'So, do you often take care of your brothers?' Zander asked as he sat across the table from Sarah the following day.
She had called him almost as soon as he got home yesterday to arrange a date and he had suggested his favourite restaurant in the centre of their hometown of Greenwich. 'The Thaiway Man' was, as the name suggested a Thai restaurant ran by a husband and wife, Zander had become a bit of an ambassador for the place with his frequent visits.
'Not really. I'm just helping my mum out while...' she broke off as she felt her voice shaking, a wave of emotion shower over her when she tried to complete the sentence.
'Sorry' she cried and ran from the table.
Sarah raced into the toilet cubicle and slammed the door behind her, pulling the seat down and throwing her hands over her face she sobbed for the first time since the crash. Only the soft knock from the entrance door and Zander's soothing voice, convinced her that she would be better off on the outside,
'Sarah, I've ordered for you.' She didn't respond and there was a minute of silence before the concern in his voice piped up.
'Are you alright in there?'
'Yeah, I'm fine. Just coming.'
Zander was leaning against the wall outside the toilet, drumming his fingers on the brickwork and whistling joyfully. His head turned and his smile when he saw Sarah coming towards him could have knocked her dead.
'What's wrong?' he asked, bringing his hand up to her eyes and pushing his thumbs in either direction as he wiped away her tears.
The sensation in Sarah's stomach tightened at the touch of Zander's skin against hers.
'It's nothing. We should get back to our table before they bring the food over'
She put one foot in front of the other and her legs moved but her body wasn't following. Something was tightly gripping her wrist, stopping her from going any further and when she turned, she saw the source was Zander's hand and the force was pulling them together.
'It's obviously something. I've done many things to a woman before but making her cry wasn't one of them.'
Sarah could feel the heat on her face as her pale skin was replaced by a crimson hue as she blushed by what Zander was implying. She quietly hoped he would make her do all the things he was claiming to have done to the many unspecified number of women.
'I might be able to help with whatever it is' he encouraged and released the hold his hand had over her.
'I doubt it. Unless you can bring my dad out of a medically induced coma.'
Nothing else needed to be said, Zander made sure of that when he pulled Sarah towards him and held her there until his shirt was soaked by her tears. Tears that no one else but him could hear her cry.
'I'm so sorry Sarah. I can take you home if you'd rather not be here'
He pushed her body away and brushed his hands through her blonde hair as he pushed it behind her ears.
'No' she decided, lifting his hand off her face and holding it in hers.
'You've already ordered, besides, it'll keep my mind off everything'
***
'Well Rosie, my sister, got home from the hospital this afternoon but it's not looking good for dad.'
Zander took a breath, about to instil his pearls of wisdom upon her but the arrival of the waiter put a stop to that. A bowl with everything green was placed in front of Sarah, she stared at it curiously and poked the bits of meat with her fork.
'Erm, what is this?'
Zander had ordered some sort of noodle dish for himself and was shovelling them up with his fork and scooping them into the mouth he had opened wider than what was natural.
'That's Gaeng Keow Wan Ka' he responded with his mouth only half empty of the chewed up remains.
'Pardon?' Sarah questioned
'It's green chicken curry'
Zander took a sip of water, wrapped the noodles around the fork and brought it up to his mouth but stopped before he put it in.
'You're not vegetarian are you?'
'No, I've just never eaten anything so exotic before'
Zander chuckled along with her before continuing his earlier movement. Sarah took a more conventional approach and just stabbed the chicken, she chewed it slowly and let the taste linger for a few moments.
'Mmm, it's quite nice actually'
'I thought you might like it. That's what I usually get but fancied a bit of a change tonight.' Zander explained
Sarah looked on as his animalistic eating continued, she didn't know if she should laugh or be disgusted by the sound of his chewing.
'Well, you look hungry tonight that's for sure'
'Hmm' Zander said and then realised what he had been doing
'Sorry' he chuckled and wiped the side of his mouth with the napkin.
'I'm just so used to eating alone that I've forgotten to use my manners. So, you were saying, about your dad'
***
Having settled the bill and agreeing to go back home with him, Sarah sat in the living room of the person she had idolised for the past three years. Sipping the coffee that he had made for her as Zander joined her on the 'L' shaped couch that started from the wall and went right round to the window.
'What do you think of my bachelor pad then?'
'Yeah, it's really good. You're very lucky, I wish I could have a place like this.'
Zander shuffled closer to her and took the mug from her hands, brushing his hand off her leg as he did. When he brought it back up again and lay it there, Sarah realised that it wasn't an accident.
'Well, you might one day. If you keep at... whatever it is you do.'
Sarah crumbled under his desire as his sea blue eyes stared deeply into hers, she never even looked away as they held her gaze. He brought his head closer to her and she didn't pull away when his lips touched hers.
Zander slowly slipped his tongue inside her mouth and navigated his hands inside her t-shirt, up her back until he came to her bra strap. He unhooked the clip and pushed her against the couch before lifting her top above her now exposed breasts.
She took a sharp exhale as his tongue came into contact with her nipples and when he slipped his hand down her waist and inside her knickers, Sarah moaned silently.
'Damn it!' Zander cried as she shot up from the couch, thanks to the ringing of her phone.
'Hello?' Sarah answered. She tried to hold it together and concentrate on what the caller was saying, instead of becoming distracted by Zander's soft kissing of her bare back.
'He's what?' she shouted and jumped to her feet, knocking Zander against the cushions.
'I'm on my way right now' she ended the call and fixed herself.
'What it is?' Zander asked, sitting up and trying beyond with all his might to hide his disappointment.
'It's my dad, he's awake. Have you got the number for a cab to take me to the hospital?'
'Don't be daft. I'll give you a lift.'
***
'Where have you been?' Rosie asked as Sarah rushed through the doors of Greenwich General Hospital.
'I'll tell you later. Where is he?'
Their mother was already standing outside the room within the high dependency unit. The doctor had his hand placed on her shoulder in solemn comfort and when he saw Sarah and Rosie exiting the lift, he smiled at them as he patted their mother on the shoulder again before leaving.
'What was all that about?' Sarah asked but she could tell from the moment that her mothers eyes averted from her that something wasn't right.
'Mum?' Rosie pushed
'Girls, I don't know how to tell you this.' Her voice shook and she glanced through the window separating her from her husband of twenty years.
'Oh my god. He's not?' Sarah stopped, the very thought of her father being anything other than alive was too much to bare.
'No, your dad's awake and he's fine... Well, sort of.'