“Nice to meet you Lexi. My name is Ramone. I am the second child in the family. But more like your fiancé’s personal prank victim. It is so nice to meet the woman who has brought my big brother down a notch. I am going to have so much fun watching you put him through the ringer.” I laugh at the way he introduces himself. It’s obvious they love one another, but I can totally see the sibling rivalry too. I envy them. Turning to ask Lara about the flight, I see she is nowhere outside.
“Excuse me boys. I need to go find my friend.” I walk away and hear Ramone say ‘Sexson huh? You are in so much trouble.’ He laughs some more which causes me to chuckle as I walk inside the villa.
“Lara! Where did you go?” I call out for her, but nothing. It isn’t until I go to the back of the house and near the restroom that I hear it. Initially I think I am hearing things. But the closer I get, the more I am sure what I am hearing is crying. What the hell? “Lara? Lara honey open the door. Please. Let me in.”
I have no idea how long I sit here begging her to open the door. When I finally hear the locks click and the door open, I am sad and anxious to know why her face is a mess. I can see the blotches of her makeup coming off. But the thing that gets me, that I didn’t notice when she first got off the plane, is the puffiness under her eyes. I have known Lara my whole life. I have only seen her look like this twice in the fifteen years I have known her. The first time was when her parents divorced, and she cried for 24 hours straight when her dad left. I know because I stayed with her for an entire week. My parents were going to Monte Carlo and needed someone to watch me.
The second time was when Donny Laren, the boy she had been crushing over for all of tenth grade, called her a fat bitch when she asked him to the Sadie Hawkins dance. Which brings me back to the looks she and Ramone were giving one another.
“Lara, tell me what happened?” She sniffs and tries to wipe her face. When she looks up at me, my heart breaks.
“I don't know why I keep doing this to myself. Why can’t I ever get it. No one will ever want me. I am fat, stupid, and I mean let’s get real, there is nothing remotely sexy about a virgin who has never even been kissed. I just ...I guess I thought…. never mind. It doesn’t matter. I am here for you. This is about you. So, what should we do first? We don’t have much time.” I love her as much as anyone could love a sister. But I am not going to let this go.
“Lara. Talk to me. I am assuming this has something to do with Ramone. What happened on the flight over here?” She hesitates for a moment. Her mind trying to come up with different excuses she thinks she can get away with. She only takes this long when there is something, she doesn’t want to tell me.
“Nothing. Ok. I thought we had a moment when he picked me up. I mean I swear we did. My body began to tingle, all over. If you know what I mean, and my heart began to beat out of my chest. It didn’t hurt that he looked at me like I was the syrup to his pancake. So, I decided to be brave and try to be confident like you are always telling me to do. I know I am by no means a flirt or anything, but when I asked him about himself, he answered. We had a conversation and when the flight attendant guy came into the area and asked if we needed anything, he lingered a bit talking to me and the growl coming from Ramone gave me hope. So, when the attendant left, I got a bit braver. I leaned in to kiss him and that is when he laughed at me. He fucking laughed at me Lexi. Told me I wasn’t his type. He liked women. Not little girls. He said there are a lot of guys who would like someone that looked like me and walked away. What the hell was I thinking Lexi?” I hug her. Rocking her back and forth. I have no idea what she was thinking, but I do know what I am thinking. My soon-to-be new brother-in-law has got one coming.
Don’t fuck with the people I care about. Especially not someone as sweet as Lara.