Page 41 of The Night Shift
Is Gus in your gusset yet?
15.42
Apols, punning game poor as sleep deprived x
Violet laughed– Dev must be feeling better if he was worrying about her getting some gusset action. Thank God she hadn’t left her phone somewhere Gus would see it. Speaking of Gus, she wondered if he was awake yet. Her phone showed ten past four, but the flat appeared to be silent. Maybe it was just really well insulated, nothing like the house she shared with Dev where you could hear someone fart from a floor away. She tiptoed towards the door before realising she’d kicked off her scrub trousers while asleep and was clad in only a tatty pair of knickers and her crumpled green cotton top. Never mind, he’d seen her in in a swimsuit only yesterday.
The polished wood floor was cool under her feet as she padded down the corridor and opened the soft-latch door into what she thought was the main living area. The door opened onto a billow of steam before she realised it was actually the bathroom and that someone, presumably Gus, was very evidently using the shower. She shut it quickly, hoping he hadn’t noticed, and tried unsuccessfully to erase that all too brief glimpse of male body from her mind. The trouble was, she was now absolutely desperate for a wee and the sound of running water coming from the shower was not helping. She hopped from one foot to the other as she stood in the corridor and barely gave Gus a second glance as he emerged from the room with a towel wrapped around his waist five minutes later.
‘Violet?’ He sounded amused as she barrelled past him into the bathroom and slammed the door.
‘Sorry,’ she shouted from the toilet. ‘I was bursting.’
When she was done she washed her hands in the basin and drew a smiley face in the steam on the mirror, inhaling the aroma of freshly washed man coming from the shower. As she emerged into the corridor Gus called to her from beyond a newly opened door.
‘Sorry,’ he said, appearing in her line of vision as he put the kettle on. He was still only wearing a towel which Violet felt was quite unfair in the circumstances seeing as he was all toned and clean whereas she remained crumpled and decidedly messy. ‘I should have said, there’s an en-suite off the main bedroom. You could have gone in there. That’s why I didn’t bother locking the door. Lucky you didn’t try and come in a few moments earlier.’
‘Yes,’ said Violet. ‘Lucky that.’ She hovered by the side of the door. ‘Uhm, would it be okay if I had a shower too?’
‘Absolutely!’ He moved out from behind the kitchen island and crossed the room to meet her by the doorframe where she remained, uncertain whether to back up into the corridor or step aside. He stared down at her for a moment, their bodies close. His chest was bare, the droplets of water still clinging to his skin and she had to drag her eyes up to his face before they both moved to the same side of the doorway.
‘Sorry, you go…’
‘No– it’s uhm.’ Gus laughed as they both moved again to the opposite side, mirroring each other. ‘I was just going to show you where the towels and…’ He gestured back towards the main bedroom.
‘Of course, yes, I… Hmm, I’ll get out of your way.’ Violet managed to tread on his foot and knock her hip against the wall in her haste to allow him through.
‘Ouch,’ they both said. Followed by concerned looks and, ‘Are you okay?’
‘I’m out of practice at having someone else here,’ said Gus lightly as he led the way back down the corridor.
‘You’ve probably never let anyone as clumsy as me enter the building,’ said Violet. ‘I’m always tripping over Dev when he’s home, nearly broke my ankle falling over his suitcase yesterday. He’s probably still not unpacked it, what with…’ Her voice trailed off as she considered how the past twenty-four hours must have felt for Dev.
Gus stopped and she bumped into him again but he didn’t seem to mind. He put his hand to her shoulder, a look of concern on his face.
‘You okay?’ he said. ‘I know you’re worried about him. Worried about both of them obviously. But Dev’s clearly very important to you. Can’t have been easy seeing him so distressed last night.’
‘You’re right,’ she said, determined not to get too emotional. ‘He does mean a lot to me and we both worry about each other. Dev’s been a part of my life for such a long time. We met during Fresher’s Week, been inseparable since. We are, as people often tell us, just like an old married couple.’ She grimaced, catching herself for a moment. ‘Sorry.’
‘Just because my plans for marriage have fallen by the wayside doesn’t mean you can’t mention the institution at all,’ Gus said wryly. ‘I know it still exists. Anyway…’ He gestured for her to follow him back into the master bedroom. Violet walked past the mound of bedding she’d recently vacated.
‘I’ll tidy up,’ she said quickly. ‘Once I’ve showered and got myself sorted. I really appreciate you letting me sleep over. I won’t leave the place in a mess I promise.’
He shrugged. ‘It’s fine. I pretty much insisted you stay and so far the only evidence of your having been here at all is a slightly rumpled duvet. It looks a lot more chaotic after I’ve slept there.’
They both stared at the bed for slightly longer than was necessary and then Gus reached into a cupboard and handed her a freshly laundered fluffy white towel.
Violet brought it to her face without thinking and inhaled deeply. ‘Mmmm, clean,’ she said appreciatively. ‘Most of our towels smell like mildew. That’s the trouble with living in a damp old house rather than a pristine pad with underfloor heating and proper ventilation like this.’
‘Yeah.’ His voice was ambivalent. ‘This place was Amelia’s choice. I’d have preferred something with more character.’ He looked surprised at his own comment. ‘Not that I’m blaming her or anything,’ he said quickly. ‘I’m not fussy. I like the flat. It’s easy to keep clean and?—’
‘You don’t need to justify yourself to me,’ Violet said. ‘In fact you don’t need to always be justifying yourself to everyone. I know you’re not fussy. But everyone is allowed to acknowledge a preference.’ She looked at him closely. ‘Maybe you’re just used to having your preferences being ranked lower than other people’s.’
‘Oh, no it’s nothing like that. She didn’t bully me into renting the flat.’ He laughed. ‘it’s just odd that it’s me who’s been left living here, that’s all. Funny how these things work out.’
‘Where did she go– when she left you?’ Violet asked and then paused. ‘Sorry, too blunt?’
Gus pursed his lips and struck a thoughtful pose. ‘Hmmm– a bit,’ he said. ‘But I’m getting used to your direct line of questioning. She moved in with the bloke she was having an affair with– Jeremy Hiddleston.’
