Something Like This (Secrets) (21 page)

“Ooh, I like it. But then, I like everything about you.”

“I’m still not coming over,” I said.

“Please,” he said.

“Don’t beg.”

“I’m on my knees.”

“I can’t see you. You might be lying,” I said.

“I swear it.”

“All right, all right, I believe you. Get up, you lunatic,” I said.

“Crazy for you.”

“Baby, listen.”

“Yes, princess of mine. What is it?”

“Your uncle wants to talk to you about your book. Call him.”

He breathed into the phone. “I’ll call him tomorrow.”

“Aren’t you excited about him repping you?”

“He hasn’t said he wants to rep me.”

“Of course he does. Why else would he want to talk to you?”

“Let’s talk about it, later, okay?” His voice was quiet.

His tone went from playful to somber the minute we started talking about his book.

“See you at my place.”

“Yep, what time?”

“7:30?”

“I’ll be there.”

“Okay, love you.”

“Me, too.”

***

B
oth Grace and Lisa were standing in the foyer when I pushed our apartment door open. Lisa was dressed in yoga pants, a white t-shirt and purple socks, her long hair tied in a side braided ponytail. Grace on the other hand, was all dolled up and I do mean dolled up, hair in big curls, liquid eye liner, fake eyelashes, pink lipstick, three-inch heels and a hell of a black tight dress. The girl looked like she was going out on the town and meant to get noticed every step of the way.

“What are you two crazies doing?” I asked, placing my keys on a hook.

“Waiting for you. We heard you opening the door,” Grace said.

“And you felt you had to greet me in the foyer?”

“We got excited and thought,” Lisa peeked over my shoulder, “Reece was with you.”

I moved past them and set the grocery bag on the kitchen counter. “So, you thought Reece might be with me and you decided to act like crazy people and attack him the minute he came in, is that it?” I was absolutely tickled that they were excited to meet Reece. They were exactly what I needed at that moment. My thoughts were still on my father. But, I welcomed a distraction, even if I knew it was only temporary.

“I told you we were being stupid,” Grace said to Lisa.

“I’m not the one who got all dressed up,” Lisa said to Grace.

Grace puckered her lips. “I can’t help it if I’m gorgeous. Admit you want to kiss me?”

“Ooh, baby, yes, you figured me out,” Lisa said.

Grace took Lisa’s hand. “I knew it. You’re in love with me.”

“You got me,” Lisa said, kissing Grace’s hand.

“All righty pair of nut jobs, I get it, you’re both excited. Just don’t embarrass me, okay?”

Lisa looked at Grace. “Shall we try and behave?”

Grace stuck out her tongue. “Only because we love her.”

I reached into the bag and pulled out a couple of plantains.

“What are those?” Grace asked.

Waving them in front of her, I said, “These, my dear roommates, are
platanos
, also known as plantains.”

Grace took one from me. “They look like bananas.”

“Well, they’re not. I’m going to slice them up and fry them.”

Lisa grimaced. “Hmm, I have dinner in the oven. We’re having salmon. And a salad and garlic bread.”

“
Perfecto.
Plantains go perfect with fish. Trust me, okay?”

“If you say so,” Lisa said.

“Trust me, you’ll like them.”

“And if I don’t, can I give my share to Grace?”

“Oh for the love of God, fine, you don’t have to eat them if you don’t want.”

“Hooray. But, you know I still love you, right?” Lisa asked.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I, for one, plan on loving them,” Grace chimed in with a big grin.

“Good. Now, Reece will be here soon. I have to change and then fry these things up.”

“You going to get into something sexy?” Grace asked.

I looked her up and down. “And compete with you?”

She lit up. “I just wanted to look nice.”

I kissed her on the cheek. “And you look beautiful.”

“You really think so?”

“Yes, gorgeous and stunning. You trying to steal Reece from me?” I asked.

Grace was a sweet little girl inside who wanted so badly to be loved and told she was beautiful. I didn’t feel threatened because I knew her heart was good.

“Never,” she said.

And I believed her.

“Okay, well, stay here and don’t let Lisa throw away my plantains. I’m going to go change.”

“Got it,” she said, taking hold of both plantains.

“Whatever,” Lisa shouted as she headed toward the living room. “Grace doesn’t scare me.”

***

I
brushed my hair and considered what the heck to wear. I was so tempted to slip into the one little black dress I owned, but then we weren’t going out or anything and I didn’t want to look ridiculous for a casual dinner at home. Grace dressing up fit her personality. It came natural to her and since she worked for a senator and got to attend many after-hours events and galas, she had a wardrobe full of knockout dresses.

After wrestling the last tangle out of my hair, I decided to channel my inner rockabilly girl and settled on a cropped, red sweater decorated with little black skulls. I wasn’t a girlie girl like Grace, but I was still a girl. Albeit one who preferred sweaters with skulls on them. Aunt Conchita once told me to be careful of taking yourself too seriously; life was serious and tragic enough and if I didn’t take the time to lighten it up from time to time, I’d end up a bitter victim, blaming the world for my problems instead of getting up each day and putting my dukes up no matter what was thrown at me.

And that’s what my little red skull sweater represented: me lightening up my life, while also keeping my fists up ready to fight.

My father is still with me. He will always be with me. But I can’t walk around depressed and lost forever. I refuse to do that. And yes, I’m not naïve. I know I’m going to have moments when the sadness I feel for my father will try to bring me to my knees and swallow me. Those days will come and I will need to dig deeper than I ever have before to raise myself off the floor and live my life.

I wiggled into a pair of skinny jeans and slipped into some red wedges.

When I returned to the kitchen, Lisa was in there checking on her baked salmon.

“You going to start frying up your plantains now, or wait until Reece gets here?” she asked.

“It depends on when the fish will be ready. The plantains won’t take long at all.”

“Salmon has another twenty minutes. I bought a huge piece.”

“I’ll text Reece and see if he’s on his way.”

“You look like a doll,” Lisa said as I stepped out of the kitchen.

“Good thing or bad thing?”

“Fabulous thing. Reece is going to faint when he sees you. He may want to skip dinner...”

“That’s the idea.”

“I figured. Oh and you should know Grace has a guest over. He’s in her room with her right now.”

“Who is it? God, please don’t tell me she’s having an affair with a senator?”

“Of course not, don’t be stupid.”

“Then who then?”

“He works with you.”

“Please don’t say his name is Tom.”

She blew out air. “Yep, that’s his name all right.”

A huge and I mean huge as in mega-huge sigh came out of me. “Is he staying for dinner?”

“Why do you think she’s all dressed up?”

“When was she going to tell me?”

“When he showed up,” she said.

“And you knew?”

“Yes, but I promised to stay out of it.”

I’d lost my appetite.

“You could have told me, you know. You
should
have told me. Reece is coming over and now Tom is here and, crap, this is too much to handle.”

“Settle down. You’re acting as if you’re jealous. Do you
like
Tom?”

“No, I don’t. I just...I just.”

“Just what?”

“I’m not ready for any of this.”

“Any of what?”

“This, worlds colliding. I wanted to keep everything separate because that’s all I know how to do. And now we’re friends, my agency reps Grace, my boss is my boyfriend’s uncle, and my stupid coworker is dating Grace. And on top of it all, I have other stuff to deal with.”

“Let me get this straight, you’d rather we just be roommates?”

“Kind of, no, not really. I like that we’re becoming friends. I’ve just never had...real friends. Just never mind. Forget I said anything.”

“Calm down. Your worlds collided. So what? It’s going to be a little bumpy at first, but shit, that’s life, right? It’s bumpy.”

“Why does he have to stay for dinner?”

“Because Grace invited him and she lives here too, remember?”

“Well, he’s not getting any of my plantains.”

Lisa burst out laughing. “Listen to yourself. And you call us nut jobs? Fine, keep all the plantains for you and Reece. Hell, hand feed him. Do whatever you want with your plantains, but Tom, just like Reece, is our guest tonight.”

Before I could protest, the doorbell rang.

“Go let your man in,” Lisa said, smirking.

“I may not let him in. I may try and convince him to take me out to dinner instead.”

“Lame.”

Ignoring her, I grudgingly approached the door and opened it.

Reece put his hand over his heart. “Wow, you look amazing. I may ravage you right here.”

“You look pretty hot in them khaki pants,” I said.

“You making fun of my pants?”

“Not at all. They’re sexy. You’re a sexy, preppy boy.”

“I can go and buy a leather biker jacket, if you prefer me as a bad boy.”

I bit my lip. “Not a chance. I may unbutton your pants right now and attack you in the stairwell.”

“I just thought with your skulls and all you might want a biker dude. I can be whatever you want, you know.”

Lisa came up behind me. “All right, enough nasty talk at the doorway. Either invite him in or go get a room.”

Reece immediately blushed.

“You could hear us?” I asked.

“Not all of it, but enough to want to throw you both out. Now then, Reece, it’s nice to see you showing up on time. Come on in, I’ll get you a beer or glass of wine, your choice.”

“A beer would be great,” he said, stepping inside and following Lisa and me through the foyer.

“Have a seat and I’ll bring it to you,” Lisa said.

“Thank you,” Reece said, making his way into the living room.

I started following him.

Lisa grabbed my arm. “Uh, uh, you come with me into the kitchen and start frying up your bananas.”

“Plantains. They are called plantains.”

“Plantains, bananas, whatever, start cooking.”

“You going to be okay?” I asked Reece.

“Of course he’s going to be okay. What is he, five years old? Geez, girl, don’t start getting all clingy and shit.”

Lisa didn’t know about Reece’s father. She didn’t know about my father. She thought we were a perfect little baggage-free couple. I was still very nervous about our relationship. I wanted it to work more than anything. But, behind my smile lingered fear, and I was sure the same was true for Reece. The question was, could we continue to smile and love each other despite our issues?

“I love plantains,” Reece yelled from the living room.

Lisa winked at me. “Where did you say you found him?”

“Work.”

“He’s too good to be true,” she said.

“He’s all mine.”

“Does he have any friends?”

I hadn’t met any of his friends yet. In fact, he didn’t talk about his friends, just like he didn’t talk about his father. I suspected he probably drifted from his friends after his father died.

“Take him his beer and get out of the kitchen,” I ordered.

“All right, Miss Bossy.”

Once she was gone, I rolled up my sleeves, put a frying pan on the stove, covered it with oil and got to slicing up the plantains. When the oil was hot enough, I put down one slice at a time, careful not to cause the oil to jump and splatter on me.

I wondered what Lisa and Reece were talking about. I could barely hear what they were saying. And I also wondered when Tom and Grace were going to make their grand entrance.

I couldn’t believe they were seeing each other. She had only just met Tom and he was already in her room. But then again, Reece and I were professing our love to each days after we met. The heart wants what the heart wants, I guessed. Except that in Grace’s case, I didn’t want her heart to be broken. I didn’t trust Tom. He was hiding something.

Stabbing a fork into the last plantain slice, I placed it on a serving plate with the others and hollered, “I’m done.”

“Great, come on in here,” Lisa said. “I’ll start serving.”

“What about Grace?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about her. She’ll be out soon enough.”

Passing Lisa on my way to join Reece, she whispered, “He’s a keeper. A serious fucking keeper. And damn he looks hot as all hell in those pants. He can rock some khaki pants. Just yummy. All kinds of yummy. I hope you treat him good, if you know what I mean,” she said with a wink.

“Hands off.”

“I know, I’m just saying. Keep him happy between the sheets, girl. Keep him damn happy.”

***

S
itting in our raggedy old as all heck arm chair, Reece sipped his beer. “Do you know how hot you look? I can’t take my eyes off you.”

“Did you miss me?” I blew him a kiss. “You made an impression on Lisa. She thinks I need to keep you happy,” I said, sitting on his lap and stealing his beer.

Ignoring my comment about Lisa, he said, “Hey, that’s mine.”

“It was,” I said, taking a sip.

“You and Lisa good friends?”

“Not yet. But I think we can be. Why?”

“No reason, just asking,” he said, attempting to take the beer from my hand.

“This is my beer now. Hands off.”

He moved my hair away from my neck and planted soft kisses on my skin. “You’re lucky I like you.” He slipped his hands under my sweater. “I want to pull down your jeans, rip your sweater open and bury myself in you.”

“Later,” I moaned.

Stroking my breasts, he said, “Then you better get off my lap.”