“He’s my father.”
“He’s a sperm donor.”
I flinch. His comment stings … the truth can do that.
Trick leans in, squeezing my leg with his hand. “If you want to stay, just say so.”
As my tongue brushes my lip, I rest my hand on his. This isn’t a question that should have to be answered. “I want to be with you.”
“You can be with me if we stay.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to stay.”
Trick skims my cheek with his thumb, an ease to his facial expression. “Me neither.”
*
We land in Los Cabos and Trick informs me we’re renting a car to drive to Todos Santos, our final destination. Then he informs me we’ll only use the rental until he arranges to have his motorcycle shipped down here. In this moment the reality of what we’re doing hits me. I told Nana I didn’t know how long I’d be gone, but I told my work I needed an extended leave for personal reasons—I didn’t actually quit. But … I’m still in. Wherever Trick goes, I go.
“Let’s get a cab to the nearest car dealership.”
Trick takes our luggage from the carousel. “We’re not buying a car.”
“Well maybe we’re not, but I am. It rains in Mexico too.”
“That’s why we either stay in or wear our rain gear for the bike. Come.” He takes off toward the doors.
“We can’t have sex on the back of your motorcycle.”
He stops, allowing me to catch up. Pursing his lips, his eyes trail down my body. “I beg to differ, but if that’s why you want a car, then…” he turns and continues through the doors “…suit yourself.”
“Typical guy.”
“What’s that?” he asks, hoisting our luggage into the back of the taxi.
I smile. “Nothing.”
*
Trick stares at my new purchase with his hands resting on his hips. “It’s a chick mobile and a bait and switch. There’s no way we’ll be having sex in the back of that thing. You should have bought the Escalade.”
I hand him the keys to my little red Saab. “Yeah, well we’ll give it a go once we get out of town a ways.”
He snatches the keys and slips on his sunglasses. “If we’re out of town, no need to cram in the back. I’ll just fuck you on the hood.”
I open the passenger door and look at him over the frames of my sunglasses. “The hood will be too hot from the engine.”
We both say “trunk” in unison and hop in the car.
He starts the car and puts his hand on the gear shift. I put my hand over his. He looks at me.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
I lean over and kiss him. It’s slow, our tongues making lazy strokes together. His hand moves from the gear shift to my face and when I start to pull away he holds me to him, dropping the softest kiss ever to the corner of my fat lip. “For wanting to make memories with me.” I smile.
“I love you, Darby Roth.”
My brows peak. “I’m not your wife, yet.”
He puts the car in gear and pulls out. “You will be … soon.”
My initial grin snaps into a grimace as my enthusiasm grows so big it pulls at my lip. Every ounce of my being does a happy dance. If this is karma for all the years I tried to find friends, tried to fit in with no avail, then I love her. Karma and I are BFFs … well, after Trick of course.
We roll down the windows and let in the warm breeze. I’m in paradise and it has nothing to do with Mexico.
“Why Todos Santos?”
“Have you been?” He gives me a quick sidelong glance.
“Nope, have you?”
He shakes his head with a mega-watt-just-for-Darby grin. “My parents met in Todos Santos.”
“Seriously?”
He nods, eyes on the road ahead. “Christmas break their senior year of high school. Their parents rented places next door to each other on the beach. His family was from Utah, her family lived in Minnesota. They both told the story the same way … love at first sight.” He chuckles. “I hated hearing it over and over again. Now I’d give anything to see their eyes light up as they narrate every word, both sharing parts of the story like lines of a play.”
“So how’d they end up …” I hate even saying the word. The thought of Trick and his family homeless cuts so deep, especially after seeing that picture he drew of them. It was them having everything and nothing at the same time.
“Homeless?”
I nod.
“They wrote letters and talked on the phone until after they both graduated in the spring. My dad even switched his college plans to attend school with my mom. So the summer before their freshman year of college they met up in Colorado to camp for four weeks in the mountains. Neither set of parents approved, but they were both adults so there wasn’t much they could do.”