Page 45 of The Close-Up
“We’re all a mess in some way,” Simon says, almost automatically.
For a brief moment, Landon’s eyes dart to mine. “I definitely want to be better for my next relationship, though.”
When Simon shuts the door after Landon leaves, I’m still processing that look—and those words.
“Do you feel like ordering lunch?” I ask while folding the tripod.
But instead of answering, he walks up to me. “Steer clear of that guy.”
“Sorry?”
“He was totally checking you out.”
Simon’s got a hyper-focused look in his eye that borders on condescending. I feel like I’m a kid being told off by my teacher.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am. And I think you should be cautious of him.”
I frown, annoyed that he thinks just because a good-looking guy made eyes at me, I need a talking-to.
“Why, exactly?”
“That guy’s broadcasting his player vibe like it’s an air-raid siren.”
“Why didn’t you kick him out of here if you had a problem with him?”
“It’s one thing for me to help someone work through their issues as their therapist. But that doesn’t mean I have to like them as a person outside of therapy. This guy isn’t someone I’d spend time with if he wasn’t a client of mine.”
“Look, I appreciate the protective sentiment or whatever it is you’re doing, but I don’t need you to watch over me. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
Simon’s jaw tenses, and I fully expect him to say something back. But then he takes a breath, his expression easing from annoyed concern to mild disdain.
“Just trying to be a good friend.”
He walks to his bedroom and closes the door before I can say anything more.
“You gotta admit,” Harper says while lounging on her couch, her tiny feet propped against my leg. “It’s kind of hot how Simon responded.”
It’s the evening after I recorded Simon’s session with Landon and I’m with Harper at her apartment while we watch garbage on Netflix.
“It wasn’t. At all,” I mutter, gently dabbing the sheet mask on my face with my fingertips. “I mean, ‘steer clear of that guy’? What the hell, does he think he’s my dad or older brother?”
“You know your dad and your older brother wouldn’t like it either if they had seen Landon trying to flirt with you,” Harper says.
I roll my eyes even though I know it’s true. Since I’m the only daughter and baby of my family, my older brother and dad have always made it an annoying habit to warn me off guys, even the ones I deemed worthy enough to date long term and brought home to meet my family. The absolute last thing I need is another overprotective male in my life.
I lightly smack Harper’s socked foot. “That’s exactly the point. Simon is my friend. I don’t need him to be an alpha jackass or look out for me. I get enough of that already.”
She squints from behind the eye openings of her own sheet mask. “Maybe he’s one of those guys who looks out for his female friends when it comes to Bay Area dudes.”
Fair point. Like every major metropolitan area in the world, there seems to be a plethora of jerkfaces to endure.
“Out of curiosity, what did this guy look like?” she asks.
“Like a carbon copy of Tom Hiddleston’s character inThe Night Manager.”
“Damn. And he was super smooth too?”
