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“Sure, I’m okay with that.” She pressed her lips together and leaned in closer to me. She whispered, “Kate and Antonio have been arguing a lot. He gets really loud sometimes. Something about her, um, messing around with another med student. He stormed out of here right before you got home.”
“Huh.” I took a sip of my wine. He’d still had a dinner plate ready for me in the oven, a note left on the counter. “I thought they had an understanding.”
Her eyebrows were up very high. “I don’t know about that.”
I started the group text. Barbecue on Saturday and wine tasting on Sunday for anyone who wanted to join. I said goodnight to Layla and headed upstairs to get ready for bed.
There was more shouting later that night. Antonio was in a fury. I rolled over and put my pillow over my head. Were people deluding themselves when they thought an open relationship could work? And how difficult were those two going to be to live with?
“Kate,” I said in the morning when she came out to jointhe workout session. “How often do you two shout at each other?” It was a horrible thing to ask somebody, but I don’t beat around the bush, and I meant to be upfront with everybody.
She grimaced and pedaled harder on the bike. “He’s insecure. And jealous.” She swallowed a drink from her water bottle. “I’ll spare you all of the sordid details. We’ll figure it out. It’s just a rough patch.”
Nodding, I went back to my lunges. All I could think was how much I liked Antonio’s cooking. I’d thought they would be fun to live with but after less than a week I wasn’t too sure.
Javier had been quiet for the last couple of days. Most likely, he’d moved on. Probably for the best. I worked out harder.
I eagerly awaited the arrival of some of the furniture Michelle had picked out. A big faux leather sectional for the downstairs living room in a bright blue was the main piece. Also bar stools for the kitchen and a bedroom set for me. After the furniture truck left, the house was one step closer to feeling like a home.
Rosie arrived and efficiently put everything together, starting in my bedroom. I went downstairs with a hamper of dirty laundry and plans to pull all the plastic off the new sectional couch down there.
“Can I touch you?” I heard Antonio say through the cracked laundry-room door right as my fingers pushed on the handle to open it. I stopped where I was, my eyes widening. Should I interrupt right away before anything started happening in there?
A giggle. “You can do more than touch.” That was Hazel. She’d just arrived, and Kate was out. “For a little cash. How about forty?”
I sucked in a breath. Oh goodness gracious, what was Igoing to do with that information? Well, here’s the thing, they were two consenting adults—I had checked her ID, by the way, and she was twenty-nine.
“Yes, okay,” said Antonio in an all-business voice. “Do you have a rubber?”
Well, thank goodness for that. In no time at all, Hazel was bent forward gripping the edge of the laundry-room sink, with her skirt up, standing on the little step stool in there. Antonio pumped into her from behind. My trance broke and I hustled back upstairs. A snake of desire bit me hard. If Javier wasn’t coming…
After knocking a few things off my list, mostly getting online and doing school stuff, I put music on the new house sound system and got dressed for an evening by the pool. My phone pinged with a text from Amber.
Amber: Hey. Zach canceled our date. What are you doing?
Sally: Get your booty over here! I’m gonna hang out by the pool and see what happens. Do you like red or white wine?
Amber: White. Swimming suit?
Sally: You better believe it. My bikini is on. And a semi-transparent cover-up dress. Plus accessories. My pool days are limited. White huh. Well I’m gonna give Pinot Grigio another try. Get over here. Antonio is doing chicken on his rotisserie grill and my mouth is already watering.
Sally: Also I have giant pool floaties to blow up and that’s a two person job. Who needs men when you have a six foot unicorn to ride on?
Amber: Um, me. He isn’t interested in sex anymore. Does that mean what I think it means?
Sally: Screw that guy. Actually, don’t screw him. Find somebody fun. Get over here before I drink too much to give reasonable advice.
Amber arrived at the same time as Layla and a gaggle of her girlfriends. They were pretty clicky, especially one blonde girl who did not appear happy to see me. I pulled on my big floppy sun hat, slipped on sandals, and headed outside with Amber, glasses of chilled wine in hand.
After taking in the pile of boxes and electric air pump, Amber tackled the floatie project with single-minded focus. A giant pink flamingo came into my life, then the unicorn, and finally an avocado half, with a removable ball.
Dillan wandered by then stopped when he saw the box with a racquetball-slash-volleyball net inside. “Where do you want this?”
“Oh, bless your heart,” I said. “Down there on the far side of the pool behind the chairs, there’s room on that deck-like stuff over there. A couple of sandbags are in the garage for the bases.”
“Yep.” He picked up the giant box in one arm and headed off to the back side of the yard.
Car doors were slamming shut over on the driveway and the big-shouldered football players started appearing through the side gate. Clint’s eyes went straight for me. I smiled and looked at the pool while I sipped from my glass.
