So We Can Glow - Stories - Leesa Cross-Smith Page 0,25

window, looked out. There was a woman, standing with the deck guys. Jordan seemed to be ignoring her. That made me feel better. She was talking to the Mark one. No, there wasn’t a Mark one, right? Pete. She was talking to Pete. The other guys were getting in their trucks, ready to leave and Jordan was leaning against his.

“What’s up?” Rafa asked me.

“I don’t know. Some woman is out here talking to the deck dudes,” I said and quickly realized they were arguing. Jordan was looking at his phone and Pete and the woman were cursing at one another and she was pointing in his face. He moved her hand away.

Rafa stood and came to the window to look out with me. Jordan wasn’t turning around, wasn’t paying any attention to Pete and the woman fighting. How did she find our house? Did he ask her to come over? As soon as I knew the deal, I’d text my parents about it because whatever was happening was way weird.

The woman put her hand in Pete’s face again and this time he hit her hand and swatted it away.

Rafa took a deep breath in and let out a groan. He went over to the door, snatched it open.

“Don’t put your hands on a woman like that,” Rafa said. Loud. My blood jumped. I asked what was going on.

“Nothing,” Pete snapped.

Jordan put his phone away and held both hands up.

“This is what they do. We’ll leave. We were just leaving,” he said.

“Don’t touch her,” Rafa said, walking toward them.

“It’s his wife,” Jordan said at exactly the same time Pete said, “It’s my wife.”

“I don’t care. You put your hands on her in front of me, you may as well put your hands on me. Piece of shit,” Rafa said, standing right in front of them.

“Rafael. Don’t,” I said. I didn’t want him getting beat up! I didn’t want him getting in a fight at all! Everything had been so perfect and good-smelling before and now everything was turning awful! A sudden drop in pressure, everything upside down.

“Get the hell out of here.” Pete made a dismissive swipe with his hand and the woman stepped away. All I saw was Rafa’s black hair jump forward and back like a fussy-winged fruit bat taking flight as he punched Pete in the face. Jordan grabbed Rafa’s arms in an instant, held them behind his back. The boys were sweaty and breathing hard and smashed together and it should’ve been kind of hot, but I was annoyed and freaked out. The woman sat in the grass by the driveway and put her face in her hands. I jumped off the porch to be closer to them, but not too close. I was scared to get in the middle of it. I went to the woman and asked if she was okay and she said yes.

“Why can’t men ever calm the fuck down?!” I said to her. She laughed a little. I put my hand on her shoulder. “Rafa! Stop!” I said. Loud. We were being so damn common and country in the front yard with the trucks and the fighting and the hollering, like none of us had any home training.

Pete held his fingers to his bleeding lip and said who are you to Rafa. Pete looked like his feelings got hurt more than his face.

“We’re leaving,” Jordan said to me, holding Rafa’s arms. And it was sweet how he said it. Like, he knew it was what I wanted. “Pete, let’s get out of here,” he said, still not letting Rafa go.

“He’s my boyfriend,” I said to them about Rafa. I said it to Rafa too. This was a perfect time to show off and it felt good with the sun lighting us up. I felt bad for the woman and I didn’t want Pete treating her like that. Maybe I could be a decent distraction from it?

Rafa softened his eyes and smiled.

“You’re so damn beautiful. You smell so good,” he said. “Te amo,” he said to me right there for the first time. Right there with Pete holding an old white, dirty T-shirt to his bloody, busted lip and Jordan holding Rafa’s arms and Pete’s wife breaking sticks at my feet.

“Aw, I love you too. Te amo,” I said with the top of my head warming up with passion and adrenaline and the summer heat. I smelled the inside of my wrist. I smelled so good. I stepped closer to Rafa so he