Chapter 7
I PUT ON THE KETTLE as I directed Joelle to my kitchen table.
“Wow,” she said. “That's a lot of fruit.”
“Leftovers from work,” I explained.
She gazed at it longingly for quite a while before I asked, “Oh, did you want some?”
Peeling off the plastic wrap, she replied, “I'd love some, thanks.”
As the kettle worked itself into a tizzy behind me, I watched Joelle lift a strawberry to her glistening pink lips and suck it like it was a part of someone's body. She closed her eyes while she did this, and issued a moan so resonant I heard it over the rattle of the kettle. The sight made me throb. I didn't want to be attracted to her, but how could anyone not be? Even Rajan was blown away by her beauty.
When some of my senses returned to me, I grabbed two small plates from the
