I figured it was time to have a Jet Chat.
“Eddie?” I started.
“Shit, I thought I had your ‘Eddies’ down but that sounds like a new one,” he teased.
I ignored him.
I ignored him.
“I thought you had something going on last night.”
“I did.”
“Did it ‘go down’?” I asked.
His hand slid up my back and started to play with my hair.
“Heard the cal go over the radio, Indy’s got her own code, which shouldn’t surprise you. I knew you were with her so I blew out.”
I closed my eyes.
“I am a pain in the ass,” I whispered.
He pul ed gently on my hair and I looked up at him. He had his chin dipped, looking down at me. His face was mel ow yet serious. It was a new look and, just like any of his looks, I liked it.
“I was on a stake out, nothin’ was happening, it was becoming clear nothin’ was gonna happen and it was boring as hel . Although I would rather have come home to you jazzed like you were the other night, you didn’t interrupt anything.”
Wel , that was a relief.
I decided to hit on topic number two. I didn’t know how to broach it so I decided just to be direct. “You have to quit spending money on me.”
He rol ed me over to my back, his body mostly on me.
“Chiquita…”
“No, real y. I know you want me indebted to you but it’s getting ridiculous. The car was too much, the coffee maker…”
He started laughing. Not out and out but his body was moving with it.
I wasn’t sure what was so damn hilarious. According to Daisy, coffee makers were pretty serious and Daisy knew just about everything.
“What’s funny?” I asked, “No, wait. I’l tel you what’s not funny and this is not funny. I’m being serious.”
“You real y have a problem with that coffee maker, don’t you?” Eddie asked.
“Eddie—”
“Cállate, mi amor.” he said and there it was again. I could hear affection in his voice. I wasn’t ready for amused affection, not when we were discussing something as important as coffee makers.
“Don’t tel me to shut up,” I said to him.
His knuckles ran down my jaw and he looked into my eyes; his were stil ful of laughter. “I know you work hard for your money. But you should know that it means more to you than it probably means to me.”
“Money means a lot to everyone and I know you aren’t rol ing in it so you have to stop blowing it on me.” The laughter died out of his eyes.
I had, of course, in the throes of performing my Jet Chat, forgotten that Eddie was a Mexican-American man and they tended to be both proud and macho and I’d just stepped al over both of those.
Stil , I didn’t care. This was going a lot further and a lot faster than made me comfortable. In fact, this happening at all made me uncomfortable. I had to set the brakes, pronto.