talking to you always like trying to communicate with a fourteen-year-old? I think I liked you better when I was drunk.”
“Everyone likes me better when they’re drunk,” he said. “It’s part of my charm.”
Despite myself, I laughed.
“So, where are you right now?”
“At an inn in Ennis,” I said. “There’s a wedding happening, so it’s loud, but I did manage to score a room, some cake, and a whiskey.”
“You’re living large, Martin.”
I chuckled. “Actually, I fell in a puddle, and a lovely man in a tux came to my rescue. I think he’s the bride’s father but maybe the groom’s. I’m not sure. I only know he ruined his tux to help me up and then gave me cake.”
“Not all heroes wear capes.”
“Indeed.”
His voice was amused when he asked, “Why do I think this could only happen to you?”
“I’ve no idea,” I said. “I can assure you my life is not that exciting normally.”
“Hang on a sec—I’m at my place,” he said.
I listened as he settled up with his cab driver. There was the sound of a door closing, some street noise, and then silence.
“You still there?” he asked.
“Yup.”
“Great,” he said. “I’m at my building.”
“Oh, I should let you go,” I said. “We can talk—”
“What?” he asked. “No way. Don’t you dare hang up. I want to hear about the rest of your day.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because it sounds way more interesting than my happy hour with the guys,” he said. “Besides, I have some office gossip that I’d be willing to share, but you have to bring something to the table.”
“Are you holding out on me, Knightley?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Switch to video when you get into your apartment,” I said. “I want to look you in the eye when you divulge your secrets.”
I heard a door shut and keys being tossed, and I imagined he was toeing off his black high-tops. I took a moment to grab the tray off the dresser and sat back against the headboard with my cake and whiskey in my lap. I heard a refrigerator open and shut, and then there was the distinct hiss of a beer bottle cap being twisted open.
“Okay, Martin,” he said. “I’m approaching my landing pad, also known as my couch. Let’s switch to video.”
I waited until my phone signaled that it was him, then I answered. I propped the phone up on the tray so I could talk to him while I nibbled my cake. Now that I was finally warm, I found I was starving. When he appeared on the screen, he was in a similar position on a leather couch with a fleecy blanket pulled up across his chest.
There was an intimacy to the connection, seeing each other in our relaxed positions with the cares of the world held at bay by the cover of our blankets. I glanced away from the picture of him with his dark hair flopping over his forehead and the mischievous glint in his eye. It suddenly felt a little too personal.
“Okay, tell me about your day,” he said. “What did you do? Who did you meet? All of it. Don’t skimp.”
I shook my head, reminding myself that this was Knightley. No need to make it uncomfortable. We were colleagues, after all.
“Well, since you asked, I started my day with a rigorous pole-dancing class,” I said.
I caught him on a sip, and beer spewed out of his mouth and all over the phone.
“Shit! Hang on.” He jumped up from the couch and hurried to the kitchen for paper towels. He came back and wiped down himself, his phone, and his couch. I managed three solid bites of cake while he was busy. I’m not gonna lie—I took a perverse pleasure out of shocking Knightley.
“Pole dancing? As in exotic dancing? As in stripper pole dancing?”
“It’s a form of fitness,” I replied, very primly.
“Yeah, sure, fitness,” he said. He flopped back onto his couch. There was a delighted glint in his eye. “Any chance there is video of this rigorous class?”
It was my turn to choke on my beverage. “Hell to the no,” I said. “And even if there was, you’re never going to see it.”
“Buzzkill.”
“Like I said, talking with you is like chatting with a fourteen-year-old.”
“Yeah, yeah, on with the deets.” He waved his beer bottle in a continue gesture and took a big sip.
“There are no more deets. After that it was a white-knuckle drive to this inn, where I am now enjoying cake,” I said. I held up my fork before taking a bite.
He