She doesn’t respond, and just continues nursing my hand.

“Hold put” she says suddenly.

She runs to the kitchen, reaches into the cupboard, grabs the first aid box and runs back into me.

She opens up the box, standing close to me again and cleans the cut on my palm gently, before wrapping a small bandage around my hand tightly. She seems to know exactly what she’s doing.

“You seem well practised at this” I say curiously, trying to lighten the mood.

She smiles and raises her eyebrows.

“It’s a good job isn’t it? After the accident, I wanted to ensure I could learn lifesaving skills. So I’ve had extensive first aid training and keep up to date with it each year where I can. It sure comes in handy. Now, without sounding weird Quin, you need to take your clothes off”.

Heat crawls up my body and my eyes widen.

“Is this also part of the first aid training?” I ask, jokingly.

She laughs and shakes her head at me.

“I’ll have to take mine off too once I’ve taken the glass out. We’ll need to give everything a good shake outside and bag yours up. We’re both covered in shards. It’s not safe. Plus, we’ll end upgetting them all over the floor if we continue walking around in these clothes, and I don’t want to put kitty Edith in danger too”.

I’m still not sure what to say so I just go with what comes to mind.

“Lista, I don’t have anything else to wear, and I’m pretty sure being in just my boxers in your house isn’t going to make either of us feel too comfortable”. I probably shouldn’t have said that.

She blushes deeply, smiling and looking anywhere but at me.

“Let me remove the glass from myself and I’ll see what I can find” she says whilst examining her arm. I move across to her and start helping her remove the tiny pieces of glass sticking out of her skin.

It aggravates me to know that her perfect fucking skin is injured.

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but I’m quite a lot bigger than you in clothes size” I say, trying to lighten the mood.

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