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She was tall. Sprightly. Almost androgynous in frame. An amorphous creature.
I couldn’t even tell if her face was traditionally attractive or not. I just remembered wanting to look away every time our eyes met, because she stared at me like a Rubik’s cube she wanted to figure out, not like a meal ticket.
“You’re a resourceful man.” Ollie flicked a chip of ice from his shoulder. “And it worked for the prince from Cinderella.”
“That was a fairytale.” Those appalled me. I detested the idea of happily-ever-afters. Downer-tragic-ending was more my brand. “Plus, in the Brothers Grimm version, Cinderella’s stepsisters amputate their feet to fit the shoe.”
Romeo jogged in place to shake off some of the cold.
We worked out six times a week, together when our schedules allowed it, then went through the ritual of the ice chamber, ultra-red lights, the dry sauna, and IV drips, usually at my place but occasionally at The Grand Regent when I craved a space Mom couldn’t find me.
“Fairytales exist.” Romeo gestured to himself. “Look at me.”
My upper lip curled into a sneer. “What you have with your wife isn’t a fairytale.”
“What would you call it, then?”
“The worst financial investment in the history of humanity.”
“He’s not wrong.” Oliver barked out a laugh. “You know I’m a fan of Dal, but I’ve met private jets more cost efficient than her.”
Rom blew out a cloud of air. “You don’t believe in fate?”
As if he’d believed in it before he’d become wildly obsessed with his other half.
Or should I say—his other quarter.
His wife was a tiny thing, but she made a lot of noise.
“I’m more of the chaos theory kind of guy. And she seems like anarchy, personified.”
Romeo had forced Dallas into marriage, which resulted in awhirlwind relationship with ups, downs, and enough angst for three historical C-dramas.
Over one year and four-point-three million dollars in the red later, he seemed happy with his wife. But I’d met some people who felt happy while infected with Lyme disease.
Humans largely had no standards.
“Anarchy or not, she caught your attention, and no one else has in the thirty odd years I’ve known you.” Romeo glanced at the timer. Probably counting down the seconds until he reunited with Dallas. The two of them sickened me. “That must mean something.”
“It means she’s deranged,” I supplied. “Completely unhinged and stupid enough to enter my lair uninvited.”
“She got in and stayed there for a few hours.” Ollie graduated to cupping his balls to protect them from the cold. “That means you enjoyed her company.”
“I’m not looking for her.” I watched my skin as it turned a nice shade of blue, wondering why it still felt the same, before and after.
The clock showed two minutes. Ollie and Rom had started chattering, shivering, jumping around. They were so soft. So alive and in tune with their stupid bodies.
I couldn’t decide if I was jealous or annoyed by it.
Rom migrated toward the exit. “Why not?”
“Because I have no use for her.”
“You haven’t finished that Go game.” Ollie snapped his fingers. “You know you won’t be able to live with the knowledge she could’ve beat you at it.”
“She couldn’t have. She barely survived the duration of our game.” I was certain I’d forget her soon.
Her measly existence hadn’t exactly left an imprint on my life.
