“Maybe. I haven’t decided yet.”
“Keeping ‘em hanging’s half the fun, right?”
“Sure.” I glanced back outside, where Elizabeth was standing over Maria with a skeptical look on her face. If anyone could be expected to ruin the party, it was Elizabeth.
“She’s fucking fine.”
“Hey,” I barked. “Back off. She’s not a cut of meat.”
“Shoot, I’m just saying.” He took a swing of his beer and went back to the game. It was an early season college gig. I didn’t know or care much about what was going on. I was too busy trying to keep my eyes off of Maria. I still couldn’t believe she was here.
She must’ve seen me looking because she paused what she was trying to say and met my eyes. One of the women caught on and held her hand over her mouth as if it were the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. I couldn’t have agreed more.
I decided to take a chance and walk outside. Andrew sat next to the grill watching the flames fly out of his charcoal starter. I grabbed a chair from the stack next to the front door and sat beside him. “I’m curious,” he said.
“What?”
“Where did you meet her?”
“She worked in my marketing department,” I lied.
“Does she still work there?”
“No, she took a job with one of the bigger firms downtown. They paid more than the board would allow.”
“She’s not what I expected,” Andrew said.
“What do you mean?”
“I figured you’d like the flashy types with a nice body and maybe a badass edge.”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure I know what I like, but I like her.” I took another glance at her. She was trying to pretend that she wasn’t looking at me, but I knew. “She’s real. I don’t need some plastic chick with boobs like melons. I want somebody with substance.”
“I like that.” The flames in the charcoal started were starting to burn down. Andrew got up and tipped the cylinder into the grill. We stepped back when a wave of sparks flew out. I only watched him because I was trying not to notice the way Maria kept looking at me. I didn’t think she could help it. I knew I couldn’t.
Chapter 12
Mercedes
“I don’t know what you’re thinking.” Elizabeth sat down next to me at the patio table and pulled out a pack of cheap menthols. She offered one to me, and I waved it away. “You don’t smoke?”
“No.”
“Trust me. You’re gonna start. That man is Satan himself. What is wrong with you?”
“I like him.”
She scoffed. “Your divorce, not mine.” She lit her cigarette, and the flame illuminated her puckered lips and plump cheeks.
“I don’t even think it’s that serious yet. We’ve only been going out five months.”
She laughed. “You mean to tell me you’ve been with him that long?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s his last name?”
“Ryan. Don’t go acting like I don’t know anything about him. I don’t need anyone to validate my relationship for me.”