Page 20 of The Night Shift
‘Don’t call me Vi…’
‘Pah!’ He waved her objections away. ‘You don’t get to decide on my pet name for you. That’s part of thegay best frienddeal.’
She pulled over the bowl of daal. ‘Any other massive clichés I should be aware of?’
‘Uhm…’ Dev took a seat beside her. ‘Well, we’ve got the Asian family in denial about their son’s sexuality for a start, so, box ticked. I shouldprobablyhave no actual gay friends of my own. I think mostromcom-gay-best-friendsexist in total isolation.’
She nodded seriously. ‘You’d better tell all the lads from the club to get lost then.’
‘Hmmm. It’s a shame, but what can you do. And I suspect my being in a happy long-term relationship is outside the boundaries of my role as well. I think I’d be allowed a disastrous fling or two, ones that I can tell all my straight girlfriends about, make them chuckle over their prosecco…’
To be fair, you have had some disastrous flings…’ Violet spooned some more daal onto her plate, keeping it separate from her rice and the bread.
‘Well,’ said Dev, pleased. ‘I evidently take this role quite seriously. I’ve only done it to create sport for you and your girl gang.’
‘See?’ she said, her fork poised mid-air. ‘That’s where your theory falls down. I don’t have a girl gang. And I don’t drink prosecco because it is the devil’s work. And I don’t ask you to come shopping with me or advise on outfits. I hate shopping.’
‘You’re right. You don’t do any of those things. In fact you never even ask me to commiserate about blokes treating you badly. It’s usually the other way around.’ Dev sighed melodramatically. ‘What kind of cis-het female best friend even are you? Get out of my romcom!’
She laughed. ‘You could come cold-water swimming with me if you liked? Would that be kooky enough for you?’
He shuddered. ‘God, no way, you’re joking aren’t you– plunge myself into a freezing pond for fun? You’re a lunatic.’
‘You sure? I’m going tomorrow. You and Marv could?—’
‘You wouldn’t be getting Marv anywhere near an outdoor pool, Vi. Besides, the outfits would destroy him.’ He gestured to her wetsuit socks which were dangling on the radiator next to her towel. ‘Neoprene is best saved for fetish nights, darling.’
‘Well, I think I might have persuaded someone to come swimming with me tomorrow,’ said Violet enigmatically, loading up another forkful of food.
Dev raised his eyebrows. ‘Seriously? I always thought you liked going on your own. I assumed that was part of the appeal. If I’d known you wanted company…’ He paused and shook his head. ‘No, actually, scratch that, even if I thought you were hideously lonely it still wouldn’t persuade me into ice-cold water. But I could sit on the edge and shout encouragement like a very attractive lifeguarding cheerleader if you wanted?’
‘No, I do like going on my own. It’s just that I mentioned it being a good way to get to sleep after nights, and this guy said?—’
‘This guy?!’Dev’s voice rose up to meet the exclamation mark as he rested his chin onto his hands and gave her a penetrating stare. ‘Do tell.’
‘No,’ Violet laughed. ‘He’s literally just a guy from work, Gus, he’s on nights as well and he– what?’
‘You’re blushing!’ Dev looked astonished. ‘You are actually blushing, Violet Winters!’
‘Oh, so it’s not Vi now you’re taking the piss?’
‘Don’t even think about changing the subject, missus. Who is this Gus making the ice-queen blush?’
‘I’m hardly an ice-queen.’
‘What–shows no emotion, active disdain for unnecessary human contact and enjoys plunging the frozen depths?You are more ice-queen than Disney’s Elsa, my love. Anyway– this Gus, discuss.’ He clapped his hands. ‘Ha! See what I did there?’
Violet mopped up the sauce on her plate with a piece of chapati. ‘You are so bloody annoying,’ she muttered, still smiling. ‘Why d’you come back early again? To ruin my Christmas?’
Dev put his arm around her. ‘I’m sorry, Vi, Elsa, whatever your name is. You know I don’t mean it. It’s just my teasing usually bounces right off that frosty surface of yours– certainly rare to get you blushing like a prom-night virgin. And I’m wondering whether this Gus you’ve so casually mentioned might be more than just a wild-swimming partner? Maybe there’s other,wilderthings you’d like to do with him to help you both relax after a night shift?’ He pursed his lips. ‘Good-looking, is he?’
‘Yes. To be fair he is absolutely gorgeous.’ There was no point in lying, particularly where Dev was concerned. ‘But he’s engaged and therefore absolutely not interested in me. Which is fine. Obviously.’
Dev eyed her curiously. ‘So you just want to gawp at him in his trunks?’
‘Uh-huh. Nothing more than that.’
This wasn’t entirely true. Yes, the thought had crossed her mind that seeing Gus half-naked might be quite appealing– she was only human. But she also knew from this morning’s reflections that the lido wasn’t really the ideal place for anyone to show off their physique to best effect, and if she just wanted to innocently gaze upon his perfect form then scrubs were as good, if not better, for enhancing a muscular frame. No, the reason she had suggested that Gus accompany her was because she liked being with him– and after only two nights of bumping into each other on the wards, this was quite an admission to make to herself, let alone to her housemate.
