By the way, I decidedly have my back to Vin because he’s throwing a football and I already told you about his T-shirt.
Reggie and his wife, Carina, have been talking to me for the last nine minutes about a vacation they took to Connecticut and I have, sadly, not been listening at all. Sadly, I say, because now there is a break in the conversation where a normal person would have something up her sleeve, say, a reply, but I can’t even come up with nouns right now.Vin is not leaving me. Vin still loves me. Vin pushed me down on his boner and almost made me black out.I feel like a high schooler who is pretty sure she’s going to lose her virginity after school today. Sorry, Reggie and Carina, Connecticut can’t compete.
“So,” Lauro (in a silk floral-print button-down) says, flopping down in the grass beside me and eating grapes like the lecherous lout that he is. “That guy. Vin.”
Oh, never mind, I love Lauro. He’s just brought up the only subject I have any interest in at all right now.
“Yeah?”
“He’s Raffi’s brother, right? That’s how you know him? Why’d you bring him?”
Reggie and Carina get up to greet Stacia, who has just arrived.
“He seems pretty into you,” Lauro prods me when I don’t answer him.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, he’s looking at you like he’d like to test how flexible you are.”
“He knows exactly how flexible I am.”
“Oh, realllllly.” He chomps grapes with a grin. He’s gotten the information he wanted and now he’s very pleased with himself. “So you two are hooking up? He’s wearing a wedding ring, you ho.”
To lie or not to lie? Which would be more fun? “He’s my husband.”
And now I have the incredible satisfaction of truly gobsmacking Lauro. It almost looks out of place on him. Like seeing a tiger slip on a banana peel. “What?”
“Yup.”
“You aremarried?”
“Yup.”
“Tohim?”
“Lauro, yes.” Surely, it can’t be that shocking.
“And here I thought I might actually have a shot.” He says it in a friendly way, one that says more about his confidence in himself than anything about our supposed (nonexistent) romantic connection.
“Nah, never had a shot.”
He takes this with aplomb, seemingly more interested in my marital life than in the rejection he’s just been administered. “That night I first met him I didnotget married vibes from you two.”
I sigh. “Well, it’s been hard times. We thought we might be splitting up.”
“He does not want to split up with you. Trust me.”
“He was the one who was leaving! Sort of.”
“Well, he’s not leaving now. Actually, he’s coming over here. Bye.” Lauro does a backwards somersault and skedaddles. If Vin were frowning at me like that, I’d probably do gymnastics to get away from him too.
But he’s not frowning at me. He’s smiling at me. It’s his we-have-a-secret smile. I know this smile well. And the best part? The only secret it ever is is how much he wants me. I expect him to sit where Lauro was just sitting, on the grass beside me. But instead, he pulls an old-school Vin and parks himself behind me, legs spread in a V on either side of me. His hands trail up my thighs, over my belly, he gives me a squeeze and then just holds me.
This is going to get indecent and we’re in a public park, so I choose the most effective sexual defuser known to man. Hamburger.
“Mmrgh,” Vin says when I shove it over my shoulder and into his mouth. “Vis is goob.”
“Esther’s on the grill. Thank her later.” I lace my fingers with his free hand to fully demonstrate that I don’t want him going anywhere right now.
