where you are as long as the person you want to be with is at your side.
After taking a second to calm my nerves, I walk into the front door and say hello to my mother, who is in the kitchen. She asks me to help her cut up some fruit for a fruit salad before I even make my way to the backyard.
I can’t say no, so I wash my hands and get to work.
“Mija.” I lift my head from the fruit on the cutting board. “Por qué la cara larga?”
“I don’t have a long face.” At least I didn’t think I did. My mother has always been inept to all her kids’ feelings, no matter how much we tried to hide them. She always knew when someone was lying, so she made it impossible to do so.
She shakes a finger at me. “No lie.”
“Fine. But you can’t tell anyone else. Not yet at least.”
“Si.” She motions for me to keep talking.
I take a couple of steps toward the living room to make sure nobody came in after me and then go and close the door that leads to the backyard all the way since it was cracked open. After resuming my place at the counter, I pull in a deep breath. “I’m in love with a man.” I’m very private about any guy I’m dating normally, but especially after what happened with Mario. I’m pretty sure my family actually thought I was a lesbian due to my lack of a love life, so this is something she’s never heard before.
“That’s great!”
“No, it’s not. Not when Gio finds out that I’ve been sl—” I almost say sleeping with, but my mother would have a conniption. She’s very old-fashioned, and although she knows not all of her children are, I still want to respect that. “I’ve been seeing one of his co-workers.”
“No…”
My lips crush together. “I didn’t know it until we’d already been together a little while.”
“Cómo?”
“Because he was a client at my work, and every time he came in, I fawned all over him like I was a high school freshman vying for the varsity quarterback’s attention. I’ve never felt for a man what I do for him, and that was all before I even knew him. When we’re together…” I stare off into space, caught up in a cloud of lust that only thoughts of him cause me to get lost in. “When we’re together, Mama, nothing else matters but us. It’s like we forget there’s even a world outside our little bubble. He’s so amazing. Perfect. He’s attentive and protective, and I never want to let him go.”
“Do you think you need to because of Gio?”
I contemplate my answer as I cut another strawberry in half. “No, but I’m afraid that when they find out, very bad things are going to happen.”
“Ellos?”
“Yes, they. Damien doesn’t know either.”
“Damien?” She questions the familiarity of his name.
I dip my head, unable to hide my blush.
“I’ve met him. He’s quite handsome. Big man, strong.”
“I know.” I smirk at the thought of how intimately I’m acquainted with just how big he really is, and she tsks me. “Sorry.”
She tosses her hands in the air. “How does he not know? Is he not a smart man?”
Lifting a shoulder, I drop my head. “He is, but I think I misunderstood him when he asked for my full name. I said Reyes. So he thinks my middle name is my last name, and I haven’t corrected him. It’s stupid, I know, but both of them are about to discover it. Damien is coming to the party in a little bit.”
“How does he not know still? Surely, you gave him the address.”
“I didn’t, not yet. I told him to let me know when he was on the way, and I’d text it to him. He’s going to figure it out immediately.”
“Why didn’t you tell him when you knew?”
I wince. “Because I’m an idiot?” I shrug. “I was worried that when Gio found out, he’d do something to hurt Damien or break us up. I wasn’t purposely keeping it a secret; I just… didn’t volunteer information. It’s amazing the stuff we talked about instead. Things like our favorites, fears, things we didn’t like, experiences we had that we wanted to do again or wished we hadn’t at all.” And we spend a lot of time in bed.
“Have you not met him before? The men are close, no?” Her curiosity is quickly becoming accusatory.
“I thought about that, too.