“Has she asked about how you can afford your house?” Raf asks. “Or where your money came from?”
“No.”
The Jimenez brothers share a look.
“What?” I ask.
Raf winces. “It’s a little suspicious, isn’t it? She knows you play rugby, but she’s smart enough to know rugby players at the club level aren’t paid. Even if we make the Premier League, our salaries will be less than what teachers make. Hell Jonah, most of the Philadelphia Eagles wouldn’t be able to afford your place.”
“Go Birds,” Joaquín and I add reflexively.
“Go Birds,” Raf repeats. “All I’m saying is, I hope she doesn't have dollar signs in her eyes whenever she sees you.”
“You think she’s after my money?”
Rafael looks pained. “I hope not,” he says. “But if she hasn’t asked how you have all this money... she might be the kind of person who doesn’t care how you made it, just that you have it.”
I scratch my head. “She doesn’t seem like that.”
“But what if she’s the one?” Joaquín asks his brother. “Jonah’s gone for this woman.”
“Yeah!”
Again, Raf is pained. “I know, and I’m happy you are. But,aren’t you like this in every relationship? Jonah, you have the biggest heart and love to see the best in people, but sometimes that’s your downfall. You have a tendency to throw yourself into loving people and putting blinders on. You ignore the red flags.”
I scoff. “Name one time that happened.”
“When your college girlfriend Paris went on spring break and swore up and down she didn’t have sex with that bartender even though everyone from her sorority confirmed it. You refused to believe it until you saw her cheating on you. Then there was Kendall who used you as a meal ticket because you had an unlimited plan on campus. Oh, and how about Jessi who was only dating you to get closer to your roommate, Devin?”
“Didn’t they get married last month?” Joaquín adds, unhelpfully.
“Yeah,” I sigh. “But it’s different this time, I swear.”
“So what is he supposed to do?” Joaquín asks. “Never tell the women he dates that he won the lottery?”
I’m never dating anyone else again,I think to myself, but then backtrack to the point Rafael just made. I do be love-bombing. I do ignore warning signs and maybe I trust too easily...
“I can’t lie to her,” I say. “Maybe I could if it was someone I just met and they asked me how I made my money, but I don't want that with Renée. She deserves to know.”
Raf takes a moment to digest my words. “If she ever asks.”
“Bro, come on,” Joaquín says. “Have some faith. You know,some peoplethink it’s rude to discuss personal finances.”
He sighs, “That’s fair.”
“Well I’m gonna tell her,” I state. “She kissed me for the first time last night—”
Joaquín’s eyes bug out and he grabs my shoulders before I can continue. “She did? Dude, lead with that kind of info!”
“That’s huge,” Raf beams.
“I know! It’s taken her a long time to trust me so she deserves to know. And you know what? I don’t care if sheisa gold digger because I wanna spoil her. I want her to relax. Everyone tells me how I should and should not spend my money, and sure, maybe a yacht isn’t a great idea, but giving Renée and her girls a comfortable life? That sounds likethe bestidea.”
Chapter 28
The Festival
Renée
