“How?”
He pivots to me, and I turn to him, so we face each other again.
“She’s a black widow.”
I stare at him with an eyebrow cocked.
“I don’t understand.”
“She’s my ex-sister-in-law.”
My mouth opens in surprise.
“Do you have a brother?”
The verb tense is wrong. I’m aware of that, but I hope to hear something different.
“I used to. A much older brother. It’s an old story. She was younger then.”
“What happened?”
“She cheated on him, and he got into an altercation with the other man. Eventually, he got killed.”
“She, um…”
“She didn’t do it. Her lover did it. She broke up with him afterward, but my brother was dead.”
“How, um… How can you still talk to her?”
His expression changes, dark amusement flickering over his face.
“See how things are different when you learn more about the parts you don’t see in the beginning. It’s an old story… As I said. She tried to convince my family she had nothing to do with it. No one believed her. I didn’t buy it either. But time passed. She moved on with her life. She got married again. As you can see. She said she had changed. This kind of woman never changes.”
“Why does she still want you?”
He smiles, entertained.
“I mean, knowing the story,” I continue.
“Because… She is who she is. No one can change her. And it’s better if I stay away from her.”
I think about it for a second.
“Speaking of that… Have you ever been close to someone?”
He bites his lip, a teasing grin reaching his eyes.
“Are you asking for yourself?”
I blush.
“I shouldn’t have asked you that.”
I turn my back to him to hide my eyes and enjoy the cool touch of the breeze.
He steps behind me, sets his hand on the railing on either side of me, and locks me in again, his frame lining my body, the idea of cooling off completely disappearing.
I feel his chest against my back, his breaths in my hair, his lips trailing my temple, his arms establishing a perimeter around me, his bulge against my lower back.