Page 54 of Mountain Target

He sat up, watching the slight sway of her hips. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask if he could see her again, but he knew that wouldn’t be fair to either of them.

15

Valentina

“Most men are assholes,” Marie said, over a mouthful of minestrone soup, “but I hadn’t taken Fontaine for that kind of asshole.” She stuck a french fry in her mouth and chewed carefully. “I guess I was wrong.”

“I don’t know how you can call that lunch,” Val said, stabbing one of the croutons in her caesar salad violently.

“French fries and soup go great together, I’ll have you know,” Marie said. “Come on, grab one, don’t be shy,” she added, smirking. “French fries actually go well with everything.”

Val hesitated for a few more seconds, then finally gave in, grabbing a thin fry and popping it in her mouth. She almost moaned as the salty, crispy starch exploded in her mouth.

Unlike her salad, which looked like it’d been made last week, the fry tasted like it’d just popped out of the fryer. Food at the hospital cafeteria was like that, most of the time—touch and go, the luck of the draw.

An analogy for life.

“I’m not saying he’s an asshole,” she said, stealing a second fry.

Marie moved the plate closer to her. “He’s an asshole if he hasn’t reached out in four days. I mean, you basically live on top of him. It’s not like he has any excuse, or doesn’t know when you’re home.”

Val stabbed at the lettuce next. “That’s not really fair. There was an earthquake, you know? He’s been busy.”

She had no idea why she was defending him.

“A small earthquake. We all heard back from the mayor yesterday. Very little structural damage. Bla bla bla.”

“I’m pretty sure that was the public message, Marie. But we’ve also been instructed to stock up on different medical supplies, and I’ve heard those earthquake experts are still in town. We don’t know if—“

“Okay, okay. So he’s probably been busy with fallout from the earthquake. I’ll give you that. But you guys had earth-shattering sex together, and surely that’s got to mean something.”

“Be quiet, Marie,” Val hissed, looking around her. “Somebody’s going to hear you.”

Marie looked around her. “It’s a sad testament to the state of your sex life, Val, if you don’t think most people assume you’re having sex.”

Val gave up. “Just … stop saying that word. Please.”

Marie laughed, munching on two french fries at the same time. “Ok. I’ll stop. But you really should get more comfortable with the concept. I promise you, it’s perfectly natural.” She paused for an instant. “Did he say he was going to call?”

Val felt herself blushing as she remembered her self-imposed walk of shame back to her own apartment. “I didn’t really give him the chance.”

“So it was just bang-bang-thanks-man, and then you were out the door? At least I know the sex was good, else you wouldn’t still be blushing when you think about it days later.”

Val’s cheeks went redder than red. “I’m not going to go into the details with you, Marie.” She sighed softly. “But yes, it was … the best I’ve ever had.”

“The best? Not just okay. Not just good. But the best?” Marie sighed theatrically. “Ah, and to think I saw Monsieur Fontaine before you and I didn’t recognize his potential.”

Three male doctors sat down with their trays, just a couple of tables away from them.

“Enough,” she hissed. “We need to stop talking about this. Anyway, I have bigger concerns than whether my neighbor wants to sleep with me again.”

“Tell me about it. See if I can help.”

Val flicked her red hair back. “I’m worried about Ren.”

Marie’s gaze softened. “I’m sorry. How’s her ankle?”

“The ankle’s fine. You know how kids are. She used her crutches for a couple of days, which I hear made her quite popular at school, but yesterday she already went to school without them.”