Page 14 of Take the Plunge

“I can’t get the damn thing out,” he grumbles.

I sit beside him and give him one of the bowls. “You can move the four of spades.”

He scowls. “To where?”

I point to the five of diamonds.

“How did I miss that?”

I nudge his shoulder with mine. “Sometimes I can’t see for looking either.”

“And that’s when you fold?”

“No, that’s when I walk away and do something else for a bit.” I lift my bowl. “Like eat lunch. But it doesn’t always come out, so yeah, sometimes I have to fold and deal again.”

Jett groans as he leans against the sofa. “I can’t play cards until tomorrow evening.”

“No, you need to eat, sleep, and have a shower too.”

He sighs.

“You’re not alone,” I remind him. “If you’re bored of cards, talk to me.”

“You’re the only thing keeping me sane.”

I dip my chin to hide the fact my cheeks have become warm.

He tries the pasta. “Damn, this is good.”

“It’s nothing much. A jar of shop-bought pesto and some fresh pasta. Anyone could make it.”

“You’re modest.”

“Eh, sometimes. It depends on what the subject is.” And I need to stop talking now.

I stuff my mouth full of pasta to make sure that happens. And now I’m thinking about stuffing my mouth full of something else. Help.

“Is it me, or is time going in slow motion?” Jett asks.

“It’s just you.”

His shoulders slump.

“I think it’s because you’re normally so consumed with work that you don’t notice the passing of time. Am I right, or am I right?”

He throws a defeated glance at me. “You’re right.”

“Don’t you get fed up of working all the time?”

“No.”

“You don’t ever want a break? To just walk away from your laptop and not think about whatever the fuck it is you do for a few hours?”

Jett shakes his head.

“Why?”

He sighs. “It’s safe.”