Page 14 of Unworthy
“You can shove your apology up your arse.” There, I’d said it. It felt good. “You’re only doing it to appease Mia and my brother.”
“That’s not why I’m doing it. I really regret saying–”
“You regret telling me what you really think of me because it made you look like a bully, and it pissed your best friend off.”
“Yaz that’s not–”
“It doesn’t matter, okay? You can’t upset me anymore. Go back to your super important life and let me go back to mine. I know we can’t completely avoid each other, but we can at least be civil.”
His dark eyes flashed, and he stepped into my personal space. “Will you let me speak? I’m trying to explain that–”
“You know what? I’m tired of you mansplainingeverythingto me. I’m over you now and I–”
“You’re over me?” Heath shifted even closer, and I felt another surge of heat in my cheeks. Why did I say that? I couldn’tthinkstraight with him this close.
“You know what I mean.” My voice lost its heat in my embarrassment and dropped to a whisper. “I’m not a teenager anymore.”
“I know that.” Heath’s voice had also dropped lower. I looked up into his eyes and his pupils were dilated as he stared into mine. Something passed between us in those few seconds, as if there was a magnetic force pulling us together. We both moved at the same time. Heath’s hands came to either side of my face, mine went around his back and he was kissing me. As his lips moved against mine, my brain short-circuited in a haze of pent-up lust. All my frantic teenage fantasies were coming true. I forgot that I’d hated him a moment ago. I forgot that he’d embarrassed me, humiliated me, that he didn’t respect me. To my shame, I even forgot that he had a girlfriend. All I could think about was how to get closer to him. I pressed my body into his and pushed my hand up under his shirt to feel the muscles of his back. He made a low sound in the back of his throat as one of his hands slipped into my hair, the other splaying the middle of my back to pull me even closer. If the door of the studio hadn’t opened at that moment, I seriously think I would have climbed him like a spider monkey. Instead, I flinched at the creak of the hinges and leapt away from Heath at warp speed.
“Oh… I–” Barry, one of my clients, stood there looking mortified, the poor man. A couple of others filled the open doorway behind him, and he turned to shoo them out. “Yaz seems to be a little busy right now. Let’s give her a moment to–”
“Bazza, it’s fine–” I said just as Heath said, “That’d be great.”
I flashed him an annoyed look and his mouth set in a stubborn line.
“Heath isleaving.”
“I’m not going to–” Heath started to say, and Barry continued to usher the others out of the door. I’d officially had enough of this nonsense. I marched forward and grabbed his arms to drag him to the corner of the studio.
“Get out,” I whisper-hissed at him.
“Yaz, listen–”
“No, you listen, you arrogant bastard. This is my place of work. You can’t come here, demand to speak to me, and humiliate me in front of clients. I don’t come to your hospital and embarrass you. Do I? Now, I don’t know what you’re playing at with this new method of torturing me, but it’scruel,Heath. You’ve been a prick to me in recent years, but Ineverthought you’d be cruel.”
“Shit, no, Yaz,” he said, stepping towards me with a pained expression on his face. I took a larger one back, and he held his hands up in surrender. “I’m not trying to humiliate you. I – I… Jesus, I don’t know what I’m doing, to be honest. I’m sorry. But – but we need to–”
He looked so confused and lost that I did believe then that he wasn’t playing a game. It was also very obvious that he hadn’t meant to kiss me. That magnetic pull had been impossible for him to ignore, either. But he wasn’t happy about it. No, he looked conflicted and genuinely shaken. Something that had been my fantasy for over a decade had left Heath looking like he was going to be sick. What a confidence boost.
“Just get out.” I could hear the defeat in my own voice now. I really could not handle any more from this man today. Heath must have heard it too because after he lifted a hand towards me which I flinched away from, he sighed and gave a slow nod.
“Okay, okay. I’ll go. I–I really am sorry, Yaz.”
I didn’t know if he was apologising for the pub or for what had just happened in the studio. Either way, regret was written all over his face as he turned to leave.
“Dr Markham?” I heard Barry say as Heath opened the door. “You won’t remember me, but I saw you a couple of months ago in A&E. I’d had a heart attack. You sorted me out.”
“Oh, yes. Of course I remember you, Mr Taylor,” Heath said smoothly as he stepped back to let Barry and the others into the studio. “How are you doing?”
“Wake up call for me. Sorted myself out now. I’m not diabetic now, you know? Thanks to Dee and this one – lifestyle change and all that.” Barry pointed over at me with a huge smile on his face. Barry was one of my biggest fans. “You two have that in common. You both saved my life.”
I expected Heath to give Barry a patronising whatever-you-say smile, and me a subtle eye roll. Instead, he looked between me and his ex-patient with a new curiosity in his expression.
“Not sure I did that much for you, old chap,” Heath said after a slight pause. “I just made sure you got treatment for the problem. Yaz, I assume, is making sure the problem never happens again.”
“Er… right,” Barry said, giving Heath a bemused smile as he strode past him and out of the door.
I blinked after the departing Heath in confusion. What was that?
