by Sarina Bowen
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Recently, I’d seen Bella very miserable, but I wasn’t about to share that. Besides, I was pretty sure that the tide had turned.
“You look sick, too,” she said, patting my arm.
“Exams,” I explained. “Maybe we worked too hard.” Or maybe we spent a lot of time having sex instead of sleeping.
“I will bring you both soup later. Now go up to Miss Cranky.” She gave me a small shove toward the stairs.
I carried two glasses of juice up the little stairway. At the top, I turned right into a generous bedroom, where I found Bella. She sat surrounded by pillows on a queen-sized upholstered bed. Her nose was red, and she wore an oversized T-shirt that said: Huck Farvard. She was still the most beautiful girl I knew.
“Hey!” she said, pausing the TV. “You did bring me juice!”
“Of course, belleza.” I set the glasses down on the nightstand and kicked off my shoes. “Nice pad you got here.” There were gorgeous old windows that looked out over a brick patio, and a thick Oriental rug on the floor. All the upholstery was rose-colored. Comfortable, but a little girlier than I expected from Bella.
She took my hand and tugged me onto the bed. “I missed you.” She put her hands on either side of my face, but I only got a tiny peck on the lips. “I probably look disgusting.”
“No way.” I gave her a bigger kiss. “You look great. We only feel disgusting.”
“You too, huh?”
“Yeah, but I’ll survive.” I sat myself up against the headboard next to her. “Is this okay? Can I sit on your bed without breaking any rules?”
Bella snorted. “Oh, honey. They gave up on making rules for me a long time ago. My parents just went out of town anyway — to West Palm for a golf thing. My mother tried to get me to go with her, because she’s going to be bored out of her skull by a bunch of real estate people. I played the sick card, and I don’t think she blamed me at all.”
I handed her a glass of juice. “Drink up, belleza. What are we watching?”
“Let’s see…” She navigated to the Netflix menu. Then she turned to me with a little smile. “This is nice.” One of her bare feet found its way to mine. “Thank you for coming.”
It was nice. “Anytime. I feel like I’m getting away with something. The rest of my family is slaving in the kitchen, and you and I are going to watch TV all day.”
“And Maria is going to bring us food and tea.” She snuggled closer. “And I’m going to man up and check my email at some point.”
“For what?”
“Ms. Ogden was going to get back to me today about my application to nursing school. I filled everything out like she said and lined up the recommendations. But I need to get good grades in three biology courses next semester to be truly eligible. She was trying to get them to consider my application as if those classes were a done deal. She said she’d tell me today if it was going to work.”
I massaged the sole of her foot with mine. “And if it doesn’t?”
“I’ll take some post-grad classes at NYU next year and then reapply. It wouldn’t be the end of the world, but it would set me back.”
“Ah.” I drained my glass and set it aside. “Let’s watch a movie, and then you can check.”
“Okay. Deal.” She picked up the remote. “I think I feel a chick flick coming on.”
I did my best Joan Cusack. “Coffee? Tea? Me?”
Bella’s eyes widened. “I love Working Girl. And you’ve got that Staten Island accent down. Are you sure you’re not from there?”
“I thought you were a nice person.”
Bella laughed, and I pulled her a little closer to me, burying my nose in the clean scent of her hair.
Maria stuck her head in the bedroom door as our movie was ending. “I made pozole. But you have to come downstairs to eat it.”
I groaned. “I love pozole, especially when I’m not the one making it.”
“You cook?” Maria asked.
“Sure. Doesn’t everyone?”
The housekeeper sniffed. “Bella, this boy is a keeper.”
“I know,” she said, sliding off the bed. “He convinced me already.”
“Bring your phone,” I reminded Bella. “You have to check your email.”
She blew out a breath and grabbed it off the nightstand. “I’m goin’ in.”
Downstairs, Maria fixed us giant bowls of soup, thick with braised pork and hominy. “I have toppings,” the housekeeper said. She brought us a tray with chopped onions, diced avocado and a couple bottles of hot sauce.
“Wow,” I said, finding Bella’s feet under the table. “That’s it. I’m never leaving.”
But Bella didn’t listen. She was staring at her phone, and her eyes got big. “I can’t believe it.”
“What?”
“This is going to work! Ms. Ogden thinks they’ll offer me a conditional acceptance. And if I do okay on the bio coursework, I can start at the nursing school in the fall.” She smacked her phone down on the table. “You know what this means, right?”
“You’re going to spend all of next semester in a weenie bin?”
She waved a hand, dismissing that problem. “Whatever. I’ll come out for hockey games and sex. But next year? I’m at Harkness again.” She got up from her chair and moved into my lap. “How do you feel about that?” she whispered.
I slid my hand between her legs and squeezed one of her thighs. “I like that a lot.”
She clenched her thighs around my hand. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
I found Bella’s mouth with my own. The first kiss was slow and soft. But one wasn’t nearly enough. I pressed forward, parting her lips with my tongue. She tasted of orange juice and happiness.
Bella wrapped both arms around me, and the kiss went from “congratulations, honey” to “rip my clothes off” within a minute.
“I know you’re not letting my soup get cold,” came a scolding voice.
Guilty, I pulled back.
But Bella didn’t look guilty. She only smiled at me. “More on that later,” she promised.
I gave her ass one more good squeeze before she went back to her own seat.
Propped up on cushions on her big pink bed, Bella and I used up a lot of tissues, played some cards, and watched TV. We were beginning to nod off when I heard a sound at the door. I opened my eyes and saw Maria peeking in from the hallway.
She put a finger to her lips. “I didn’t mean to disturb you two. But I’m heading out for the night.”
“Thank you for lunch,” I whispered.
“Anytime, chiquito. Will you make sure that my Bella eats something for dinner? There’s more soup. Or homemade pizzas in the freezer.”
“I will.”
She winked at me and then left.
It was dark outside now, and the only light came from Bella’s muted TV. I just lay there enjoying the warmth of her body next to mine, until eventually she woke up with a gasp and a cough.
Sitting up, I handed her a glass of water.
“What time is it?” she asked eventually.
“Seven.”
“We are so lazy.”
“Eh. We’re sick. It’s allowed.” I stretched toward the lamp on her bedside table and clicked it on.
Lianne’s voice came up the stairs. “Hi honey I’m home!” She appeared a moment later. “Hey! It’s Rafe, too. Good timing! I got what you asked me for.” She lifted the handles of a shopping bag. “I’m going to put it away.” Lianne scurried off, toward the guest room I supposed.
“What did she buy for you?” Bella asked.
“Can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“Um, Bella? It’s a week until Christmas. Duh.”
She poked me in the belly. “What is it?”
“Didn’t you just hear me say I wasn’t telling?”
“I can make you talk,” Bella insisted.
“No, belleza. Nobody can make me talk.”
“Okay. No sex until
I know what’s in the bag.”
I laughed. “If that’s the way you want it.”
She turned to study me. Then she ran a hand from my chest to my crotch. “Goddamn it. What did I just do to myself?”
“Break it up,” Lianne said, bouncing into the room. “You two had all day to grope each other whilst I toiled in yonder salt mines.”
“You poor thing. We were busy with TV and naps,” Bella answered. “Thanks for the plague.”
“Sorry.”
“You can make it up to me if you tell me what’s in the bag.”
Lianne rolled her eyes. “I’m not telling.”
She tried me again. “Please can I open it? It’s almost Christmas.”
“It’s not wrapped,” I argued.
“Actually, it is,” Lianne said. “The store offered, so I said yes.”
“What store?” Bella asked.
“Nice try.” Lianne climbed onto the foot of the bed. “I bought some cocoa on the way home. Can we make hot chocolate?”
“Sure we can.” Bella used her toe to poke Lianne’s hip. “You know that will have calories, right?”
“Yep. But I’ve decided to make a few changes. I’m going to eat whatever I want, for starters.”
“Really.” Bella wrapped her arms around her knees and stared. “What else?”
Lianne picked at one of her perfect fingernails. “I’m going to spend time only with people I like. And stop listening to the ones who try to control me.”
Bella and I exchanged a glance. “That sounds like a good plan for anyone,” I said quietly.
“I need to stop letting people push me around,” she said. Then she looked up at Bella. “You wouldn’t put up with a quarter of the shit that I do. The next time some Hollywood asshole tries to step on me, I’m going to ask myself, ‘What would Bella do?’”
Bella snorted. “I don’t want you to take any shit from anybody, Lianne. But maybe we should find you a less notorious role model.”
“No.” Lianne shook her head. “I never take any risks, and you do. And I know they didn’t all work out the way you planned…”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Bella said.
“But you are fierce,” Lianne finished. “And I admire you.”
Bella’s mouth opened and then shut again. Pink spots appeared on each of her cheeks. “Thank you,” she said, swallowing. “Let’s go have hot chocolate. You can start your bold adventures in my kitchen.”
Thirty-Six
Bella
Downstairs, I began opening and shutting cabinets.
“What are you looking for?” Rafe asked.
“A pan.”
“You don’t know where they are?” he yelped.
“Don’t judge. Found one!” I yanked a skillet out of a drawer.
Rafe crossed the kitchen and took it out of my hand. “Belleza, that’s not the right shape. When you stir, it’s going to spill.” He leaned over to exchange the skillet for a heavy saucepan, then pushed the drawer closed. He put a hand on my hip and gave me a squeeze.
And I freaking loved it.
It should have been a drag to be sick over Christmas vacation. But standing in my kitchen with the two people who’d gotten me through the worst semester ever was really lovely.
On a counter stool across the room, Lianne scrutinized the label of the Dutch cocoa she’d bought. “There should be directions on here somewhere.”
Rafe leaned his strong arms on the counter and shook his head. “You know I love you girls, but you are helpless in the kitchen. Just hand that over,” he said. “Bella, raid your refrigerator for some milk.”
You know I love you, he’d said. Even though he’d only been kidding, I really liked the sound of that.
Rafe plucked a whisk out of Maria’s utensil jar and lit one of the burners on our range. Cracking open Lianne’s cocoa canister, he dumped a heap of cocoa into the pan.
“You didn’t measure that,” I pointed out.
“Measuring is for sissies.” He took the milk out of my hands and poured a dollop onto the chocolate.
“Don’t you need more?” I asked.
“You think?” He laughed. “See, if you start this way, making a paste, it’s easier to get the lumps out.”
“Wow,” Lianne said. “He cooks, too? When I was trying to talk you into dating him, I didn’t even know that.”
Rafe grinned into the chocolate pot. “Thank you for your support, pequeña. Now find some sugar for me? Check those canisters.” He pointed at the ceramic containers on the countertop.
Adding milk and sugar, stirring constantly, Rafe made a lovely pot of sweet-smelling chocolate. I was just about ready to get out the mugs when the house phone rang. I peeked at the caller ID. It was my mother, so I answered it. “Hello?”
“Hi sweetheart. Are you feeling any better?”
“I’m all right. Lianne and Rafe and I are making hot chocolate.”
“That sounds cozy.”
It really was.
“Your father and I are coming home on an early flight tomorrow morning. I have some difficult news.”
Something went wrong in my gut. “What?” I found a barstool and sat down.
“Your sister is leaving Tucker.”
I let out a breath of air. I’d been expecting her to say that someone was sick or dying. “Oh. Okay.” Do not express glee, I ordered myself. Even if glee was justified, my mother wouldn’t want to hear it. “Why?”
She sighed into my ear. “Perhaps it won’t surprise you to hear that he was cheating with the office intern.”
“Well…” I cleared my throat. “You’re right. I’m not surprised.”
My mother hesitated. “Before this is all over, I think we’re going to end up owing you a big apology.”
You could have pushed me off that barstool with a feather. “Uh, okay?”
“At the moment, your sister is too shocked to think. And your father is so angry that he can’t even form sentences.”
“Okay.” I could wait for my apology. I’m big like that.
“But in the meantime, I need to give you a few details. Tucker is out of town at a conference in Chicago. So he doesn’t know that Julie read all his texts. Instead of confronting him, she’s hired an investigator to document everything.”
“Wow. That’s smart.”
“Your father is going to have to audit his business in case Tucker lied about more than just his sex life.”
“Ouch.”
“It will all turn out okay. But in the meantime, do not take any calls from Tucker.”
“He doesn’t call me, Mom. Not since Julie’s engagement.”
“Okay. That’s good. Just know that he’s in a precarious place. If he were to suddenly reach out to you, don’t trust him.”
“You can’t get me within fifty yards of the man, mom. Don’t worry.”
“All right, sweetie. Be well. I’ll see you tomorrow. I guess it’s a good thing that you put Lianne in the guest room. Because it looks like Julie’s going to need her old room again.”
I felt a stab of sympathy for my poor sister — landing in her childhood bedroom again after discovering her husband was cheating. “I’m just so glad they didn’t have kids,” I said suddenly.
“Me too, sweetie. Julie can start over someday. And we’ll have you screen all the candidates.”
Aw. “Don’t forget, Mom — he fooled me too for a long time.”
“That’s big of you to say. Now go drink hot chocolate with your friends, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I hung up the phone, still shocked by this turn of events.
“What?” Rafe asked. “Is your sister in trouble?”
“Quite the opposite,” I said. “She’s just getting out from under it.” I picked up the mug he passed me and took a sip of the best hot chocolate I’d ever tasted.
* * *
Rafe
“I should go,” I said after we all had dinner together.
“Stay,” Bella
said, rinsing a plate and then putting it in the dishwasher. “It’s cold outside. You’re still sick. And my parents aren’t even here.”
“Well, I’m going to bed,” Lianne said. “I’m beat. And maybe I can fall asleep before the sex noises start up. You two are as loud as howler monkeys.”
“Now there’s a sexy image,” Bella muttered.
“Goodnight,” Rafe said to her.
“Night,” she replied. “And I’m leaving our secret in the hall outside my room.”
“Please can I open my present?” Bella asked.
I ignored her to pull out my phone and dial home.
“Rafael,” my mother said. “Dónde estás?”
I felt my neck get hot as I answered her. “I’m at Bella’s, and I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
There was an uncomfortable silence. “That’s not right,” she said. “You should come home.”
As much as I really did not want to have this conversation, I switched to Spanish and persevered. “You have to trust me to handle myself, Ma. I know how it is. I know it as well as anyone. I couldn’t grow up in your house and not learn that it’s important to be careful.”
“I know you’re a smart boy, Rafe. But be a good one, too.”
“I am, Ma.” It was true, too. I may not do things just as she wished I would. But I had nothing to be ashamed of.
“I will see you tomorrow,” she said finally. “If you feel better, you can work the lunch shift.”
“Fine,” I chuckled. “See you then.”
Twenty minutes later I found myself on my knees on Bella’s bed, giving it to her from behind. My girlfriend had both hands braced against the big padded headboard. She’d turned her head over her shoulder so that I could kiss her while we fucked.
Sexiest thing ever. I wrapped my arm around her ribcage, holding her close enough that I could feel her heart pounding against my hand. I was sure nothing could be better than that. Nothing. Except…
Five minutes after that, we cuddled in a sweaty, post-sex haze in her bed. With my eyes slammed shut, I kissed her neck, her chin, her jaw… everything.
