Think Again

by Isabel Lucero

“Looks like I’ll be ruining more of your day today. I apologize,” Chris tells me as I gather my purse.

  “You’re not ruining anything,” I respond, then I realize that my tone was a bit more flirtatious than I meant for it to be.

  He only grins and walks to the door to wait for me. Anne raises her eyebrows and gives me a tiny wave. I take a deep breath and follow him. Guess I do have plans after work today after all.

  “So, you’ve never been to Anchorage before?” I ask as I start up the car.

  “Never.”

  “Do you care to see anything specific?”

  “Whatever you want to show me.”

  I glance in his direction, and while he’s not looking at me, there’s a small smile on his lips. That was definitely an innuendo.

  “Have you found a house yet?”

  “I’ve been working with a realtor, but I haven’t closed on anything yet. One of the houses is on Sportsmens Point, and the other on Kidron.”

  “Oh, I know Kidron. That one’s not too far from where I live. Sportsmens is near Sand Lake, right?”

  “Yes, I believe it’s a waterfront property.”

  “Nice areas. I can drive you around those neighborhoods if you like.”

  “That would be perfect, Aria.”

  For whatever reason, the way he says my name sends butterflies into flight in my stomach.

  “I have a question for you.”

  “Go ahead,” he responds.

  “Scott said he knows you because he and your father go way back, but I’ve known Scott almost my whole life, and you’ve never been to Alaska. So how do you know him?”

  “You’re pretty intuitive.”

  “You have no idea.”

  He tilts his head with intrigue but answers my question. “My father used to live here. They went to school together, so they definitely have history. Every other year, Scott and my father meet up in Washington for a reunion of sorts.”

  “Why does your dad never come here?”

  “Oh, he does. He’s just never brought me. I never had interest in coming here, honestly.”

  “Oh. Is your dad a doctor?”

  “Yep. His father was one, too. Guess it runs in the family.”

  “Why the interest in Alaska now?”

  He pauses for several seconds before answering. “I’m not sure how to answer that. Do you ever feel like you just need a change? Something different? Something more?”

  I nod. “Yes. I do.”

  “Tell me something about yourself,” he says.

  “Maybe later,” I say with a smile. “We’re here.”

  Chris and I walk up to the house and look through the windows.

  “This is much nicer than the photos made it look.”

  “It’s really big.”

  “I have really big things.”

  I laugh and shake my head. Oh, he’s one of those. Sarcastic and dirty minded. This could either be fun, or be a lot of trouble.

  “I’m sure you do,” I say. “Like your ego.”

  He sends me a wide smile, letting me know he didn’t take offense to my joking around.

  After he gets a good look at the house, we get back into the car and head over to the other place he’s been looking at. On the drive over, I’m sure to point out all the restaurants and stores.

  “So, is this the one that’s close to you?” he asks.

  “Yep. My house is about ten-fifteen minutes away.”

  Once again, we get out and look through the windows and he inspects the area around the house.

  “Well, as much as I’d love to live close to you, I think I like the other property better.”

  I give him an exaggerated pout. “You’re breaking my heart.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “I like the other one better, too,” I tell him.

  “I’ll be sure to get in touch with my realtor soon and get this finalized. I don’t want to stay in a hotel for much longer.”

  “I don’t blame you. Are you getting a vehicle soon? Not that I don’t love being your chauffeur,” I joke.

  “My vehicle is being shipped over, so hopefully not much longer.”

  “Well, okay. Do you want to grab some food or anything to take to your hotel room?”

  “Would you like to join me for a late lunch? My treat?” he asks. “After that, I can grab a few things for when I get the midnight munchies.”

  I hesitate for just a minute. “Umm . . . okay. Yeah, that sounds good.”

  Because why the fuck not? What is Aaron doing now? God only knows, and I’m not doing anything wrong.

  We end up going to Moose’s Tooth, a very popular pub and pizzeria here in Anchorage. They have house brewed ales and very unique types of pizza. We have to wait fifteen minutes before we’re seated, but it’s always worth the wait.

  “So, you’re sure this place is good?” Chris asks.

  “It’s pizza and ale. What kind of guy are you?”

  He laughs. “Okay, okay.”

  We slide into our booth, and he takes in the place. The ceilings are high and vaulted with wood beam accents across the overlapping wooden panels. There’s a red accent wall that has a shelf up high, holding numerous empty ale bottles.

  “So, whatcha want?” I ask, going through the menu. “We have . . .”

  “Santa’s Little Helper?” he says with a laugh. “High Protein Land? What kind of names are these?”

  “Hey! Don’t hate on the names. These are the best pizzas you’re gonna get. Just pay attention to the ingredients.”

  “Sorry,” he says, lifting his hands in surrender. “Do you like High Protein Land? Because that actually sounds pretty good.”

  “I do! What kind of ale do you want?”

  “So many decisions,” he groans. “You pick that.”

  I laugh. “Fine. Hope you’re not picky.”

  “I don’t think I am.”

  I end up choosing the Bear Tooth Ale and the Prince William Porter.

  Chris falls in love with the pizza as soon as he takes his first bite.

  “Told you,” I say, taking a sip of my drink.

  “You were right. The best pizza I’ve ever had.”

  “What do you think of the drinks?”

  “They’re good, but I look forward to trying more.”

  I look at my watch. “We can order another one. I’m not in a hurry if you’re not.”

  “I’m definitely not.” He gives me a smile that makes my stomach do somersaults.

  We order more drinks, and continue to eat our pizza and breadsticks. The food helps keep me from getting drunk, but I am feeling pretty nice.

  After a lot of talking about things to do in Alaska, and a little talk about what he did in Washington—which was mostly work—he asks me about myself.

  “Why did you decide to work in a private practice rather than a hospital?”

  “It wasn’t a hard decision. Like I said, I always knew Scott, and when he found out I was becoming a nurse, he told me he’d always have a spot for me. I really like him, and I liked the idea of being in a smaller environment where I could get to know the patients more. Does that make sense?”

  “It does.”

  I bring a napkin to my mouth to wipe my lips, and notice his eyes go to my wedding ring. He doesn’t say anything as he makes eye contact with me, and neither do I.

  Is that bad? Is it bad that I didn’t mention my husband once? Does that really mean anything? I don’t think so, but at the same time, I don’t want to bring him up. I don’t want to talk about the fact that I’m married.

  Do I find Chris attractive? Of course. I think every woman in here does. Did I enjoy our jokes, talks, and flirtatious innuendos? Yes I did. Do I think anything is going to happen between us? No. So, innocent flirting and a new friendship is fine.

  He smiles at me from across the table. “One more drink before we go? Can you handle it?”

  My grin widens into a full blown smile. “Can I handle it? You have n
o idea what I can handle. Bring it.”

  Chris laughs and gestures to the waitress. “We’ll see.”

  My cheeks redden, and our night of fun continues.

  With each drink comes more flirting, laughing, and a couple of winks. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time, and I’m soaking it up while I can. We talk about everything and nothing at all. There’s no meaningful, deep conversations, but we’re still getting to know each other and get a feel for the other person’s personality.

  It feels like we’ve known each other for years. I can’t remember the last time I talked so much. Aaron doesn’t ask me much about myself or my day anymore, and I don’t get much time to hang out with my friends, so it feels like I’m finally letting loose years’ worth of conversation in one night.

  I look at my watch and realize we’ve been out a lot longer than I thought. It’s already six forty-five, and I left work around three. I’m usually at home around five-thirty, and because I haven’t heard from Aaron, I’m sure he hasn’t made it home yet.

  “So, are you ready to go back to my hotel room?” Chris asks.

  My head snaps up and I shake my head with a small smile. “You’re terrible.”

  He laughs. “Are you ready to take me back to my hotel room? That’s what I said. What’s so terrible?”

  “Right,” I say with a grin. “Want to stop by a store to pick up some snacks first?”

  “Sure.”

  Chris insists on paying the bill, and after putting up a little fight, I give up and let him. When we leave the restaurant, the sun is still shining.

  “What time is it?” he asks, looking at his gold watch.

  “Almost seven.”

  “This will take some getting used to,” he says, squinting into the sun.

  “You’ll be fine. Get some blackout curtains.”

  “I guess I’ll have to.”

  We hop in the car and I drive to the nearest gas station. I stay in the car as he goes inside to buy some snacks. While he’s gone, I take a minute to reapply some lipstick and gloss, because I can’t do anything about these damn scrubs, but I can fix up my face a bit. I release the rubber band from my hair, kicking myself for not doing it earlier, and comb through it with my fingers.

  God, I look like a mess. Right as I close the visor, Chris waltzes out with a couple of bags, looking like a million bucks. Seriously. He doesn’t look like he belongs in Alaska. He looks like he belongs on a runway somewhere.

  I get my hormones in check and wait for him to climb in next to me.

  “So, which hotel are you at?”

  “Embassy Suites.”

  Well, I’m familiar with that one.

  I pull up to the same hotel I was at on Friday, but this time I’m not here to get a glimpse of my husband and another woman. No, this time I’m dropping off an amazingly attractive man that I just had a great time with. A man I’m not sleeping with, but who I just know would satisfy my every physical need. You ever just look at someone and know they’d be good in bed? He has that good-in-bed vibe. And in just these past several hours he’s already satisfied my need for companionship, laughter, and fun. Something my husband hasn’t done in a while. My life is fucked up.

  “Well, have a good night,” I say.

  He chuckles. “Probably won’t have too much fun, but I did have a great time with you. Thanks for being my chauffeur and date for dinner today.”

  I smile. “No problem. I had a good time, too.”

  He doesn’t make a move to get out of the car. “I’m not starting work right away, so I won’t see you for a little while.”

  I’m a little saddened to hear this, but don’t show it. “Yeah, well you have to get settled. I understand that. I’ll be there when you get there.”

  “I’d hope so.”

  My cheeks begin to hurt from smiling once again. “If you need a ride, you can give me a call. You know, until your car gets here.”

  “I’d hate to put you out like that.”

  “No, no. It’s fine,” I say, a little overly excited. “You’re not putting me out. I want to put out.”

  His eyes crinkle at the corners as he smiles, reacting to my statement. An eyebrow raises waiting for me to catch it.

  “Oh!” I slap my hand over my face. “Not . . . I didn’t mean it like that. It’s not a problem is what I meant.”

  He laughs. “Well, when I get a car, you can call on me for a ride whenever you want one.”

  I try to hold in my laugh, but it bursts out anyway. “Sounds like a good time.”

  “I’ve been told I’m good at giving rides,” he responds with a shrug.

  Shaking my head, I grin at him. “Well, good to know. Let me give you my number and you can get in touch when you need to.”

  “You sure?” he asks.

  “Of course.”

  The unspoken part of that question was are you sure it’s okay for me to call you since we both know you’re married.

  I hand him a receipt that has my number scrawled on it.

  “Thanks,” he says, lifting the receipt up in the air.

  “No problem.”

  “Drive home safely, and I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “Okay.” I smile and am rewarded with his thousand watt one in return.

  By the time I get home, it’s coming up on eight o’clock. I’ve never been home this late, and never not had dinner prepared. When the garage opens, I’m a little surprised to see that Aaron’s car is parked inside. I would’ve thought he would have tried getting in touch with me by now.

  Before I get out, I pull my phone from my purse and see that he actually did try to get in touch with me. I forgot to turn my ringer on when I left work, so I never heard it, and never had a reason to look at my phone.

  He left two text messages and called twice, but didn’t leave any voicemails. A hint of a smile graces my lips as I enter the house.

  “There you are!” his voice booms.

  “Yep. Here I am,” I say cheerfully.

  “Where have you been? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you.”

  “Sorry. I left my ringer off on accident, and I told you I had plans after work.”

  He runs his hand through his hair, and it looks like he’s been doing that for a while now.

  “Jesus, Aria.”

  “What?” I retort with an attitude.

  “Nothing. You’re just never out this late.”

  “I am an adult, Aaron. I can take care of myself.”

  “What were you doing?”

  I let out an annoyed sigh. “We got a new doctor today, and Scott wanted me to show him around town a bit and take him back to his hotel.”

  “Oh.” He’s quiet for a little bit. “Well, okay then.”

  “And how long have you been home?” I question.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe an hour or so.”

  I don’t know if he’s lying or not, but his texts and calls didn’t come in until the last half hour, so I’m assuming that’s when he got in.

  “Hmm.” I walk past him and go upstairs.

  I take my shower right away and get into my pajamas. All the while, I feel like I have a smile plastered on my face, and it wasn’t put there by my husband. I don’t know how to feel about this. I can’t be like him. I can’t cross that line and cheat, because then what do I have left to stand on? How can I condemn him?

  I know I can control myself. Chris is probably flirtatious with everybody, anyway. It seems to be his personality, so I doubt there’s special interest in me. It’s just nice knowing I have someone to talk to and have some laughs with who’s also nice to look at.

  My main focus needs to be getting more proof of Aaron’s multiple affairs, and not just bring up the one woman at the hotel, because I know he’ll try to pretend it was just that one time, or he’ll say they didn’t do anything at all.

  When I emerge from the bathroom, Aaron is in the bedroom, sitting on the bed.

  “What’re you doing?” I ask.
<
br />   “Nothing.”

  It’s then that I notice the phone in his hand. The phone he quickly turned off when I came into the room. I eye it briefly before looking back up at him.

  “You eat dinner?” I question.

  “No.”

  “I’m not too hungry, so I’m not gonna make anything. If you want a sandwich or something, I can make it for you.”

  “You’re not hungry?”

  “Nope. I ate already.”

  I trot down the stairs with Aaron on my heels.

  “You ate?”

  “Yep,” I answer vaguely, making him pull the answers from me.

  “What did you have?”

  “Pizza. What do you want?”

  “I can make something.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. So, you and the doctor ate together?”

  “Yeah.” I grab a can of soda from the fridge and then walk through the kitchen and into the living room.

  As I sink into the caramel-colored couch, I reach for the remote that rests inside the hidden compartment in the armrest. Lifting the leg rest on the couch, I recline back and cross my feet. My glitter painted toes sparkle when the recessed lights hit them. I put the HGTV channel on before pulling my phone from my sweats’ pocket, and send a text to Carmen and Janna, telling them about Dr. Callahan. While I wait for a response, I scroll through my newsfeed to waste time.

  Just as Aaron joins me in the living room with a plate of food, my phone dings with a text from Carmen.

  Carm: A new doctor? Is he nice? Is he cute? Is he single?

  Me: Haha. Yep, yep, and I think so. He moved here by himself.

  Carm: I must see this specimen. You spent all day with him?

  Me: Yeah, Scott let me off early to show him around and take him by the store. We had dinner and then I took him to his room.

  My phone dings again with a message from Janna.

  Jan: How old is he?

  Me: Not sure. Not as old as Scott. He’s probably a few years older than me.

  Aaron keeps looking at me since my phone keeps going off, but he doesn’t say anything.

  Carm: You had dinner?? Together?

  Me: Yep.

  Jan: Is he hot?

  Me: Yep.

  I laugh, getting the attention of Aaron again. I decide to put them in a group message, so I don’t have to repeat the same things over and over again.